Business Council of Alabama President and CEO William J. Canary and Chief of Staff and Executive Director of ProgressPAC Mark Colson this week touched base with important allies in Washington, D.C., where significant summits were conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers.

The BCA is the exclusive representative in Alabama of the NAM and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Canary noted the 10th anniversary this year of The Partnership between the BCA and the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama, a match that strengthens both organizations with grass roots contacts and strategic planning and influence in the Alabama and national capitals.

The U.S. Chamber's 10th annual "America's Small Business Summit" held Wednesday through today united business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs who networked in the capital and presented legislative and management concerns to elected officials.

Canary met with U.S. Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue, Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy, and Rick Dearborn, chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile.

Canary also attended House Rules Committee meeting where members debated a rule governing consideration of the FY15 Agriculture Appropriations spending bill.

U.S. Rep. Aderholt, R-Haleyville, chairman of the Appropriations Agriculture subcommittee with jurisdiction over the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, Commodities Future Trading Commission, and Farm Credit Agency, testified on behalf of the bill. A rule was successfully passed to allow for consideration the next day. Debate on the bill is supposed to continue after next week.

The NAM's 2014 Manufacturing Summit held Tuesday and Wednesday allowed NAM members to connect with congressional representatives and discuss issues that affect business, employees, profits, and the future of manufacturing. The NAM's goal is to encourage Congress to advance the manufacturing agenda.

U.S. manufacturing is making a comeback. It contributed more than $2 trillion to the economy, creating jobs and investing in America. Taken alone, American manufacturing would be the eighth-largest economy in the world.

NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons in an op-ed piece said manufacturing, on behalf of 12 million employees, is engaging lawmakers because it understands that Washington can help make the difference between tepid growth and a full-fledged manufacturing comeback by adopting pro-growth and pro-manufacturing policy priorities.

Among the issues are easing a staggering regulatory burden of more than $14,000 per employee on compliance, and the highest corporate tax rate in the world.

Timmons said members urge Congress to establish a permanent research and development tax credit, encourage a trade agenda that opens markets and reauthorizes the Export-Import Bank, promote Federal job training programs, and emphasize an "all-of-the-above" strategy towards energy production.

The Ex-Im Bank is the official export credit agency of the United States and assists small and medium-size businesses with financing. The bank operates at no cost to the taxpayer, and it generates a profit for the government. Last year alone, the bank sent $1 billion to the U.S. Treasury.

The U.S. Chamber also seeks reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank charter that, without congressional approval, will expire in September. Reauthorization of the charter is also part of the BCA's 2014 federal legislative agenda. The U.S. Chamber also this week reacted to a Wall Street Journal article critical of the Ex-Im Bank. (See following post.)

The NAM has been critical of President Barack Obama's draconian power plant emission rules initiated by executive order that bypass Congress. The BCA supports efforts to delay implementation of EPA greenhouse gas regulations under the Clean Air Act because implementation will hurt business growth.

President Barack Obama signed a $12.3 billion water projects bill Tuesday that will finance $5 million in dredging at the Port of Mobile. Other improvements range from a harbor expansion in Boston to flood control in Iowa and North Dakota, the Associated Press reported.

Obama praised bipartisan cooperation and said he hoped it set a pattern for more agreement on spending on capital works projects. "Right now we should be putting a lot more Americans back to work rebuilding our infrastructure," he said.

The new law will pay for 34 new projects over the next 10 years. Its price tag is half the amount of the last water projects bill seven years ago. The bill contains no pork that in the past has angered the public and helped fuel an anti-government feeling. All of the projects were recommended by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Though some conservative groups argued the bill still contained unnecessary spending, it had broad support from state and local officials and business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AP reported.

Alabama members of Congress vote for VA support

AL.com (Gore 6/10) "Alabama's U.S. Representatives were among those casting their votes for a bill that gives veterans stuck on long wait lists for medical care the ability to seek treatment outside the current VA system. The bill, sponsored by the Committee on Veterans Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., passed 421-0 with unanimous support from Alabama's representatives.

"The passage comes just a day after a nationwide audit of VA healthcare facilities showed more than 57,000 new patients are waiting at least 90 days for their first medical appointment. Another 63,000 have not received an initial appointment in the last decade. The bill requires the VA to pay for patients' medical care through private doctors if they can't get an appointment within the department's wait time goals.

"Rep. Martha Roby, R-Montgomery, said the VA should put all its resources to work as it tries to meet the growing demands brought about from a flood of post 9/11-veterans. 'It's time to stop talking about ways to fix the problems and start taking action', she said. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Birmingham, echoed Roby's comments. 'Our veterans deserve prompt and quality health care. If the wait for treatment at a VA medical center is too long, veterans should have the choice of going to a hospital outside the system with the certainty that the costs will be paid. We need to strive for uniform excellence in the delivery of health care to veterans who have served the cause of freedom'."

Member of president's party rejects his energy plant rules

The Hill (Barron-Lopez 6/12) "Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) on Thursday slammed President Obama's climate change policies, arguing they would 'drive a stake through the heart of coal'. Heitkamp warned representatives from the natural gas industry that they will be the next regulatory target once the administration enacts new limits on carbon pollution from power plants.

"'When that is done, and the stake is through the heart of coal, they will come for you next', Heitkamp told executives at a Capitol Hill luncheon. The comment elicited nods of agreement from the crowd, along with some shocked expressions. Natural gas, the nation's second-largest energy source, has been touted by Obama as the crucial 'bridge fuel' that the U.S. needs to transition from fossil fuels to carbon-free alternatives.

"'We've got huge regulatory pressure on coal combined with lower natural gas prices causing fuel switching', Heitkamp said. Heitkamp's comments come nearly a week after the administration unveiled its key climate policy, aiming to cut carbon dioxide from existing power plants 30 percent by 2030.

"At a coal research conference earlier Thursday, Heitkamp vowed that coal would not die. 'In my lifetime we will not transition away from coal', Heitkamp said, despite reports from the EPA that the new rules will lead to a decrease in energy generation from coal. By 2030, the EPA expects electricity generation from coal to drop from 37 percent to roughly 30 percent."

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Energy states lead economic growth

FuelFix (Sebastian 6/11) "The energy industry was a major driver of economic growth in several of the nation's fastest-growing states last year, including Texas and the Rocky Mountain region, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

"The national gross domestic product, a measure of economic activity, grew 1.8 percent in 2013. Meanwhile, several states with thriving oil and natural gas industries, including North Dakota and Texas, saw economic growth of more than 3.5 percent.

"Still, the industry couldn't save some states from lackluster economic results. In the heart of the Marcellus Shale - a major natural gas production area - Pennsylvania and New York recorded GDP growth of less than 1 percent. And Alaska - the only state to show a decline in gross domestic product last year, falling 2.5 percent - suffered from a decline in oil production on the North Slope, according to the report. Alaska's oil production fell 2 percent in 2013."