This afternoon, in a victory for manufacturers and energy producers the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced it would redraft a proposed hydraulic fracturing regulation for wells operated on federal and Indian lands.  The original rule sought to make radical changes to the chemical disclosure and well construction procedures oil and gas drillers must follow before they can receive their permits to drill. 

As originally drafted, BLM’s rule duplicated existing state regulations, its costs significantly outweighed its benefits, and it would almost certainly result in delays to drilling activities. The NAM explicitly asked BLM to withdraw the proposal and better harmonize its efforts with ongoing state regulations.

Manufacturers are encouraged by this afternoon’s announcement by BLM. The NAM believes the states should be the primary regulators of hydraulic fracturing and that the federal government should not be regulating until and unless it can prove that a compelling need exists for federal intervention.

Ross Eisenberg is vice president of energy and resources policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) supports open and expanded trade and opposes efforts to limit manufacturers’ ability to expand exports overseas. Exports have been and continue to be a critical source of growth and opportunity for manufacturers throughout the United States, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports are no exception.  A series of recent studies by energy research firm IHS CERA show that natural gas development has already led to the creation of more than 1 million jobs, and continued development of unconventional energy resources could create millions more.

Proposals that seek to limit LNG or coal or any other product would have far-reaching negative effects on the United States and should be rejected. Such restrictions limit economic opportunities and stifle job growth rather than provide a source of increased economic growth.

Export growth has created and saved manufacturing jobs over the past few years, which were tough economically for the United States. Export growth is vital not just for businesses across-the-board that directly export, but also for the many manufacturers in the supply chain. 

From the President’s first State of the Union address, doubling U.S. exports has been a top goal, supported by both businesses and workers and both Republicans and Democrats. From its origins, the United States has been built on exports. In fact, Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution provides quite explicitly that “no Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State,” evincing a strong disinclination to limit exports of any product. (continue reading…)

Today marks the last and final scoping meeting in Seattle for the proposed coal export terminals in the Northwest. It is an important chance for community members to stand up for this project before federal and state agencies determine its future.  The meeting will take place at the Washington State Convention Center, Ballroom 6F between 4-7 PM (PST) today.

In Washington State, residents face an 8.5 percent unemployment rate with some of the hardest hit sectors being the local shipping, and construction industries. Residents in the Northwest know they need new jobs opportunities – that is why the Alliance for Northwest Jobs and Exports  is fighting to approve five proposed coal export terminals in the Northwest.

These projects would create thousands of new jobs and generate millions in local tax revenues, adding much-needed funds to state and local budgets for schools and other vital services like emergency responders. This doesn’t include local income tax revenues and other benefits of getting thousands of people back to work in well-paying jobs.

Most Washingtonians are in support of these projects. A public opinion poll released last month by the Brotherhood Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the United Transportation Union, the Oregon State Building, and Construction Trades Council showed that local residents support the planned export terminal by 2 to 1 margin. These results mirror the poll findings from July by Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) that also showed 2 to 1 support for the terminals. (continue reading…)

Today Reps. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Peter Welch (D-VT) launched a new caucus in the House to promote performance contracting in government buildings which will help provide energy savings and reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Manufacturers are innovating and leading the way in developing new energy efficient technologies that can be used in upgrading government buildings to help save money.

The NAM’s Ross Eisenberg from the press release on announcing the caucus:

“The National Association of Manufactures supports policies to enhance private sector investment in public building efficiency improvement projects, and performance contracting is at the very top of that list.  Performance contracts, such as ESPCs and UESCs, are extremely valuable tools that make federal buildings more efficient with no upfront taxpayer cost.  They should be the very first option taken by agencies, yet they are perpetually underutilized.  The NAM is excited that Congress is taking a more active role to increase the use of performance contracting and make federal buildings more efficient.”

So far the caucus has 10 members now and we are encouraged that Congress has an interest in this important issue.

Today around 1:00 pm, the House is due to consider H.R. 6582, the “American Energy Manufacturing Technical Corrections Act.”  H.R. 6582 corrects existing energy laws to ensure that innovations and alternative technologies that meet or exceed federal energy efficiency standards are not deterred by those laws.  Products covered by the bill include water heaters, commercial refrigerators, and some HVAC units. Companion legislation to H.R. 6582 was passed by the Senate in September.

Heading into the 112th Congress, many in Washington (including myself) saw energy efficiency as an area where lawmakers from both parties could potentially agree on legislation.  Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened.  Election-year politics stopped S. 1000, the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill, from coming to the Senate floor.  And while the NAM is still committed to getting comprehensive energy efficiency legislation like S. 1000 passed, we also support anything that gets portions of this legislation–such as H.R. 6582–to the President’s desk for his signature.

In a year that has been frustrating to say the least when it comes to energy policy, we’ll take any kind of bipartisan agreement we can get. We’re pleased to see the House considering legislation that helps manufacturers innovate in the area of energy efficiency.

Ross Eisenberg is vice president of energy and resources policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

Energy has become a hot topic right off the bat in the second Presidential Debate. Affordable energy is extremely essential to the competitiveness of manufacturers and job creation as manufacturers use one-third of our nation’s energy supply.

Governor Romney and President Obama both laid out their strategies of how they will steer us to energy independence and lower the price of energy for manufacturers. We have to have an “all-of-the-above” energy policy which includes all sources of energy including coal, nuclear, natural gas, the Keystone XL pipeline, expanded exploration and drilling for oil in addition to renewable sources. The Keystone XL pipeline is a job creator, immediately creating 20,000 manufacturing and construction jobs and 118,000 spin-off jobs.

Shale gas is a real game-changer for manufacturers. An NAM and PwC study late last year showed that shale can create one-million badly needed manufacturing jobs. We can’t afford burdensome regulations that will slow down the shale revolution we are seeing.

We couldn’t agree more with Governor Romney when he said “Let’s take advantage of energy resources we do have.” With unemployment at 7.8 percent and manufacturers losing jobs for the second consecutive month we need action from Washington to keep manufacturers competitive.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that producer prices rose 1.1 percent in September, building on the 1.7 percent gain of August. The primary driver of the increases in the past two months has been higher energy costs, up 6.4 percent and 4.7 percent in August and September. Food prices were also higher, but these effects were mainly at the intermediate and crude levels.

Core prices — which exclude food and energy costs — were unchanged. This suggests that overall inflationary pressures remain modest, at least for now. Finished producer prices have risen 2.2 percent in the past 12 months, with core prices up 2.3 percent.

For manufacturers, producer prices rose 1 percent in September, or 2 percent year-over-year. The past two months have been the beginning of an uptick in pricing pressures after some easing in raw material costs over the spring and summer. Sectors with the fastest growth in input prices include petroleum and coal products (up 5.5 percent), primary metals (up 1.2 percent), food products (up 0.7 percent), wood products (up 0.6 percent), and chemicals (up 0.5 percent). The top manufacturing sectors with declining costs, though, were textile mills, computer and electronic products, and furniture (all with a gain of 0.4 percent).

Meanwhile, costs of intermediate and crude goods rose 1.5 percent and 2.8 percent, suggesting continued pricing pressures down the line in the production process. This was mainly due to increased food and energy prices. Sharply higher feeds costs — presumably the result of the recent drought — lifted overall food prices.

The increase we are seeing in energy prices shows how important it is we move forward with an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy to reduce energy costs for consumers and businesses.

BLS will release consumer price data on Tuesday, which should show similar results.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

Tonight’s debate opened with a focus on jobs. It was a good start and exactly where our focus needs to be.

Manufacturing means jobs. Manufacturing means secure, good-paying jobs that help drive our economy. Governor Romney laid out a strong jobs program built on the fundamental principles of a pro-growth agenda. He correctly noted that tax revenues for the government only go up when people have jobs that allow them to pay taxes in the first place. Sixty-six percent of manufacturers pay taxes at the individual rate, and a tax hike for these job creators will stop job creation in its tracks. Washington policies that include looming tax hikes have resulted in 55 percent of surveyed small businesses and manufacturers saying they would not start a business today. Allowing manufacturers to invest in their businesses and their workforce is the only true path to economic recovery.

Ensuring that the workforce has the proper training and skills is a consistent concern for manufacturers in the U.S. Despite an unemployment rate that has been above 8 percent for the past few years, we still have 600,000 jobs that remain open because manufacturers can’t find workers with the skills to match the jobs. President Obama’s focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education opportunities is a critical aspect of creating the type of workforce that will drive the innovation that will maintain America’s place as the number-one manufacturing nation in the world.

But the spirit of the American dream, of people lifting themselves up through education, could take a backseat if the trend of picking winners and losers in business continues. The attempt to “villainize” energy producers in the U.S. was predictable, but it won’t get us any closer to the “all-of-the-above” energy policy that we sought after. Manufacturers, as consumers of one-third of our nation’s energy supply, need affordable and consistent energy resources to drive our economy. Governor Romney was absolutely right when he called for the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. Keystone XL represented one of the single strongest opportunities for job creation in the past couple of years, and the discussion of energy policy returned the debate right back to where the focus needed to be on—jobs.

Yesterday the National Association of Manufacturers and other business groups filed a brief with the federal appeals court in D.C. on Mingo Logan Coal Co. case against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). If you recall in early 2011 the EPA retroactively revoked a dredge-disposal permit that had been issued years before to Mingo Logan and the company was in full compliance.

In March of 2012 a federal judge ruled that EPA did not have the power to revoke the permit. This has resulted in the EPA appealing to the DC. Circuit.

The brief filed yesterday highlights how problematic and unreasonable it is for the EPA to have revoked this permit. If this EPA is allowed to modify existing permits it will discourage investments in new projects that would require similar section 404 permits.

Again this is another prime example of overreach from the EPA that will negatively impact job creation and hurt our economy.

 Read more about the case this Associated Press story.

This morning, Alpha Natural Resources, one of the world’s leading producers of coal, announced plans to idle eight mines and lay off 1,200 workers in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, some as soon as today.  It’s another unfortunate chapter in what has been a very difficult few years for the American coal industry. 

It is against this grim backdrop that the House of Representatives will take up H.R. 3409, the “Stop the War on Coal Act.” The bill is scheduled for Rules Committee debate Wednesday and the House floor shortly thereafter. H.R. 3409 takes aim at several federal regulations that, if allowed to go forward, would effectively kick the coal industry while it’s down.  Regulations like EPA’s recently-proposed greenhouse gas New Source Performance Standards, which effectively ban the construction of new conventional coal-fired power plants.  Or the “Utility MACT” regulation, a $10 billion annual hit to the economy that costs 40 percent more than all of EPA’s power plant-sector air regulations combined.

The newest addition to the coal industry’s regulatory overload is the Office of Surface Mining’s “Stream Buffer Zone Rule,” which is expected to cause a 20-30 percent drop in coal production in the Eastern United States and a 50 percent drop in underground mines nationwide, putting at risk more than 20,000 coal mining and related jobs.

Coal is one of the nation’s most abundant energy resources and a vital part of our efforts to meet our energy and transportation needs. Coal generates a significant percentage of our nation’s electricity, and maintaining coal in a diverse national energy portfolio is in the national economic interest. The NAM strongly supports H.R. 3409, which would protect a reliable, affordable and available part of our nation’s energy mix from overregulation.

Ross Eisenberg is vice president of energy and resources policy, National Association of Manufacturers.