BCA's Washington Briefing
follow us on facebook follow us on twitter follow us on youtube Sept. 18, 2015


DON'T SAY GE DIDN'T WARN US; PRESIDENT URGES A NEW VOTE ON BANK
 
As promised, General Electric is moving jobs from the United States to Europe because Congress didn't renew the charter to the Export-Import Bank of the United States when it had the opportunity to do so this summer.

But there may be some movement toward renewing the charter, as reported by CQ-Roll Call. 

President Barack Obama on Wednesday called on Congress to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank and said that small businesses are being hurt by the lack of its financing.

The BCA supports renewing the charter of the bank that provided $20.5 billion in financing for U.S. export deals last year. Ninety percent of those transactions benefited small businesses.

"Reauthorizing the bank's charter will help Alabama businesses remain competitive on price and quality," BCA President and CEO William J. Canary said.

The bank stopped issuing new financing on July 1 but continues to service existing financial arrangements.

GE Aviation CEO David Joyce said "the uncertainty around the Ex-Im Bank in the U.S. requires that companies like GE create alternatives in order to compete internationally."

GE said it plans to create a turboprop engine development, test, and production center in Europe that will employ between 500 and 1,000 people, Business Journals reported. The location will enable GE to secure financing for its customers through export credit agencies, something the U.S. has lacked since July 1, when the Ex-Im Bank's charter expired.

GE Aviation in Evendale, Ohio, also plans to expand operations in Canada and Brazil, where export credit agency financing is available. "Right now, across the entire company, GE has $11 billion in sales opportunities in the pipeline requiring ECA financing," Joyce said.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Speaker John A. Boehner wants the House to vote to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank. Hoyer said Wednesday that he and the Ohio Republican have spoken several times about reviving the bank's lapsed charter, CQ-Roll Call reported.

"He knows how strongly I feel about the Export-Import Bank being critically important and we had a positive conversation," Hoyer said.

Boehner has never permanently shut the door to the concept of reauthorization, though he has said the House would consider it only under specific scenarios - if a reauthorization bill comes from the Financial Services Committee and if the Senate sends reauthorization language over to the House. Neither has happened.

"The Ex-Im Bank is a critical tool, and its reauthorization remains a top priority for manufacturers," Lauren Wilk, director of trade facilitation policy for the National Association of Manufacturers, said in June.
SESSIONS, SHELBY CO-SPONSOR WOTUS REPEAL LEGISLATION
 
Alabama's U.S. senators, Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions, are co-sponsors of a joint resolution seeking to disapprove the ruinous Waters of the U.S. Rule that was foisted on the American people by the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers without federal law backing.

Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, and Sessions, R-Mobile, joined sponsor Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and 44 other co-sponsors who want to end this harmful rule that threatens the livelihood of rural communities nationwide and who want to work to establish the needed certainty for farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, small businesses and other land owners.

The WOTUS Rule expands the scope of federal authority over land and waterways in the United States under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly known as WOTUS. Senator Ernst's resolution would nullify this ill-conceived rule sending a message to the EPA and ACE that they failed to address the concerns raised by farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and small businesses in Iowa and across the country.

"Simply put, this one size fits all method is the wrong approach that puts our agriculture community at a disadvantage, Ernst said."

In addition to Shelby and Sessions, original co-sponsors to the resolution include Senators Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Roy Blunt, R-Mo., John Boozman, R-Ariz., Richard Burr, R-N.C., Shelly Moore Capito, R-West Va., Dan Coats, R-Ind., Thad Cochran, R-Miss., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Steve Daines, R-Mont., Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Dean Heller, R-Nev., John Hoeven, R-N.D., Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., James Lankford, R-Okla., Mike Lee, R-Utah, John McCain, R-Ariz., Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Rand Paul, R-Ky., David Perdue, R-Ga., Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Ben Sasse, R-Neb., Tim Scott, R-S.C., Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, John Thune, R-S.D., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Pat Toomey, R-Pa., David Vitter, R-La., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
CONGRESS FACES LATE OCTOBER DEADLINE ON HIGHWAY FUNDING
 
Lawmakers need to act by Oct. 29 to renew highway infrastructure spending even though the Transportation Department said that it has enough money to cover payments to states for transportation projects until next June.

Previously, the $8 billion extension that was passed by Congress in July for the beleaguered highway fund was thought to include only enough money to last until the end of this year, the Hill reported.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Fox said Thursday in a blog post that lawmakers should speed up efforts to complete a long-term highway bill. "With the recent funding infusion that Congress authorized in July, we anticipate the cash balance of the highway account staying above zero until June 2016, but that is far from the whole story," he wrote.

The Business Council of Alabama has long supported increased investment in transportation infrastructure.

In Alabama, the BCA is a member of the Partnership for Alabama's Vision for Economic Development, a coalition of economic developers, business groups, local chambers of commerce, counties, cities, industry leaders, and others who are committed to making the need for improving Alabama's roads the centerpiece of the discussion on expanding efforts to recruit and grow industry.

The BCA urges Congress to pass a viable long-term transportation bill that will fund infrastructure improvements for years. "And with only a little more than six weeks remaining until October 29, it is not the time to surrender the urgency of our fight for a long-term transportation bill that truly meets our infrastructure needs," Foxx blogged.
BCA SIGNS MULTI-INDUSTRY LETTER URGING REGULATORY ACCOUNTABILITY
 
The Business Council of Alabama has signed a multi-industry letter that was sent to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs urging passage of S. 2006, the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2015.
 
Signed by 386 other businesses, organizations, associations, and chambers of commerce, representing every state, the letter sends a strong message that this bipartisan bill will improve how federal agencies write the regulations that most significantly affect the U.S. economy.

The letter also was sent to the entire committee.

"This critical bipartisan bill would bring into the 21st century the process federal agencies use when they write the regulations that most significantly affect the lives of all Americans," said the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the BCA's national partner, which led the effort.

Chamber members who represent a broad range of industries from all across the country believe that federal regulations must be narrowly tailored, supported by strong and credible data and evidence, and impose the least burden possible while still implementing Congressional intent.

America's regulatory process was designed nearly 70 years ago and badly written regulations are producing a growing number of massive, costly, and complex rules that breed uncertainty and stifle hiring and investment. These growing regulatory burdens and the uncertainty of them are a fundamental concern to business.

S. 2006 would improve the process by which federal agencies promulgate regulations to improve accountability and the integrity of the rulemaking process, the Chamber said. The bill would not prevent federal agencies from issuing regulations or accomplishing needed regulatory objectives but it would make the regulatory process more transparent, agencies more accountable, and regulations more carefully designed.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS LAUNCHES 2016 ELECTION CENTRAL
 
The Business Council of Alabama's national partner, the National Association of Manufacturers, has launched its 2016 Election Center that will help employers get out the vote next year.

Although there are more than 12 million manufacturing workers in the United States, a NAM survey conducted earlier this year showed that only 17 percent of them had heard from their employers about the importance of voting during the 2014 elections.

"We are committing more resources this election cycle to our Get-Out-The-Vote efforts than in past elections," said Amy Rawlings, Executive Director, State Associations Group and NAM Allies. "An aggressive approach is needed to get all manufacturing voters to the polls as part of our great nation's political process. But for our work to succeed, we need you to join us."

Rawlings said the recently re-designed 2016 NAM Election Center webpage will serve as a central hub for all of the NAM's election resources and information. It contains tools that member companies and their employees need to register to vote, best-practice information for building a successful voter education program, and candidate Voter Guides on key federal races later in 2016.

"It has all the resources you need to talk legally and effectively with your employees about voting," Rawlings said.

Manufacturers, please take the time to encourage your leaders to use the NAM voter education and turnout effort materials. We all know this is a pivotal election for the nation's manufacturers, and the NAM stands ready to assist you every step of the way. Encourage your members, employees, family, and friends to be Manufacturing Voters in 2016.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 
National Association of Manufacturers Urges Action on Onenous Ozone Regulations
NAM (Bertelsen/Eisenberg Undated) "Communities and manufacturers throughout the United States have been working hard to lower ozone levels over the last four decades - and it's working...According to EPA, ground-level ozone is down nearly 20 percent over the last decade and by 33 percent since 1980. Out west, states have reduced their ozone production by 21 percent in recent years.

"A new study from NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab finds that pollution migrating here from China is undermining that progress. Even though states, businesses and individuals are doing their part to reduce ozone-forming emissions and seeing great success, they can't stop invasive Chinese pollution from impeding that progress. It's time to tell EPA that it shouldn't be punishing states with more restrictive ozone rules."
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CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
Sixth District
 U. S. Rep. Gary Palmer
202.225.4921

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