Capital Formation Newsletter
November-December 2004, Vol. 29, N0. 6
An Open Letter to President
Bush and the 109th Congress
ACCF Association Council Holds Fall Meeting
In Brief...
ACCF Website Gets New Look
From the Salon: 129th ACCF Economic Policy
Evening
From the Salon: 130th ACCF Economic Policy
Evening
(PDF
Version)
An Open letter to President
Bush and the 109th Congress
The American Council for Capital Formation extends its best wishes
to President George W. Bush and the 109th Congress as they begin work
on the serious economic challenges facing our country.
For three decades, the ACCF has provided America’s policymakers
and opinion shapers the best research available to identify pressing
capital formation challenges and to propose realistic solutions. Although
the U.S. economy and capital formation policy issues have changed
over the last thirty years, ACCF’s mission has not – to
champion an economic policy agenda that encourages growth in the economy,
job creation, competitiveness and a hier standard of living for all
Americans.
The nation’s economic policy challenges are many. Our fiscal
imbalance, manifested by our twin deficits and a weakened U.S. dollar,
must be addressed; if not, a serious economic train wreck could be
in the making. The U.S. tax system is out of sync with the 21st Century
and needs fixing. Our social security system is facing a serious shortfall
in the not-too-distant future. The problems with our health care system
seriously impact American business and can no longer be ignored. Economics
101 tells us that we need a reliable supply of energy for strong and
sustained economic growth. Strength in U.S. exports and world wide
economic growth require a liberal trade policy. Tort reform to curtail
frivolous lawsuits that impose tremendous costs on the U.S. economy
is a must. Appropriate immigration policies that encourage the “best
and the brightest” to contribute to the U.S. economy should be
maintained and strong intellectual property rights, especially for
American producers abroad, are needed.The ACCF and its affiliated
economic policy think tank see these challenges as significant opportunities
to ensure the American dream in the years ahead. The ACCF looks forward
to supporting Presidential and Congressional initiatives that would
promote a strong economy. The ACCF Center for Policy Research, with
the best scholars and economists in the country on its board of trustees,
stands ready to work with the President’s economic team and the
new Congress by providing the best economic analysis and policy options.
With nearly three decades of recognized legislative experience and
policy expertise on many of the issues on the economic policy agenda,
we urge you, to contact us if we can be of assistance in the months
ahead.
Cordially,
Charls. E. Walker
Founder and Chairman
Mark Bloomfield
President
ACCF Association Council Holds Fall
Meeting
Members of the ACCF Association Council met on November 10 for a
Post-Election Outlook on Key Capital Formation Policy Issues. The
more than 30 members of the ACCF Association Council represent a
broad spectrum of the American economy, including financial services,
small businesses and farms, real estate, and Fortune 500 manufacturing
firms. The ACCF Association Council is chaired by Red Cavaney,
president, American Petroleum Institute, and Marc Lackritz,
president, Securities Industry Association.
Alan Murray, Washington Bureau Chief, CNBC, and a contributing
editor with The Wall Street Journal was the guest speaker for the
November 10 session. Mr. Murray assessed the prospects for reform
of the tax code and an overhaul of the social security system, among
other issues likely to be on the policy agenda for 2005. He also
discussed other specific policy issues raised by ACCF Association
Council members. A long-time observer of the Washington policy scene,
Mr. Murray opined that there is too much on policymakers’ plates
to tackle both social security reform and tax reform in the near
term. Since a commission has already studied options for reform
of the social security system, this critical issue is likely to
be before Congress first. President Bush plans to name a panel of
fiscal policy experts to assess how best to tackle tax reform before
the Administration puts forward a blueprint for reform. Congress
seems unlikely to take on reform of social security and tax reform
at the same time, he added.
Association Council members addressed the outlook for several key
economic capital formation issues on the agenda of the new Congress.
API’s Red Cavaney, Ron Seeholzer, director, Finance
and Accounting, Edison Electric Institute, and Margo Thorning,
ACCF senior vice president and chief economist, led the discussion
of energy and climate policy issues, including the impact of COP
10. Diann Howland, vice president, Retirement Policy, American
Benefits Council, reviewed major factors in pension and social security
reform. David Koenig, director, Tax, American Forest &
Paper Institute, discussed the FSC/ETI provisions of the recently
enacted “American Jobs Creation Act of 2004” (HR 4520).
Karen Kerrigan, chairman, Small Business and Entrepreneurial
Council, spoke on health care policy and its effect on small business.
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| Alan Murray, Washington Bureau Chief, CNBC, and
a contributing editor with The Wall Street Journal (center),
addressed the November 10 meeting of the ACCF Association Council.
Seated to the left is ACCF President Mark Bloomfield; ACCF Senior
Vice President and Chief Economist Margo Thorning is on the
right. |
In Brief...
In December 6, 2004, ACCF president, Mark Bloomfield appeared on
"Alalam," a world-wide 24-hour Arabic news channel. The
Iranian based news outlet broadcasts thoughout Europe, Arabia, the
Far East and the U.S.
Mr. Bloomfield shared with viewers his thoughts on current world-wide
economic challenges.
Website Gets New Look
The American Council for Capital Formation is pleased to announce
the launch of its redesigned website www.accf.org. It is our hope
that the new ACCF site will be a helpful resource for you and your
colleagues. The site highlights recent ACCF projects and economic
and environmental policy research and provides back copies of ACCF
publications, including our useful special reports on capital formation
issues.
Key Policymakers and Media Attend 129th
ACCF Economic Policy Evening
ACCF hosted its 129th Economic Policy Evening on November 16 . Guests
at the session included leading policymakers from Congress and the
Bush lAdministration, top journalists from the print and electronic
media, business leaders and diplomats. For more than 20 years, iACCF
Economic Policy Evenings have attracted policymakers from Congress
and the Executive Branch, Washington-based diplomats from key nations
around the globe, journalists and private sector leaders. For more
information on these sessions, please visit us online at www.accf.org.
Pictured left to right: 1) Representative Brian Baird (D-WA), Dr.
Rachel Nugent, economist, National Institutes of Health, Heidi Biggs
Brock, vice president, Federal and International Affairs, Weyerhaeuser
Company, and Robin Wiener, president, Institute of Scrap Recycling
Industries, Inc.; 2) Kathleen Cooper, undersecretary for Economic
Affairs, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Dr. Paul Freedenberg,
vice president, Government Affairs, The Association for Manufacturing
Technology, and former undersecretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs;
3) David Lynch, director, Federal Advocacy, TXU, Representative
Gregory Meeks (D-NY), James Glassman, resident scholar and nationally
syndicated columnist, The American Enterprise Institute, and Steve
Larkin, president, The Aluminum Association; 4) Representative Charles
Bass (R-NH), David Lynch, director, Federal Advocacy, TXU, and James
Glassman, resident scholar and nationally syndicated columnist,
The American Enterprise Institute.
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| Representative Brian Baird (D-WA),
Dr. Rachel Nugent, economist, National Institutes of Health,
Heidi Biggs Brock, vice president, Federal and International
Affairs, Weyerhaeuser Company, and Robin Wiener, president,
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. |
 |
Representative Charles Bass (R-NH),
David Lynch, director, Federal Advocacy, TXU, and James Glassman,
resident scholar and nationally
syndicated columnist, The American Enterprise Institute. |
130th ACCF Economic Policy Evening
Draws Top Policymakers, Media
On November 18, ACCF hosted its 130th Economic Policy Evening. Guests
at the session included leading policymakers from Congress and the
Bush Administration, top journalists from the print and electronic
media, business leaders and diplomats. For more than 20 years, ACCF
Economic Policy Evenings have attracted policymakers from Congress
and the Executive Branch, Washington-based diplomats from key nations
around the globe, journalists and private sector leaders. For more
information on these sessions, please visit us online at www.accf.org.Pictured
left to right: 1) Will Marshall, president, Progressive Policy Institute,
Mark Bloomfield, ACCF president and Edmund Andrews, correspondent,
The New York Times; 2) John Fialka, energy and environmental correspondent,
The Wall Street Journal, and Scott Ramminger, president and chief
executive officer, American Wholesale Marketers Association; 3)
Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), and Governor John Engler, president,
The National Association of Manufactures; 4) Margo Thorning, ACCF
senior vice president and chief economist and Jonathan Traub, vice
president, Federal Tax Legislation, Securities Industry Association.
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