Environment, Technology, and Regulatory Affairs Annual Report

Environment, Technology & Regulatory Affairs Annual Report 2004 (PDF)

Environment, Technology, and Regulatory Affairs Annual Report 2003 (PDF)

Environment, Technology, and Regulatory Affairs Annual Report 2002 (PDF)

 To ensure that the concerns of the business community are considered by Congress and the regulatory agencies, the U.S. Chamber has undertaken key activities that are making a significant difference in how government works.

Some of our 2004 accomplishments include:

• Clean Air Ozone Rules—Organized a broad coalition of chambers of commerce and other regional business organizations that successfully advocated for flexibility in implementing EPA's 8-hour ozone rule.
• EPA's Regulation of Prions—Opposed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) attempt to expand its regulatory authority over pesticides when the agency declared–without benefit of public notice and comment–that prions (the protein suspected of causing mad cow disease) are a "pest" under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
• OMB Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations—Advanced several major proposals for improving the cost-effectiveness and scientific quality of federal regulatory programs in comments and Congressional testimony on OMB's Draft 2004 Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations.
• Telecommunications—Commissioned a major independent study to provide a comprehensive look at the telecommunications industry, including how regulatory uncertainty creates barriers to investment and hinders the development of new technology. The study–Sending the Right Signals: Promoting Competition Through Telecommunications Reform–was unveiled on October 6, 2004, at a summit hosted by the Chamber.

Priorities for 2005 include:

• Comprehensive Energy Policy—Continue to focus national attention on the need to enact a comprehensive national energy policy.
• Climate Change—Ensure that any climate change policies are based on sound scientific principles, quality data, and valid models that do not place unreasonable burdens on businesses and the economy.
• Implementing the Data Quality Act—Ensure that the policies and regulations of federal agencies comply with provisions of the Data Quality Act, including requirements that agencies disclose all data and analyses supporting proposed regulations; that the data is objective, accurate, and complete.
• Telecommunications Reform—Promote regulatory reform and the elimination of federal policies that hinder investment in technology.

Learn more about our accomplishments and the activities we have planned for 2005 by downloading your copy of the 2004 Annual Report .