Chamber cites vaccine distribution, economic recovery, immigration reform and more as areas for collaboration
PHOENIX (January 20, 2021)—The Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry congratulates President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on their inauguration and is looking forward to working with the new administration on several federal issues of importance to the state’s job creators.
“The peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of American democracy and something no American should take for granted,” Arizona Chamber President and CEO Glenn Hamer said. “We join with job creators across the state in congratulating President Biden and Vice President Harris on today’s historic occasion and commit to working with the new administration to help the nation recover from the pandemic, create more jobs, repair and reform our immigration system, and much more.”
Hamer identified several areas where the Arizona Chamber is looking forward to working with the Biden administration.
Vaccines
“The business community believes strongly that the execution of an effective and efficient vaccination strategy is essential to the nation’s recovery from the scourge of this pandemic. We’ve been urging responsible public health protocols to curb the spread of the virus, and we’re a ready and willing partner in ensuring the vaccines reach as many Americans as possible as quickly as possible. We want to reach the bold goal of 100 million vaccinations in 100 days.”
Immigration reform
“We’re encouraged that President Biden is going to make immigration reform a top priority of the early days of his administration. We will strongly support a plan that puts DACA recipients and Dreamers on a path to citizenship, which we are confident will receive broad, bipartisan support. The business community also looks forward to working with the Biden administration in reforming the country’s byzantine visa system. Too many jobs across the economy are going unfulfilled, but a better visa policy can help. We can also build on the promise of the TN visa class and make it easier for professionals in our USMCA partner countries Canada and Mexico to bring their talents here. We also want to work with the new administration on a plan to safely and responsibly ease pandemic-related border travel restrictions.”
Infrastructure
“States like Arizona need modern infrastructure to keep pace with our fast economic growth. There’s already a strong bipartisan movement to get a comprehensive infrastructure bill to the president’s desk by July 4. Now is the time to have a discussion on how to update our funding model, as an increasing number of Americans are plugging their vehicles in instead of going to the pump. There is also work to do to ensure that states like Arizona have modern water stewardship infrastructure. Border states look forward to working with President Biden to update our ports of entry so they can keep pace with growing trade volumes.”
Trade and tariffs
“The Arizona Chamber will continue to advocate for the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, just as we did in 2019 and 2020 during the USMCA debate. The Biden administration can get off on the right foot by ending the threat of tariffs against our friends, adhering to the letter and spirit of USMCA, and seeking out new partners like the United Kingdom for free trade pacts. Congress has a role to play here, too, by ensuring the executive branch doesn’t seek to unilaterally impose new tariffs.”
Taxes and the economy
“The U.S. is still down 10 million jobs in this pandemic-induced downturn. Now is not the time to make things harder on job creators, nor do we want to lose ground in the global competition for jobs. The 2017 tax reduction bill dramatically increased the U.S.’ competitive standing and, by cutting the corporate tax rate, made words like inversion a thing of the past. Let’s not bring it back.”
Climate change
“The business community wants to work with the Biden administration in the pursuit of climate goals. One area of common agreement would be to focus federal research and investment on batteries and energy storage, and ensuring we have the right regulatory framework for the growth of the electric vehicle sector.”
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