Ben Taylor, executive director for the Great Lakes Region of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Thursday immigration reform and tax reform are the organization’s biggest lobbying efforts right now in Washington, D.C. Taylor spoke at the Galesburg Area Chamber of Commerce’s Galesburg on the Go luncheon at The Kensington.
After showing a slide of the U.S. Chamber’s headquarters — located between the White House and the headquarters of the AFL-CIO — he joked the chamber was between “a Barack and a hard place.”
Turning serious, however, Taylor said, “we get a lot of flak for being too fair to one side or the other.”
As an example that sometimes business and union interests can coincide, he noted, “We’re at the table right now with the AFL-CIO on immigration reform. That is kind of common ground.”
Taylor said the business community relies on many individuals, both at the high and low end of the wage and skill scale, who may be in the country illegally.
“There should be a way to come out of the shadows and become a citizen,” he said.
Many businesses are telling the U.S. Chamber all positions cannot be filled with U.S. citizens, for whatever reason.
He said the chamber feels it is necessary to secure the nation’s borders and, along with the path to citizenship, have better verification of workers’ legal status.
The global economy was another topic. Taylor said 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United States.
“If we’re going to have a dynamic economy, we need to engage the rest of the world,” he said.
While Taylor said the chamber supports Congress and the Obama administration on the need for free-trade agreements, “what we’re not supporting the administration on is regulations.”
He pointed to the 2,100-page healthcare law as an example.
“There’s a lot of regulations out there at the EPA, HHS (Health and Human Services) and IRS,” Taylor said.
Galesburg Chamber Executive Director Steven Brody asked Taylor about “onshoring” the practice of U.S. businesses moving industry back to this country that earlier was moved overseas.
“The problem is our policies are kind of forcing them abroad,” Taylor said. “It’s good that Caterpillar makes a lot of money abroad, it’s good Cisco makes a lot of money abroad.”
He estimated multi-national corporations based in the U.S. have about $2 trillion they “would love to bring back to the United States; so that should be part of tax reform.”
The problem, he said, is money Cat makes in Germany is taxed again if the Peoria-based firm brings it back to this country.
Taylor also talked about renewable energy, as well as the Keystone Pipeline from Calgary, Canada, to Port Arthur, Texas, and hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” The process is used to extract oil and natural gas from shale. He pointed to North Dakota as a state booming because it allows fracking.
He said unemployment there is 3.1 percent, there is 4.7 percent population growth and the state has a budget surplus of $1 billion. Taylor said he is hopeful the Illinois General Assembly will approve a bill being debated in Springfield to allow the process in this state.
Additionally, he said more business people need to consider running for public office.
“I don’t want to malign our public servants, but especially in the business community, we do a deplorable job in trying to recruit our own,” Taylor said. “That needs to change” in order to get more policies favorable to business.
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