“I can tell you that businesspeople at companies large and small wake up each morning and wonder what the government is going to do to them today. The current administration is on a regulatory tear—and this will continue until the day the moving van backs up to the door of the White House next January,” Donohue said.
Business and workplace regulations from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) were cited as a key area of overregulation, as were regulations being issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) including the Clean Power Plan (CPP), Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule and a new ozone rule.
Regulations placed on financial markets were also singled out, with promises that the Chamber will aggressively move for reforms to the Dodd-Frank Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The Chamber criticized the CFPB for what it calls “regulation by press release” and is urging the creation of rules go through the “normal processes.”
Immigration reform was highlighted as critical to economic growth and the Chamber vowed to work hard in the coming year to make reform a reality. The group also reiterated support for ratifying the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, while noting that they will work with the administration and Congress to “address legitimate concerns expressed by industry and legislators.” The Chamber says it is also working with the business community in efforts to support the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the EU, and the Trade in Services Agreement with China. Donohue also echoed similar themes on trade and other areas in a session with reporters this week.
On energy, Donohue said “expanding America’s energy supply is another priority where progress can and must be made. We can and should be developing all kinds of energy and discriminating against none.” The Chamber, he said, is committed to expanding energy production on federal lands, as well as supporting emission-free sources of energy, including nuclear and renewables, while opposing the “regulatory assault” on coal.
Reauthorization of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, which expires in September, was also mentioned as a priority of the Chamber for 2016, as was passage of the Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA). The RAA would modify rulemaking procedures for “high-impact rules”, those which would have a $1 billion or greater economic impact.