ORWIGSBURG — Ben Taylor told about 40 local business leaders on Friday that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is likely to be backing Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey’s bid for re-election this November.
“A Toomey endorsement is very, very likely from the U.S. chamber,” Taylor said during the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce’s luncheon at Schuylkill Country Club. “We’re going to be supporting him.”
Toomey is seeking a second six-year Senate term after being elected in 2010 to succeed Arlen Specter. Toomey beat then-U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, who is one of four Democrats seeking the nomination to run against the Lehigh County Republican.
“It’s an important seat, an important vote,” Taylor said.
He said keeping Toomey is especially important because other leaders, including U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-17, whose district includes all of Schuylkill County, are not as friendly to business.
Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Robert S. Carl Jr., a former county commissioner, also said business leaders must become involved in politics.
“Too many people for too long took elections for granted,” he said.
Taylor, executive director of the chamber’s Great Lakes Regional Office’s Office of Public Affairs, urged county business leaders to get involved in politics in order to make sure their voice is heard in Washington on legislative objectives.
He said that despite the many issues that are dividing Republicans and Democrats in Congress, several pro-business measures have become law recently. Those include:
• Terrorism risk insurance, which allows businesses to guard themselves against disasters caused by terrorists
• A two-year budget deal that raised the debt ceiling
• Authorizing new trade deals, noting that international trade keeps the economy afloat, in spite of what critics say
“I though we were past this protectionist point of view,” Taylor said of efforts to restrict foreign trade. “This is a huge issue. It’s a scary process.”
• Passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, keeping the basics of No Child Left Behind but adding more local and state control.
“It kept most of the accountability,” Taylor said.
• Enactment of a six-year transportation bill, which he said still could use full funding.
“The projects, the need are universal,” Taylor said, adding that Pennsylvania did the right thing in increasing money available for transportation.
Taylor also said changes will have to be made to federal entitlement programs, including Social Security. Such spending represents more than 60 percent of the federal budget, which, when combined with debt payments, leaves comparatively little money for other projects, he said.
Such changes can be made without affecting current beneficiaries, according to Taylor.
He said the federal government also is enacting more anti-business regulations and agencies, especially the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Labor Relations Board, are not even listening to commercial interests.
Carl agreed with Taylor.
“Very few of these regulations are business friendly,” he said.