September 7, 2011

Posted by Ann McCulloch

Jobs and the economy – what has been the subject of so much recent debate will again take center stage this week as the President prepares to address the nation on Thursday.  House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will follow the President’s speech with a major address of his own next week.  While few details have been forthcoming on the President’s remarks, the Republican plan relies heavily on relief from significant regulatory burdens and targeted business tax cuts. 

MEMA is very supportive of efforts to relieve the pressure many business face from unnecessary and overly burdensome regulations and applauded the President’s recent withdrawal of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed ozone standards.  However, motor vehicle parts suppliers also have serious concerns with EPA’s new “boiler MACT” rules as well as recent National Labor Relations Board and Department of Labor proposals that would change established procedures and timelines in matters relating to union activity.

In addition to regulatory relief, MEMA believes Congress and the Administration need to work together immediately to support specific efforts to spur job creation, including: 

• Protecting intellectual property by passing of meaningful patent reform legislation;
• Boosting trade with the passage of the three pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea; and
• Securing needed infrastructure investment through a transportation reauthorization bill. 

What is overwhelmingly clear is that there is a growing need for partisan politics to be set aside so that the hard work of repairing the economy and building confidence may occur.  From the supplier industry’s perspective, this is not something that one side of the aisle, or even Congress or the Administration, can tackle alone.  The challenges motor vehicle parts manufacturers face every day are real, and the solutions must be as well.