Duluth Chamber of Commerce - Annual Dinner - Keynote Address by Thomas J. Donohue

On: Annual Dinner-Keynote Address
To: Duluth Chamber of Commerce
From: Thomas J. Donohue
Date: October 12, 2004

Duluth, MN
October 12, 2004

Thank you, David (Ross). It's great to be in Duluth. I'm hoping that by now you'll appreciate a speech from somebody who isn't running for president.

Though I'm not asking for your vote, I am asking you to vote.

There's a lot on the line for business this election. We need a strong pro-business turnout on November 2 to advance the issues most important to us – legal reform, free and fair trade, fewer regulations and taxes, and increased investment in our infrastructure.

I know your chamber leaders are working very hard on these issues at the local level. David has done a tremendous job of engaging the Duluth Chamber in local politics and public policy development, and I commend him for that.

You know, David and I share a lot in common. We took over our respective organizations in 1997, and quite frankly, the table was anything but set for us.

We've both overcome some serious organizational challenges to boost membership and revenues, strengthen relationships with elected officials, and generally raise the profile of our organizations.

But, if I know David, he's just warming up, and I can say the same about myself.

Larry Dowell from the St. Paul Chamber and David Olson from the state chamber—both of whom are here this evening—are two other leaders who deserve recognition for their fine work.

I spoke to David's chamber in St. Paul three years ago, and we had a great discussion on transportation, legal reform, and trade.

The relationships between state and local chambers and the U.S. Chamber perfectly fit this evening's theme, Local Chamber – National Influence.

When local and state chambers are strong and respected by leaders in their communities, it gives us greater strength and credibility in Washington.
When we walk into a congressman's office on Capitol Hill, often times the first thing he or she talks about is the chamber back in their home district.

So your success is critical to our own, and that's why the U.S. Chamber works hard to strengthen and unify the Chamber Federation—3 million businesses and nearly 3,000 chambers strong.

When I speak to chamber audiences, I usually like to give updates on the policy agenda we are pushing in Washington.

But tonight, I would like to focus less on specific policy issues and more on the environment in which business finds itself today.

Because before we can change policy, we have to change the tone of the debate and public attitudes toward business.

These days, especially with the elections just 21 days away, there is no shortage of individuals or institutions speaking ill of the U.S. business community.

To hear them tell it, corporations are rife with crooks looking for any opportunity to swindle investors or employees.

Businesses pollute our environment with no intention of cleaning up their mess.

Benedict Arnold CEOs are moving U.S. jobs overseas en masse with no consideration for anything but profits.
Companies are laying off workers and dropping health care coverage for their employees, they say.

This is what we read in the newspaper, see on television, and hear on the campaign trail.

It taints public perceptions, it makes the job of chambers more difficult, and it can even affect fundamental business decisions.

Our challenge is to do a better job telling the real story of American business.

Like the fact that business spends between $200 billion and $300 billion cleaning the environment every year.

Despite what the extreme environmentalists say, our nation's water and air supplies are cleaner today than they've ever been before.

And U.S. businesses continue to make major investments in clean technology, such as hybrid gas-electric cars and energy derived from clean coal, wind, solar and biomass.

U.S. business does take care of the environment, and it sure as heck takes care of people.

U.S. companies voluntarily provide health care coverage for 136 million Americans. Our employer-based health care system is one of America's greatest success stories.

Yet we have to hone it and build upon it so that health insurance becomes more affordable and accessible to those without it.

That's why the Chamber is pushing Congress to pass association health plans, which would allow small businesses to band together through organizations such as the Duluth Chamber to purchase coverage for their employees.

AHPs would give small firms the same kind of leverage, economies of scale, and purchasing power enjoyed by large employer and union health plans.

Health care is only a portion of what businesses contribute to their employees and to their communities.

Companies big and small provide retirement plans to more than 83 million American workers.

More than 90% of businesses that provide 401(k) plans match employee contributions.

Today's young workers certainly can't count on the government to provide them with financial security in their retirement years, but many of them can and will look to their employers.

What about jobs? U.S. companies keep producing them – 1.7 million new ones in the past year or so, and most of these come from small businesses, by the way.

More Americans are working today than ever before in our nation's history.

Take-home pay last year grew at a rate faster than the averages of any of the previous three decades.

America is the world's greatest job creator. That says something about the innovation, ingenuity, and output of our businesses.

Are some U.S. jobs going overseas? Yes, but the number is far lower than our critics would have us believe.

And where some jobs are lost, new and better ones are taking their place. As global markets become more competitive, with more educated workers and more open economies, it makes economic sense to send some work there while focusing job growth here on cutting edge industries and technologies.

Ultimately, when you talk about business, you're talking about people who take risks and make major decisions everyday – decisions that affect hundreds, thousands, or perhaps even millions of people.

And the overwhelming majority of them do so with the utmost integrity and with the best interests of their investors, customers, and employees in mind.

And yet policymakers and regulators have reacted to recent corporate misconduct as if it is the norm rather than the exception.

The fact is, there are 17,000 public companies in the United States, and allegations of misconduct have been directed at perhaps a couple dozen of them.

The perception that criminal activity is widespread in the business community is simply wrong, and that must be pointed out.

The Chamber has supported many corporate governance and accounting reforms because we believed that they will produce greater transparency, restore investor confidence, and head off future criminal activities.

But the pendulum has swung too far. Good intentions have produced unintended consequences. The SEC and state attorneys general are engaged in a competitive game of "gotcha," instead of helping corporate executives understand and comply with the new rules.

And the class action trial bar is following on their heels with a new mountain of lawsuits.

We're even seeing institutional investors influenced or run by labor union or other anti-business interests using corporate governance as a shield to advance their own political agendas.

This is producing a business environment in which CEOs are reluctant to take risks, take companies public, or acquire other companies—all of the things that characterize our free enterprise system, grow our economy, and create jobs.

The Chamber is leading the effort to restore an environment in which risk-taking is encouraged – not feared.

Ladies and gentlemen, I wouldn't trade my job with anyone. I get to meet with, learn from, and fight for people who create the jobs…sign the paychecks…provide the health care…and sponsor the local symphony – people just like you.

I urge you to continue to fight the good fight, tell your story, and never apologize to anyone for what you do.

The U.S. Chamber is doing the same in Washington, and together, I'm confident that we can build a better, stronger, and more competitive America.

Thank you very much.