To get an inside look at what’s ahead for Congress in 2020, the Michigan Chamber hosted an exclusive 2020 federal update call for Chamber member last week with special guests Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee (D-Flint Township) and U.S. Chamber Vice President of Congressional & Public Affairs Ron Eidshaug.
Congressman Kildee discussed the federal budget, trade, emerging environmental contaminants and infrastructure.
On the budget, Kildee emphasized the importance of passing a thoughtful budget on time and that Congress must work together with the administration to ensure its smooth passage. Kildee also recognized the President’s inclusion of financial support for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to tackle water quality challenges in the Great Lakes.
On trade, Congressman Kildee said that the focus should be on implementing and enforcing the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). The Michigan Chamber was thankful for the Congressman’s support of USMCA. It appears Kildee will continue to be an advocate for fair trade as negotiations shift towards China, The United Kingdom and elsewhere.
As co-chair of the PFAS Task Force, Congressman Kildee plays a pivotal role on how to handle this emerging contaminant.
Infrastructure spending is on the tip of everyone’s tongue in Michigan and it sounds like the same is true in Washington, D.C. While something will likely get done on infrastructure, the question remains what a final compromise will look like.
During the Q and A portion of the call, Congressman Kildee was asked whether Congress is considering any measures to help alleviate the workforce challenges employers are facing expanded across the state. He said Congress is well aware of the workforce challenges that exist and spoke about the need to have a serious conversation on immigration, among other things.
In his update, the U.S. Chamber’s Ron Eidshaug expanded on the points Congress Kildee discussed and talked about Coronavirus, the Higher Education Reauthorization Act, energy issues, multiemployer pensions and the general state of the economy.
For more information about this update, or to sign up for future federal update calls, contact Dan Papineau at dpapineau@michamber.com.