Louisiana Chamber Annual Meeting - Remarks by Tom Donohue
AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
Louisiana Association for Business & Industry (LABI) Annual Meeting
Remarks by Thomas J. Donohue
January 10, 2006
Baton Rouge, LA
Thank you very much, Maura. I don't know anyone who has used her position more effectively or demonstrated greater energy and devotion to Gulf Coast reconstruction than Maura has. She's been an invaluable bridge between the business community and state and federal policymakers – appearing regularly in Washington and throughout this region to facilitate the rebuilding process.
I also want to commend Dan Juneau for the tremendous job he's doing. Against the greatest odds, Dan has been a rock to Louisiana's small business community.
Congratulations, Dan, on LABI's Small Business Disaster Relief Fund hitting the $1 million mark. That's a remarkable accomplishment. The U.S. Chamber will continue to leverage its resources to help you keep that fund growing.
This is my first trip to Louisiana post-Hurricane Katrina, though some Chamber staff from Washington has come here to survey the situation and help out, and we've been regularly updated about the situation. This afternoon, I will take a helicopter tour of New Orleans to gain a greater appreciation and understanding of what has happened. It's one thing to hear reports and see images on television and quite another to see it firsthand.
I'd like to take this opportunity to share with you some thoughts about your future, the role the Chamber is playing—and will play—in bringing about that future, and then finish with a few comments on the broader business agenda.
On a positive note, the true character, compassion, and values of the U.S. business community have been on display during this difficult period.
Not even two months after Hurricane Katrina came ashore, employer, employee and customer contributions of cash, services, and products reached $1 billion. That's greater than the response to the tsunami in Southeast Asia and to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In fact, it's the largest outpouring of corporate support following a single event in modern U.S. history.
Channeling contributions to where they are needed most can be difficult when you're talking about such an enormous level of resources. The Chamber, in addition to tracking business donations, is operating a database that matches donations with the specific needs of Gulf Coast small businesses and chambers. Even four months after Katrina, private donations are still coming in and being delivered to those who need them. I can assure you that the U.S. business community has not – and will not – forget the Gulf Coast. The Chamber, by the way, has also teamed with IBM to launch a job resource on the Web called Jobs4recovery.com. It matches the jobless with available jobs. We're operating Adopt-a-Chamber and Adopt-a-Business programs.
And in a few weeks, we will hold a working meeting in New Orleans—facilitated by the people who do the most complex planning exercises for the Pentagon—to talk about next steps for the economic re-development of the region. We believe strongly that recovery is a national issue of the highest significance, and we need to put our best talent to work to support you. These and many other initiatives on the part of businesses all over the country can play a vital role in getting the regional economy back on its feet.
The Gulf Coast has an opportunity to start fresh…to correct past mistakes…to tap the best knowledge and best practices available in rebuilding…to attract new investment and new residents…and to create something even better than what existed before. The entrepreneurial, innovative, and creative spirit you find here is too strong to be denied.
History provides us with encouragement for the great task that lies ahead and a blueprint to help guide us. Chicago, following the Great Fire of 1871, and San Francisco, after the 1906 earthquake, rebuilt and reinvented themselves into two of the nation's finest cities. In April, when San Franciscans commemorate the 100th anniversary of that city's great earthquake and subsequent fires, there will be somber reflection…but also a celebration of what that city and the entire Bay Area have become since.
Years from now, I'm confident that the people of New Orleans and from cities across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama will similarly celebrate the triumph of renewal, hope, and perseverance over extreme adversity.
The rebuilt Gulf Coast might look a little different than it did before Katrina, but it will be no less an important fixture on the United States' economic, cultural, and social landscape. This region simply has too much to offer to NOT be fully restored.
Your future is yours to decide. When the civic and business leaders of the Gulf Coast determine how their communities should be rebuilt, the U.S. business community will fall in behind and support that vision. There are some difficult decisions that will need to be made, and those decisions won't be popular with everyone. But there are also several realities and needs that most agree on, and we must see greater progress in these areas for the recovery period to begin in earnest.
First, it's imperative that small businesses get access to the capital they need to restart their businesses. The Chamber has aggressively supported federal government disaster aid and guaranteed loans for businesses. To date, Congress has approved $63 billion in disaster relief and billions more in small business tax incentives. Aid levels will most certainly increase over time, and the Chamber will support whatever is necessary to get the local economy moving again.
But the business leaders we've talked to say they're most interested in investment, and so we're committed to exploring innovative ways to ensure that available aid resources help businesses over the long-term. The role of the SBA is vital to long-term recovery and reconstruction. We've put pressure on the SBA to speed up its disaster loan approval and disbursement process because for small businesses hanging on by a thread, one day can make a difference in their survival.
As of the end of last week SBA had approved over $2 billion in disaster loans to more than 30,000 homeowners, renters, and businesses in the region. The SBA is currently averaging more than $36 million in loan approvals a day and has more than quadrupled the size of its pre-Katrina staff to handle the volume.
The SBA just introduced a new program in which commercial lenders can use their own paperwork to make a small business loan, and the government will make a decision on the loan in 24 hours or less and guarantee 85% of it. This represents progress, but more needs to be done. I have spoken to SBA Administrator Hector Barreto about the need for quick access to capital for small firms, and he has given me and the business community his personal assurance that the long-term recovery effort in the Gulf Coast is SBA's top priority.
The Chamber is going to make sure he lives up to that commitment.
A critical part of that package is Senator Landrieu's amendment that allows employees to exclude from their income up to $600 per month in employer-provided housing. The legislation allows businesses that provide housing a tax credit of up to 30% of the value of the housing.
Third, we must ensure that people and organizations are not wrongly punished or discouraged from participating in this massive rebuilding project because of excessive liability. Insurance companies, contractors, energy companies, medical professionals, faith-based charities and even volunteers…nobody is safe from the post-storm flood of litigation. The stories of telephone poles plastered with signs advertising class action lawsuits are well known around the country.
The prevailing sentiment seems to be that even with an act of God, somebody has got to pay. This attitude is creating an environment entirely uninviting to the people and organizations that are needed to rebuild this region.
As part of our comprehensive legal reform effort, the Chamber is pushing Congress to act on three Katrina-related pieces of legislation – one that would grant volunteers who provide assistance to victims of Hurricane Katrina immunity from liability for injuries resulting from aid provided to those victims…another that would go one step further and shield volunteers from liability in ALL disasters, not just Hurricane Katrina…and a third that would limit lawsuits against government contractors working on rescue, recovery, repair or reconstruction efforts following Katrina.
Without these legal protections, it will become increasingly difficult to quickly save victims, clear debris, provide medical attention and vaccinations, and rebuild communities and infrastructure.
2006 will be a defining year for the Gulf Coast. As you strive to restart your businesses, attract workers, and rebuild houses and infrastructure, the
At the same time, the business community and civic leaders must play the role of watch dog – on guard to ensure that all funds are well spent and all abuse and fraud is exposed – because the whole reconstruction effort will be tainted or slowed if we don't.
We'll also be moving the ball forward on a number of other legislative initiatives of critical importance to Gulf Coast businesses. I'd like to say a word about a few of them. First, the Chamber is committed to comprehensive immigration reform – one that includes a guest worker program and a path to permanent legal status for undocumented workers already living here, working, and paying taxes. We're very concerned over what appears to be growing anti-immigrant attitudes in this country. A few weeks ago, the House of Representatives passed a border security bill that is ill-suited to the needs of our economy and contrary to the values of our country.
It would, among other things, create additional criminal and civil liability, including that for businesses that fail to match their employees against a government-operated electronic database. What's more, the bill would make it a felony to be in the country illegally. That means the 11 million undocumented aliens contributing to our economy every day would become felons overnight, automatically disqualifying them from ever gaining legal status. In this region at this time, we need all hands on deck – ALL hands. The last thing we can afford to do is stigmatize and criminalize those who want to work hard and help you rebuild.
Also this year, we will work to advance a more sensible national energy policy. Americans and policymakers have conflicting and hypocritical attitudes about energy – we demand affordable energy prices but we certainly don't want to drill anywhere for it – Not in My Backyard.
After the hurricanes, Congress dragged oil company executives before it to answer charges of price gouging and to explain their profits - never mind that those profits are small compared to what you see in the financial services industry. Amazingly, some lawmakers who took the oil companies to task and demanded that they reinvest their profits are the same lawmakers who have repeatedly voted against allowing oil and gas exploration in Alaska and off the Outer Continental Shelf. Members of Congress can't have it both ways – complaining about high energy costs and our dependence on foreign oil while repeatedly voting against measures to address those concerns.
This year, the Chamber will focus on passing measures that increase opportunities for domestic energy production, but that also enhance conservation, develop alternative energy forms, and expand and improve energy infrastructure.
Finally, we expect to make additional progress on our legal reform efforts in 2006, coming off a year that saw Congress pass class action reform, several states pass their own meaningful reforms, and which saw the Chamber's Institute for Legal Reform, or ILR, recognized as one of the biggest lobbying spenders in Washington. On the federal level in 2006, we are targeting legislation that would end decades of asbestos litigation abuse, drive away obesity lawsuits against food companies, provide lawsuit abuse protection for small businesses, and, as I mentioned earlier, deliver a blow to trial lawyers trying to take advantage of the hurricanes. A significant amount of ILR's resources will go toward furthering our legal reform agenda on the state level, including voter education campaigns in a number of state Supreme Court and attorney general races this fall.
Even before Hurricane Katrina touched off a flood of litigation, Louisiana was far from being considered a state whose legal system treats companies fairly. According to the results of an annual Harris poll commissioned by the Chamber's Institute for Legal Reform, Louisiana's legal climate ranks #47 out of the 50 states. Only Mississippi, Alabama, and West Virginia fare worse. As Louisiana begins a new phase in its history, it must take a hard look at its legal system and, like with its infrastructure, homes, and some of its schools, consider tearing down and rebuilding anew.
As we push forward with our aggressive legislative agenda, we will hold members of Congress accountable for their votes through our aggressive political program, which is getting bigger and stronger with every election. 2006 is a critical election year. Pro-business majorities in both the House and Senate are slim and at risk of disappearing.
The Chamber this year will spend significant resources supporting candidates of both parties who have cast the tough votes on behalf of economic growth - and we will work to defeat those who have not. We need you on board with the program if we are to experience the same success we've had in recent elections.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude by saying that all of you – as business leaders, lawmakers, and community leaders – have a tremendous responsibility before you. The future of this region…the future of your children…depends on your planning, decision making, and execution over the next several months. With strong partnerships between local, state, and federal officials and between the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, the Gulf Coast's economy, its culture, and its heritage can be restored to greatness.
It's time to put finger pointing and partisan division behind us. The only thing that matters now is fixing past mistakes and concentrating on building a bright future. The media may tire of this story, the politicians may continue to point fingers, and the editorial writers may continue to speculate about whether it's even worth rebuilding New Orleans and other Gulf communities.
I want you to know that the U.S. Chamber and the American business community will never tire, never forget. We can rebuild, we will rebuild, we must rebuild. And the Chamber intends to play a role in that process–today, tomorrow, a year from now, and even ten years from now.
Thank you very much.