Today Senators Shaheen (D-NH) and Portman (R-OH) hosted a press conference with industry leaders, including NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons, to roll out The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, also known as S.1000. This legislation’s goal is to help spur the use of energy efficiency technologies for commercial, industrial and residential use. This will help create jobs and lower costs for manufacturers.

In a town where there are few issues where we can find agreement on important issues, energy efficiency is an area where we can all find common ground. According to Senator Portman, “This is about getting something done.”

The bill is headed for a hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee next week which is great news.

Energy efficiency is paramount to the competitiveness of manufacturers and our energy future. It is a solution to help lower costs for businesses of all sizes. In addition, the innovation and development of energy efficient technologies creates manufacturing jobs.

Manufacturers are already taking steps to improve energy efficiency. The Volvo Group has partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Better Buildings, Better Plants Program. The company has pledged to reduce its energy intensity in all of its U.S. manufacturing plants by 25 percent during a 10-year period. The Volvo Group’s New River Valley truck plant in Dublin, VA has already achieved a major milestone by reducing its energy intensity by nearly 30 percent in just one year. (continue reading…)

Today National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Vice President of Energy and Resources Policy Ross Eisenberg testified before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources hearing on the Northern Route Approval Act, H.R. 3. This legislation is sponsored by Rep. Lee Terry which would bring to a close the unnecessarily long and protracted regulatory process for the Keystone XL pipeline, allowing the project to move forward.

The Keystone XL pipeline is a clear job creator and a clear example of Washington hold manufacturing back. Keystone XL has been studied more than any other pipeline according to Eisenberg with the Final EIS concluding the project would have no significant impact and be safer than other domestic pipelines. From Eisenberg’s testimony:

“It bears repeating that Keystone XL has been studied for five years. The average NEPA environmental impact statement (EIS) only takes 3.4. The final EIS produced by the State Department in 2011 was an 8,000-page behemoth spanning eight volumes. It analyzed greenhouse gas emissions, environmental justice, geology and soils, water resources, wetlands, terrestrial vegetation, wildlife, fishery resources, threatened and endangered species, cultural resources, air quality and noise, land use, recreation and visual resources, socioeconomics, cumulative impacts and environmental impacts in Canada. Each area received a thorough, exhaustive analysis; for instance, the sage grouse received 100 pages by itself. The three-year EIS process included numerous public meetings, hundreds of thousands of public and agency comments and publication of a Draft EIS, a Supplemental Draft EIS and the 8,000-page Final EIS. The Final EIS concluded that the project would have no significant impact and would actually be safer than any other typically constructed domestic oil pipeline system.”

Subcommittee member Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) has been a supporter of the project and he said that the project will be part of ourenergy future and that “the due diligence is done.”  Costa added, “I’ve supported various efforts, but I wish we’d develop a more rational way of making decisions.” (continue reading…)

Today the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a confirmation hearing for the EPA’s Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation Gina McCarthy, President Obama’s nominee for EPA administrator.

Several senators had questions about the EPA’s proposed regulations and their impact on the economy as well as the continued act of what is known as “sue and settle” by the agency. Senator Vitter (R-LA) asked McCarthy if the EPA would change its process regarding “sue and settle” and alert other stakeholders when legal action is taken.

The NAM sent a letter yesterday to Acting EPA Administrator Bob Perciasepe asking the agency to please provide some sort of alert system for each time a lawsuit is filed against the agency or if they receive a notice of legal action.

Senator Inhofe (R-OK) asked McCarthy if the EPA planned to make any changes to the proposed greenhouse gas rule on for new power plants and she did not provide any information on the agency’s plan for the rule. This rule would essentially prevent the construction of any new coal burning power plants and several types of new gas-fired power plants. Manufacturers believe we should continue to take advantage of all sources of energy, including but not limited to coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear, renewables, and energy efficiency. Lower energy prices help manufacturers better compete and taking some sources off the table  will only hurt our long term competitiveness.

Moving forward we would like the EPA to take into careful consideration the cost and economic impact of all regulations proposed by the agency.

Today the Washington International Trade Association held the third panel of a four part breakfast series on the Transpacific Partnership (TPP). The title of today’s panel was “U.S. Priorities and Objectives” and focused on many of the important issues that are part of the TPP talks when it comes to manufacturers, exporters, American workers and the environment.

The NAM's Linda Dempsey speaks during a WITA panel discussion on the TPP.

National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Vice President of International Economic Policy Linda Dempsey participated in the panel discussion along with Stephen Schaefer of ECAT, Ilana Solomon of the Sierra Club and Thea Lee of the AFL-CIO. The panelists engaged in a robust discussion on what each group is looking for in the TPP negotiations.

Market opening agreements like the TPP are essential to the competitiveness of manufacturers in the United States. With 95 percent of the world’s consumers outside of the U.S. we have to find ways to lower trade barriers to increase U.S. manufactured goods exports. “The U.S. can’t sit around and just sell to itself,” said Dempsey.

One topic the panelists could agree on was the need for strong enforcement of an agreement. It doesn’t do much good to have an agreement with high standards if it is not enforced, which is absolutely necessary to give manufacturers a level playing field.

Today’s panel was a good discussion of the many different points of view on the TPP. Manufacturers are committed to continuing to work with the Administration and Congress to ensure a robust outcome to the TPP negotiations that strengthen opportunities for manufacturers in the United States.

Today, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) hosted a Shopfloor briefing for congressional staff about the need to move the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) this year. Our nation’s inland waterways are critical to the competitiveness of our nation’s manufacturers and it’s critical that we continue to make strategic investments.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) speaks at the NAM Shopfloor Event on the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Chairman of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Bob Gibbs (R-OH) addressed the group and discussed the need for a WRDA bill to improve our competitiveness and answered questions about the process for moving a bill forward this year.

Manufacturing executives including Alicia Meads of CF Industries Holdings, Rob Roberson of Nucor Steel Berkeley and Matt Woodruff of Kirby Corporation joined NAM Director of Transportation and Infrastructure Policy Robyn Boerstling for a panel discussion on the importance of our nation’s inland waterways, ports and harbors.

Commodities and products critical to manufacturing like coal, steel, fertilizer, petroleum, chemicals and grain among others, move efficiently on the nation’s 12,000 miles of commercially navigable and intra-coastal waterways. WRDA legislation ensures sustained investment in these commercially relevant waterways so that manufacturing inputs are received and finished products delivered.

In late March the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved WRDA legislation and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said they plan to move forward with a bill in the coming weeks. Investment in our nation’s inland waterways is essential to our competitiveness. We can’t afford for another incident similar to what happened last year on the Mississippi River which would harm manufacturers and drive up costs.

In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal Georg P. Schultz and Gary S. Becker wrote about their support for a carbon tax. They state that a carbon tax would put all Americans on a level playing field.

Back in February the National Association of Manufacturers released the results of an extensive study conducted by the non-partisan NERA Economic Consulting. The study looks at two carbon tax scenarios: one levied at $20 per ton increasing at 4 percent and the other designed to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 80 percent. Both cases would have a negative impact on the economy.

Energy costs for families would increase as would the costs to use natural gas. Most states would see an increase in gas prices of 20 cents a gallon. During a time when families and small businesses are still struggling this would be an added cost they just can’t afford.

Today the NFIB released the results of their small business sentiment survey which showed small business confidence still down. Business owners are anxious about the economy and soft growth in sales.

Manufacturers are looking to Washington for pro-growth policies which will allow manufacturers to grow and take full advantage of our nation’s energy resources. And a carbon tax could potential have costly consequences for our economy.

In today’s Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson writes about the current state of manufacturing in the United States. In the piece he makes a very interesting claim that the services industry in the United States depends on manufacturing.

It’s a mistake to romanticize manufacturing and disparage services, portraying them as separate economic realms in competition with each other. In reality, they’re completely intertwined. Almost all services depend on manufactured products. Air travel requires planes, the Internet needs computers, and health care dispenses pharmaceuticals. And almost all manufactured products generate services. Cars provide transportation, homes give shelter, and films offer entertainment. There’s plenty of industry left in post-industrial America.

His assertion that all manufactured products generate services would explain why manufacturing still has the largest multiplier effect of any other industry. For every $1 that is spent in manufacturing, another $1.48 is added to the economy.

With the right policies in place from the NAM’s Growth Agenda manufacturing can lead our economy and begin to create jobs for American workers. The natural gas boom is a clear game-changer that is making manufacturers more competitive and we can’t afford to squander this tremendous advantage. It’s time for policymakers in Washington to move forward with pro-growth policies so we can expand the manufacturing multiplier effect.

The clock continues to tick and we are now more than three months pas the expiration of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) at the end of the 112th Congress and as a result, manufacturers both large and small have seen their costs spike substantially this year.  The 113th Congress must act quickly in order to reverse this tax increase on manufacturers in the United States.

Fans are assembled on the shopfloor at Lasko Products

Companies of all sizes benefit from the MTB to help level the playing field for manufacturers in the U.S. The MTB cuts costs by reducing or eliminating tariffs on critical manufacturing inputs that are not available in the United States. The lack of action by Congress on an MTB is hurting manufacturers’ cost-competitiveness, thereby threatening jobs and economic growth.

For Lasko Products in Pennsylvania, the MTB is a critical tool that helps them compete. In a challenging global market, the MTB helps Lasko stay competitive by reducing their costs.

“There are 675 American workers at Lasko facilities benefiting from the MTB program,” said Ed McAssey, Chief Operating Officer at Lasko. “The MTB allows Lasko to compete against low-cost imports of household electric fans from China. We are the last American producer of portable oscillating fans and have been able to stay in this business with the MTB program and heavy investment in capital equipment and tooling. If Congress fails to act quickly and renew the MTB, it will put American jobs in our factories at risk. We hope Congress will act expeditiously to preserve American jobs and our investment.”

Each day that passes without the MTB means higher tariffs for manufacturers in the United States – like Lasko. For three decades, Congress has acted in a bipartisan, bicameral fashion to pass this common-sense legislation.  The time for them to act on the MTB is now.

Today in Seattle the Sierra Club and several other environmental groups announced they intend to file a lawsuit against BNSF Railway and several coal companies over the unprecedented claim that they spill coal into Washington state waterways as a violation of federal law. The continued transportation of our nation’s energy resources is vital to the competitiveness of manufacturers and supports jobs. Lawsuits like this continue to jeopardize our nation’s competitiveness and drives up the cost of manufacturing in the United States.

The Associated Press spoke to Dr. Roger McClellan, past chairman of the Environmental Protection Agency’s clean air scientific advisory committee made the following statement regarding on the issue:

Dr. Roger McClellan, a past chairman of the Environmental Protection Agency’s clean air scientific advisory committee, said “the mere presence of coal by a railroad track or in the water is not a health hazard.”

BNSF said in a statement they are committed to preventing coal dust from escaping while in transit and that the company has safely hauled coal throughout Washington for decades without a single complaint. It is very peculiar that the groups made this announcement of their intent to sue as debate heats up over coal export terminals in Washington state, which would create thousands of construction jobs and help export energy resources. It’s clear that today’s announcement is another way to try to impact the review process of the export terminals.

Manufacturers are committed to protecting the environment and are leaders in sustainability. Threats of lawsuits such as this just make it harder for manufacturers to compete, drive up energy prices and ultimately hurt our economy and jobs.

Last Thursday the Wall Street Journal editorial board ran a piece about the debate over a carbon tax during the Senate’s Vote-A-Rama on the budget resolution. Sen. Roy Blunt offered an amendment which received a majority of votes but not enough to pass at 53-46 that would require 60 Senate votes to impose a harmful carbon tax. Sen. Blunt’s amendment has bipartisan support with eight Democrats joining all the Republicans to support the amendment.

Remember that late in February the NAM released the results of a study by the nonpartisan NERA Economic Consulting that looked at the economic consequences of a carbon tax. The study found that the cost of energy such as natural gas would increase and manufacturing output would take a serious blow. Workers incomes would also decline as a result of a carbon tax by as much as 8.5 percent.

Jobs would be impacted throughout the economy and country, with a loss of worker income equivalent to between 1.3 million and 1.5 million jobs in 2013 and between 3.8 million and 21 million by 2053.

When considering a carbon tax it is essential that Congress take into the account the serious economic consequences and damage to our economy and jobs that such a tax could cause. Please check out this blog post last week from the NAM’s Ross Eisenberg that further explains these carbon tax votes from the Senate Vote-A-Rama.