 DEBT CEILING BILL PASSES, PRESIDENT SIGNS IT
Alabama's congressional delegation on Thursday split its votes to raise the debt ceiling and end the selective government shutdown. U.S. Reps. Spencer Bachus, R-Mountain Brook, and Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, voted for the successful debt ceiling measure. Voting no were Republican Reps. Robert Aderholt of Haleyville, Mo Brooks of Huntsville, Martha Roby of Montgomery, Mike Rogers of Saks, and U.S. Sens. Jeff Sessions of Mobile and Richard Shelby of Tuscaloosa. The measure funds U.S. government operations through Jan. 15 and raises the debt ceiling through Feb. 17.
The Senate voted 81-18 to approve the measure.
The measure passed the House 285-144 and it was sent to President Obama, who signed it.
William J. Canary, president and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama, currently visiting with Hyundai officials in Seoul, South Korea, released the following statement: "The BCA applauds Congress for voting to bring this government slowdown to an end and the president for signing the continuing resolution. While there are certainly federal spending, debt, and entitlement issues that must be addressed in the long term, now is not the time to risk the credit of the United States, which would have a detrimental effect on Alabama's private-sector job creators." Bachus, who is retiring from Congress at the end of this term, spoke in favor. "For one night let us talk about what is good for this country and not about the other party," he said. Sewell said, "While I agree Congress must address our debt crisis, it is reckless and woefully irresponsible to do so at the expense of the American economy." Brooks said, "The fight is between those who are financially responsible and those who are financially irresponsible."
Shelby decried the lack of a budget. "We should fund the government and safeguard the full faith and credit of the United States," he said. "Once again, we are kicking the can down the road. In the meantime, the spending continues and our national debt grows unabated." Sessions said Washington has raised the debt by more than $6 trillion and has spent $15 trillion in the last five years with little to show for it but has not cut spending. "Never has so great a sum been spent for so little in return," Sessions said. "Despite this huge stimulus spending, wages are lower than in 1999 and nearly 60 million working-age Americans aren't working. Fewer people are employed today than in 2007."
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MASSIVE UPDATE OF EXPORT REGS STARTS TO TAKE EFFECT
The Obama administration's overhaul of federal export controls started Tuesday with enactment of initial revisions to decades-old policies that businesses see as outdated and too restrictive, The Hill reported. The Aerospace Industries Association said the updated regulations would "allow for more appropriate reviews and restrictions while making trade with America's closest military allies and partners more predictable, efficient and transparent."
For more than 40 years, rules have required companies to apply for federal permission to export any of tens of thousands of items on control lists such as nuts, bolts, and other seemingly harmless items. They were once on the list because specially-made items could be used to build weapons. Obama in 2009 announced the reform effort. In April, State and Commerce departments began issuing thousands of pages of regulations meant to streamline the export process for 19 categories of materials, The Hill reported.
The change involves transferring thousands of less significant military items that don't warrant the tight controls of the State Department's U.S. Munitions List to a more flexible list at the Commerce Department. Eventually, the two lists would be merged and overseen by a new export control agency that will license exports and enforce the new regulations, The Hill said. Regulations taking effect this week reflect technology used in military aircraft and military aircraft engines. They amount to $21 billion in exports annually, The Hill reported.
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FIRST MISS IN U.S. CROP REPORT IN 147 YEARS OCCURS
Because of the selective government shutdown, the monthly report on grain and cotton production was not estimated this month for the first time since reporting began in 1866, Reuters reported. The USDA said a report has never been missed since reporting started 147 years ago, one year after the end of the Civil War. The USDA did delay its premiere reports for two days in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, however.
Now that the government is back at work, the next estimate will be released Nov. 8. The U.S. Agriculture Department's harvest-time estimate of U.S. crops and companion data on crops worldwide are widely read and can move commodity prices. A month's delay could potentially move commodity prices more than usual. "It's a great shame. We lose the continuity of the series, the course correction that it provides," said Bill Nelson, analyst with Doane Advisory Services in St. Louis.
The November report will be this year's first, harvest-time USDA estimate of U.S. crops. Corn and soybeans are usually in the final harvesting stretch by then and cotton is usually half harvested, Reuters said. Food companies to exporters count bushels to determine if supplies recover after three years of declining production, the news service said. Other USDA reports could not be released because data couldn't be gathered during the shutdown that ended Thursday.
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MANUFACTURERS URGE SUPPORT FOR HOUSE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE BILL
The U.S. House next week could take up H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013. The legislation is supported by the National Association of Manufacturers, which urges like organizations to support it. The bill would ensure continued investment in the nation's 12,000 miles of inland and coastal waterways, according to NAM. "The bill also begins important reforms to the Army Corps of Engineers' Civil Works Program that will enhance delivery of key infrastructure projects and streamline environmental reviews," a NAM statement said. The legislation is needed because the inland waterway system includes many aging locks that are operating beyond their intended design life. This creates inefficiency and uncertainty for shippers and barge operators who move products and commodities, such as coal, petroleum, chemicals, steel, fertilizer and grain among others, collectively valued at approximately $185 billion, NAM said.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved the bill on a voice vote on Sept. 19. The deadline to file reports on the bill is Monday. The Business Council of Alabama is the state's exclusive representative of the National Association of Manufacturers.
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Obama Administration starts a stealth carbon-tax
Forbes (Bradley 10/14) "This is the most transparent administration in history," boasted President Obama earlier this year. But if nothing else, the White House's latest energy power-grab makes his claim specious. Without notification, the federal government jacked up the 'social cost of carbon' (SCC) by more than 60 percent - from $23.80 per metric ton to $38 per metric ton. The SCC is used by federal agencies to estimate the (alleged) financial damage done by carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
"It is used to ratchet up regulation, acting as a stealth tax that consumers cannot see when they pay. Problem is, 'social cost' has innumerable computable answers depending on assumptions. It is a garbage-in, garbage-out exercise because CO2, the greenhouse gas, also called the gas of life, is a 'social benefit' upon closer examination. Scientists have categorized 55 positive externalities to CO2 releases in the biosphere.
"In this case, the 'politically motivated' back-door carbon tax is all about tightening controls on domestic energy producers and raising the cost of energy-using appliances, adding expense for millions of average Americans. The Obama administration knew an SCC increase would be extremely controversial. So they hid it - on Page 409 of Appendix 16A of a technical support document for an Energy Department regulation on microwave ovens. All summer, Senate and House legislators petitioned the White House to explain the reasoning behind this increase. So far, they haven't received an answer.
"So what are the climate models behind the SCC trying to protect us from? And with the U.S. responsible for a shrinking amount of global greenhouse gas emissions (from about 20 percent presently to a forecast 15 percent in the next decades), the alleged benefits of taxing CO2 literally flair to the air. Furthermore, a host of major industry representatives - including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Home Builders, and the National Association of Manufacturers - have petitioned the OMB to explain how this opaque process complies with the Information Quality Act."
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Supreme Court to hear NAM greenhouse gas appeal
National Association of Manufacturers (Lavoie 10/15) "The U.S. Supreme Court announced it would accept the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and other associations' petition challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulation of greenhouse gases. NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons issued this statement following the decision:
"Manufacturers are pleased with the Supreme Court's decision to review the EPA's greenhouse gas regulations from stationary sources - one of the most costly, complex and harmful regulatory issues facing manufacturers and threatening our global competitiveness. Without congressional engagement or approval, and through a severely flawed interpretation of the Clean Air Act, the EPA has invented an unauthorized regulatory universe that the agency itself admits leads to 'absurd results.' These regulations will be felt not only by the nation's energy providers and manufacturers, but they also threaten to impose new stringent permitting requirements for millions of stationary sources, which will impact every aspect of our economy."
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Budget stalemate has business and the GOP at a crossroads
Wall Street Journal (Meckler 10/17) "In interviews with representatives of companies large and small, executives predicted a change in how business would approach politics. They didn't foresee a new alignment with Democrats but forecast backing challengers to tea-party conservatives in GOP primaries, increasing political engagement with centrist Republicans and, for some, disengaging with politics altogether," the WSJ reported.
"Republican John Engler, former Michigan governor and current president of the Business Roundtable, said Congress is too reluctant to compromise. Many business executives say they were dismayed that some Republicans didn't heed their warnings that closing the government and risking default would hurt the U.S. economy. The decades-long relationship between American business and the GOP is certainly likely to endure, with business still feeling a kinship and shared goals with many in the party, including a push for lower taxes and lighter regulation.
"The episode has prompted top business lobby groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to consider taking sides in Republican primaries next year in hopes of replacing tea-party conservatives with more business-friendly pragmatists. The Chamber of Commerce, which has given tens of millions of dollars to Republican candidates, is researching what challengers might be viable next year. It urged House members to support the final compromise by including Wednesday's vote in the scorecard it uses when weighing possible endorsements of members of Congress. By contrast, FreedomWorks, which backs tea-party candidates, urged a 'no'."
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