BCA's Washington Briefing
follow us on facebook follow us on twitter follow us on youtube March 13, 2015

From left to right: Nancy Wall Hewston, Vice President of Communications, Strategic Information and Federal Affairs, BCA, Jeremy Arthur, President and CEO, Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama, U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Mobile, and BCA Vice Chair Tommy Lee, President and CEO, Vulcan, Inc.
EXPORT-IMPORT BANK'S SUCCESS AND VITAL IMPORTANCE TO SMALL BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTED AT MOBILE FORUM

 

The Business Council of Alabama was among the sponsors at the Global Access Exporter Forum, hosted by the Mobile Chamber of Commerce, that emphasized the importance of the Export-Import Bank of the United States for small- and medium-size businesses.

 

Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred H. Hochberg spoke of the importance of the Bank and how it can empower American small businesses with its ability to provide needed financing for overseas trading.

 

Hochberg said that while America's private sector capital markets are the highest-functioning and most efficient in the world, commercial banks don't always have the capacity or willingness to finance American businesses that want to sell goods and services overseas. "Ex-Im's role is to fill that gap," Hochberg said in his Chairman's Message.

 

The Ex-Im Bank is a charter entity, which must be renewed periodically by Congress. The bank's current charter expires June 30 but there is legislation in Congress to extend the charter.

 

The Ex-Im Bank helps thousands of U.S. small businesses, including many in Alabama, and a long-term reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank would ensure continued growth and increased employment.

 

BCA President and CEO William J. Canary urges Alabama companies that use the bank to directly or indirectly encourage both U.S. Sens. Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions, as well as their members of Congress, to support long-term reauthorization.

 

"Our delegation must hear from you that a vote against the Ex-Im Bank is a vote against you, it is a vote against the jobs you provide, it is a vote against the United States, and it is a vote to send Alabama jobs overseas," Canary said in a recent conference call.

 

The BCA has been working actively with 650 other organizations and businesses from 41 states to urge lawmakers to reauthorize the Bank. Just last week, the BCA contacted the 82 companies in Alabama that work directly with the Bank urging them to contact their Members of Congress in support of the Bank.

 

The Ex-Im Bank actually makes money for the U.S. Treasury, said U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Mobile, who attended Hochberg's presentation.

 

The BCA is part of a nationwide coalition of organizations and businesses that are for the Export-Import Bank's renewal. "Reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank is a crucial ingredient in the toolbox of dozens of Alabama businesses who employ at least 5,000 men and women in the business of exporting and importing," Canary said.


BCA Vice Chair Tommy Lee of Vulcan, Inc. in Foley, represented the BCA along with Nancy Wall Hewston, Vice President of Communications, Strategic Information and Federal Affairs, and Elaine Fincannon, Administrative Vice President for Investor Relations, Services and Development. Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama President and CEO Jeremy Arthur represented the statewide chamber membership organization.
EPA WAR ON COAL WILL CONTINUE TO CLOSE POWER PLANTS

 

President Barack Obama was right when he said under his plan electricity rates will skyrocket. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the seasonally adjusted electricity price index set a record for 2014 and set an even higher record in January.

 

The electricity price index was the only major energy component to increase at a time when oil-based energy indexes dropped.

 

Meanwhile, the war on coal is closing reliable, coal-fired power plants. The Energy Information Administration says that nearly 16 gigawatts of generating capacity are expected to disappear in 2015. Of that amount, 12.9 gigawatts are from coal-fired generation. And that's just a start. EPA carbon regulations will retire another 49 gigawatts of power production by 2020.

 

"It will also increase electricity costs," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said, because reliable and plentiful coal will be used less and less to generate electricity.

 

Most of the coal-fired plants that are closing are doing so because of EPA standards that require large coal- and oil-fired electric generators to meet stricter emission standards, the Chamber said.


The North American Electricity Reliability Corp. said removing those gigawatts of base-load power will mean a less-reliable power grid because the timeline proposed by the Obama Administration is not long enough to develop sufficient resources to ensure continued reliable operation, resulting in outages.
ACT NOW TO HELP STUDENTS PREPARE FOR MANUFACTURING JOBS

 

Earlier this month, the National Association of Manufacturers circulated a sign-on letter urging Congress to reauthorize an important program that directly impacts manufacturers: the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (the Perkins Act). The Perkins Act is an existing avenue to help students prepare for secondary and postsecondary education by providing access to federal dollars to offset the cost of career and technical education programs.

 

Reauthorization of the Perkins Act is a federal legislative priority of the BCA. Click here to sign the letter. The closing date is March 31.

 

The BCA is the exclusive Alabama affiliate for the National Association of Manufacturers.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 

Transportation Industry Seeks Gasoline Tax Hike

The Hill (Laing 3/12) "A group representing road builders said Thursday that the federal gas tax should be increased by 15 cents per gallon to help pay for infrastructure improvements. The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) said increasing the gas tax this year would raise $401 billion for new transportation spending. The gas tax hike could be offset with a 'federal tax rebate for middle and lower income Americans for six years', the group suggested.

 

"ARTBA President Pete Ruane said the tax increase was a more viable than other ideas that have been floated as a solution to a transportation shortfall that has bedeviled lawmakers for years, such as taxing oversees corporate profits. Transportation advocates have been pushing for an increase in the gas tax to help for infrastructure improvements for years as lawmakers have struggled to pass long-term federal highway bills.


"The gas tax, currently set at 18.4 cents per gallon, has been the traditional source of transportation funding since the 1930s. The tax has not been increased since 1993, however, and it has struggled to keep pace with rising construction costs as cars have become more fuel-efficient. The federal government typically spends approximately $50 billion per year on transportation projects, but the gas tax only brings in about $34 billion."

 

Manufacturers Applaud Action on the NLRB's 'Ambush Elections' Rule

NAM (Hennigan 3/4) "National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Vice President of Human Resources Policy Joe Trauger released the following statement on the Senate passage of S.J. Res. 8, a joint resolution to disapprove the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) rule regarding representation election procedures:

 

"'This vote sends a clear message to the Obama Administration that Congress will not stand idly by while the NLRB's aggressive agenda seeks to uproot longstanding labor policy. Manufacturers across the United States applaud this rebuke of an 'ambush elections' rule that robs employees of the ability to gather the facts needed to make an important and informed decision like whether or not to join a union and denies employers proper time to prepare. Manufacturers are tired of being the target of misinformed federal policy and unnecessarily restrictive regulations' In January, the NAM joined numerous other organizations to file suit to stop the NLRB from moving forward with this rule."


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

 
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CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
Sixth District
 U. S. Rep. Gary Palmer
202.225.4921

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