New Business October 7, 2009, 6:55PM EST

Does the U.S. Chamber Speak for Big Business?

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The Roundtable is seen as having a more pragmatic take on the business community's agenda. "We strive to be politically relevant, but not partisan," says Castellani. Much of its work is data driven. On climate change, the Roundtable neither opposes nor favors a tax or a cap-and-trade system as the best way to put a price on carbon emissions. Instead it has provided policymakers with extensive data on how different companies and markets would react at different price levels.

Donohue maintains many chief executives hold back on what they really think when dealing with the Administration. "We see CEOs act all friendly to get a seat at the table," he says. "Then they call us up and say: 'You better fix this.'" He plays the bad cop, the guy who has to tell it straight.

That dynamic has been driving the fight over climate change. The Chamber vehemently opposes legislation now before Congress as well as moves by the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate harmful carbon emissions. In late August a top Chamber official even called for a public hearing, similar to the Scopes Monkey Trial, to rule on the evidence of human responsibility for global warming.

Rebellion Spreading

The Chamber has since repudiated the remarks, which referred to the 1925 trial that pitted religion against evolution. Donohue says the Chamber doesn't dispute the science of global warming, but it wants more debate on how the U.S. regulates it. Still, the damage was done: Utilities PG&E (PCG), Exelon (EXC), and PNM Resources (PNM), all of which back the congressional legislation, quit. "We came to the conclusion that the legislation they were looking for was not the legislation that would address carbon," says Shawn Cooper, chief of staff to PG&E's chief executive. "The difference on this issue—where we were and where the Chamber wanted to go—was just too significant."

That rebellion is now spreading from utilities to consumer companies that are burnishing their green credentials. On Sept. 30, Nike (NKE) announced that it would resign from the Chamber's board, although it will remain in the group and continue to debate climate change from within. Not so Apple, where CEO Jobs recently stepped up efforts to reduce its own emissions. On Oct. 5 the maker of the iPod withdrew from the Chamber. In a letter to Donohue, Apple chastised the Chamber, saying: "It is frustrating to find the Chamber at odds with us in this effort."

Donohue minimizes the importance of the defections. While he says the group would support strong curbs if they were combined with an effective international pact, it doesn't back the current legislation because it would hurt U.S. competitiveness. Those who have quit, he implies, either will benefit from the legislation or won't be harmed. What the opposition suggests "is that we are having an effect," he says. "We are amongst those who have raised serious questions about the content of the legislation."

Plenty of companies are sticking with the Chamber. Dow is in the Chamber as well as the Roundtable, but supports the current climate legislation. "We have let the Chamber know our position," says Rich A. Wells, vice-president for energy and climate change. So why not pull out? "They do other things for us, such as tort reform," he says. C.A. Howlett, a Chamber board member and senior vice-president for public affairs at US Airways (LCC), says that since "Tom [Donohue] came along, the Chamber's been completely revitalized." As for the recent uproar, he adds: "You can't make everybody happy all the time."

With Theo Francis and John Carey in Washington. Sasseen is Washington bureau chief for BusinessWeek.

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