U.S. Chamber of Commerce Pushes Priorities in Congress

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce flexed its muscle in the midterm election, winning 14 of 15 Republican primaries in which it was involved and helping the GOP recapture the Senate. Now it wants the Republican majority in Congress to get to work.

Chamber Chief Executive Tom Donohue said in an interview that the GOP has two years to enact “a vigorous program aimed at meeting the needs of the American people” or risk losing their majority. The Chamber wants Congress to act on business priorities such as an immigration overhaul, transportation funding, tax breaks and trade agreements.

Mr. Donohue warned lawmakers to move beyond intraparty skirmishes and partisan bickering that paralyzed the last Congress, hinting that his group might look to oust lawmakers who try to derail the legislative process. The Chamber played a central role in the midterm campaigns, spending more than $70 million, according to an official. Of 268 candidates the Chamber endorsed in the 2014 election, 249 won, including 22 in the 30 most contested races in which the group was involved.

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Over the last two years, the Chamber’s efforts to elect GOP candidates haven't always translated to clout in Congress. Immigration changes, a top Chamber priority, hit a conservative roadblock in the House. Republican resistance also complicated passage for other top business priorities, including transportation funding, tax breaks for selected industries and the reauthorization of the U.S. Export-Import Bank. Extension of an insurance backstop for major terrorist attacks also failed to clear the Senate in the final days of Congress.

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The Chamber additionally wants approval of new trade agreements and legislation to expand domestic energy production. It would also like to change parts of the 2010 health law, including a repeal of the tax on medical-device sales, and the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law.

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Mr. Donohue said the biggest impediment to productivity in the next Congress is the continued disappearance of conservative Democrats and centrist Republicans willing to work across the aisle. “The middle has all gone away,” he said. The Chamber, of course, played a role in that disappearance by targeting conservative Senate Democrats to help the GOP reclaim a majority. The group backed only six Democrats in the last election, none in the Senate.


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http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-chamber-of-commerce-pushes-priorities-in-congress-1419631349