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Facts

The Chamber and its members are the targets of an orchestrated smear campaign -- featuring false accusations and misstatements of our policies -- by those who would rather distort the facts than debate them. We will not withdraw from the public dialogue and we will set the record straight.
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Facts:
  • The U.S. Chamber never hired or solicited proposals from HBGary, Palantir or Berico, the security firms being talked about on the web.
  • HBGary's proposal, which has been written about by ThinkProgress, was not requested by the Chamber, it was not delivered to the Chamber, and it was never discussed with anyone at the Chamber. The leaked e-mails appear to show that HBGary was willing to propose questionable actions in an attempt to drum up business, but the Chamber was not aware of these proposals until HBGary's e-mails leaked.
  • No money, for any purpose, was paid to any of those three private security firms by the Chamber, or by anyone on behalf of the Chamber, including Hunton and Williams.
  • The Center for American Progress and its blog, ThinkProgress, disagree with the Chamber's policy stances and are perpetrating a smear campaign by trying to create the illusion of a connection between HBGary, its CEO Aaron Barr and the Chamber. Lest we forget, these baseless attacks are coming from the same group whose attacks on the Chamber last fall for 'foreign funds' were proven by both the Associated Press and FactCheck.org to have no merit. The reality is that the actions of Mr. Barr and HBGary are their own, as is reflected in the leaked e-mails.
 
Myth: The U.S. Chamber is "under fire" from some of our state and local chambers over our voter education efforts in the 2010 election.

Fact: As Tom Donohue committed to in the January 2010 State of American Business address, the Chamber would carry out, "The largest, most aggressive voter education and issue advocacy effort in our nearly hundred-year history" this year. We did this to support pro-growth, pro-business candidates and to keep the political debate focused on jobs and the economy. Throughout this process, we saw unprecedented support from our the network of more than 2,600 state and local chambers across the country.

By interacting with them through conference calls about policy issues, annual meetings, and events, we're aware of the diverse interests of such a broad group. Much like other membership organizations, our state and local chambers will never align with the U.S. Chamber 100 percent of the time on the hundreds of issues we're focused on. Chambers are generally supportive, however, of our efforts to promote pro-growth, pro-business policies.
Myth: The U.S. Chamber is spending foreign money on political activities.

Fact: The Center for American Progress, who started this myth, is purposefully misconstruing the truth to try to silence businesses. American Chambers of Commerce (AmChams) in foreign nations are independent organizations, and they do not fund political programs in the United States. The U.S. Chamber has a system in place for ensuring that they are not government-controlled entities. The Chamber is proud to have global companies among our membership. We’re careful to ensure that we comply with all applicable laws. No foreign money is used to fund our political activities.

Learn more
 
Myth: The U.S. Chamber seeks to maintain "status quo" policies in the interest of "big businesses" and "CEOs."
 
Fact: The U.S. Chamber's number one focus is to promote policies that promise greater economic growth and more jobs. You would think, given the state of the economy and unemployment, that this would be something everyone could rally behind, and yet we are still getting opposition in this endeavor from groups who are more interested in their own special interests than the good of the country. Read more:
 
Myth: The U.S. Chamber has committed tax fraud.
 
Fact: In a September 10, 2010 letter to the IRS, "U. S. Chamber Watch," an SEIU front group, requested an audit of the National Chamber Foundation (the “Foundation”) and U. S. Chamber of Commerce ( the “Chamber”), suggesting that the Foundation violated its status as a charitable organization. This allegation is patently false. All Foundation and Chamber financial transactions are thoroughly reviewed by lawyers and outside accountants, who have confirmed that they comply with all relevant tax laws. Read more:
 
Myth: The U.S. Chamber is funding a 'racist' television ad in Arkansas.

Fact: The group running the ad, Americans for Job Security, is neither backed nor funded by the U.S Chamber, nor did we provide any funding for political or issue ads to them.Learn more.
Myth: The U.S. Chamber wants a completely deregulated financial sector.
 
Fact: This is perhaps the most disingenuous of the misinformation being spread by our opponents.  The Chamber has been leading the charge for better capital markets since February of 2006. The time is past for treating the symptoms.  We need the right cure.
Myth: The U.S. Chamber is trying to "buy an economist" to provide a skewed analysis of health care costs.
 
Fact: It is common practice to ask independent expert economists to be ready to provide their professional assessments of proposed legislation, especially when the process is expected to move swiftly once legislation is introduced. A study of job impacts resulting from mandates is not a new idea.  Now that final bills are emerging from both chambers an updated review is warranted. It is highly likely, as previous studies have shown, that this bill will increase costs for business and cost jobs. If the study does not show adverse impact, we would consider that information as we evaluate our position on the entire legislation.
 Myth: The U.S. Chamber wants to protect rapists.

 
Fact: This is of course false. And is one of MoveOn.org's more malicious misrepresentations of the Chamber's positions in their ongoing effort to intimidate and harass the Chamber and its members. The allegations in the Jamie Leigh Jones' case are horrific. As the 5th Circuit decided, Ms. Jones does not have to arbitrate her sexual assault claims and can take them to court. The legislative amendment offered by Senator Franken, however, goes far beyond the facts and circumstances of Ms. Jones' case. As a result,  the Chamber, the Administration, and many others opposed the Franken amendment.
Myth: We oppose paid sick leave legislation for workers who have H1N1.

Fact: This attack by the SEIU misses one important element: facts. The U.S. Chamber has not opposed the current proposed legislation in this area. Indeed, the U.S. Chamber recognizes that this issue has many dimensions and is exploring whether legislation would be helpful to employees without overburdening employers and limiting their options to provide benefits tailored to their workplace. Furthermore, the SEIU uses inaccurate data about how many employees currently receive paid leave that could be used for H1N1 purposes. Learn more about this attack and see our  H1N1 preparedness guide.
Myth: The U.S. Chamber was recently forced to lower their membership number by 90%.
 
Fact: This claim is the result of a -- perhaps willful -- misunderstanding of the U.S. Chamber's structure.  The Chamber has direct members but also sits at the top of a federation that includes state and local chambers, as well as associations. Our direct membership comprises 300,000 businesses. Our federation contains over three million businesses and organizations.
 
We represent both sets.
Myth: The U.S. Chamber "denies" climate change and wants a new "Scopes Monkey Trial" on climate science.
 
Fact: The Scopes Monkey Trial quote has been the go-to example for everyone trying to misrepresent the Chamber's position the last few months.  What everyone ignores is that the speaker himself explained immediately that it was a false representation of our position. Here was the correction:
"The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is not denying or otherwise challenging the science behind global climate change...For many of these special interest groups, dogma trumps facts, and they've been calling us deniers for years, even though the Chamber supports sensible and ambitious congressional and international action on global climate change. My 'Scopes monkey' analogy was inappropriate and detracted from my ability to effectively convey the Chamber's position on this important issue"
Myth: The U.S. Chamber opposed health care reform and wants to maintain the status quo.
 
Fact: Supporters of the current legislation in Congress want you to believe that any group which opposes any aspect of reform opposes all reform. This is not true; as Bruce Josten said  "American employers and employees want an improvement in the nation's health care system, not an unsustainable, unaffordable overhaul."
 
Health reform is critical to the business community - businesses voluntarily pay over $500 billion every year for employees' health insurance, and cannot afford the cost increases. We support reforming the health system with three simple steps that, at low cost to taxpayers, could make the insurance system work for everyone (thereby increasing access for the uninsured), improve our health care delivery system, and make serious progress toward controlling costs.

Myth: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has "for years has fought efforts in Congress to strengthen car safety protections"

Fact: This false assertion by MoveOn.org is just another desperate smear in their ongoing campaign to "fracture the U.S. Chamber."  It is based on a single paragraph in a single opinion piece published by Ralph Nader's group Public Citizen in October of 2000 in which they lament that the original version of what became the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act was not passed.

The U.S. Chamber supported the final version passed by the House and Senate noting that "'The original versions of this bill - which might have increased rather than decreased safety problems - have been significantly improved by the bipartisan work that was done in the House and Senate,' said Josten. 'The TREAD Act will protect consumer safety and the Chamber strongly encourages the President to sign this bill when it reaches his desk.'
Myth: The U.S. Chamber is spending $100 million to defeat President Obama's agenda.
 
Fact: Here is U.S. Chamber President Tom Donohue in a Business Week interview:
You have been crisscrossing the country to raise up to $100 million to back a "Campaign for Free Enterprise," which you will launch on October 14th. Some people have seen it as something of a declaration of war on the Democratic priorities. Why do you feel such a campaign is needed, and what will it focus on?
First of all, it's not a declaration of war against anyone. The issue is very, very clear. This is going to be very positive program. We are going to remind, promote, educate and encourage in every way we can so that people remember, or learn, what made the greatest economy in the history of the world-[what] created more jobs, created more wealth, created more innovation, created more opportunity-was a free-enterprise economy with free and open trade with open capital markets, with the right to fail and fall right on your face and get up and try it over again, the right to make money, and the right to make it in a system with moderate regulation and taxes.
Learn more at FreeEnterprise.com