U.S. Chamber offers 8 steps to greater employment

January 17, 2011

Michigan Live

By Jennie Phipps

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce kicked off its 100th birthday celebration with a speech by the organization's President Tom Donahue on unemployment.

"Our nation’s highest priority must be to put Americans back to work. To achieve this goal, our economy has to grow much faster than it is today. Unfortunately, we think the economy will actually slow down in the early months of the year. We expect growth to average about 2.5 percent in the first half and then work its way back to about 3 percent by the end of the year."

Here are the things the organization and Donahue think should be done to improve that outlook:

•Energy. To tap our energy resources, we must speed up permitting and end many of the restrictions that have put key areas off-limits. Instead of handpicking a few technologies, we must harness all our resources, traditional and alternative—while expanding nuclear power and driving greater efficiency. Our biggest and most reliable foreign energy supplier is Canada. ... Approving the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would put 20,000 Americans to work right away and up to 250,000 over the life of the project.
•Transportation. Congress has until Jan. 31 to finish the FAA reauthorization, which has been delayed for more than four years. A new NextGen air traffic control system must be a top priority. It will ease delays, conserve fuel, create jobs, and save lives. Lawmakers also need to pass legislation to maintain investment in our roads, bridges, and transit systems. SAFETEA-LU expires again on March 31. If Congress doesn’t act, the Highway Trust Fund would be cut a minimum of 35 percent by this fall, putting thousands out of work.
•Water. We need to invest in our water infrastructure. Every piece of infrastructure legislation should include reforms to speed up projects and encourage public-private partnerships and the use of private capital. By knocking down the barriers, we can unlock up to $250 billion in private capital for infrastructure. Leverage this with public investments, and we could create 1.9 million jobs over 10 years.
•Trade and global commerce. Ninety-five percent of the people we want to sell something to live outside the United States. Let’s get out there and convince more of these consumers to Buy American.
•Attract global investors. Foreign investment already supports 5 million direct jobs and millions of indirect jobs. We need to negotiate more bilateral investment treaties to ensure that American investors are treated fairly overseas. India and China should be high on that list. We rank 44th in the number of such treaties and that’s a competitive disadvantage.
•Expand tourism and business travel to the United States. We need to broaden visa waiver programs, limit wait times at customs, and implement trusted traveler programs to reduce the hassles without jeopardizing safety. By simply restoring our share of the travel market to 2001 levels, we could realize $860 billion in economic stimulus and create 1.3 million new jobs.
•Trim the regulatory onslaught. The Labor Department has 100 rulemakings in the pipeline. Dodd-Frank requires 447 rules, 63 reports, and 59 studies. The health care law established 159 new agencies, panels, commissions, and regulatory bodies. EPA has some 200 regulations in the works. And the business community must contend with a National Labor Relations Board that is clearly tilted toward the unions.
•Rein in government spending and bring deficits and debt under control. Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are the principal drivers of this runaway spending. They already consume more than 55 percent of federal outlays. Without reform, they will soon devour the entire budget. All of us need to face the fundamental reality that the only way to continue these programs is to make constructive changes and make them now.

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