BCA AND NAM ADDRESS EPA REGULATORY PROPOSAL

The proposed new Environmental Protection Agency rules on reducing carbon emissions threaten manufacturers' competitive advantages and indicate that the Obama administration is against an "All-of-the-Above" energy strategy, according to a joint statement by the Business Council of Alabama and the National Association of Manufacturers.

BCA President and CEO William J. Canary and NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons issued the following statements in response to the EPA's proposed standard for existing power plants:

"This Administration has set its sights on the coal industry and the jobs it creates," Canary said. "It couldn't get Congress to go along with this job-killing plan, so now the EPA has chosen to skirt Congress and act through regulation. Here in Alabama, we'll all be paying much, much more for electricity.

"The Business Council of Alabama advocates basing environmental regulation on sound scientific study and providing safeguards to the environment without hindering economic development or imposing undue regulations on the business community," he said. "Clean energy should include an 'all of the above' plan so that the most affordable and reliable clean energy solutions can be deployed in Alabama and the rest of the country."

Timmons decried the EPA proposal.

"As users of one-third of the energy produced in the United States, manufacturers rely on secure and affordable energy to compete in a tough global economy, and recent gains are largely due to the abundance of energy we now enjoy," Timmons said. "Today's proposal from the EPA could singlehandedly eliminate this competitive advantage by removing reliable and abundant sources of energy from our nation's energy mix.

"Manufacturers believe there is a better way," Timmons said. "We need a more balanced approach, one that allows our nation's manufacturers to do what they do best: find solutions and innovate. With the right policies that give us access to affordable and reliable energy, manufacturers in the United States will continue to develop sustainable solutions that power our economy, drive growth and, most importantly, create jobs here at home."

The Business Council of Alabama is Alabama's foremost voice for business. The BCA is a non-partisan statewide business association representing the interests and concerns of nearly 1 million working Alabamians through its member companies and its partnership with the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama.  BCA is Alabama's exclusive affiliate to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. For more information visit www.bcatoday.org.

Alabama U.S. Sens. Richard Shelby, Jeff Sessions and 39 other Republican senators have signed a letter to President Obama urging him to cancel the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed regulations to limit carbon emissions, a proposal that will kill jobs in Alabama.

The 41 senators said the proposed rule that bypasses Congress would increase electric rates, reduce consumers' disposable income, and result in job cuts. "This proposed rule continues your administration's effort to ensure that American families and businesses will pay more for electricity, an important goal emphasized during your initial campaign for president, and suffer reduced reliability as well," the senators wrote.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., led the letter-writing effort. The senators said the EPA's proposal also runs afoul of the Clean Air Act and its limits on executive power, the Hill reported.

The president's proposal includes elements of a cap-and-trade system, which Congress has rejected many times, the senators said. "At a time when manufacturers are moving production from overseas to the U.S. and investing billions of dollars in the process, we are very concerned that an administration with a poor management record decided to embark on a plan that will result in energy rationing," they said.

The letter was sent the same day that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., blocked a McConnell bill that would block the EPA's rules.

Two Alabama House members protested Obama's new emission rules.

U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Vestavia Hills, said the new regulations will raise consumer electric bills and cost jobs. U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, said the regulations will cost jobs and hurt family budgets.

Bachus, chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Review, said he was dismayed by the President's decision. Bachus has been a leader in efforts to require major agency rules to be sent to the House and Senate for a public vote. "When you combine this with the President's refusal to permit construction of the Keystone Pipeline with Canada, it amounts to a triple blow to energy affordability, energy security and economic growth," Bachus said.

The House and now a Senate subcommittee have passed appropriation bills that contain funding for the heavy-lift Space Launch System, which is managed by the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

The Business Council of Alabama's 2014 federal legislative agenda includes support of full funding for development of the Space Launch System and the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle to keep our nation the world leader in the human exploration of space.

The Senate Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice Science and Related Agencies this week passed the Fiscal Year 2015 CJS appropriations bill.

U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, is vice-chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and its Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.

"The bill maintains focus on efforts to develop a heavy lift launch vehicle, or SLS, and preserve the mission schedule for a 2017 launch by requiring NASA to follow its own internal guidance regarding joint confidence levels in future funding requests," said Shelby.  "The recommendation also includes funding for ongoing activities of the International Space Station and other important science research missions."

The House voted 321-87 last week to pass the 2015 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill and fund the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, and other related agencies.

U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, is vice-chair of the Space Subcommittee on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee. Brooks said the funding assures that the SLS will be able to keep its flight schedule.

"In addition, this bill establishes protections for SLS by directing that NASA ensure all vehicle development funding leverages existing investments, promotes efficiency through commonality of design and simultaneous development, and minimizes the need for redesigns or other costly changes affecting future SLS vehicle configurations," Brooks said.

U.S. Chamber is leery of federal plan to invade privacy of Americans

U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Hackbarth 6-5) "The federal government is building a database that will contain extensive personal financial information for over 200 million Americans, the Washington Examiner reports. The Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau posted an April 16 Federal Register notice of an expansion of their joint National Mortgage Database Program to include personally identifiable information that reveals actual users, a reversal of previously stated policy.

"A CFPB internal planning document for 2013-17 describes the bureau as monitoring 95 percent of all mortgage transactions. [U]nder the April register notice, the database expansion means it will include a host of data points, including a mortgage owner's name, address, Social Security number, all credit card and other loan information and account balances. The database will also encompass a mortgage holder's entire credit history, including delinquent payments, late payments, minimum payments, high account balances and credit scores, according to the notice.

"The two agencies will also assemble 'household demographic data,' including racial and ethnic data, gender, marital status, religion, education, employment history, military status, household composition, the number of wage earners and a family's total wealth and assets. The National Mortgage Database (NMD) website insists that 'We Are Protecting Your Information'.

"Critics like the U.S. Chamber's Center for Capital Market Competitiveness disagree with this assertion. A CCMC letter to the FHFA states that the database 'will intrude unnecessarily upon Americans' privacy, increase the risk of financial fraud and identity theft, and undermine consumer confidence in the security of their financial information. The FHFA has not clearly stated the need for the NMD nor has it explained 'why existing databases or a more limited version of the NMD might not meet the FHFA's purposes'. The FHFA 'lacks clear authority to gather, store, and analyze the vast amounts of sensitive personal and financial information that will be tracked in the NMD'."