Chamber Accomplishments in 2007
Winning for Business in Congress and in the Regulatory Agencies
Working with many organizations, companies, coalitions, and legislators, the Chamber helped win major policy victories including:
Card Check Bill--Led the fight to stop legislation that would have opened union organizing to abuse and intimidation by taking away every worker's right to a secret ballot election.
America COMPETES Act--Helped secure more than $40 billion in funding to expand education and produce more graduates in the critical math, science, and technology fields.
U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement--Organized and led the coalition that successfully convinced Congress to expand America's trade relationship with a key South American ally.
Water Resources Development Act--Successfully lobbied for funding for hundreds of flood control, navigation, and environmental mitigation projects while ensuring that transportation demands are addressed.
Small Business Tax Relief--Supported $4.84 billion in tax relief by increasing the limit of Section 179 expensing for capital assets to $125,000. The measure also extends the Work Opportunity Tax Credit through mid-2011.
Energy Legislation--Helped defeat anti-business amendments in the December 2007 energy bill, including a mandatory federal renewable portfolio standard for power generation and billions in punitive taxes on oil and gas producers.
Foreign Investment and National Security Act--Helped convince Congress to address national security concerns during CFIUS reviews of foreign acquisitions while keeping the nation open to job-creating investments. Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007-- Supported reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act and the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act while helping defeat counterproductive provisions.
Homeland Security--Helped obtain a seven-year extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), a federal reinsurance backstop against losses resulting from a catastrophic terrorist attack.
Ozone--Successfully persuaded EPA to include in a notice of proposed rulemaking the current standard of 80 parts per billion for ground-level ozone.
Winning for Business in the Courts
The National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC) entered a record 125 new cases of significance to the business community and helped secure 54 victories, with many cases still outstanding. NCLC had its best U.S. Supreme Court term ever, winning 13 out of 15 cases entered, while obtaining upcoming Supreme Court review in 4 cases.
Advancing Critical Business Initiatives
The National Chamber Foundation (NCF) continued to drive the policy debate on important business issues in an effort to move the American business agenda forward, sponsoring 45 major events and many smaller gatherings focused on public policy issues.
The Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) continued to support and defend legal reforms in problem states and jurisdictions. ILR also released the results of its sixth annual Harris Poll ranking of the legal climate in all 50 states, issued an Attorneys General Code of Conduct, and worked with international allies to block the export of American-style class action abroad.
The Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW) issued a comprehensive report card that graded public schools in all 50 states, spurring national and local media coverage and reform activities across the country.
We created the Institute for 21st Century Energy to spearhead a grassroots energy education campaign and to rally stakeholders behind a strategy to secure an affordable, diverse, and clean supply of fuel and power for our growing country.
The International Division continued expanding its expertise, effectiveness, and network of affiliates and partner organizations across the globe. The division also manages a number of bilateral business councils and task forces, maintains close relations with more than 100 American Chambers abroad, and helps Chamber members advance their commercial interests overseas.
Our Homeland Security Program continued to work directly with companies and government agencies to strike the proper balance between security and the needs of commerce and has solved many potentially serious problems for our members.
TradeRoots, our grassroots program dedicated to organizing community and small business support for trade, targeted 70 members of Congress to build support for free trade.
The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) worked in dozens of emerging markets to build private sector capacity, fight corruption, train the economic leaders of the future, and instill good governance practices across public and private sector institutions.
The Federation Relations Team continued to expand Chamber membership rolls through the Federation Partnership Program while strengthening grassroots effectiveness through the Association Committee of 100 and the Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100-- our most active business partners. |
