U.S. Chamber Members Rank 2001 Issues in New Survey

WASHINGTON D.C.-The United States Chamber of Commerce announced its member companies ranked legal reform, workforce and employee benefits, regulatory reform and tax relief as their top priorities for 2001 in a recent survey. The results of the Chamber's 2001 National Business Agenda Survey will help shape the Chamber's policy agenda for the new Congress and administration.

"Taking the pulse of our members, from small, mom-and-pop shops, to large, multinational corporations, provides valuable information in setting the business agenda in Washington," said U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue.

The U.S. Chamber's bi-annual survey compiled data from more than 1,800 member companies, representing a broad cross-section of Chamber membership in company size and industry.

Member companies cited three top legal reform issues for 2001: leveling the litigation playing field by making the same rules apply to all parties including the government, with 95 percent of respondents giving it a high priority; reforming product and service liability laws so parties are only responsible for harms they actually caused (94 percent); and ending excessive punitive damages (93 percent).

In the workforce and employee benefits arena, respondents ranked restricting the power of unions to collect mandatory worker dues for political activities and reforming pension laws to allow workers to contribute more to their retirement plans as the two most important issues, each with 95 percent member agreement. Respondents also cited fighting the Labor Department's new ergonomics regulation as a top labor issue (88 percent agreement).

Respondents placed a high priority on regulatory reform, calling for reforms to ensure that regulatory agencies do not exceed the authority given to them by Congress (94 percent), that regulatory agencies use sound science to support new rules (90 percent) and that the information agencies disseminate about business is accurate and objective (89 percent).

In addition, 92 percent of respondents pointed to the need for tax reform, saying estate tax repeal was their number-one tax issue, followed by repeal of the capital gains tax (88 percent) and reform of the federal tax system (86 percent).

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

# # #

01-04