NAM leaders push Congress for pro-growth legislation

At its spring meeting in Florida, the National Association of Manufacturers' (NAM) board of directors threw its support behind Congressional action on trade and energy bills it said would "influence our economy's capacity to compete and grow."

Continuing to push NAM's theme of pressing federal lawmakers to level the playing field on trade issues, NAM chairman John Luke said, "We can't be complacent. Job creation and factory orders are up and GDP growth is solid, but rising energy prices and a variety of sticky trade issues continue to threaten America's longer-term manufacturing future."

The NAM's trade resolution calls for approval of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement and other free trade agreements, continuing diplomacy on the issue of undervalued Asian currency, specifically in China, and cracking down on the piracy of goods and technology.

On the energy front, NAM wants passage of the Clear Skies legislation, which will set mandatory limits on sulfur dioxide, mercury, and nitrous oxide. Opponents of the proposal say the new limits are lower than current federal standards, but the NAM resolution said the legislation would provide a market oriented approach to improved air quality while reducing redundancy in the current Clean Air Act.

"Passage of this bill will clear the way for billions of dollars of investment in power generating facilities," said NAM president John Engler.