Influence Alley

Tim Pawlenty, the new head of the Financial Services Roundtable, called on Thursday for Congress and the White House to take a two-step approach to address the twin threats of year-end tax hikes and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff.

The former Minnesota governor, in his first day on the job as president and CEO of the bank lobby group, penned an open letter to Congress and the White House, urging quick action to prevent the country from falling off the cliff, followed by more comprehensive reforms early next year to address the budget deficit.

The letter focused on the economic impact of failure to address the fiscal cliff, citing an Oct. 24 meeting of economists from member companies of the Roundtable in which the experts "unanimously agreed the fiscal cliff is imposing a negative drag on business lending, hiring, spending, and investment right now, despite the actual 'cliff' being over two months away."

"These economic impacts will accumulate if the fiscal cliff is not addressed," Pawlenty wrote.

The fiscal cliff will dominate the focus of Congress when lawmakers when return after the election.