Morning News - St. Paul Edition

by Brad Peck

The Bandwagon to Minneapolis has made it to St. Paul. That's right, St. Paul, it's time to give the twin in the Twin Cities some love, it is the state capital after all. As in Denver, U.S. Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue was there to greet the bus, and meet the press.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue today said the chamber would spend more than $20 million on this fall’s Congressional races to elect Democrats and Republicans that back pro-business policies.
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In a briefing at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Donohue said the chamber had begun a campaign, known as “Vote for Business,” to register voters around the country and to make them aware of key business issues.

Donohue said education is crucial to increasing the number of skilled workers, especially as an aging population starts retiring. Also, he said, investments in infrastructure are a priority for the business community, especially in the areas of power generation, air traffic control and broadband capacity.

“Affordable taxes” for businesses are also a key issue, Donohue said. While saying industries rarely agree on all tax issues, he said, there is wide consensus for keeping them as low as possible. (Roll Call)

The head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the powerful business lobby would support U.S. automakers' call for up to $50 billion in low-interest loan guarantees from the federal government, and said it should be done without raising taxes elsewhere on the corporate sector.
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"We're going to support the loans the auto companies are looking for without a pay-for," said Donohue. "We need to do that without a pay-for which says I'm going to give the auto makers money but I'm going to make the aluminum companies or the oil companies pay for it." (Dow Jones Newswires)

But U.S. companies, many of which back broad reforms, want a more efficient way for bringing in more foreign workers, from low-paid temporary farm hands to nursing home helpers and high-paid high-tech specialists.

"Both (political) parties are ducking the immigration issue," said Tom Donohue, head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "They don't want to get in the middle of it because everyone wants the Hispanic vote" that could be critical in many states this year, he said. (Reuters via Forbes)

Whoever takes the White House in November should ask Henry Paulson to stay on board at the Treasury Department, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue said in an interview.

“Considering everything that’s going on in the financial community globally, I’d find my own guys, but I would go to Paulson and I would say: ‘You need to stay six months while we get our feet under this,’” Donohue said. (WSJ Washington Wire)

Donohue didn't know much about the Alaska governor, but he immediately started looking into her background and record, and he liked what he learned. Understands business. Familiar with energy policy. A Washington outsider. Ran a municipal government. Rooted out corruption. Challenged the elite leaders of her state. Headed the Alaska National Guard. A good temperament for national office.

"She's charming and she's tough," Donohue told U.S. News in a roundtable discussion held in conjunction with the Republican National Convention. Regarding her willingness to take on established power, he added: "She looks to me like somebody who looked the gorilla in the eye and didn't blink." (U.S. News and World Report)