WASHINGTON - A group of 62 House Democrats today urged party leaders to insist that auto dealers be exempted from regulation under a sweeping financial overhaul, The Detroit News reported.

In December, the House voted to exempt the nation's 17,000 auto dealers from oversight under a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The Senate included the dealers -- but separately approved a non-binding resolution calling on its leaders to agree to the House language on auto dealers.

Rep. Bill Owens, D-N.Y., sent a letter to Rep. Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, urging him to exempt the dealers.

"Many auto dealerships are locally owned and operated and played no part in creating the crisis on Wall Street that caused millions to lose their jobs," Owens said. "During tough economic times when our local dealers are trying to expand their business and create jobs, they do not need new and uncertain regulations from Washington." The dealer provision hasn't yet been discussed by the negotiators for the House and Senate, said Rep. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, who is one of the House negotiators. He said he "doesn't have a good sense" of whether the dealers will be dropped from the bill.

Auto dealers praised the effort.

"Consumers in upstate New York and across the country will ultimately benefit from this effort to preserve dealer-assisted financing as an affordable, convenient and competitive option for financing a car or truck," said William McBride Sr., president of Bill McBride Chevrolet and Subaru of Plattsburgh, N.Y. "Maintaining dealer-assisted financing increases access for consumers and decreases the cost of an auto loan."

But the White House and the Pentagon strongly back regulating auto lending, saying it's necessary -- especially to protect young service members from exploitation from unscrupulous auto dealers.

No Michigan members of Congress signed the letter circulated by Owens.