Furthering its commitment to sustainability, NAM member Bayer Corporation last week opened an electric vehicle charging station for employees at its U.S. headquarters in Pittsburgh. The Bayer charging station is one of the 45 stations that will be built along Pennsylvania Interstate 376 as part of the “Energy 376 Corridor” project. The project’s goal is to create one of the most extensive charging station networks in the country. The station is located next to Bayer’s EcoCommercial Building Conference Center, which is a net-zero energy facility.

Dan Santmyer, Director of Operations at the Bayer Pittsburgh site, said in a press release, “the installation of the EV charging station is part of the company’s global commitment to sustainability. We are proud to provide our employees with the infrastructure that supports their efforts to drive, rent or purchase EV’s and reduce their personal footprint on the environment.”

Learn more about Bayer’s comprehensive sustainability program here.

A pipeline intended to transport oil from Canada through the middle of the United States must first run through Washington.  That’s the unfortunate reality that is holding up construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

The pipeline will create jobs–thousands of them–and add billions to the economy, yet it continues to get tangled in red tape.  Optimism that the Administration would approve the pipeline by the end of this year has turned to frustration after President Obama announced a decision would wait until 2013.

This project has waited long enough.  When TransCanada (the company building the pipeline) filed for its permit, it expected a wait of about 23 months.  Now, it’s looking at a delay that could exceed 50 months.

That’s one of the points that will be made by TransCanada at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on the pipeline today. Other witnesses include representatives from organized labor, which also backs the project. You can watch the hearing here.

And earlier this year the House passed legislation that would force the President to make a decision by November 1.  It’s too late for that obviously, but Congress continues to press on.  A bill in the Senate would require a decision in 60 days–there’s more on that legislation in a post below.

The upside of this project is enormous–jobs, energy security, billions contributed to the U.S. economy.  So why wait?

This morning in a Rose Garden address President Obama called for Congress to pass an extension of the surface transportation and aviation programs which are critical to the daily transportation needs of manufacturers. Manufacturers welcome President Obama’s engagement and call for Congress to pass a bipartisan reauthorization which expires on September 30, as well as an extension of the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization which expires on September 16.  These critical national infrastructure programs require certainty and adequate funding levels to ensure the safety of the public, economic growth and jobs. 

Temporary extensions are not a long-term substitute; the Administration and Congress still need to act on a multi-year surface transportation reauthorization at robust funding levels and a multi-year reauthorization of our civil aviation programs.

The President’s announcement that federal agencies will be tasked to expedite environmental and permitting reviews of high-priority infrastructure projects that will create and sustain jobs now was a welcome first step.  Rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure will require additional and fundamental policy changes in how we finance, permit, build and manage our investments.  Manufacturers expect a bipartisan approach to these issues that will deliver results. 

As our international competitors continue to ramp up investments in transportation infrastructure from modernizing air traffic control systems to expanding highway and transit capacity to accommodate growth, the House and Senate in the coming months must fully embrace these important domestic initiatives that Americans require to keep manufacturers competitive and our economy moving.  Manufacturers grow when the country adopts meaningful policies that support economic growth and expansion.  

Rosario Palmieri is vice president for infrastructure, legal and regulatory policy.

Last week the State Department took a positive step on the long road to approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, which will bring oil supplies from Canada into the U.S. Construction of the pipeline seems like a no-brainer. We get access to reliable energy supplies from our neighbor and ally to the north—and, as an added benefit, construction of the pipeline will create 20,000 jobs and add billions to our economy.

The pipeline, however, has its detractors, who have “made Keystone into a cause celebre,” as Robert Samuelson puts it in today’s Washington Post.

He goes on:

Actually, the reality is more complex. If Obama rejects the pipeline, he would — perversely — increase greenhouse gas emissions. Canada has made clear that it will proceed with oil sands development regardless of the American decision. If the United States doesn’t want the oil, China and other Asian countries do. Pipelines would be built to the West Coast. Transporting the oil by tanker to Asia would almost certainly create more emissions than moving it by pipeline to closer U.S. markets.

Samuelson highlights the stark choice: “Do we say yes to oil sands? Or do we increase our exposure to unstable world oil markets?”

It’s past time for approval of this project, which has been awaiting the government’s sign-off since 2009.  Manufacturers—and everyone who depends on affordable, secure energy is waiting for the administration to move forward.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) conducted a study of the events of the Fukushima disaster and generated a report  on the fallout and what could be done to prevent it. Additionally, they reviewed the safety features of nuclear energy facilities in the United States as a reliable source of power.

This report will be part of discussions moving forward on how to maintain the strong safety record of the nuclear industry in the U.S. As the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) continues to review the report, it is important to keep in mind that adding costly, unnecessary and reactionary regulations, simply for the sake of regulations is not the solution. This will only prevent job creation and growth within the industry.

The NAM has long been an advocate of nuclear power as one of the many sources of energy needed to meet the growing demands of our nation. We agree with President Obama that Nuclear energy is a “necessary investment” in the future of our nation. The NAM believes in an “all of the above” approach when it comes to our nation’s energy portfolio, and nuclear power has shown to be a safe, effective, clean and reliable source that generates roughly 20 percent of the energy our nation uses.

Coverage of the Report:

•  UPI: Differences between U.S. and Japanese nuclear regulations

Today, the House Republican Technology Working Group outlined its policy priorities for the 112^th Congress. The announcement, initiated by the Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-OH) and Technology Working Group Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), was delivered to a packed room of high-tech company representatives, including many NAM member companies.

These proposed policies serve as a starting point for congressional debate, and echo the positions manufacturers have been advocating to help grow their businesses and create jobs.

Technology can be found in all aspects of manufacturing and it is vital that Congress stays abreast on the latest developments to ensure manufacturers have the ability to compete and win in today’s global economy. U.S. manufacturers have a long standing tradition of an entrepreneurial spirit and being at the forefront of innovation. Manufacturers will continue to work with Congress to continue this legacy that has proven to be a job-creating engine for our economy.

Manufacturers are pleased that Congress has acknowledged the vital role technology plays in manufacturing and our economic health. Congress must adopt a strategy that will reduce the aggressive regulatory burden of the federal government and reform our tax code, while providing the infrastructure and common-sense policies needed to allow our technological advances to flourish.

The NAM’s Director of Technology Policy Brian Raymond discussed some of the proposals this afternoon:

Improving our nation’s cyber-infrastructure is of critical importance for national and economic security. Cyber-attacks can have a devastating impact on both government agencies and manufacturers, which dampens our economic growth and competiveness. Manufacturers are pleased President Obama has put forward a plan to help improve our nation’s defenses against harmful attacks.

The plan announced by the Administration includes many key reforms sought by manufacturers, including better collaboration between private industry and the government to identify and respond to threats and attacks. Policies which draw on industry wide best practices and partnership with the government are vital for manufacturers continue to lead in responding to new threats. 

We look forward to working with both the Administration and Congress as they begin to discuss cybersecurity reforms. 

Brian Raymond is director of technology and domestic economic policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

Victor Davis Hanson, the military historian and farmer, finds lessons from Japan’s suffering in a Pajamas Media commentary, “The Fragility of Complex Societies”:

The Efficiency of Complexity Versus the Flexibility of De-centralization

Japan’s high density, central planning, mass transit, demographic uniformity, and a culture of mutual dependence allow millions to live humanely and successfully in quite crowded conditions (in areas of Tokyo at 6,000 persons and more per square kilometer). And compared to other Asian and African cities (Mumbai or Lagos) even Tokyo is relatively not so dense, though far more successful. Yet such urban societies are extremely vulnerable to the effects of earthquakes, tsunamis, “man-caused disasters” and other assorted catastrophes, analogous in nature perhaps to tightly knit bee colonies that have lost their queens.

I don’t know quite why many of our environmentalists and urban planners wish to emulate such patterns of settlement (OK, I do know), since for us in America it would be a matter of choice, rather than, as in a highly congested Japan, one of necessity. Putting us in apartments and high rises, reliant on buses and trains, and dependent on huge centralized power, water, and sewage grids are recipes not for ecological utopia, but for a level of dependence and vulnerability that could only lead to disaster. Again, I understand that in terms of efficiency of resource utilization, such densities make sense and I grant that culture sparks where people are, but in times of calamity these regimens prove enormously fragile and a fool’s bargain.

The Obama Administration promotes this kind of increased urban density and government planning under the rubric “livable communities” and “livable and sustainable communities.”

(Hat tip: Lou Dolinar, “An Update on Japan’s Bullet Trains.)

In a far-ranging interview with radio host and blogger Hugh Hewitt, Gov. Rick Scott of Florida, a Republican, discusses his strategy for encouraging private-sector job creation during a time of budgetary cutbacks.

HH: Now I know that your critics, I’m not one of them, but I know that your critics would immediately say well, we want to cut 8,700 jobs from the state employment workforce, Governor Scott. How can you talk about jobs on the Hugh Hewitt Show, and say you know, I’ve got to cut 9,000 people’s livelihoods from the state budget?

RS: Well, what I’m focusing on is private sectors jobs. So those are the jobs that are going to be there, and there year in, year out. Just like right now, we’re dredging our port in Miami to get ready for the Panama Canal. That’s going to be over 33,000 permanent, private sector jobs that will be there year in and year out. It won’t cost taxpayers anything. As a matter of fact, we’ll get sales tax and property tax revenues out of that. That’s the type of jobs that I want. I don’t want more government. And you know what? The public agrees with me. They’re tired of the size of government. They know that government is way too big, and they can say that at the federal level, at the state level, and at the local level. Government is way too big, and they expect it to be cut.

Ray LaHood

Secretary Ray LaHood gave the keynote address Tuesday night at the National Bike Summit. Bicycle Retailer and Industry News has a good report on the evening’s activities at the Grand Hyatt, “Sec. LaHood Calls for Action.” Excerpt:

LaHood, 65, shared his long family history in cycling, which began when he was a young boy riding his Schwinn bike—calling it “the best-looking bike in the neighborhood”—around Peoria, Illinois. He reassured attendees that he continues to be a “full partner” and that cyclists can also continue to count on President Obama’s support.

“Most of you worked hard to get him elected and the president’s budget for 2012 shows that livable communities really is his vision,” he said.

That’s an unusually direct political appeal for a Cabinet secretary to make at an ostensibly non-political event.  

Secretary LaHood elucidated the President’s agenda further in his post at the FastLane blog, “My message to the 2011 National Bike Summit: ‘We have work to do’.”

Now, the transportation budget President Obama proposed to Congress is a big, bold vision for the next generation of American transportation. And walkable, bikeable, livable communities are a central part of that vision.  The President’s 2012 budget would boost funding for pedestrian and bike-friendly communities to $4.1 billion.  And the Administration would like to see these essential resources included in the next six-year transportation legislation.

We thought the Administration was focused on jobs, economic growth and competitiveness, but instead we find that it has made “livable communities” a priority. And how, exactly, is urban development in Sheboygan, Montpelier or Corvallis a federal responsibility?

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