1. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Mid-America Chamber Executives
Federal Issue Update
May 9, 2013

2. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Small Business Outlook Survey

3. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Small Business Outlook Survey

4. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
State of American Business
Forecast = Economic Growth: 1 ½ - 1 ¾ for first half of 2013
2 ½ by the end of 2013
• Housing starts
• Energy Prices
Economic Uncertainty:
• Tax Increases
• Regulatory Pressures
• Continued Unemployment

5. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
U.S. GDP Actual and Potential
Quarterly, Q1 1970 to Q4 2011
Real GDP
$
$
$
$
Forecast

6. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
American Jobs and Growth Agenda
Reducing Deficits and Debt - address runaway spending and reforming
entitlements and the tax code.
Developing More American Energy - create millions of jobs while
making the country more secure.
Expanding American Trade - two-way investment and tourism to open
international markets and reduce commercial barriers at home and abroad.
Reforming the Regulatory Process - ease the burden on capital
markets, health care, environmental, labor, and other rules.
Enacting Comprehensive Immigration Reform - ensure that our
economy is supplied with able workers at all skill levels.

7. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
http://immigration.uschamber.com

8. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
American Jobs and Growth Agenda
Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Four Legged Stool:
Border Control
Work Visa Programs
Employer Verification
Legalization

9. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
What’s Next on Health Care?
• Legislative – Ongoing fixes in Congress
– Repeal of employer mandate
– Health Insurance Tax (HIT)
• Regulatory – DOL, HHS, & IRS
• State Implementation (2013):
• Exchanges
• and Medicaid

10. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
What’s In The Health Care Law?
Tax hikes which total more than $500 billion over 10 years

11. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Federal Spending, Deficits and Debt
Federal Deficit:
• 2011 deficit was $1.3 trillion.
• 2012 deficit at $1.1 trillion
• The fourth consecutive annual deficit exceeding
$1 trillion.

12. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Federal Spending, Deficits and Debt
Federal Debt
• Gross debt at $16 trillion dollars ($11 trillion held by
the public / $5 trillion as intergovernmental holdings).
• Could lead to:
• higher interest rates
• weak dollar
• less private investment
• lower economic and job growth
• and decline in our global competitiveness.

13. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Federal Debt

14. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Government Outlays
Discretionary Mandatory Net Interest

15. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Spending Projections

16. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
The Fiscal Cliffs

17. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
How Did “The Cliffs” Start?
Budget Control Act of 2011 – Set the stage:
• Debt limit increase - $900 billion increase in debt limit and
$917 billion in discretionary budget cuts.
• Sequestration - The Act mandates $1.2 trillion in Spending
Cuts over ten years beginning this year through sequester
process. $85 billion in cuts slated for 2013.
• $600 billion tax bill on January 1, 2013 because of expiring
tax provisions.

18. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
The Sequester
• Started March 1
• $85 billion in 2013 / $1.2 trillion over 10 years.
• 2.3 % “across the board cut” in federal
programs – NOT ENTIRELY.
• Budget Control Act confined cuts largely to
discretionary accounts.
– 4.6 % cut in Non Defense Discretionary
– 7.9 % cut in Defense

19. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
The Deal – Big Things Left Out
• Growth-oriented tax reform postponed
• Runaway spending not curbed
• Entitlement programs still headed toward
insolvency

20. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Reducing Deficits and Debt
Three Bucket Strategy:
Entitlement Reform
Comprehensive Tax Reform
American Energy

21. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Tax Reform: Why we need it
• The United States has the world’s highest
corporate tax rate.
• The United States is the only country that
has a worldwide system of tax.
• Taxpayers spend 6.1 billion hours a year
complying.

22. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Tax Reform

23. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Comprehensive Tax Reform
• Lower the corporate tax rate
• Adopt a Territorial Tax System
• Simply Tax Code
• Make reforms permanent

24. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Third Bucket: American Energy
U.S. Energy Resources – America’s next big
thing:
– Encourage smart development of America’s vast
energy resources—traditional, unconventional,
and alternative.
– Expand access to onshore and offshore federal
lands for energy development.
– Invest in clean coal and policies to expand
renewable energy and emissions-free nuclear
power.

25. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Third Bucket: American Energy
• Shale activity alone generated $237
billion in economic activity and $62 billion
in government revenues in 2012.
• By 2035, we can double the economic
impact, double the number of jobs, and
generate a cumulative $2.5 trillion in
government revenues.

26. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Key 2013 Dates
March 1: Sequestration begins
March 27: Appropriations extension FY
2013 expires (discretionary)
April 15: Budget Resolution
May 19: Hit debt ceiling

27. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Political Challenge
• Polarization
• Congress: 85% won with better than 55%
of the vote
• Poll on deficit reduction:
– 49 % favor cuts alone
– 48 % favor cuts AND tax increases
• Generic Vote: 43% Dem
40% GOP

28. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Partisan Vote Record

29. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
The Good News!
U.S. Outperforming Competitors
New Energy Boom
Growth in Global Markets
Revival of U.S. Manufacturing
U.S. Demographic Edge
Enterprising States

30. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
Services to Chambers

31. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
**SAVE the DATE**
- 2013 Regional Government Affairs -
Conference
Chicago, Illinois New Orleans, LA
October 9-11 October 23-25
Millenium Knickerbocker Omni Royal Orleans

32. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
USCC Midwest Regional Office on Facebook!
Why should you become a fan?
• Latest news on USCC Programs
• Know what’s happening in D.C.
• Tell us what’s going on at your chamber!
• See what other Chambers in the Region
are doing
‘Like Us’ at
www.facebook.com/uschambermidwest

33. U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 100 Years Standing Up for American Enterprise
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Midwest Regional Office
Questions?
Doug Loon
Vice President, Regional Affairs
952.832.9151
dloon@uschamber.com