With the economy “consistently high,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is pushing Congress to “rebuild the governing center,” Thomas J. Donohue, president/ceo, said this morning. “Governing by crisis is no way to do the nation’s business,” he added.
“Leadership and bipartisanship should be rewarded, not punished,” Neil J. Bradley, EVP and Chief Policy Officer, added.
So, for the first time in 40 years, the Chamber is revising the way it rates Senators and Representatives. While voting in accord with the Chamber’s legislative priorities will remain key, accounting for 80% of the score, the scorecard will now also take into consideration “legislative leadership” — the number of Chamber-endorsed bill a member cosponsors and the number of Chamber-opposed bills the member declines to cosponsor. This “legislative leadership” score will represent 10% of the total score.
A third component, the “Bipartisan Engagement Score” will be based on the share of bills (other than those formally opposed by the Chamber) cosponsored by the member that were introduced by members of the other party. This score will be calculated relative to the member’s performance against all other members, the Chamber said.
For example, “if a Republican member cosponsors 31 bills in total, and 19 were introduced by Democrats, 62% of his cosponsored bill will be considered cross-part. If his 62% is higher than 80% of all other members, his Bipartisan Engagement Score will be 80%,” the Chamber explained.
The Chamber’s Congressional Scorecard is important because it helps determine who the chamber supports.
Why the change? “Many of Washington’s troubles could be helped by rebuilding the political center and restoring responsible government,” Donohue explained.
Donohue said the economy is “consistently high” and added business leaders say they are encouraged by stronger economic growth.
“We have achieved a growth rate in the last year that many ‘experts’ claimed was out of reach,” he said, adding: “It was driven in no small part by deregulation and tax reform. The Chamber projects continued growth of around 2.6% for 2019, and for unemployment to remain low, wages to keep expanding and inflation in the range of the Fed’s target of 2%.”
Workforce will be a key focus this year. “We have people without jobs – who lack the skills or education to fill open positions. And we have jobs without people – employers tell us positions are sitting vacant because they can’t find workers they need, when and where they need them.”
Donohue called for strengthening K-12 education, and smart choices in post-secondary education or training. “We must change the way we think about, accredit and fund post-secondary education.”
He called for businesses to regularly train and retain their employees so their skills remain sharp and relevant.
Veterans and military spouses should have new opportunities to transition into the civilian workforce, and older Americans ‘should have incentives to work well past 65. The formerly incarcerated should have a second change at building a productive life, starting with a stable job.
Saying “we must continue to attract and welcome industrious and innovative people from all over the world,” Donohue called for fixing our broken immigration system.” This should start with “protection for the Dreamers and long-term Temporary Protected State beneficiaries and the resources necessary to fix the border, he said.
As he has in the past, Donohue called for passage of a significant infrastructure package this year. Everyone agrees investing in infrastructure is a major national priority, but there’s no sense of urgency, he said.
“The challenge is how to pay for it. A modest increase in the motor vehicle fuel user free – which hasn’t be adjusted in 25 years – is a big part of the solution,” Donohue said. “The chamber is also open to viable alternatives – but we haven’t heard too many other ideas.” So the chamber is offering cash prizes totaling $25,000 to those who can come up “with the best, most viable ideas for a long-term stable funding source for infrastructure.” Details will be posted on uschamber.com Monday, Jan. 14.
Turning to global trade, Donohue said “we must advance strong new trade deals, starting with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).” “Now that we’ve struck a deal with Canada and Mexico, the Administration must make good on its repeated promise to remove the steel and aluminum tariffs,” he added.
The Chamber supports the Trump Administration’s negotiations to address China’s theft of intellectual property, forced technology transfer practices, and other unfair trade and industrial policies. “What we don’t support is a trade war,” he added.
The Chamber is also going to take on activist investors, proxy advisory firms, mass and class action lawyers as well as “some political activists and politicians, pursuing regulatory and legislative changes that make it easier for businesses to go and stay public and that allow companies to focus on long-term growth.”