FROM PRINTING INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA
Climate change-with a cap and trade provision-is poised to pass the House, likely by week's end, following a deal reached this week between key Democratic committee leaders. The crux of the deal ends a continued negotiation between House Energy & Commerce Chairman Waxman (D-CA) and House Agriculture Chairman Peterson (D-MN) over which government agency would regulate carbon emissions applying to agriculture. Peterson prevailed; the USDA rather than the EPA would regulate this section of a carbon offset program. However, details on how the bill will define "biomass" that can be used for renewable fuel production remain vague; the forestry and wood products industry views this definition as critical.
While the vote is expected to be close, Waxman stated his party is making "an all-out effort" this week with the White House, Democratic leadership, and special interest supporters working to achieve the 218 votes needed for majority passage. Still, blocs of concern and some outright opposition remain among House Democrats. Rep. Herseth-Sandlin (D-SD), co-chair of the House Blue Dog Coalition, said she cannot support the bill and noted that many of her Blue Dog colleagues were "skeptical" and that "many are seemingly unmovable off of their ‘no' positions. The Congressional Black Caucus had not taken a formal position on the bill, citing concerns raised by the Congress of Racial Equality that sent a letter to Congress calling the bill "an immoral assault on poor Americans" because it would raise the cost of energy for consumers. The majority of Republicans are expected to vote "no" to final passage, especially if cap and trade is not amended or removed prior to the House floor vote on final passage.
Meanwhile, Printing Industries of America issued a key vote notice against the bill, citing the cap and trade provision as too costly and job-killing for the industry (see below for more details). The House bill is widely viewed as a first product that will be modified if and when the Senate takes up the issue. As of now, Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) has indicated Senate consideration of climate change legislation could be considered in October.
Jump to Other Sections:
Advocacy in Action
Legislative Update
Lawmaker Profile
Overheard
Printing Industries of America weighed in on the small business perspective on health care reform this week as a signatory in the print ad "Is Congress Listening?" that ran in The Hill newspaper. The ad notes that Congress must help, not harm, employers in its effort to enact comprehensive reform. Printing Industries of America member companies are encouraged to print the ad and fax it to their lawmakers in the House and Senate. Adding a cover page indicating the company's support of the ad's message will give the communications extra impact. To find the fax numbers for your U.S. Senators and Representative(s) Capitol Hill offices, use Printing Industries of America's online Legislative Action Center. Simply enter the zip codes of your facility locations to locate contact information for lawmakers. Also, help us follow up on your grassroots messages by emailing govtaffairs@printing.org to let us know to whom your faxes were sent. This is just step one as the health care debate begins on Capitol Hill; future calls to action will be published in imPRINT. Thank you for taking action!
On the day before what is expected to be House passage of a comprehensive climate-change bill, Printing Industries participated in an Environmental Forum, bringing together manufacturers and Rep. Upton (R-MI), Ranking Member of the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Energy & Environment. Upton noted that he hoped Republicans would offer a motion that would strip the cap and trade proposal from the final bill but acknowledged that Speaker Pelosi would likely have the votes necessary to prevent such a maneuver. Upton stressed that he hoped Congress would find other alternatives, such as increased use of nuclear power or green jobs, to help industry achieve increased environmental stewardship and lamented that, should the current comprehensive climate change bill reach the President's desk, it would be devastating to the Midwest and to the country. Printing Industries of America shared with Rep. Upton the industry's concerning economic analysis related to cap and trade and thanked him for his continued effort to block it.
The House this week began its tri-committee (Committees on Energy & Commerce, Education & Labor, and Ways & Means) consideration of the majority party's comprehensive health care reform bill. Unlike the Senate counterparts, the House version included specific language on the hot-button subjects of a public option (also known as government-sponsored insurance) and shared responsibility (also known as an employer mandate to provide benefits). In the House bill, a public option would be created to compete against private insurers, and employers would be required to provide health insurance or pay a penalty for not doing so. A small business exemption from the mandate is listed in the initial House outline as applying to companies with less than $250,000 in payroll annually, translating roughly to a printing company with 4-5 employees, including management. Following the legislative process trend, the House bill is expected to be much more expansive and partisan (Democrat) than the Senate product(s) is expected to be. The committee hearing process in the House demonstrated the early signals of what is expected to become a major battle among key stakeholders, including business owners. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce this week took its strongest position to date, opposing a public plan and an employer mandate and stating that Congress is "divorced from reality" on what health care costs and responsibilities businesses can shoulder.
On the Senate side, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) conducted painstakingly slow consideration of its signature bill authored by HELP Committee Chair Sen. Kennedy (D-MA). While the committee marked up certain titles of the bill dealing with less contentious issues, like incentives to increase the health care workforce, the most anticipated-and likely most expensive-portions of the bill, those dealing with a public option and employer mandate, are still literally blank pages in the bill. The HELP Committee had hoped to move more quickly but now expects to reveal and consider these sections after the Independence Day recess. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats continue to consider various measures to bring down the more than $1.5 billion-over-10-years price tag the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) placed on the original legislation. CBO Director Elmendorf this week told the Senate that an employer mandate of some sort was a must-have in order to keep costs down, leading to discussion of a "free rider" alternative that would not require employers to provide health insurance, but would force those that do not to contribute the cost of tax credits for eligible workers in an exchange. Senator Dorgan (D-ND), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, stated that a "free rider" model was a "live option" as his party leadership works to make comprehensive health care reform less expensive. A variety of revenue raisers (or tax hikes) to pay for reform continue to be on the table. Most notably, President Obama this week softened his position on taxing a certain level of employer-provided health benefits, noting that he could support the idea. Obama had roundly criticized Sen. McCain (R-AZ) on the campaign trail for McCain's suggestion of this health care reform option.
As the House moves to expected consideration and passage of major climate-change legislation, Printing Industries of America is reminding Congress that the cap and trade provision as originally proposed would be a serious cost burden for the printing and graphic communications industry. According to association data, should cap and trade be enacted, the industry would see an overall decrease of shipments in the range of $670 million per year. Utility cost increases would be approximately $1.25 billion per year. Printing Industries stressed the negative job impact the legislation could cause, citing a projected total industry payroll reduction of $300-$400 million per year equating to a loss of 6,000-7,000 printing jobs per year. The real battle over climate change legislation and its controversial cap and trade program will be in the Senate. To date, Senators representing Rust Belt states with heavy manufacturing presences along with coal producing states have viewed cap and trade unfavorably. As the debate moves from one side of the Capitol to the other, Printing Industries will continue sounding the alarm bell on these concerning economic statistics.
Printing Industries of America this week commended the U.S. Senate on its confirmation of Inez Tenenbaum to serve as Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman. In this role, Tenenbaum will be responsible for continued implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which has, to date, proved highly problematic for manufacturers of children's books and other printed materials marketed or sold to children under the age of 12. As noted in its press release, Printing Industries of America appreciated Tenenbaum's response to repeated calls for common sense and cooperation issued by members of the Senate Commerce Committee during the confirmation hearing. Printing Industries of America encourages swift action on a request for a formal determination that industry products are not near the unsafe lead levels laid out in the CPSIA and should not be subject to costly and burdensome testing protocols. For more information, visit our CSPIA page.
The House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia this week marked up and approved H.R. 22, which would allow the USPS to pay its share of contributions for annuitants' health benefits out of the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund for three years. The law is intended to provide short-term financial relief for the cash-strapped USPS while the agency, Congress, and stakeholders seek longer-term business solutions to make the USPS financially viable for the future. Printing Industries of America supports H.R. 22. The markup followed a letter last week authored by House Government Reform and Oversight Committee Ranking Member Rep. Issa (R-CA) to Committee Chairman Towns (D-NY) urging him to move H.R. 22 through the legislative process while Rep. McHugh (R-NY), the long-time champion of postal policy issues in the House, is still serving in that body. McHugh has been nominated to serve as Secretary of the Army. Printing Industries of America thanks both Subcommittee Chairman Lynch (D-MA) for conducting the markup and Ranking Member Issa for his highlighting the importance of adoption of this legislation.
Printing Industries of America and its allies in the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace took its advocacy to the social media network this week, posting a YouTube video ad titled "Poison." The ad notes how disastrous the economic consequences of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act would be, especially if the mandatory binding arbitration provision allowing federal mediators to set private contracts is included. The ad encourages viewers to contact their U.S. Senators to urge a "no" position on the current EFCA and any of its variations, or "Sons of EFCA," based on this fatally flawed piece of legislation.
Final monthly numbers released by the Senate campaign committees show that, for the first time in 2009, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) outraised its counterpart, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), by about $1 million in the month of May. Notably, the NRSC paid off its remaining debt from the 2008 election cycle. This demonstrates a more even pace of fundraising by the two committees as both build war chests to fund 2010 Senate campaigns.
If you have a question about any of the issues above or other government affairs-related concerns please feel free to contact us at govtaffairs@printing.org or (202) 730-7970.
