March 30, 2017
Wow! What a difference between the “reality” television Donald Trump persona and the presidential “real-life” individual.
The Trump administration’s fast-pace agenda has been truly inspiring, at least to those of us who aren’t used to using the words “action” and “Washington” in the same sentence. In the first three weeks of his administration, the president signed 19 executive orders on a number ofsome controversial, but some dealing with advancing pro-manufacturing policies.
Here are just a few examples:
- An order directing the secretary of the treasury to review the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulatory law.
- An order instructing agencies that whenever they introduce a regulation, they must first identify two others for elimination.
- Two orders reviving the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access pipeline. He also signed three other related orders that would expedite the environmental permitting process for infrastructure projects related to the pipelines; direct the Department of Commerce to streamline the manufacturing permitting process; and give the Department of Commerce 180 days to maximize the use of U.S. steel in the pipeline.
- An order that directs federal agencies to ease the “regulatory burdens” of the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”).
As Chair of AICC’s Government Affairs Committee, I am excited about having a pro-manufacturing administration and Congress in place. And so with all the more enthusiasm do I invite you to attend the 2017 Print & Packaging Legislative Summit (previously known as the Washington Fly-In), June 20–21, in Washington, D.C. This year, we have a great opportunity to join forces as an industry to enact policies that will benefit converters.
To illustrate, the Trump administration, working with the House of Representatives, is poised to enact a pro-growth tax plan to help American workers and businesses keep more of their hard-earned tax dollars.
The administration is also committed to rebuilding America’s infrastructure—roads, bridges, and highways—the essential elements of a more efficient distribution system, something we can all appreciate in our industry.
And I think we can all agree that an overhaul of the Affordable Care Act is in order so that our skyrocketing benefits costs can be brought under control.
There is likely to be a new direction for OSHA. Less regulation is certainly something Trump campaigned on, and OSHA presents an area with a great deal of regulation. Worker safety regulations as a general matter are not going to disappear—nor should they—just a reduction or elimination of some of the burdensome and unnecessary rules.
Finally, don’t ignore the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). As President Trump has begun to staff up the regulatory agencies that have done so much recent damage, a good place to start would be with the NLRB. I could go on a long-winded rant about the negative impact to employers and small businesses caused as a result of the many decisions and rulings done by this overzealous agency during the prior administration. However, I will resist the temptation. Simply stated, while the NLRB may be somewhat obscure to many, the need to restore labor law to its proper role of even-handed adjudication is crucial to reviving business investment and jobs.
Please join us this year at the Print & Packaging Legislative Summit. AICC and the Fibre Box Association (FBA) will again join with the Printing Industries of America (PIA) and related packaging industry associations so that our combined efforts can bring about a more friendly manufacturing environment—something we’ve been urging for many, many years.
Let’s jump on this bandwagon while we can! Attend this year’s Legislative Summit!
John Forrey is president of Specialty Industries and NuPak Printing in Red Lion, Pa., and is Chair of AICC’s Government Affairs Committee. He can be reached at 717-246-4301 or jforrey@specialtyindustries.com.
