The U.S. Chamber in the news - October 25

Chamber Of Commerce Refutes Its Own Attacks On Obama's Energy Policy With  A New Study
A new study conducted by the energy consulting firm IHS CERA and sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Petroleum Institute, American Chemistry Council, and Natural Gas Supply Association finds the U.S. is on track to become the largest oil producer in the world. This study, which the Chamber happily endorsed, proves that attacks from the right against the Obama administration’s domestic energy policies — often led and funded by the Chamber of Commerce — are completely false. Indeed, production has increased every year of Obama’s presidency and this year is the largest single-year gain since 1951. [Think Progress]

Poll: Majority wants corporate money out of politics
Nearly 90 percent of people in the United States say there is too much corporate money in politics, according to a new poll from a collection of watchdog and public interest groups. “Americans are ready to take action to bring secret corporate spending to the light and to hold accountable those companies — and their conduits, like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — who attempt to hide their spending. [The Hill]

Chamber Of Commerce Spends Millions On Candidates It Said It Would Defeat
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce — which spent nearly $33 million in 2010 to elect a Republican Congress — strongly backed the 2011 Budget Control Act which averted a national debt default and instituted automatic cuts that will go into effect unless Congress reduces federal spending. But while the Chamber’s CEO Tom Donohue reportedly warned Congressional Republicans at the time “we’ll get rid of you,” if they did not agree to a debt ceiling increase, the group has spent millions supporting Republicans who voted against the bipartisan agreement. [Think Progress]

Hacker Attack Warnings Don't Budge Opposing Sides on Cyber Bill
The White House and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce dug in to opposing positions on cybersecurity legislation yesterday as federal officials escalate warnings about hacker threats to the nation. An executive of the Chamber of Commerce, the largest U.S. business lobby, backed a voluntary system to let the government and industry share cyber threat information during a panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington. [Businessweek]

BlackRock Seeks Money Fund Compromise Amid FSOC Threat
The SEC enacted new rules, some of them first proposed by the industry, in 2010, creating liquidity minimums, imposing shorter ceilings on the average maturity of holdings, tightening credit standards and forcing the funds to disclose more information on holdings. Schapiro called the changes a good start. Her staff worked for two additional years on a plan that was ready in August. The industry enlisted the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in a months-long lobbying campaign aimed at swaying SEC commissioners, members of Congress and money fund investors and borrowers against the plan. Its key victory came over Democrat Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar, who told Schapiro in August he wouldn’t support the plan, joining two Republicans who opposed it.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is Bad for Small Businesses
Like Mitt Romney, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims to represent small business interests, and makes a big fuss about how dedicated it is to the plight of the small business owner. And like Mitt Romney, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce isn’t telling the truth. Despite its misleading name, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is not a federal bureau. It is an independent business federation that represents the interests of rich oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, automakers, and other multi-million dollar industries. A full 55% of its funding comes from just 16 mega-corporations. In 2011 the U.S. Chamber spent over $66 million lobbying in Washington, not for small business owners, but for CEOs that are already millionaires.   [The Legal Examiner]
 
Very unwise for employers to tell employees how to vote
Recent weeks have brought a rash of reports of something that used to be unthinkable in America: employers telling their workers who to vote for. Last week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched a campaign encouraging businesses to distribute political ads in the payroll envelopes of their employees. These are the kind of banana-republic tactics that our government regularly condemns when they occur abroad. [The Hill]

Oxfam Uses Shareholder Status to Attack Extraction Payment Lawsuit
Oxfam America has filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit filed last month by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and oil companies over a new requirement that they disclose payments made to governments in exchange for extraction rights. [Compliance Week]