Free Republic

Well, the Bandwagon to Denver made it to Denver yesterday, where it was met by U.S. Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue, who held a press conference at the Denver Chamber of Commerce. Speaking with reporters at a briefing Tuesday morning in downtown Denver, near the arena hosting the Democratic National Convention, U.S. Chamber chief executive Tom Donohue said, “We are here because we want to work with the leaders of both parties, regardless of the outcome of the election, on a number of very, very critical issues in this country.” (CQ Politics) Donohue touted his appearance in the Mile...

Glenn Spencer, director of research at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, spoke to conservative bloggers at the Heritage Foundation about the left’s top legislative plan to pass “card-check.” Union numbers have been down in past years, and the passage of card check would mean violating a worker’s privacy at the voting booth when choosing whether or not to join a union. As of now, A worker’s vote is private, which means that the worker knows that neither a paid union official nor a supervisor will ever know how he voted. However, an Obama administration could very well change not only...

I'm a lifelong Republican - a supply-side conservative. I worked in the Reagan White House. I was the chief economist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for five years. In 1994, I helped write the Republican Contract with America. I served on Bob Dole's presidential campaign team and was chief economist for Jack Kemp's Empower America. This November, I'm voting for Barack Obama. When I first made this decision, many colleagues were shocked. How could I support a candidate with a domestic policy platform that's antithetical to almost everything I believe in? The answer is simple: Unjustified war and unconstitutional...

Civil lawsuits seek to compensate victims of negligence or wrongdoing, like the unlucky passer-by hit by a falling piano. But how much of a penalty should such suits exact, above and beyond compensation, in order to deter wrongdoing? What about someone traumatized by the sight of the accident, or maybe a whole class of potential victims? And whom can these people sue — the movers, the piano’s maker, its owner?

Vice President Cheney yesterday called for a substantial increase in domestic drilling for oil and other natural resources, including in environmentally sensitive areas, saying that only increased production -- and not new technology -- will satisfy the nation's demand for energy. "We are an economy that runs on petroleum. Some 20 million barrels of it a day. That can and will change over time, but it will be a very long time," said Cheney, former head of U.S. oil company Halliburton. "We'd be doing the whole country a favor if more of that oil were produced here at home." Cheney...

As Bush administration officials prepared Friday to finalize rules cracking down on employers of illegal immigrants, business and civil rights advocates continued to hammer the plan, calling it an expensive and ill-conceived attack on legitimate workers and their employers. The Department of Homeland Security closed a 30-day window Friday for public comments on a new version of its "no match" rule. Agency officials hope the new language will persuade a San Francisco federal judge to lift an injunction imposed in October and allow the regulations to go into effect. The no match rule would give employers 90 days to resolve...

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says he feels the pain of employers pinched by the federal government's intensified efforts to control illegal immigration. But until Congress enacts broad immigration reforms, businesses shouldn't expect any changes in enforcement. In an interview with The Associated Press, Chertoff said this week the rising complaints from businesses offer some evidence the Bush administration's approach is working. "This is harsh but accurate proof positive that for the first time in decades, we've succeeded in changing the dynamic and (are) actually beginning to reduce illegal immigration," Chertoff said. "Unfortunately, unless you counterbalance that with a robust...

Berkeley mayor, chamber on good terms By Doug Oakley STAFF WRITER Article Launched: 03/19/2008 03:00:38 AM PDT The love is back between Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and the city's Chamber of Commerce. Just a month after the chamber released a letter saying that Bates and the City Council hurt business by telling the Marine Corps and its recruiting center to get out of town, the mayor is back in the group's good graces. During a lunch Tuesday billed as "A Conversation with Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates," chamber board member Mark McLeod introduced Bates as "our mayor and our friend." Afterward, chamber...

One of the annoying attributes of global-warming scolds is their inability to practice what they preach. The US Chamber of Commerce produced a very amusing video last month explaining how much in carbon emissions the UN generated by insisting on conducting endless conferences on the issue. Today, the Los Angeles Times takes a look at the travel practices of Arnold Schwarzenegger, another booster of energy-production limits, and notices the stench of hypocrisy: Like many of the Californians he represents, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger now spends more than three hours commuting because he lives so far from the office. But his ride...

Some Berkeley business owners say they have received such a negative response from the recent City Council resolutions against the Marine Corps recruiting center in Downtown Berkeley that they may withhold city taxes in protest. Last week the council declared that the center was "unwelcome" in Berkeley and sought to aide Code Pink, a group that organizes regular protests outside the center, by reserving a parking space for the group in front of the center, among other actions. Since then, the resolutions have elicited a nationwide response. Last Thursday, United States Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said he would attempt to...

For all the shots that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) has taken at Wall Street and soaring executive pay on the campaign trail, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce seems unfazed about the prospect of a Huckabee White House. “My own view is we ought to listen carefully to what the governor is saying — he touches on notes that are worthy of attention,” said the Chamber’s president and chief executive, Tom Donohue, responding to reporters’ questions about Huckabee’s chances. But that’s as far as Donohue would go. He added that populist promises — such as the anti-trade positions Huckabee...

Unreasonable company anti-gun policies continue to cause major problems for working men and women. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce is trying to defend the indefensible ("Armed, dangerous to common sense." @issue Jan. 3). The Chamber believes that corporate interests trump civil rights. The National Rifle Association doesn't. Let me state our position for the record. The NRA believes individual, constitutional rights are guaranteed by our Bill of Rights. We strongly believe in private property rights. We also strongly believe that the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens should not be trampled by corporations on their publicly accessible parking lots. And we...

A broad coalition of Virginia business interests, including some of the most powerful trade groups in the state, has created an organization to oppose laws that would punish employers with undocumented workers on their payrolls. Virginia Employers for Sensible Immigration Policy was formed in anticipation of another flurry of legislation in the General Assembly seeking to crack down on undocumented residents and employers that hire them, business leaders said... The coalition's formation comes just after a bruising state and local election season during which public anxiety over illegal immigration figured prominently in many campaigns.... One proposal that failed last session...

Nov. 12, 2007 (SmartPros) -- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce expressed its disappointment over the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007, passed by the House on Friday. The nearly $80 billion bill includes provisions that provide alternative minimum tax relief, and extends a number of tax provisions set to expire this year. The bill is not "tax relief" as advertised in its title, the Chamber said, but a tax shift from individual taxpayers to businesses, putting American jobs and the economy at a disadvantage compared with our growing global competitors. "While the Chamber supports an extension of alternative minimum tax...

Those of us in the conservative movement have always been friendly to the business community. We believe in low taxes, a light touch on regulation, and we're stalwart champions of the free market. When liberals start talking about limiting CEO pay, harassing Wal-Mart, beating up on oil companies, or generally trying to place new burdens on the businesses, it's always movement conservatives who rise to their defense, even though it's sometimes not in our best political interests. Yes, we probably do fight a little harder because we view businessmen as political allies, but we genuinely, in our hearts and souls,...

Those of us in the conservative movement have always been friendly to the business community. We believe in low taxes, a light touch on regulation, and we're stalwart champions of the free market. When liberals start talking about limiting CEO pay, harassing Wal-Mart, beating up on oil companies, or generally trying to place new burdens on the businesses, it's always movement conservatives who rise to their defense, even though it's sometimes not in our best political interests. Yes, we probably do fight a little harder because we view businessmen as political allies, but we genuinely, in our hearts and souls,...

The California Chamber of Commerce and other establishment business groups are actively opposing Prop. 90, which would ban the abuse of eminent domain for economic development and require governments to pay compensation when they use downzoning and other regulations to take property. So the Chamber has sided with the big-government and leftist groups that believe that it's OK if average citizens must give up their homes and businesses to aid big developers, many of which are no doubt Chamber members. Here we see the reemergence of the long-simmering split between conservatives and the business establishment. Whenever the business guys face...

They used to call it the Mayor's Breakfast. "They" is the Chamber of Commerce. It was their breakfast they were hosting. But when the council removed Mayor Alex Bias from all council committee appointments and said it also wanted Mayor Bias removed from the Mayor's Breakfast, the Chamber of Commerce said "OK." Let's be clear about this. It was never the council's decision to make that the Mayor would no longer host the traditional breakfast meeting of the town. But the Chamber decided to take sides and has now made it official. Mayor Bias will not be speaking at the...

SAN DIEGO ---- Americans need to think of illegal immigrants as economic contributors and not law breakers, said five advocates for immigration reform Monday. The five advocates, including a farming advocate and a U.S. Chamber of Commerce director, spoke during a press conference in response to a hearing held by the U.S. House Government Reform Committee. The Republican-led committee met Monday in San Diego to discuss the costs of illegal immigration to San Diego County's educational, health and legal systems. Viewed in an economic sense, the advocates said, the loss of a labor force made up largely of illegal immigrants...

Despite the endless blathering and squirming to the contrary on the part of Wired Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the Cato Institute and other institutions that normally proclaim the truth of free-market economics, the Law of Supply and Demand applies to labor as much as to any other thing that is bought and sold. That is to say, if one increases the supply of labor relative to demand, its price will fall. That price is your salary, friend. And mass immigration is inexorably driving it down. Well, maybe not your salary personally, if you are lucky enough to work in...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Mexican President Vicente Fox told business leaders Friday that his country's re-engineered financial markets and competitive labor costs create a powerful investment opportunity. Speaking to a breakfast meeting of the California Chamber of Commerce, Fox said U.S. companies should use reduced trade barriers between North American nations to "bring one foot in Mexico, one foot in Canada, one foot in United States." "Maybe you raise capital in the United States; now you can raise capital at the same cost in Mexico," he said. The goal of a united North America, Fox said, should be "to regain competitiveness...

May 13, 2006--Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce [Thursday] that the instant-gratification generation thinks "work is a four-letter word," " Clinton grumbled that today's youths "think they're entitled to go right to the top with $50,000 or $75,000 jobs when they have not done anything to earn their way up." She made no mention of her daughter, Chelsea, 26, who snagged a six-figure consulting spot in the New York office of London-based McKinsey & Company after receiving her master's degree from Oxford in 2003. The comments by the Democrats' 2008 White House front-runner is surprising-considering how...

America's borders -- land, sea and air -- are our primary ports of entry for billions of dollars in goods and services, along with millions of tourists, business visitors, workers, and other foreign nationals who contribute to our national economy. The events of September 11 also indicate that some have used our borders as an entryway for these evil and malicious attacks. As a result, many have called for increased checks and "tightening" of our borders. While such proposals are understandable, and improvements are clearly needed, difficult questions remain about the potential severe impact to our economy of any improperly...

Bee-Picayune staff - The Bee County Chamber of Commerce released a statement Thursday against the proposed gas boycott. The chamber of commerce board of directors voted unanimously not to support a resolution urging citizens of Bee County to boycott ExxonMobil. The decision was made after a thorough discussion, according to Chamber Executive Director Pam Stuart. Chamber board members did recognize the hardship placed on everyone as a result of soaring gas prices. The board cited reasons as: • it is the mission of the chamber to support businesses and this would be detrimental to a local business, • the resolution...

SACRAMENTO — A television ad campaign portrayed as an independent effort to help Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been bankrolled partly by a group with deep ties to his political operation. An official with the New Majority, a Southern California Republican group at the core of Schwarzenegger's fundraising apparatus, said its members have given about $1 million to the Washington, D.C., business group that is the public face of the ads: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. By pumping the ad money through the chamber, well-heeled New Majority members have bypassed requirements that their donations be publicly disclosed. And they skirted the...

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is opening a statewide ad campaign in support of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The desperate circumstances of California politics is mirrored by the campaign’s primary slogan: “Schwarzenegger—Not Nearly as Awful as the Jackass the Democrats Will Run Against Him.” “It’s not the pithiest of slogans,” admitted Chamber spokesman Jorge Lame. “The governor hasn’t been a star performer, but he definitely is the lesser of evils. So, we decided to go with what’s believable.”

Republicans Receive High Grades on U.S. Chamber Report Card By Greg Giroux   |   8:24 PM; Mar. 15, 2006 The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today identified members of Congress who sided with the prominent business federation most frequently on key legislation last year. In all, 308 members of Congress — or nearly 60 percent of the membership — qualified for the Chamber’s “Spirit of Enterprise Award,” which was bestowed on those who backed the Chamber’s preferred position at least 70 percent of the time last year. The ratings are based on 27 votes in the House and 18...

A meeting of civic, business and government leaders from both sides of the border yesterday was intended to foster economic integration of San Diego County and Baja California. But participants in the Forum Fronterizo soon found themselves addressing a very different topic: illegal immigration and the proposal for a new border fence. “Building a wall is an anachronism,” said Jessie J. Knight Jr., president and chief executive of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. “Nobody can possibly believe that this is the solution. . . . There are other ways to ensure security.” The Forum Fronterizo, sponsored by the...

SACRAMENTO — A national business group is opening a statewide ad campaign lauding Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his agenda, without disclosing how much it is spending on the commercials or where the money is coming from. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose governing board includes major donors to Schwarzenegger's political campaigns, launched a 30-second television spot that coincides with Schwarzenegger's efforts to pass an ambitious public works plan and win a second term. Chamber official Eric Wohlschlegel would not reveal what the ad campaign costs. Money to pay for it comes from member dues, he said. The chamber does not...

WASHINGTON — Conservatives love to quote Ronald Reagan at every opportunity, to invoke him as the exemplar of their ideology. But in their winter of discontent, many on the right are breaching Reagan's 11th commandment, which decrees that no Republican shall ever speak ill of another. And the target of their ire is President Bush. At the dawn of a crucial election year — and with all the polls indicating that the Democrats are poised to make gains in the House and Senate — the Bush White House is banking on a big, enthusiastic conservative turnout in November. But that...

TALLAHASSEE A bill being pushed by the NRA to allow people to keep guns in their cars on workplace parking lots faces a tough challenge from the powerful Florida Chamber of Commerce. TALLAHASSEE - The National Rifle Association is pushing a bill that would penalize Florida employers with prison time and lawsuits if they prohibit people from keeping guns in their cars at workplace parking lots. But the proposal is facing stiff opposition from a group just as powerful in the state capital as the NRA: Florida's biggest business lobby. Mark Wilson, a vice president of Florida's Chamber of Commerce,...

The editorial page of The Washington Times has reviewed the interest-group and ideological ratings and rankings of the three Republican House members -- John Boehner of Ohio (first elected in 1990), John Shadegg of Arizona (1994) and Roy Blunt of Missouri (1996) -- seeking the post of House majority leader, which Tom DeLay permanently vacated recently. >snip Mr. Shadegg, who has compiled five 100% ratings in 10 years from the American Conservative Union (ACU), has a lifetime ACU rating of 97.6. With four 100% ratings over 14 years, Mr. Boehner's lifetime ACU rating is 93.4. Mr. Blunt, who has received...

Arizona business and political backers of a guest worker program for immigrants wishing to work in the U.S. are getting some top-level backing. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is teaming with top labor unions, other business interests and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in support of a guest worker program and legal way for undocumented workers already in the U.S. to stay in the country. Arizona Sen. John McCain and Congressmen Jeff Flake and Jim Kolbe, as well as the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, are top pushers of a controversial guest worker program. Joining the U.S. Chamber...

Guest worker plan: Horns lock on immigration By Mason Stockstill, Staff Writer The Republican National Committee closed ranks in favor of the president's guest-worker plan on Friday, solidifying the party's support for an immigration proposal that has stoked contentious debate since it was first introduced. Randy Pullen, an RNC member who opposes the plan, had attempted to force a vote on the issue. Pullen later withdrew his resolution, and the committee voted for a resolution that opposed amnesty for illegal immigrants. The tempest over the resolution -- a nonbinding action that would have no impact on border security legislation pending...

Sometimes, silence is golden. Silence should be the American policy as Iran takes the first steps toward becoming a member of the World Trade Organization. Next month, when the WTO reviews Iran’s request to have its membership application considered, the Bush Administration should not raise any objections. Considering our history of conflict with Iran, keeping mum on its WTO application might appear, on first thought, to be an unnatural reaction. But having Iran join the WTO waiting list is in the best interests of the United States, the global community, and Iran. How does the U.S. benefit from Iran’s WTO...

Small business beware, your larger cousin, big-business has dropped their arrows, washed off their war paint and even shot their horses (presumably for food since there will be a long cold winter ahead). Recent media reports suggest that business and industry in California are no longer going to put up a fight against union demands that hurt our overall economy and end up costing jobs. Bill Dombrowski is the President and CEO of the California Retailers Association. He recently told the Orange County Register that the governor's proposal to increase the minimum wage in the state by $1 an hour...

NEW YORK, JANUARY 6: As the debate rages over the Indo-US nuclear deal, the US corporate sector has decided to come out strongly in support of it. In order to ensure the passage of the legislation in the US Congress, the US Chamber of Commerce, comprising of some three million American companies, along with the US India Business Council has set up a ‘Coalition of Partnership with India’. The first meeting of the Coalition is slated to be held before the Congress returns from recesses later this month. Ron Somers, president of the US India Business Council, said the American...

U.S. Faces Severe Worker Shortage in Future By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer 40 minutes ago WASHINGTON - The United States faces a severe worker shortage in the near future, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Wednesday in advocating better education for Americans and changes in immigration law to allow in more foreign workers. Chamber President and CEO Thomas Donohue, at a news conference outlining business prospects in 2006, said the country is ill-prepared to deal with the impending retirement of 77 million baby boomers. "We have yet to secure an adequate supply of working taxpayers to run a growing...

The House Republican leadership and the nation's business lobby, usually close allies, are battling each other over the issue of immigration. Lobby groups including the Chamber, the National Restaurant Association and the Associated General Contractors of America are so vehement in their opposition that they will consider lawmakers' votes on the bill a key measure of whether they will support them in the future. Still, acting House Majority Leader Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) appears to welcome the chance to disagree with his normal confederates. "Congressman Blunt sees no problem with being in a different place from the Chamber on this legislation,"...

WASHINGTON -- Taxing hybrids and other fuel-efficient cars and billing drivers for miles driven are among the approaches being suggested to avert a shortfall in money to maintain the nation's highways.

Proposals for the longer term could be more controversial. One is that owners of hybrids and other alternative fuel vehicles pay a vehicle fee, the argument being that drivers should bear their fair share to fill the potholes and fix the bridges, regardless of how much or what kind of fuel they use. In the same vein, the report said federal and state governments should begin moving from the fuel tax to a mileage-based system. The current tax, in place since 1956, could have diminishing returns as cars become more fuel efficient and if Americans, turned off by rising gas...

Chamber Suggests Taxing Hybrids and Billing Drivers By the Mile Source: Associated Press Publication date: 2005-11-25 WASHINGTON--The U-S Chamber of Commerce is suggesting the federal government tax hybrids and other fuel-efficient cars. The chamber says the federal Highway Trust Fund is running out of money to maintain the nation's highways, and that Congress needs to consider new sources of revenue. Chamber leaders also are suggesting billing drivers for miles driven. The study also recommends the federal gas tax of about 18 cents a gallon be indexed for inflation. Why tax hybrids and other alternative fuel vehicles? Proponents say drivers should...

Two days after the special election, the California Chamber of Commerce held its post-election powwow in the former Four Seasons hotel in Newport Beach. The talk of the two-day affair was the keynote speech from campaign strategist Mike Murphy, who told the room full of business leaders that they were to blame for the governor’s defeat. Numerous sources in attendance said Murphy chided the business community for not matching the spending by labor unions during the election. And because of the governor’s defeat, Murphy warned the room that they should prepare for some uncomfortable moments in the year ahead. Murphy...

For six months starting in September 2004, Rob Reiner hosted "house parties" every week, sometimes at his Beverly Hills home. The guests did not talk about Hollywood or the actor/director's new movie starring Jennifer Aniston. They talked about politics and public school and the monumental idea of offering each California 4-year-old free preschool for a year. It was an odd group of folks at the table: union officials, business leaders, early childhood experts and sometimes civil rights advocates and attorneys. Instead of spending massive amounts countering criticism during a campaign, Reiner took a novel approach, spending the time to get...

— Combating the image of violence along the Texas-Tamaulipas border brought 19 chambers of commerce from both states together Tuesday for the first binational conference of many to come, organizers said. “Security is the problem of both countries — not just one,” said the president of Tamaulipas chambers of commerce Eduardo Jesús Melhem Kuri. Representatives from 13 chambers of commerce in Tamaulipas and six in Texas signed a binational agreement aimed at increasing tourism, improving security and streamlining transportation infrastructure between the two countries. “We’re trying to do what the government can’t do,” said Bill Summers, president of the Rio...

Sensing public outrage over business corruption in America is waning, some in the corporate community are seizing on the shift in mood to try to roll back reforms, say top U.S. officials and academics. "There's clearly a rearguard action going on," said Maryland Democratic Sen. Paul Sarbanes in an interview three years after the Enron debacle that led to his co-authoring of landmark corporate governance and accounting reforms in 2002. Business scandals are now daily fare for Americans, from the prison sentencing on Friday of a former top Boeing Co. executive to revelations of abusive trading in the mutual fund...

<p>WACO, Texas — Not far from the ranch where President Bush is spending the holidays, the impact of the war in Iraq is being driven home in this city of 113,000.</p> <p>In the biggest single call-up of the Texas National Guard since World War II, 3,300 citizen-soldiers are preparing to ship out for a year of combat duty in Iraq, the largest contingent to date that the state has sent there.</p>

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 - Retirees who receive health benefits from their former employers saw premiums shoot up an average of 25 percent this year, a new study says. The study, issued Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates, showed a continued erosion of retiree health benefits among large employers. Companies are requiring retirees to pay a larger share of premiums and other health costs. While continuing to provide coverage for people who have already retired, about 8 percent of large private employers took action in the last year to end all subsidized health benefits for future retirees, and...

To the editor: I noticed in the business section of the paper that the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce plans to bring Steve Doocy of "Fox and Friends" to Lawrence for an awards dinner. Fox News is not news, nor are they anyone's friend. The policies of Fox News are an insult and disgrace to what America stands for. To think this is the moral/business standard that the Chamber of Commerce is promoting frightens me for the future of Lawrence. Perhaps the Chamber might consider choosing a speaker from among the many ethical newspeople that have left the station because they...

U.S. Attorney's Office Asks For Change In Federal Guidelines SAN DIEGO -- In an exclusive 10News report, investigative reporter Thom Jensen learned that the San Diego Office of the U.S. Attorney has advised the Border Patrol they want to change the way the Department of Justice does business. In a letter written by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Peak to Paul Blocker, Jr., acting chief patrol agent, he said, "We believe it appropriate to revise our prosecution guidelines in criminal alien cases." Peak said the local U.S. Attorney's Office resources are limited and they have other "enforcement priorities." He told the...