U.S. Chamber working with Obama, Dems

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WASHINGTON, April 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has found surprisingly numerous areas of agreement with President Barack Obama's agenda, its chief executive says.

Chamber Chief Executive Officer Thomas Donohue says his lobbying group, which calls itself "the voice of business," is working with Obama and congressional Democrats to shape legislation on such issues as financial industry regulation, healthcare reform and global warming that it would have tried to kill in the past, the Washington publication Politico reported Tuesday.

The chamber's challenge is "to figure out a way to stay at the table to advance the discussion and to find ways to drive these people to some common agreement, without going over the line," Donohue told Politico.

Politico said the chamber is adapting to Democratic control of the House of Representatives, Senate and White House by finding areas of agreement on bills it is no longer able to stop, such as tighter financial regulation, about which Donohue said, "I don't worry about what's been proposed, because I like it. That's the Christmas tree. I worry about what they're going to hang on it."