With the landmark healthcare legislation closer to his desk than ever, President Barack Obama is turning his attention to comprehensive financial regulatory reform. The Hill:

President Barack Obama on Saturday slammed “the army of lobbyists” working against congressional reforms to the financial rules governing Wall Street.

In his weekly address, Obama focused solely on the need for financial reform, just as the House of Representatives prepared to cast a vote on the president’s hallmark effort: healthcare reform.

Obama, who has been hard at work convincing Democrats to vote in favor of healthcare reform, did not make any mention of the crucial Sunday vote in his address to the nation.

Instead, he focused on the need for financial reform and zoomed in on the creation of a consumer protection agency at the Federal Reserve to prevent predatory lending. Obama also took a swipe at Republicans for seeking to thwart the financial system overhaul in exchange for campaign contributions from the largest U.S. banks and their executives.

Obama decried the multi-million dollar campaign launched against the reform efforts. The Chamber of Commerce recently launched a $3 million campaign against efforts to set up a new consumer financial protection office. The Chamber has long campaigned against a standalone Consumer Financial Protection Agency as originally proposed by Obama and passed by the House in December.

“For these banking reforms to be complete – for these reforms to meet the measure of the crisis we’ve just been through – we need a consumer agency to advocate for ordinary Americans and help enforce the rules that protect them,” Obama said in his address Saturday.

The Senate Banking Committee is beginning debate on Financial Regulatory Reform. It's time to step up the pressure on the committee members:

Christopher J. Dodd Chairman (D-CT)
Richard C. Shelby Ranking Member (R-AL)
Tim Johnson (D-SD)
Robert F. Bennett (R-UT)
Jack Reed (D-RI)
Jim Bunning (R-KY)
Charles E. Schumer (D-NY)
Mike Crapo (R-ID)
Evan Bayh (D-IN)
Bob Corker (R-TN)
Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Jim DeMint (R-SC)
Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI)
David Vitter (R-LA)
Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Mike Johanns (R-NE)
Jon Tester (D-MT)
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Mark Warner (D-VA)
Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Michael Bennet (D-CO)

Call these members at 202-224-3121 and encourage them to pass real financial regulatory reform with and independent Consumer Financial Regulatory Agency.