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Governmental Affairs - Federal Issues
Federal Issues- Archives
Sky-high oil
and gas prices are socking Americans right in their wallets. The average
price for a gallon of gasoline is more than $3.60. Oil prices are hovering
around a record $120 a barrel. Many of the elderly and the poor are being
forced to choose between filling their tanks with gas or their cupboards
with food. It also means slower economic growth and higher consumer prices
at a time when our country can least afford them.
It's time for
Congress to stop wringing its hands and start acting. If Congress is
serious about increasing supply, easing pressure on prices, and reducing
our dependence on foreign energy, it can take one simple step--allow
energy explorers to tap into America's huge reserves of oil and natural
gas in an environmentally responsible way. Federal lands
also hold an estimated 112 billion barrels of recoverable oil, enough to
produce gasoline for 60 million cars and fuel oil for 25 million homes for
60 years. Opening up these resources will also give us a cushion as
existing oil and gas deposits are exhausted. Of course,
there are many other steps we must take to decrease demand, such as
improving efficiency, building modern and safe nuclear plants, and
investing in renewables and other alternative fuels—we need to do all of
them. But increasing domestic production is something we can do now with
proven technologies. We can do it in a way that protects the environment.
We can do it in a way that provides real relief to Americans who are
hurting economically. And we can create thousands of new, good-paying jobs
in the process. Instead of sending billions of dollars to foreign oil
producers, wouldn't it be better to take control of our energy future and
keep our money at home? It's time to
unlock America's natural energy resources. It's time to give our citizens
a real energy plan that will deliver real results. It's time to take
control of our energy future.
Stocks, Dollar Up on Thursday
Colombia Remains Hopeful For Trade
Agreement
North
American Leaders Discuss Free Trade
Business Community Opposes
Local Immigration Ordinances
As Boomers Retire, Looming
Shortage of Skilled Workers Threatens Economy
Pilot Shortage To
Hit Airlines As Fuel Costs Rise
Chamber Argues Against States'
Immunity In Patent Infringement Cases
4/09/08 - Federal Issues Update
Gutierrez "Champions"
Columbia
Trade Agreement
Economists Dispute Criticism Of NAFTA
US stops taking Visa applications for workers
Court cases stall
immigration issues
US business groups worry about Employee Free Choice labor proposal
Chamber Applauds Education
Business
community urges lawmakers to put cap in emissions legislation
Politico reports that “A dirty little question is arising from the Senate's
global warming bill: Just how much should companies pay for their
pollution? The legislation, up for floor consideration later this spring,
would use a cap-and-trade program to cut greenhouse gas emissions from
manufacturers and other polluters by 70 percent by 2050. Companies would
receive a certain number of pollution credits, and the rest would be
auctioned off. Afterward, larger polluters could buy extra allowances from
greener companies. But the business community is calling foul and pushing
for a limit on the price of emissions. The debate has the US Chamber of
Commerce and a handful of manufacturers and utility groups urging lawmakers
to put a safety valve in the bill to cap credit prices." The piece
continued, "In the meantime, the NAM is ramping up grass-roots efforts by
presenting concerns to other business owners at state climate dialogues
hosted by the Alliance for Energy and Economic Growth, which includes the US
Chamber of Commerce. The climate change discussions are being
held in Ohio, New Hampshire, Montana and other targeted states. The Chamber
and much of the business community oppose the bill because they believe
high-priced carbon credits could cost US jobs and generally hurt the
economy. But the NAM is willing to consider the legislation as long as
there is a safety valve."
Emergency rooms are busier, but not because of poor
Glut Of Stolen IDs Drives Down Prices In Illicit Trade
Small business supporters fight new raft of tax law changes
Survey finds
voters mostly favor arbitration For resolving disputes
Arbitration
Fairness Act
Senate votes down mortgage modification amendment
Unions struggle to gain concessions in weak economy
Senators debate oil futures speculation
Actions aimed at immigration
laws
slowing
Seattle
Times says
Democrats don't give exports their economic due
Treasury
Secretary Henry Paulson recently announced a sweeping plan to overhaul the
rules and structures governing our financial markets. Many of the
Secretary's recommendations were based on ideas the U.S. Chamber and
others have suggested. Secretary
Paulson deserves great credit for moving the debate forward by proposing a
thoughtful and comprehensive plan to modernize and streamline the
financial regulatory structure. Current U.S. financial services regulation
is a patchwork of federal and state regulatory authorities with
overlapping jurisdiction, inconsistent rules, and a hodgepodge of
regulatory philosophies. As new financial services, products, and
instruments have emerged, government has failed to adapt to changing times
and is stuck in a system designed for the economy of the 1930s. Some suggest
we should respond to current difficulties by simply adding another layer
of regulation on top of this creaky old system. While the regulatory
weaknesses exposed by the current crisis must be addressed, our response
should be smarter and more comprehensive. We must establish a modern 21st
century regulatory framework to ensure our nation has the most efficient,
innovative, fair, and well-regulated capital markets in the world. In the coming
days, much of the focus will be on the immediate housing and credit crises
that have grabbed the headlines and roiled markets worldwide. There is
bipartisan momentum for mortgage relief on Capitol Hill, and the Chamber
will support a targeted program to allow responsible homeowners to stay in
their homes under renegotiated terms. We have also voiced support for the
Federal Reserve's action on Bear Stearns, which helped prevent a broad
systemic collapse of the financial system. You will also
hear many pundits declare that Secretary Paulson's broader reform plan
will never pass. Reform advocates should not be discouraged. This will be
a marathon, not a sprint. In fact, the Secretary clearly divided his plan
into short, medium and long term objectives. At all stages, there will be
a vigorous debate over the details--and the Chamber will work closely with
our members to drive the debate and shape the final outcome. As this debate
advances, all Americans must understand that no regulatory system can
prevent every market loss or economic downturn. This should not even be
our goal. Our free enterprise system thrives on taking risks. It is built
on the potential for reward and the possibility of failure. Our overriding
goal must be to create a nimble regulatory system that leaves businesses
and investors with the flexibility they need to innovate and compete in a
global economy. If we lose the flexibility that has been a hallmark of
America's success, our children and grandchildren will pay a terrible
price in lost opportunity and prosperity.
Primaries in
Texas and Ohio today could determine the Democratic nominee for president.
For many voters, the election will be a referendum on free trade,
particularly the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Voters in Ohio
don't much like NAFTA; many in Texas do. As The Los Angeles Times
points out, when Clinton and Obama hit the campaign trail in the Buckeye
State, they compete to be NAFTA's biggest critic. But when they jet to
Texas, the candidates clam up.
In fact, NAFTA
is working not only in Texas but also in Ohio, which sells $20 billion in
products to Canada and Mexico every year. Unfortunately, Ohio is
struggling with economic changes that extend well beyond trade. NAFTA has
become a convenient scapegoat.
Let's have
some straight talk on trade. What do Americans say they want from free
trade agreements? Many want protection for American workers, consumers,
and the environment; the creation of good-paying jobs; and a level playing
field. Are we achieving those goals? Let's focus on
jobs. Trade has spurred jobs for some types of workers while decreasing it
for others. It's hard to pinpoint which jobs are lost due to trade or for
other reasons. For example, thanks to technology, manufacturers can
produce more goods with fewer workers. Some manufacturing jobs move from
one U.S. state to another because of a more attractive business climate.
Some jobs simply disappear as outdated industries fade away (think horse
and buggies and carbon paper). What we do
know for certain is that since 2002, the United States has created nearly
16 million jobs. We know that America is the world's largest exporter and
that one in five U.S. jobs are closely tied to our exports, meaning if we
refuse to trade with the rest of the world we really will hear a giant
sucking sound! While most
workers and consumers benefit from trade, we need to recognize some other
facts. Some workers are dislocated. They deserve our support. They deserve
new opportunities. They deserve better education and retraining programs
so that they can succeed in a 21st century economy. Our workers
and businesses deserve a level playing field. Shutting down our trade, and
pulling out of agreements with our closest neighbors, won't help anyone. The bottom
line: We need to focus on making free trade work better for more
Americans, not shaking our fist at it and falsely blaming it for every
economic ill. Presidential candidates, take note.
For too long, America's education system has
failed to equip students with the knowledge they need to make good
financial decisions. An alarming number of adults are unable to balance a
checkbook, understand the terms of a basic mortgage, realize the benefits
of compound interest, and properly manage credit card debt. Today we are suffering the consequences. We can
see it in the subprime mortgage meltdown, skyrocketing credit card debt,
personal bankruptcies, and a low savings rate. Beyond individuals broken
dreams, this lack of financial and economic education is threatening the
competiveness and wellbeing of our country. So what can--and should--be
done about it? Ideally, an understanding and appreciation of
economics and finances would be taught at school levels from kindergarten
to the 12th grade and beyond. It should be taught as part of a robust
curriculum as determined by the states, in the same way that music and art
are taught. Unfortunately, local school boards decline to include
financial and economic literacy as part of the core curriculum. Many
college students can earn a degree without having taken any courses in
basic economics. That means the private sector, nonprofits,
parents, and religious groups must step in to fill the void. Many
companies in the financial services industry have robust and effective
programs to teach kids how to handle their personal finances. They have
partnered with groups like Junior Achievement, the Boys and Girls Club,
Operation Hope, and Jump$tart, among many others. We must also clearly recognize that our
citizens will not be financially literate without first learning basic
math. Without the ability to do fractions and percentages, students will
not be able to calculate compound interest, amortize loans and mortgages,
or figure out other financial products like annuities and 401(k)s. It's
all tied together, and it's why the Chamber has a major initiative
underway to renew and strengthen No Child Left Behind. But there's something more ... The lack of
financial and economic education is at the core of the growing and
dangerous trends against international trade and immigration. Many of our
citizens do not understand how the worldwide economy works. They do not
understand how trade and direct investment create good-paying jobs, lower
prices, and increase choice. They do not understand the reality of why
some jobs go overseas even as many more are created here at home. They do
not understand the looming worker shortages in both high- and low-skill
jobs. This puts our economy in peril. It leaves
citizens easily susceptible to fear mongering by politicians who are eager
to confirm people's belief that whatever is wrong in their life is
somebody else's fault. If America is to compete and win in the 21st
century economy, we need citizens who can not only make smart financial
decisions in their personal lives, but in the economic life of the nation.
Last week we
explored the significant deficiencies in our K-12 school systems,
including appalling high school graduation rates, lack of accountability,
weakening academic standards, poor achievement results and fewer hours
spent in the class room compared to our international competitors, and
poor administration of our schools. This week we look at five guidelines
for reform that can help our education systems become more accountable,
rigorous, innovative, and focused on achievement. First,
teaching must be focused on results. We need to change the way we pay and
evaluate our teachers. Pay for performance should be the standard.
Teachers who achieve excellent results, choose to work in troubled
schools, or teach hard to staff subjects like science and math should be
paid more. Teachers who are ineffective, incompetent, or otherwise impede
the progress of students should be removed from the classroom. We should
raise salaries for first-time teachers to bring better talent into
schools. We should allow professionals from the private sector who wish to
teach to do so by using common-sense certification requirements that take
into account their experiences. Second, school
administrators must be given greater independence to run their schools.
Principals should have more authority over budget and personnel decisions.
They must insist on greater transparency surrounding spending, staffing,
and student achievement. Third, we need
to collect more data so that we can accurately measure results. Without
better data, we won't know when students need additional help to succeed,
when teachers are being ineffective, or when teachers are excelling and
should be awarded merit pay. Not a single state could provide systematic
data on teacher performance or return on investment. No responsible
publicly or privately held firm could operate successfully with such a
lack of data. Fourth, we
need more rigorous academic standards, and states must be more truthful
about whether or not they are meeting them. Many states paint a much
rosier picture of how their schools are doing than is actually the case.
This makes it tough for parents, voters, or business leaders to hold
public officials and educators accountable. Finally,
innovation. If history has taught us anything, it's that nations,
organizations, and individuals that adapt and innovate are the most
successful. Small learning communities, early enrollment in college-level
courses for credit, charter schools, and online learning can help
revolutionize and improve our classrooms. What has long
made the American private sector an engine of global prosperity--its
dynamism, creativity, and relentless focus on efficiency and results--is
essential to tapping the potential of our educators and our schools.
Looking back
on U.S. history, Americans have argued, debated, and even fought one
another over many things. But one fundamental principle our country
embraced almost from the very beginning was that a quality education was a
civil right for every child.
Despite its
fundamental importance to our society and way of life, we've lost our way
on education. Today, everyone utters all the necessary platitudes about
the importance of education, but our deeds no longer match our rhetoric.
Dangerous trends have taken hold nationwide that should not only worry us
but also scare us ... and even shame us.
High school
graduation rates remain appallingly low. Only about two-thirds of all 9th
graders graduate from high school in four years--it's only half for
minorities. Those students who do receive diplomas often require remedial
education. Many are unprepared for postsecondary education or the modern
workforce.
Some states
have chosen to dumb down their academic standards in order to achieve the
appearance of proficiency even as our international competitors have
toughened theirs. Today, U.S. fourth graders rank 11th in the
world in reading; in 2001, they ranked 4th. We are also lagging
in key subjects like math and science--skills essential to succeeding in
the global, high-tech economy. In 2003, U.S. 15-year-olds ranked 19th
in science and 24th in math. We get these results despite
spending more on education than practically any other country.
Our students
spend fewer hours in class than most of our international competitors. By
age 18, students in many foreign countries will have received one to three
years more class time than U.S. students. Talk about a competitive
disadvantage!
And through
lax management, poor oversight, and plain apathy, we have allowed schools
to mismanage funds, facilities, and professional development; to hire and
retain ineffective teachers; and to forgo collecting the data necessary to
measure and track results. We cannot afford to lag behind as the rest of
the world races ahead. The world will not stop and wait while our students
catch up. Unless we
restore our commitment to education excellence for all students, we will
pay a terrible price. America will go from economic superpower to an
also-ran. Our high standard of living will erode like sand in a pounding
surf. We will lose jobs, productivity, and, eventually, hope. The social
fabric that holds our nation together will begin to unravel. Our failure
will be measured not only in dollars and cents but in broken dreams. How do we turn
the situation around? Next week, I'll discuss five guidelines for
education reform that could help our children achieve their dreams while
ensuring America's global competitiveness.
11/6/07 - A Legal System Run Amok How did we get
to this point? We have allowed a deeply flawed legal system to infect and
alter our democratic form of government, our civic life, and our character
as a people. We see some
courts, juries, prosecutors, attorneys general, and regulators using the
legal system not to enforce the law but to make the law.
We see troubling attacks on the due process rights guaranteed to every
American by ambitious prosecutors--including a frontal assault on the
time-honored tradition of attorney-client privilege. And we have seen
America move towards a culture where everyone is a victim, where suing is
the first and not the last resort, and where any misfortune in life must
always be someone else's fault. Businesses,
consumers, our health care system, our capital markets, and our identity
as a people willing to take risks and innovate are suffering from the
defects of our current legal system. Ultimately, the competitiveness of
our economy is at stake. The lawsuit
tab for small businesses is $88 billion a year. Medical liability is
forcing doctors to abandon their practices and engage in defensive
medicine, ordering more tests and treatments than necessary solely to help
avoid lawsuits. Securities litigation is driving foreign investors away in
droves. And a relatively small group of class and mass action trial
lawyers have devised a business model that lines their pockets while
shortchanging their clients, clogs our courts, and perpetuates an endless
stream of lawsuits. As a result,
businesses, governments, health care providers, community organizations,
and others are becoming increasingly risk-averse. The first order of
business is not to innovate, take a risk, build a
project, provide a service, or help the community. The first order of
business is how do I avoid getting sued? It's easy to
blame the lawyers for all this, but in fact, improving our legal climate,
reforming our legal system, and reaffirming our culture of acceptable
risk-taking and entrepreneurship are challenges all Americans must
confront. Americans need
to make some fundamental decisions, and soon--do we want to be a nation
ruled by laws, or lawyers? Do we want to reward innovation and risk, or
punish it? Do we want to encourage individual responsibility where the
truly wronged can seek just compensation from the courts, or do we want to
discourage it by allowing an onslaught of frivolous lawsuits by plaintiffs
looking to win the "litigation lottery?"
10/31/07 - Infrastructure, we need more money but must spend it wisely It's been several months now since the tragic
collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis. That terrible event did help
serve one useful purpose--it focused the attention of our citizens and
elected leaders on the need for greater investment in our crumbling
infrastructure. While the jury is still out on whether Congress
will heed this call--the U.S. Chamber is using every resource at its
disposal to ensure that it does--one aspect lost in the debate is how we
spend the infrastructure money we currently have, and how we should spend
any additional funds. Taxpayers would be outraged to learn how much
of the money they pay in user-fees for roads, the aviation system, and
other transportation systems are diverted to non-infrastructure projects
like childhood obesity programs, "bridges to nowhere," or rain forest
museums in Iowa. The number of earmarks in infrastructure
spending bills has ballooned from 101 in 1981 to 6,371 in 2005.
Politicians should be penalized when they skim money from dedicated
transportation funds to pay for projects of their own choosing. It breaks
trust with the taxpayers. If Congress insists on earmarking
infrastructure funds, it should at least require that the earmarks go to
core infrastructure needs, not unrelated pet projects. It should also
refuse to give states carte blanche to use federal bridge money as they
please. California diverted $350 million from its bridge program last year
alone; Pennsylvania, about $130 million. Congress must also work with the states to
ensure that infrastructure funding goes to the highest priority projects
yielding the greatest economic and safety benefits to the entire nation.
There is no mechanism in place to do this now. Yet even if we spent every single dime of
infrastructure funding for its intended purposes--and we should--we still
wouldn't have enough to bring our current system up to par, much less
expand it. In this case, more money must be part of the solution, and it
should come from three places: private investment, public-private
partnerships, and consideration of an increase in the gasoline user tax
fee, which hasn't been raised in 14 years. And the money must be spent
wisely. What will we get in return for these
investments? We will save lives and create American jobs, and set the
foundation for a more robust, productive, globally competitive economy.
Last week we
examinU.S. Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Thomas J. Donohue's
column:ed the causes and consequences of the subprime crisis. If nothing
else, it focused attention on the critical role U.S. capital markets play
in our economy and personal lives. How important are our capital markets? The answer is
simple--every company, whether big or small, public or private, needs
capital to run its business. And there's something more. Given the failure
of politicians to modernize government entitlement programs, our nation
must rely on strong private sector markets to help provide for the needs
of 77 million retiring baby boomers. So what can we
do to create the world's most efficient, transparent, and attractive
markets? First, we must modernize the regulatory structure that governs
them. We need to consolidate overlapping and duplicate regulatory
agencies, foster better coordination among regulators, and implement a
regulatory culture that aggressively pursues bad actors, while providing
fair and understandable oversight of all others. Second, we
must ensure the viability of the global system of accounting and auditing.
Audit firms are required by law to be private partnerships. This makes
them uniquely vulnerable to legal risk--and ultimately uninsurable. Today,
all the top audit firms face multi-billion dollar lawsuits, any one of
which could put them out of business. This exposes our entire capital
market system to serious risk. Third, we need
to uphold the due process rights that are guaranteed under the
Constitution of the United States. We are fighting abusive tactics by
government prosecutors and agencies, such as pressure to waive
attorney-client privilege or to penalize companies for paying attorney
fees for employees. Fourth, we
must stop further misuse of the regulatory process by third party special
interests. For example, union-controlled public pension funds are using
proxy battles to achieve what they could not win at the bargaining table.
We have a system where shareholders sue themselves and drive down their
own stock prices, with huge fees paid out to the lawyers! Fifth, we must
educate all Americans about the fundamental importance of our capital
markets and encourage their participation in them. The Chamber has long
supported tax policies and savings vehicles that encourage citizens at all
income levels to build wealth in the markets--and we will continue to do
so. The bottom
line is if we put the regulators, politicians, bureaucrats, cops, lawyers,
and bean counters in the driver's seat of American enterprise, we will pay
a terrible price. That's what we have been doing to our capital markets
for too long, and it must stop! America's capital markets have generated
more wealth, opportunity, and financial security for more people than any
system ever created. They are the powerful engine behind our nation's
economic miracle. And we'd better not forget it.
States Move Forward On Energy Initiatives
Senate Votes to Block Mexican Truck Program
Jobs
Outlook is Stable For Fourth Quarter
OPEC
Leaders Split on Increase
5/6/2008 - A Simple Step to ease pressure on Oil Prices
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Thomas J. Donohue's
column:
Over the years, Congress has locked away vast untapped domestic energy
resources offshore, on federal lands, and in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. These restrictions have been imposed by politicians who frequently
call for "energy independence." Federal lands hold an estimated 635
trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, enough to meet the natural
gas needs of 60 million homes for 140 years.
4/28/08 - Federal Issues Update
Recession Fears
Continue As New Home Sales Sink
A bleak report on housing
and uneven data on big-ticket orders suggest the U.S. economy could be in
for a prolonged slowdown even if it manages to escape an outright
contraction, according to the
Wall Street Journal.
However, this pessimism is not shared by the Washington Post, which reports,
"Financial markets are starting to function more normally, banks are raising
billions of dollars in capital, and the latest economic figures, while weak,
aren't much weaker than had been expected. Taken together, these signs of
stability make for the calmest economic period the nation has experienced in
months." Here’s more on the general state of the economy from the
AP, ABC World News, the NBC Nightly News, USA Today the New York Times.
Wall Street rallied Thursday after the government’s jobless
claims data and Ford Motor Company’s first-quart results helped bring some
optimism about the economy into the market. Read more about this in the AP
and the Wall Street Journal.
During a two-day
visit to the U.S., Colombian Vice President Fancisco Santos
Calderón discussed
investment in Colombia with the Council of Americas noting that his
government is not giving up on convincing Congress to approve a trade
agreement with Colombia despite recent actions in the House that appeared to
put the deal on an indefinite hold. Calderón said these actions “shocked”
his government, but did not dampen enthusiasm for the agreement. Here’s
more from The Hill.
President Bush met with
leaders of Mexico and Canada this week to discuss efforts to expand trade.
The group sharply criticized Congressional politics and the anti-trade
rhetoric of the presidential campaign and calls to renegotiate NAFTA. For
additional information see the
New York Times and
WorldNetDaily
The U.S. Chamber
continues to maintain that immigration should be managed at the federal
level rather than in a patchword system of state and local regulation. The
town council of Riverside, NJ, recently passed an ordinance which was never
actually enforced, but rescinded the ordinance after spending $82,000 in
attorney fees defending it in court. The U.S. Chamber, along with local
chambers and other business organizations including farm bureaus, restaurant
and hospitality organizations opposed the measure. Here’s more from
Fortune.
In a front page story, the Los Angeles Times reports, "With baby boomers
preparing to retire as the best educated and most skilled workforce in US
history, a growing chorus of demographers and labor experts is raising
concerns that workers in California and the nation lack the critical skills
needed to replace them." Such a "looming mismatch in the skills employers
need and those workers offer could jeopardize the future economic vitality
of California and the nation." Both illegal and legal immigrants
"constitute almost half of the workers in Los Angeles County and are
expected to account for nearly all of the growth in the nation's working-age
population by 2025 because native-born Americans are having fewer
children." Here’s more on this issue from
MarketWatch.
A shortage of airline
pilots could slow the aviation industry’s growth and increase labor costs at
a time when airlines are dealing with soaring fuel bills. Not only are
there not enough pilots, but there are too few experienced ones to captain
commercial aircraft. Thousands of baby-boomer pilots are retiring each year
and that means unless there is a big increase in training, or a slowdown in
traffic growth (not likely), the industry is headed for trouble. Here’s
more from the
Wall Street Journal.
On Monday, the Supreme
Court asked the White House to weigh in on a long-running dispute between
the states and business over whether states can be held liable for patent
infringement. The U.S. Chamber maintains that it is unfair to business for
states to claim immunity from infringement lawsuits under the Constitution’s
11th Amendment while being allowed to sue companies for violating
patents owned by universities and other government agencies. For more
information, check out this article from the
AP.
Business Groups
Support
Colombia Free-Trade Proposal
The Washington Times
reports, "President Bush yesterday sent Congress a free-trade pact with
Colombia, forcing the issue onto the public stage at a time when free trade
is unpopular with voters, concerned over the slumping economy. Congress must
vote within 90 legislative days (although the House has now voted to ignore
the 90-day rule), which is expected to end in late September, forcing
supporters of the pact to take a difficult stand just weeks before the
November elections.
The AP (4/7) reported,
"Business groups, including the National Association of Manufacturers and
the US Chamber of Commerce, applauded Bush's move and said they would work
to get the Colombia deal through Congress. The administration insisted the
deal would be good for the United States economically because it would
eliminate high barriers that US exports to Colombia now face, while most
Colombian products are already entering the United States duty-free under
existing trade preference laws."
The Miami Herald reports
that Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez championed the benefits of free
trade and the Columbia trade agreement at the inaugural session of the
annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank's Board of Governors.
In the
meantime, the Wall Street Journal, in an editorial, notes that the
“AFL-CIO’s president "has been promising that the deal won't pass, and we're
guessing his confidence has something to do with Big Labor's contributions
to the Democratic Party in an election year. ... But by quashing the
Colombia FTA, Mr. Sweeney would weaken the competitiveness of American
manufacturing and put some of America's best-paying union jobs at risk.
These are jobs that exist today but could well be gone if Congress rejects
this market opening in South America."
In an analysis for
the Washington Post Michael Fletcher says NAFTA "is once again a prime
scapegoat for the nation's growing economic troubles, drawing blame for
sending jobs overseas and flattening wages for US workers…But is that
judgment fair? Many economists do not think so." Fletcher adds that it is
true that the United States has lost about 4 million manufacturing jobs
since 1994, But many economists blame the march of technology and the
increasingly dominant manufacturing role of China, not NAFTA, for that
shift.
On the "Washington Wire"
blog at the Wall Street Journal, the US Citizenship and Immigration Service
says it has stopped taking visa applications for skilled workers – seven
days after the visa window opened for the 2009 fiscal year. U.S. businesses
are concerned that employers would have a problem filling jobs domestically
and that bright foreigners would be less likely to want to study and work in
the US. At this point, an employer who needs a specialized worker couldn't
bring him or her to the US for at least 18 months or after the start of
fiscal year 2010.
The Oklahoman reports legislators in Oklahoma and across the nation have
either modified or abandoned immigration proposals. Some speculate the
change in direction is related to a more vocal dissent and fear of
litigation from the business community. Others say a seriously strained
economy has prompted caution.
In a related article, the
Philippine Inquirer notes that some business and economic experts question
the wisdom of purging illegal immigrants and restricting immigration into
the country altogether. According to them, increasing the caps and relaxing
the rules on legal immigration instead are viable alternatives to heavy
enforcement of laws which only tend to drive illegal aliens deeper
underground.
The UK's Financial Times
reports that US business leaders are stepping up a campaign against proposed
labor law reforms that could significantly enhance the ability of unions to
organize workers. The proposal that would waive an employer's right to
insist on a secret workplace ballot on union representation. Instead, a
union would only have to secure the signatures of a majority of workers in
the proposed bargaining unit. Business groups including the National
Association of Manufacturers, the National Retail Federation and the US
Chamber of Commerce have formed a lobbying coalition to oppose the threat to
the principle of the secret ballot.
Cybercast News Service
reports, "Education Secretary Margaret Spellings says the states must start
using the same formula in calculating how many students graduate from high
school on time and how many drop out. Spellings said the graduation data
will be made public so people can compare how students of every race,
background and income level are performing…The US Chamber of Commerce is
among those applauding the move. 'Accountability is a top priority for our
nation's education system and never has this been as evident as in the issue
of high school dropouts,' said the Chamber's Arthur J. Rothkopf. 'The
Chamber recognizes that our
nation must hold itself and its students to a higher standard to ensure that
they succeed in school and beyond.' To create an adequate 21st century
workforce, 'we need consistent and accurate ways of assessing states'
progress in preparing students,' Rothkopf
said."
At the Wall Street Journal's Health Blog, "This is the conventional wisdom:
Priced out of health insurance, ever more Americans are crowding into
emergency rooms because they can't afford a trip to the doctor." Although
ER's are getting busier, "it's not because of poor people or the uninsured,
according to this analysis in the Annals of Emergency Medicine," but rather
because of increased use by individuals "whose incomes put them at more than
four times the poverty level, and who typically get their care at a doctor's
office." As a result, the findings suggest that the expansion of health
insurance coverage "wouldn't do much to slow the influx of patients to
emergency departments." Instead, the study sees "other structural problems
in the health care system" as the main culprits.
The AP reports that fierce competition among identity thieves has driven the
prices for stolen data down to bargain-basement levels, which has forced
crooks to adopt mainstream business tactics to lure customers. Credit card
numbers were selling for as little as 40-cents each and access to a bank
account was going for $10 in the second half of 2007, according to the
latest twice-yearly Internet Security Threat Report from Symantec released
Tuesday of this week. Symantec said they found more evidence during the
last six months of the year that Internet fraudsters are adopting mainstream
tactics, including hiring teams of hackers to create new viruses and
offering volume discounts on stolen data to encourage larger orders."
The New York Times notes
that advocates for small businesses are fighting changes in tax laws that
the Bush administration says are aimed at cracking down on tax cheating,
particularly by the self-employed. The Times adds those representing small
business argue that some of the changes proposed by the Treasury Department
will create a mountain of new paperwork that will be cumbersome and costly.
One important change would require federal, state and local agencies to
withhold a percentage of payments from contractors – touching everything
from the cleaning of schools to the paving of roads to supplying military
uniforms.
4/8/08 - Federal Issues Update
Concerns
regarding new EU antitrust rules
The Wall Street Journal
reports the European Union proposed rules that would make it easier for
businesses and consumers to sue for price fixing and other forms of
antitrust abuse, but the measures would fall short of US-style class-action
litigation. The proposals could quell some fears among US businesses that
Europe will become a major new port of call for class-action cases. They
also represent something of a setback for US plaintiffs' firms that have in
recent years stepped up their presence abroad. The WSJ continues, "Alan
Wiseman, a lawyer at Howrey LLP in Washington, said that while the proposal
was 'not perfect, from a US perspective,' it was a 'major movement forward'
that would encourage damaged parties to sue without opening the floodgates
to claims. “It is a situation where the European Commission is trying to
thread the needle between two cultures,' Mr. Wiseman said. The US business
lobby isn't so sure. Lisa Rickard, president of the Institute for Legal
Reform, an arm of the US Chamber of Commerce, said the proposal for single
damages was 'certainly preferable' to multiple damages, but that her group
remained concerned that 'loopholes' could permit class actions to grow
abroad."
Legal Newsline reported, "An overwhelming majority of voters say they prefer
to resolve legal disputes through arbitration rather than seeking redress in
the courts, a newly released poll indicates. The survey found that most
likely voters say they favor arbitration as a method for resolving both
consumer and employee disputes, with 82 percent of voters preferring
arbitration over litigation as a means to settle a serious dispute with a
company.
Jeff Horwitz wrote on the
"BLT" blog at the Legal Times (4/2), "The US Chamber of Commerce and allies
are gearing up for a significant fight over the 'Arbitration Fairness Act,'
legislation pending in both houses of Congress that would strike mandatory
arbitration agreements from consumer and employment contracts. Disgruntled
contract holders would therefore have the right to sue - but not necessarily
the option of mediation unless the business agreed to it. The battle lines
are clear: The US Chamber, which represents business interests, is fighting
to keep a wave of consumer suits against its members out of court. The
American Association for Justice, which represents plaintiffs’ attorneys,
wants to ensure consumers retain their right to pursue claims in the
higher-stakes arena of the courts."
The New York Times (4/4, Herszenhorn) reports, "The Senate on Thursday
rejected a proposal to let bankruptcy judges modify mortgages on primary
residences to help financially distressed homeowners, but lawmakers
continued to work on a bipartisan bill that includes other foreclosure
assistance as well as tax breaks intended to stabilize the housing market."
The loan alternation proposal "was the most controversial in a series of
amendments to the larger housing measure. It faced stiff opposition from
many Republicans as well as the banking and mortgage loan industries."
Here’s more from the
AP, the Chicago Tribune, the CBS Evening News, the Washington Post and
the Washington Times.
Rural foreclosure crisis ignored by media
The AP reports, "While news about the mortgage crisis often
focuses on cities and booming suburbs, rural America has been hit hard, too.
Research by the Housing Assistance Council, a Washington-based nonprofit
organization that helps build housing in rural pockets of the country, has
found that foreclosures are at least as prevalent in small towns as in
cities." In fact, the crisis "in small-town America may be even more
widespread than in cities. Mobile and prefab homes make up at least 15
percent of the nation's rural housing, and three-quarters of them were
financed with installment or personal property loans rather than mortgage
loans, according to the HAC."
The Wall Street Journal
reports, "The struggling labor movement is facing another headwind: a
souring economy that is creating what some experts say is the toughest
bargaining environment in at least a decade." Employers are "are asking
unions to renegotiate contracts earlier than before. And workers are
reluctant to go on strike -- a key bargaining chip -- for fear of losing pay
and work amid weak job and housing markets." Although unions make up "just
12 percent of the US work force, including public-sector workers, the impact
of union contracts on other workers and the economy is significant."
CNN reports,
"As gas prices hit another record high Thursday, senators in Washington
suggested Congress may need to intervene and change how investors buy and
sell oil." In a Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee hearing,
senators discussed "complicated but potentially critical topic of
speculation, raising the possibility that Congress might make it harder for
investors to buy high-risk oil contracts which some say are driving up gas
prices." Top oil firm executives "agreed that current supply and demand
levels should place the price near $55 a barrel, instead of the roughly $100
a barrel in recent days. Thursday, senators heard conflicting opinion on the
idea, but many showed open distrust of the speculation market."
Stateline.org reports,
"The headlong rush of states into immigration policy may be slowing. In
legislative sessions this spring, ambitious proposals in state capitols have
been watered down, delayed or outright defeated. State legislators, many
frustrated with federal inaction on immigration issues, continue to dive
into the debate over whether undocumented immigrants are entitled to
driver's licenses, in-state tuition at state universities, public benefits
and business licenses. But this year, their actions have been measured or
curtailed by their governors or special interest groups, especially compared
to recent years, when state lawmakers presented a flurry of new ideas and
passed an unprecedented number of immigration-related laws.
In an editorial, the
Seattle Times, "The Democratic presidential candidates, instead of bashing
international trade, should be touting its contribution to shoring up a
souring economy. In 2007, exports rose 12 percent to a record $1.6 trillion
in goods and services, according to the US Chamber of Commerce," growth that
"accounted for more than one-quarter of the increase in the gross domestic
product. Exports are one of the few bright spots in an economy that Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledges appears to be heading into
recession."
4/8/08 - The Paulson Blueprint
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Thomas J. Donohue's
column:
3/5/08 - Straight Talk on Trade
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Thomas J. Donohue's
column:
2/26/08 - A Gaping Hole in Americans' Education
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Thomas J. Donohue's
column:
12/18/07 - Guidelines for Education Reform
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Thomas J. Donohue's
column:
12/10/07 - Losing Our Way on Education
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Thomas J. Donohue's
column:
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Thomas J. Donohue's
column:
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Thomas J. Donohue's
column:
10/9/07 - How to Keep U.S. Capital Markets the Best in the World
9/17/07 - Federal Issues Update
As Congress struggles to reconcile the House and Senate energy bills, 40
states have filed 300 energy efficiency and climate change bills this year,
the National Conference of State Legislatures reports. Twenty states and
the District of Columbia have adopted renewable energy requirements for
utilities. On Wednesday the National Governors Association announced a
clean-energy initiative to speed passage of state measures to increase
conservation and biofuel production and to reduce heat-trapping gases.
The U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday to block funding for the test program to
let Mexican long-haul trucks operate in the U.S. as part of the fiscal 2008
Transportation-HUD spending bill. The test program began right after Labor
Day. The Bush administration threatened to veto the transportation bill
because it would spend more money than the President requested but opposes
any restrictions to the Mexican truck program. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) led
the effort to deny funding for the program and questioned Mexican truck
safety rules, as well as the handling of the test by the Bush
administration.
Employers in the U.S. plan to maintain hiring in the fourth quarter at the
same pace as in the prior six months, according to a private survey.
Manpower Inc., the world's second-largest provider of temporary workers,
said its employment index for September through December held at 18 for a
third consecutive quarter. Nine percent of the roughly 14,000 companies
surveyed said they'd trim payrolls in the coming quarter, and 58 percent
anticipated no change from the prior quarter's pace of hiring. Twenty-seven
percent said they will add to payrolls in the fourth quarter.
On Tuesday OPEC leaders met in Vienna to consider a modest rise in oil
output proposed by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states in a gesture to
consumers worried by the economic impact of $77/barrel oil and rapidly
diminishing stocks. However, the plan to add 500,000 barrels per day of oil
had yet to convince all OPEC ministers and discussions were continuing.
Venezuela, Algeria and Libya said ahead of the talks they were not in
support of increasing supplies. OPEC sources said Saudi Arabia, the United
Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait favored a small hike. Industrialized
consumer nations are forecasting their crude oil stocks will fall to the
bottom of the five-year average range by January unless OPEC pumps more
crude oil, and fast.
Contact the Salem Chamber:
For additional information on the Chamber's business advocacy efforts, please contact Jason Brandt at 503-581-1466, ext. 304.