Sheryll Poe is a former senior writer at the U.S. Chamber, who covered public policies affecting businesses including the three "T's" - transportation, trade and taxes.
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Everybody remembers his or her high school locker. The sound of hundreds of metal doors closing over the blare of the class bell. The metallic vessel that held your algebra books, unfinished assignments, and teenage hopes and dreams. There’s a very good chance that that locker was made by DeBourgh Manufacturing, a U.S. Chamber member since 1991.
For more than 125 years, Channellock Inc. has been a household name. It’s known for its American-made, high-quality hand tool with a distinctive blue handle and is used by everyone from do-it-yourselfers to professionals like electricians and plumbers.
You’ve already read about the pizza place offering delivery guys over $50,000 a year in North Dakota. Now, the Faces of Lawsuit Abuse website is highlighting another pizza-pie-in-the-sky cash endeavor. But this time, it involves a lawsuit of over $250,000 and an armed robber.
Wedding season may be winding down and prom may be months away, but that isn’t stopping the senator from New Jersey from stepping up efforts to fight fake designer dresses.
A recent McKinsey report estimates that improved use of data could generate $3 trillion in additional value each year in seven industries.
Westfield Valley Mall is what NPR’s Planet Money recently referred to as “A Mall Divided,” where workers on one side of the mall were being paid $2 less than the other side.
A Gallup poll finds that the percentage of Americans who say there is too much regulation is nearly double that of those who say businesses are regulated just the right amount:
September 17 -- Constitution Day — is about celebrating the foundation of our democracy. However, one of our current freedoms, storage and access to electronic data, is being threatened.
Ahead of the Senate’s procedural vote on the so-called “Democracy for All” amendment, the U.S. Chamber sent a Key Vote Alert as well as a coalition letter to members of Congress.
State regulators came to Washington D.C. to have their say on the EPA's proposed plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants, and suffice it to say, a lot of them are not impressed with the rule.
Surprisingly, the answer is a resounding yes, according to a panel on Fox Business News.
According to a new study released by the U.S. Travel Association’s Travel Effects, four in 10 American workers allow some of their paid vacation days to go unused and expire—even though 96% of workers claim to see the virtue in taking time off.
In an op-ed in today's Orlando Sentinel, Alice Ancona, director of global outreach for the Florida Chamber of Commerce, makes the case that Ex-Im should be reauthorized.
While Tesla is transforming transportation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes is about to transform career fairs – virtually.
South Africa is a great place for American investment, but “we are only scratching the surface of both our commercial and strategic partnerships,” U.S. Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue told a packed room of U.S. and African business leaders.
A $6 million bridge project in Ottawa County, Oklahoma is now on hold, but it's not because of budget constraints. It’s because of a fish.
It’s been a few weeks now, and I have to admit that I’ve got the post-America’s Small Business Summit blues.
At the beginning of 2014, the U.S. Chamber outlined a goal of engaging early and aggressively on behalf of pro-growth candidates for the House and Senate, measuring their positions on key economic issues, their ability to win, and their willingness to govern. The strategy appears to be working.
An updated U.S. Chamber report revisits important data and metrics on how effective state education systems are at providing students with a high-quality education.
U.S. Chamber affiliate builds democracies.
Discussions about the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank have been front and center in the halls of Congress. On July 22, members of Congress and their staff got to hear directly from small businesses that utilize the Export-Import Bank to support jobs and economic growth in their companies.
The United Auto Workers are trying to prove that old adage…if at first you don’t succeed, try again OR just force your way in through a side door.
After a long and contentious fight, Chicago city commission unanimously approved a major expansion of Wrigley Field. Planned renovations include several more electronic signs and erecting a Jumbotron in the iconic home of the Chicago Cubs. The issue now goes to the City Council for final approval.
Governor Andrew Cuomo is unapologetic when it comes to his efforts to make New York the Yogurt Capital of the nation. “When government and the private sector work together, as we have done with New York’s dairy industry to eliminate barriers to growth, the result is positive economic activity that translates into jobs and new opportunities for New Yorkers.”
The uncertainty over reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank has caused one California small business owner to lose out on a $57 million project in the Phillipines.
The U.S. Supreme Court has dealt a blow to presidential appointment power, ruling unanimously that President Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in 2011 were invalid.
Drivers pay most of the taxes and fees that fund expansion and maintenance of our streets, highways and general transportation infrastructure. The national road network was constructed largely on the philosophy that users would pay. And, to an extent, they do.
Feel sorry for your poor Congressman. He or she is up on the Hill everyday trying to relay the critical importance of infrastructure investment. They’re spouting statistics, pointing at maps, shoving pictures of crumbling bridges in front of—shall we say, less-than-enthusiastic—colleagues.
Do you remember 21 years ago? Cool Runnings debuted in theaters, Mariah Carey was at the top of the charts, and the price of gas was $1.12 per gallon. It was also the last time the federal gas tax was increased. That $0.184 per gallon doesn’t go as far as it used to, and American’s highways are paying the price.
A battle is brewing in gyms, yoga studios and fitness facilities across Washington D.C. But it’s not over dumbbells versus downward dogs.
A broad coalition of associations has strong words over what it calls “recent activities to federalize our nation’s waters and public and private lands” by two Obama Administration agencies.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce just released its fifth annual Enterprising States study, which evaluates states’ policies in five areas essential to jobs and growth: exports and international trade, entrepreneurship and innovation, business climate, talent pipeline, and infrastructure. This year’s study also delves into how states are dealing with the skills gap and what lawmakers are doing to tackle it.
A new paper by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce provides a startling look inside the enforcement and litigation strategies of the EEOC during the Obama Administration. And what the paper reveals is an agency which often advances questionable enforcement tactics and legal theories.
For the first time in seven years, Congress and the president have put funding towards strategic investments in the nation’s ports and inland waterways, increasing American competitiveness and creating hundreds of thousands of high-paying U.S. jobs.
Business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, and the National Retail Federation are calling on Congress to work towards the goal of bipartisan comprehensive tax reform legislation that lowers the overall rate and boosts international competitiveness.
If you’re looking for a job, you might want to look towards Austin, Texas.
The Washington Post has an eye-opening (make that, an eye-bulging) editorial today on the dire straits of our federal Highway Trust Fund.
Chamber Executive Director of Congressional and Public Affairs Janet Kavinoky recently sat down to discuss infrastructure with Steve Anderson, Managing Director of InfrastructureUSA. The two talked about the need for a multi-year transportation bill, the future of passenger rail, and the funding of infrastructure improvements, including the gas tax.
The Washington Post recently asked: Is D.C. big enough for cabs + Uber, Sidecar and Lyft? Well, ready or not, here they come.
There are few businesses tougher than pawnbroker. And there are few places tougher to run a business than Detroit. So when Detroit pawn shop owner Les Gold, star of truTV’s reality series "Hardcore Pawn" says his city is on the comeback, it certainly gives that assertion some credence.
How can cities and local government provide more jobs, growth and opportunity for their citizens? By reducing regulatory burdens on small businesses, according to technologist, entrepreneur, urban analyst, and author Aaron Renn.
Five former governors who have long supported Common Core standards in their states took on the program’s critics and came out in strong support of the voluntary standards during an event at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Some people think that the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) is providing “welfare” to companies who would be “just fine without it.” Opponents argue that the bank only benefits major multinational companies.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Ex-Im is vitally important to small- and medium-sized businesses that want to break into overseas markets. In fact, small- and medium-sized businesses, account for more than 85% of the bank’s transactions.
From the water you use to brush your teeth to the lights you turn off at night, infrastructure makes everything possible.
Federal regulations aimed at curbing the illegal ivory trade could instead making travelling musicians extinct.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation has released a new study, “Enterprising Cities: Regulatory Climate Index 2014,” which serves as a barometer of the costs of doing business across the country and a guide to areas where reform is needed.
We’re all familiar with the Target quandary – you go in there for one thing and come out with a bunch of other stuff. But have you ever wondered how all those tempting goodies actually got to your local Target before they inadvertently ended up in your red shopping cart?
Each of the seven regional finalists is a shining example of the power of free enterprise and the opportunities it can create for America’s dreamers and doers.
The U.S. Chamber’s Transportation and Infrastructure team has been at the forefront of the fight to build a modern and safe infrastructure system for the 21st century.
The U.S. Chamber stepped up its election efforts, launching ads in five states this week.
Immediate action on some tax extenders is not a substitute for long-term comprehensive tax reforms, the U.S. Chamber wrote in a letter to House Ways and Means leadership.
A tanning tax meant to offset some of the expenses of Obamacare is not so hot after all.
The 10% federal sales tax on tanning salons has generated less than half the $200 million the government predicted it would, according to Politico:
In an unexpected move, the UAW has withdrawn their objections filed with the National Labor Relations Board regarding February's vote at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga.
The UAW announcement came just one hour before a scheduled NLRB hearing on the UAW’s claim that politicians and outside groups had unfairly influenced the outcome of the union election. The announcement effectively terminates the NLRB review process.
Today, April 21, marks the first day of the year that we get to keep the money we’ve earned for ourselves instead of it going to pay federal, state, and local taxes. That means Americans have worked 111 days (since Jan. 1), just to pay for the government.
A new book by columnist and author George Will on the history of Wrigley Field (“A Nice Little Place on the North Side: Wrigley Field at One Hundred”) did pique my interest. Not because of his proselytizing about the great American pastime. But rather, because of the man behind the field: William Wrigley Jr.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx kicked off an eight-state, five-day infrastructure road trip with three stops in Ohio, including a stop at U.S. Chamber member Siemens’ manufacturing facility.
What could you do with 80 hours? Turns out, you could do quite a bit.
The Sriracha-regulating scrooges of Irwindale, California are back.
The ambush election rule is an undead NLRB regulation that would tilt the playing field in favor of unions and deny workers the balanced information needed to make a critical workplace decision.
An op-ed in last week’s The Los Angeles Daily News makes the case that the U.S. Chamber has been hammering home as well: investing in American infrastructure is a smart, important way to put people back to work and boost the economy.
One of the nation’s most successful (and fun) airlines Southwest turns 43 years old today. Here are eight of our favorite Herb Kelleher business wisdoms.
In his State of American Business speech, U.S. Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue challenged policymakers and the public to “stop ignoring what I call the elephant in the room—America’s unsustainable entitlement programs,” calling the programs and the resulting debt, “the most predictable crisis in American history.”
Two major media outlets turned to U.S. Chamber small business members this week to highlight the importance of trade.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform President Lisa A. Rickard and Florida Chamber of Commerce CEO Mark Wilson have an op-ed in the Daytona Beach (FL) News-Journal calling for common sense legal reform.
Business groups that depend on a modern road, rail, water, and air transportation system are joining the federal transportation funding fight.
It seems like such a simple concept: meaningful and transparent information about the quality and cost of health care.
And yet, health care pricing is a complete mystery.
Unlike buying a car, a house, or a computer, many American healthcare consumers and employers have little data to go on when shopping for the best value.
“It’s high time we move past the idea that the debate over our financial system is a battle between regulation and deregulation,” says U.S. Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue.
The failure to approve construction of a critical portion of the Keystone XL pipeline has tarnished America’s image as a “can do” country open to investment, says Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy.
With the nation’s energy future hanging in the balance, now is the time to move ahead on the much-needed regulatory reforms, including streamlining the process for federal regulatory permits, according to former administration official and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, C. Boyden Gray.
Only 43.4% of high school seniors in Rochester, New York, public schools graduated in 2013. But a grocery store chain is working to brighten the future of the city's high school students.
U.S. Chamber Deputy Chief Economist J.D. Foster recently wrote how raising the minimum wage will result in lost jobs. But now it appears that raising the minimum wage could also increase the cost of cupcakes.
Crossposted from FreeEnterprise.com
Brace yourself. The video below is a bit longer than the usual video you see here on FreeEnterprise.com. But the premise of this story—as well as the long-term implications of this case—are so shocking, we just had to dig deeper into this unprecedented overreach of a federal agency.
The speed or velocity with which a business can move goods from one place to another is one of the most critical factors in a company’s overall success.
So it’s no surprise that Caterpillar Inc. is a big supporter of infrastructure investment – after all Caterpillar is the leading manufacturer of construction equipment in the world.
Sometimes when people don’t like the truth, they deny its existence. Take note, Obamacare supporters.
In his recent State of American Business speech, U.S. Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue stated that, “Employers are concerned about the negative impacts of Obamacare…Many firms are stopping new hires and cutting workers’ hours because of the law’s mandates.’’
Excessive government regulation is driving a well-known fast food franchise out of the United States.
Andy Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr., tells CNBC that, “we love the U.S. and continue to fight the good fight to open restaurants and create jobs, it's just that the government is making it hard for us to build those restaurants."
The economy is getting stronger and should grow faster in 2014 than it did in 2013, but alongside the positive signs are big question marks surrounding trade policy, government spending, health care, and regulations, among other issues, that could act as a drag on the economy and job creation, according to U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue. During his annual State of American Business address to nearly 200 audience members and 100 members of the media, Donohue offered the Chamber’s policy prescriptions outlined in its 2014 Jobs, Growth, and Opportunity agenda.
From shipping to staffing, the Chamber and its partners have the tools to save your business money and the solutions to help you run it more efficiently. Join the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today to start saving.
