This piece was originally published in the December 2016 issue of electroindustry. Kyle Pitsor, Vice President of Government Relations, NEMA Next month, a Republican majority Senate and House of Representatives will convene, and Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. With the shift in control to the GOP, what are some major themes we…
In 2012, I had the honor of being selected as one of the country’s 75 Smart Grid pioneers by Smart Grid Today. Thanks to the luck of alphabetical ordering, it just so happens that my name appears on that list immediately before Dr. Ernest Moniz, MIT faculty member and the Obama administration nominee for Secretary of Energy. In light of…
This is a press release issued by NAM today directly from John Engler, President and CEO. Congress returns from its summer recess next week, and high on the agenda will be proposals from President Obama and congressional leadership to raise taxes on America’s energy sector. These potential tax increases would cause serious damage to the manufacturing sector, job creation and…
Temperatures are rising in the nation’s capital, and I don’t just mean literally (although we have been above 90 for five straight days, with heat indices hovering near 100 degrees). With the arrival of summer comes the most tumultuous part of Congress’ legislative schedule. And there are several things boiling right now—responding to the BP oil spill, preparing for the confirmation…
With the 2010 congressional elections just 251 days away and polls showing that nearly 60% of Americans feel the country is on the “wrong track,” this week could be a critical test for the Obama Administration and Congress. First up: the Jobs for Main Street Act (H.R. 2847), which the Senate is expected to approve today. The $15 billion package…
This week House and Senate leaders announced that Congress will do something to respond to rising unemployment before they adjourn for the year. I don't know any economist — or anyone else, for that matter — who would argue that the current 10.2% unemployment rate and lack of job creation in this economic recovery is NOT a problem. Quite the contrary – workers…
Before leaving on August recess, Senator Bingaman (NM) introduced a bill, S. 1639, the Expanding Industrial Energy Efficiency Incentives Act. This bill includes the NEMA-advocated advanced motor technology tax credit. What makes this bill even more promising is that, Senator Jeff Bingaman is the Chairman of the Finance Subcommittee on Energy, so he has the authority to push this bill….
Think that the proposed "millionaire surtax" to help pay for health care reforms won't impact job growth? Think again. Last week, the House Ways & Means Committee approved health care surtaxes which, when combined with the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and reversion of the top federal tax rate on wages to 39.6% at the end of 2010, would…