With the 2008 election looming, Congress has largely finished work for the year and for the current term. And with one major exception, federal legislators spent most of their efforts laying the groundwork on payments industry legislation for the next Congress, which convenes in early 2009.

The big exception, of course, was inclusion of the IRS merchant reporting requirement in legislation shoring up the housing and mortgage industries, which passed both houses in late 2007 and was signed into law July 30. The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), along with many other industry groups like the American Banking Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, vigorously opposed the reporting requirement and succeeded in making some changes, despite the huge election-year momentum in favor of the housing bailout legislation.

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