Sen. Flake joins us at the Chamber for a special roundtable

The Arizona Chamber this morning was privileged to host U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake for a roundtable discussion on issues important to the Arizona business community. Sen. Flake has been an avid supporter of the state’s job creators and a leader in addressing some of the most critical issues of the day.

Not the least of which is the current international environment. Sen. Flake recently joined Sen. McCain and a bi-partisan delegation of five other Sen.s on a trip to Ukraine to meet with top political leaders and show support for the Ukrainian people. Last night, the Senate passed a bill to provide $1 billion in aid to Ukraine, a measure Sen. Flake supported. (I felt the need to ask, but Sen. Flake assured me that he has not yet been sanctioned by Russia.) Sen. Flake also touched on the administration’s interim agreement with Iran to halt nuclear exploration.

Today’s discussion focused primarily on immigration reform, water, trade and federal agencies.

Immigration

Both Sen. Flake and Sen. McCain have led the charge on immigration reform, participating in the “Gang of Eight” Sen.s who last year proposed comprehensive immigration reform legislation that ultimately cleared the Senate. The Arizona Chamber has been very vocal about our support for the Senate effort, and immigration reform in general, but the legislation has stalled in the House. House Republican leadership announced a set of principles in January that they wish to see reflected in any immigration legislation their chamber considers. Sen. Flake noted that he supports these principles, was encouraged to see fresh efforts to find common ground in recent weeks and promised to continue to push for comprehensive immigration reform.

Sen. Flake has been working on immigration reform since 2004, when he first introduced a comprehensive reform bill with Congressman Jim Kolbe and Sen. McCain.

Water

As Sen. Flake mentioned, when Sen. Kyl retired from the Senate in 2012, he took with him an enormous amount of institutional knowledge on national and Arizona water issues. Fortunately, Sen. Flake picked up some of Sen. Kyl’s key staff, and continues to work closely with Sen. Kyl to ensure that Arizona has the water supply it needs to support projected growth in the coming years. Sen. Flake noted that Arizona has planned well over the last few decades, and has become a model for other states in this regard. As we look to the future, we will need to look at augmentation or conservation, and Arizona is in good hands with Sen. Flake leading on this issue.

Trade

Sen. Flake gave an update on another important priority of the Arizona Chamber: securing Trade Promotion Authority for the Administration. He noted that nearly every free trade agreement in the last three decades has been negotiated under Trade Promotion Authority, and urged stakeholders to reach out to the Administration to encourage its continued engagement.

We were very encouraged to hear Sen. Flake predict that the Miscellaneous Tariffs Bill will be reauthorized this year. The bill expired on January 1, 2013, and failure to reauthorize would result in decreased competitiveness for Arizona and U.S. manufacturers.

Federal Agencies

There was a lot of praise around the room for Sen. Flake’s leadership to ensure Arizona’s voice was heard on commonsense reforms to the EPA’s Exceptional Events Rule. Last fall he was able to secure an unprecedented Arizona-only listening session with the EPA where a wide range of industries were able to share their concerns with the Exceptional Events Rule with the EPA. Last year the EPA issued interim Exceptional Events Implementation Guidance to help air agencies manage air quality data recorded during exceptional events.

As a result, the EPA just recently proposed approval of the Five Percent Plan for the Maricopa County PM-10 Nonattainment Area. We thank Sen. Flake for submitting comments to the EPA urging them to issue final approval of the plan.

Moving forward, Sen. Flake noted that Congress must return to business as usual in passing a federal budget. When the House and Senate are able to go through their appropriations processes, which require agencies to make the case for their funding, Congress has more oversight and ability to reign in overzealous agency regulation. We applaud Sen. Flake for his continued efforts to reduce regulatory burdens for businesses.

I want to thank Sen. Flake both for his leadership and for taking the time to sit down with us this morning. Arizona is fortunate to have such a sharp, thoughtful, committed leader representing us in DC.

Arizona business community not going to party like it's 1999

Here they go again. For the second time in as many weeks, the state Senate today will consider two pieces of legislation that will dramatically weaken Arizona's ability to give its students a world-class education defined by rigorous standards.

The Senate is set to take up SB 1395 and SB 1396, which would allow local governing boards and charter holders to opt-out or opt-in of our state's higher standards and a corresponding assessment. Schools can already exceed the minimum standard. These bills would let them achieve below the minimum and allow schools to opt in to old academic standards from the 90’s.

If these bills were to become law, it would open the door to opting out of standards that will allow our students a chance to compete for tomorrow's jobs. Instead, the bar for our kids would be lower; much lower.

Don't like today's standards? Then you can party like it's 1999, and revert back to the standards from 15 years ago. You remember 1999: Ricky Martin was Livin’ La Vida Loca, Keanu was in The Matrix, Bill Clinton was in the middle of an impeachment trial and Google turned 1.

These bills harm Arizona's reputation as a state where school choice thrives. If every school district has its own standards, the ability to compare schools across districts goes away. Without uniform, rigorous standards, parents won't be able to make apples to apples comparisons that help them determine where to send their kids.

Today's exercise is another attempt to lower the expectations for our kids and  deny them the high quality education they deserve.

Please take thirty seconds to watch this video that shows the resounding business community support for higher standards.

Teachers, education advocates and business leaders gather to hear Michael Petrilli discuss Arizona’s new education standards

Today, the Arizona Chamber partnered with the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and Expect More Arizona to host “Phoenix Forum: Our Classrooms, Our Workforce, Our Future.” The event was attended by nearly 300 business leaders, education advocates, teachers and elected officials. The featured keynote speaker was Michael Petrilli, of the conservative education policy think tank the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

Petrilli spoke of the bold vision that Arizona has for its education future; and how improving our educational standards and adopting a quality, aligned assessment is a critical first step towards this vision. The Fordham Institute looked at Arizona’s current standards back in 2010, and graded them a B in math and a B in English Language Arts. The new Arizona College and Career Ready Standards received a B-plus in math and an A-minus in English Language Arts. It’s clear we’re heading in the right direction.

But the real problem with Arizona’s old standards was less in the content of the standards themselves and more in the assessment we used to measure those standards, the AIMS test. As Petrilli shared, AIMS defines third grade reading “proficiency” as being at or above the 23^rd percentile. What Arizona needs to move forward and be competitive both nationally and internationally is a test that keeps us honest, and doesn’t allow us to lower the bar again.

Pearl Chang Esau, President and CEO of Expect More Arizona was on hand to share the story of one Arizona school district in a high poverty neighborhood who have embraced the new standards, and as a result have seen more than two years of academic gains in only half a school year. Many teachers were also in attendance, and were acknowledged by the crowd with a thunderous applause for the great work they do for Arizona’s kids. Their overwhelming support of the standards for the freedom it allows them to teach the way they know works for kids was a frequent topic of discussion today.

        Four of the teachers in attendance today to support Arizona’s new standards

Superintendent Huppenthal was also in attendance, and deserves many thanks for his unwavering support of these standards that we know are working in our classrooms today. Three former Arizona Superintendents were also in the crowd- Lisa Graham Keegan, Jaime Molera and Carolyn Werner- to express their support for Arizona’s new standards.

I was glad to be a part of such a wonderful event, honoring the great work that Arizona has done in education over the last 20 years, and setting a vision for where we can be in the next decades.

Bill to repeal new Arizona standards fails in Senate

Today the Arizona Senate rejected a measure that would have caused chaos in Arizona classrooms. Thanks to Senators Driggs, McComish, Pierce, Reagan and Worsley and all thirteen Democratic Senators, the efforts of Arizona’s teachers and school leaders will not be interrupted.

SB 1310 failed to pass 18-12, but would have prohibited Arizona schools from implementing or “effectively implementing” the Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards (Common Core). These standards were adopted in 2010, and schools have been diligently working to implement them ever since. And, as the five recent Arizona Educational Foundation Teachers of the Year testified before the Governor’s AZ Ready Council this morning, the standards are working.

As the 2013 Teacher of the Year Nancy Lindblom said, “we have never seen a set of standards that challenges students and offers them the education they deserve like the Arizona College and Career Ready Standards do.”

That’s why Arizona teachers overwhelmingly support the standards, why parents are strongly in support of the standards, and why the business community has presented a united front on this issue: because this is what is right for our kids.

The battle isn't over- there are other bills that would threaten the progress we've made, and we still need to secure funding for a new assessment aligned to the standards. But for today, we thank the 18 members of the Arizona Senate who supported the efforts of teachers and schools over the last four years by voting “No” on SB 1310.

Tchaikovsky is Commerce

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to testify before Representative Tom Forese’s House Commerce Committee, in an informational hearing on the impact of music on Arizona’s economy. As always, we appreciate Rep. Forese continuing to use this forum to highlight all the innovative and interesting things happening across Arizona’s economy.

The music industry is making deep impact – and has made a deep impact – on our state.

Nationally, a new analysis just released in December 2013 shows that the total contribution of arts and culture sector to the economy in current-dollar GDP is $504 billion, or 3.2 percent of GDP. This compares favorably to tourism nationally which represents 2.8% of GDP.  A conservative estimate from Dun and Bradstreet identifies more than 17,000 creative industry businesses in Arizona, employing more than 56,000 individuals, and representing almost 5% of the workforce.  Of those, 1,077 are categorized in “music,” with 3,595 employed.  Recent data collected from the 219 non-profit arts and culture organizations participating in the Arizona Cultural Data Project accounted for more than a half billion dollars in direct and indirect spending in the economy.

Our state has produced a number of recording artists, from Stevie Nicks to the Gin Blossoms to our Heritage Award honoree from last year, Alice Cooper. The industry is also wide in its scope: from the “Soul of Tone,” Fender guitars to “A”-rated Charter school, the Arizona School for the Arts, we cover the full spectrum of music performance.

We’re also very fortunate to have a world class symphony and opera, led by Chairman Bob Stump. Last Friday, the Arizona Chamber was lucky enough to welcome the Phoenix Opera’s Johnny Huerta to sing the national anthem at our Heritage Award tribute to Governor Brewer last Friday. Let me tell you that the crowd was blown away by his performance.

And I want to congratulate Jim Ward for the recent hiring of the Phoenix Symphony’s new musical director, Tito Muñoz. I know the community is excited about his arrival and we look forward to his debut. As Jim mentioned in his testimony, it is absolutely critical that we work to bolster our cultural economy. A vibrant cultural economy is an important tool in our economic development toolbox.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the great work of Carrie Heinonen, at the world-class Musical Instruments Museum. I recently had the chance to tour the MIM and was incredibly impressed by everything it has to offer. It is no wonder that in its short history it has received so many accolades.

Treasury announces delay of employer mandate

The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Monday that it would delay the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate for medium-sized businesses. Employers with 50-99 employees will not be required to provide health insurance for full-time employees until 2016.

You can find an overview of the recent delay here, and U.S. Chamber President Tom Donohue’s statement on the delayed mandate here.

As the implementation of the healthcare law plays out, the Arizona Chamber will continue to share updates about the law and what it means for Arizona businesses in real time and … without delay.

Glenn Hamer's testimony before House ad-hoc Committee on International Trade and Commerce

WRITTEN TESTIMONY BY GLENN HAMER

PRESIDENT AND CEO

ARIZONA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

BEFORE THE HOUSE AD-HOC COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND COMMERCE

FEBRUARY 10, 2014

Representatives Forese and Miranda and committee members, for the record my name is Glenn Hamer and I am the president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. On behalf of Arizona’s job creators, I thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony at this important hearing.

I believe you have convened this hearing at a critical time in our state’s relationship with our neighbor to the south, a relationship that continues to improve and strengthen thanks to outstanding leaders like Sandra Watson at the Arizona Commerce Authority; Margie Emmermann at the Arizona Mexico Commission; and Hank Marshall at the City of Phoenix, who you will hear from later in this panel.

Last month we celebrated the 20^th anniversary of the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, a trilateral trade pact that created incredible market access for manufacturers, increased consumer choice and was integral to the creation of millions of jobs here in the U.S.

With 20 years of positive experience under our collective belts, the U.S., Mexico and Canada are now part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks, an agreement poised to link the markets of Asia and the Americas, accounting for 792 million people and a combined GDP of $27.5 trillion. [1] The NAFTA nations together are stepping strongly into the next generation of international trade.

The importance of trade with Mexico is not lost on the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry or the larger business community. We are fully cognizant of the six million U.S. jobs that depend on trade with Mexico and the $12 billion in trade between Mexico and Arizona in 2012 alone.[2] A productive, meaningful relationship with Mexico is critical to our country and our state’s economic health.

To that end, the Chamber in 2012 formed a Trade and Tourism Committee, which serves as our one-stop public policy shop for trade and international travel promotion. Under the auspices of this committee, our Chamber has advocated for improved transportation links between our state and Sonora, increased international flights from Mexico and better resources and infrastructure to process the trade flowing between our two countries.  Last year, Sonora Gov. Guillermo Padrés Elías was a featured speaker at our Arizona Manufacturers Council Manufacturer of the Year Awards. The governor reminded everyone in attendance of the unique and special relationship between our two states and why our two states’ economic futures are so intertwined.

In 2013 alone, I had the distinct pleasure of traveling to Mexico City with our Speaker of the House Andy Tobin and members of this committee as part of a bipartisan delegation of lawmakers and business leaders to visit with members of Mexico’s Congress, and I have traveled to Guadalajara with Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton to kick-off new air service between those two cities by Volaris Airlines, a Mexican low-cost carrier, adding to the already robust offerings to and from Mexico by U.S. Airways from their Phoenix hub.

Our professional sports teams have also recognized the importance of the Mexican market and the positive role sports can play in forging new relationships. I can tell you from my experience on the Guadalajara trade mission that having the Diamondbacks’ World Series hero Luis Gonzalez as part of your delegation makes an incredibly positive impression. Our NFL Arizona Cardinals have played a regular season game in Mexico City and have a huge broadcast presence in Mexico, where their games are broadcast to 18 cities throughout the country, including Mexico City and Guadalajara. The NBA’s Phoenix Suns have not only participated in trade missions to Mexico, but they are the first NBA team to conduct their own youth basketball clinics in that country.

That Arizona is actively courting new business opportunities in Mexico might come as a surprise to some, but not to longtime Arizonans, who can point to a rich legacy of cross-border leadership.

Former Southern Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe is a nationally recognized expert in the importance of trade between the U.S. and Mexico. His contribution to the U.S.-Mexico relationship is so consequential that it is not hyperbole to say that without Jim Kolbe, there might not be a NAFTA.

Congressman Kolbe was also critical in the expansion of the border travel zone, which governs how far Mexican nationals in possession of a valid Border Crossing Card may travel before requiring additional documentation. Because of Rep. Kolbe’s work in 1999, Mexicans crossing the border into Arizona may travel as far north as Tucson, where they can enjoy world-class resorts and shopping destinations. Along most of the U.S.-Mexico border, Mexican visitors may travel only 25 miles north before requiring an additional form[3], though last year, the Department of Homeland Security expanded the border zone in New Mexico, where business leaders there cited Arizona’s positive experience as a case study for increased travel access.[4] The Maricopa Association of Governments is now leading an effort for the entire state to be considered as part of the border travel zone as a means to further grow the tourism opportunities between Arizona and Mexico.[5]

Congressman Kolbe’s work for the border and Arizona continues. As you know, he is now co-chairing the Transportation and Trade Corridor Alliance, which is charged with linking Arizona to the global economy by improving our state’s trade and logistics offerings by identifying ways to increase the value of our trade corridors.

We should also recognize Congressman Matt Salmon, who has fully embraced his role as chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Congressman Salmon in December convened a hearing in Tucson that was attended by Representatives Schweikert, Sinema and Barber where US-Mexico trade was the main topic.

Arizona is also home to the Arizona Mexico Commission. The Chamber commends Margie and the AMC for being at the forefront of travel visa policy, trade promotion and transportation. It is because of the AMC that the governors of Arizona and Sonora have had a direct line of communication for over 50 years.  

In just the last few years, Arizona has dramatically stepped up its efforts to promote our state’s outstanding business environment to the rest of the world. Mexico figures prominently in that strategy. Sandra can discuss how the ACA, in partnership with the AMC, has re-opened the once shuttered Arizona state office in Hermosillo, Sonora, ensuring that once again Arizona has a presence in our neighboring state’s largest city.

And now we’ve learned of the partnership between Phoenix and the state to open a trade office in Mexico City, which speaks to Hank’s and Mayor Stanton’s hard work. Arizona leaders know that so much more can be done to grow the $6.3 billion in goods Arizona exports to Mexico, $1.8 billion of which comes from the metro Phoenix area. [6]

There are so many positive things happening between Mexico and Arizona and our state leaders are redoubling their efforts to forge closer ties with our southern neighbor. Mexico finds itself in a unique period in its history that creates new opportunities for Arizona. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto is a reformer who understands that Mexico must embrace change if it is to assume its rightful place as an economic power.

This is not to say that challenges do not remain. While Arizona’s business community is excited about the overhaul of the country’s major port for Mexican produce, the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, by improving its layout and capacity, we are concerned about the staffing resources that will be deployed to the port.

I still believe that 2014 can mark the passage of a package of immigration reform bills. I am hopeful that legislation would look for opportunities to improve the human resources devoted to our ports of entry, not just the areas between our ports that are the responsibility of the Border Patrol. Adequate staffing is so vitally important to reducing the miles-long backups of legitimate trade into Mexico. The budget deal passed by Congress last month included funding for 2,000 new CBP officers slated for the nation’s busiest ports of entry is a positive sign.

We also must greatly improve our transportation links in the border region. Congress took a positive first step by designating the highway between Las Vegas and Phoenix as Interstate 11, an integral link in the so-called Canamex trade corridor linking all three NAFTA nations, which will also connect the country’s two largest metro areas not connected by an interstate. But we must also reduce the bottlenecks that prevent freight from reaching the interstates in the first place. Mariposa Rd., also known as Arizona 189, needs to be expanded or reconfigured in such a way that trucks leaving the port of entry can bypass the congestion of Nogales and head north on Interstate 19.

In a time of tight federal and state budgets, we understand that there are no easy solutions to the challenges of port staffing and transportation infrastructure, but please know that you have a willing partner in Arizona’s business community in addressing these challenges.

Once again, on behalf of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I very much appreciate the opportunity to be here today and I would be happy to take any questions you might have.

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[1] http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/tpp-ptp/index.aspx

[2] https://www.azpm.org/p/home-featured/2013/11/29/28795-az-week-state-strategizes-to-improve-trade-with-mexico/

[3] http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/i-94_instructions/

[4] http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/national/06072013_3.xml

[5] http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/rest-of-state-wants-in-on-border-zone/article_af679486-512e-11e3-84eb-0019bb2963f4.html

[6] http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/20131120phoenix-to-open-trade-office-in-mexico.html