US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Looking Toward the Future of Air Cargo
Blog posted on 8/ 21/ 17
Not many would refute that e-commerce is transforming global supply chains. Consumers are expecting more product choices and faster delivery and, therefore, air cargo is becoming more important for shippers to meet these evolving consumer demands. Global air traffic is expected to grow an average 4.2 % annually over the next 20 years.
While air cargo represents less than 1% of global trade in terms of volume, it accounts for 35% in value. Thus, when it comes to the future of air cargo, a lot is at stake. A variety of factors will determine the ability of air cargo providers to facilitate the global demand for fast, reliable shipping.
Cargo Network Services (CNS), a company of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), is partnering with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other organizations to host the 2nd annual U.S. Air Cargo Industry Affairs (USACIA) Summit on September 6 in Washington, D.C. The Summit will cover air cargo security, regulations, infrastructure, and countless other issues. It is imperative that the government and private sector collaborate on issues impacting air cargo to find real-world solutions that ensure our national and economic security.
The timing of this summit could not be better. So much is happening around the globe in this industry. A recent IATA report found that a 1% increase in air cargo connectivity is associated with a 6.3% increase in total exports and imports. Air cargo is clearly an investment worth making. One example is the cargo hub Amazon is building in Northern Kentucky, which is expected to create over 2,000 jobs.
As market forces change, air cargo is changing too. We invite you to join us at the USACIA summit.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AWARDS $80M IN PRE-APPRENTICESHIP GRANTS
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 8/ 18/ 17
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced $80 million in grants will be awarded to YouthBuild, a pre-apprenticeship program for at-risk individuals ages 16-to-24.
“There are pathways to successful careers outside of traditional education models,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta. “There are 6.2 million open jobs in the U.S., including 228,000 in construction, and 388,000 in manufacturing. By partnering with local community colleges and nonprofits, we can empower America’s young people with the skills to succeed in the good-paying jobs of today and of the future.”
YouthBuild is a recognized pre-apprenticeship program that helps at-risk youth complete high school or state equivalency degree programs, earn industry-recognized certifications for in-demand occupations, and undergo training to build housing for low-income or homeless individuals and families in their communities.
The grants announced today range from approximately $650,000 to $1.1 million each, and will help fund 77 YouthBuild programs.
YouthBuild has a network of 260 urban and rural YouthBuild programs in 46 states. It partners with the Department of Labor and is sponsored and managed by local nonprofits, community colleges, and public agencies.
US TREASURY DEPT: Statement by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 8/ 19/ 17
Washington – U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin issued the following statement today in response to comments he has received from his Yale Classmates and others.
“I am writing in response to my Yale Classmates and many other comments I have received urging me to “speak out”. I believe that your letter and these comments raise several important issues and misconceptions that I am prepared to address.
“First, I am proud to serve my country as the 77th Treasury Secretary at this critical time in our history, and I do so with a goal of taking actions to improve the economy for the benefit of all of our citizens. I believe that there is a great opportunity to simplify regulations, reform taxes, and generate millions of jobs through higher growth. Additionally I will use all the powers and resources of the Department of the Treasury’s Terrorism and Financial Intelligence units to combat and stop terrorist financing domestically and internationally. These are my most important priorities as Treasury Secretary. I was honored to travel to all parts of the country with the President during his campaign, be chosen by the President to be Treasury Secretary, and will continue to pursue his agenda.
“Second, with regard to the recent, horrible events in Charlottesville, I strongly condemn the actions of those filled with hate and with the intent to harm others. They have no defense from me nor do they have any defense from the President or this administration. As the President said in his very first comment on the events that were unfolding in Charlottesville, “[w]e all must be united and condemn all that hate stands for. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. Let’s come together as one.”
“Third, as someone who is Jewish, I believe I understand the long history of violence and hatred against the Jews (and other minorities) and circumstances that give rise to these sentiments and actions. While I find it hard to believe I should have to defend myself on this, or the President, I feel compelled to let you know that the President in no way, shape or form, believes that neo-Nazi and other hate groups who endorse violence are equivalent to groups that demonstrate in peaceful and lawful ways.
“Finally, as a Yale graduate and a member of what used to be known as Calhoun College (prior to its name change), I am familiar with the culture wars being fought in our country and the impact it is having on many people, with different views of how history should be remembered. Some of these issues are far more complicated than we are led to believe by the mass media, and if it were so simple, such actions would have been taken by other presidents, governors, and mayors, long before President Trump was elected by the American people.
“Our President deserves the opportunity to propose his agenda and to do so without the attempts by those who opposed him in the primaries, in the general election and beyond to distract the administration and the American people from these most important policy issues – jobs, economic growth, and national security.
“I hope you have a better perspective on my feelings on these issues. I don’t believe the allegations against the President are accurate, and I believe that having highly talented men and women in our country surrounding the President in his administration should be reassuring to you and all the American people. As long as I am Treasury Secretary I will do the best job I can for the American people and provide the best advice I can to the President.”
IRS Seeks Applications for Advisory Committee for the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 8/ 18/ 19
WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service is seeking applications for vacancies on the Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT). The committee provides a venue for public input on relevant areas of tax administration.
Vacancies exist in the following customer segments:
Employee Plans – two vacancies (with additional experience in federal, state and local governments preferred),
Exempt Organizations – one vacancy (with additional experience in tax-exempt bonds preferred),
Tax Exempt Bonds – one vacancy (with additional experience in exempt organizations preferred).
Members are appointed by the Department of the Treasury and serve three-year terms, beginning in June 2018. Applications will be accepted through September 18, 2017.
The ACT is an organized public forum for the IRS and representatives who deal with employee plans, exempt organizations, tax-exempt bonds, and federal, state, local and Indian tribal governments. The ACT allows the IRS to receive regular input on administrative policy and procedures of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division (TE/GE).
Applications can be made by completing the ACT Application Form (Form 12399-C). Applications should reflect the proposed member’s qualifications. Members of the ACT may not be federally registered lobbyists. A notice published in the Federal Register, dated August 17, 2017, contains more details about the ACT and the application process. Incomplete applications will not be processed.
BUSINESS AND FINANCE FROM OLYMPIA
LABOR AND INDUSTRIES: Badly burned on the job? New Center of Excellence at Harborview and L&I join forces to offer expanded help with recovery
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 8/ 18/ 17
Tumwater – Burns are among the most painful on-the-job injuries. Each year, hundreds of workers in Washington are burned on the job so severely that they require specialized medical care. The care and support these injured workers receive are key to their recovery and return to work.
The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) and Harborview Medical Center today announced a new Center of Excellence for medical care for burns. The new agreement expands workers’ access to a range of specialists who will collaborate throughout the worker’s recovery.
“Getting the right care at the right time is crucial for these catastrophically injured workers,” said Joel Sacks, director of L&I. “We hope to make their recovery better and a little easier by improving access to specialists.”
“The new Center of Excellence for Burns will help us streamline multi-disciplinary care to Washington’s workers who sustain devastating burns,” said Dr. Nicole Gibran, director of the Regional Burn Center at Harborview Medical Center, part of University of Washington (UW) Medicine. “By coordinating care with providers who understand burn injuries, we facilitate physical and psychological recovery.”
National data has shown that nearly 50 percent of adult burn patients do not return to work two years after injury and 28 percent never return to work. In contrast, a recent study in the Journal of Burn Care & Research showed that 93 percent of workers with work-related burns who were treated at the UW Medicine Regional Burn Center at Harborview returned to work on average 24 days after injury. The research attributes these dramatically improved outcomes to the broad support the worker receives from employers and workers’ compensation claims staff, and to the specialized and comprehensive burn care at Harborview.
To streamline care for burned workers insured by L&I, a group of highly-trained staff from the agency manages catastrophic claims. They will coordinate closely with UW Medicine and with staff wherever workers continue treatment.
The new center is part of an L&I project to improve care for catastrophically injured workers. This is the second center of excellence; the first, for amputations, was established in early 2016.
Governor Inslee: It’s time to pass the capital budget.
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 8/ 16/ 18
While legislators successfully approved new operating and transportation budgets during their recent session, schools, cities and counties across the state of Washington are feeling the consequences of legislators’ failure to pass a capital budget. The capital budget funds hundreds of construction projects and supports more than 19,000 jobs.
Senate Republicans are openly leveraging the capital budget until legislators reach agreement on how to address an unrelated Supreme Court decision related to water rights. Gov. Jay Inslee has repeatedly called on the Senate to de-link the two issues to ensure much-needed construction projects aren’t unnecessarily delayed.
Failure to pass a capital budget affects a wide range of programs and all of the state’s 39 counties. The budget includes projects to build new schools, update water treatment systems, expand capacity at health clinics, preserve historic places, reduce pollution, improve state parks, protect against flooding and wildfires, modernize mental health facilities, and more.
The budget has over $1 billion in school construction funds, including $20 million to improve distressed schools in Seattle, $15 million to replace North Pines Middle School in Spokane Valley, and $620,000 for upgrades to the Washington State School for the Blind in Vancouver. In some cases, a delay in state funding is expected to result in increased construction costs.
Read more of story here
UTC: Washington electric companies on track to meet 2017 renewable targets (In cased you missed it)
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 8/ 17/ 17
OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission found all three of the state’s investor-owned electric companies are in compliance with state renewable energy requirements.
The Energy Independence Act requires qualifying electric utilities to obtain a certain percentage of their electricity from eligible renewable resources, including wind, solar, and hydro power.
As part of the EIA requirements, Avista, Pacific Power, and Puget Sound Energy filed reports detailing their renewable portfolios and how each utility will supply at least 9 percent of its electric load for 2017 through renewable sources.
The three-member commission determined that all three utilities complied with the state renewable resource standard. Each company will file a final compliance report by 2019 showing exactly which resources were used to meet its target, and request a determination from the commission that the utility complied with its target.
The EIA, approved by Washington voters in 2006, also directs the companies obtain fifteen percent of their electricity from new renewable resources by 2020 and undertake cost-effective energy conservation
The UTC approves the targets and reviews the implementation plans for each investor-owned utility. The Washington State Department of Commerce oversees the targets and plans for the state’s consumer-owned utilities.
Avista is based in Spokane and provides electric service to about 246,000 customers in nine Eastern Washington counties: Adams, Asotin, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Lincoln, Spokane, Stevens and Whitman.
Pacific Power is a division of Portland, Ore.-based PacifiCorp which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Energy of Des Moines, Iowa. The company provides electric service to about 130,000 customers in five Eastern Washington counties: Kittitas, Columbia, Garfield, Walla Walla and Yakima.
Bellevue-based PSE provides electricity service to more than 1.1 million electric customers in eight Washington counties: King, Pierce, Island, Kitsap, Kittitas, Skagit, Whatcom, and Thurston.
The UTC is the state agency that regulates private, investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities in Washington. It is the commission’s responsibility to ensure regulated companies provide safe and reliable service to customers at reasonable rates, while allowing them the opportunity to earn a fair profit.
WORLD AND NATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS
UN NEWS CENTER:
Following El Salvador visit, UN right expert urges authorities to protect people from gangs
21 August 2017 – El Salvador is suffering a 'hidden tragedy' due to gang-related violence, an independent United Nations human rights expert today said, urging national authorities to intensify efforts to help and protect people affected by gangs.
'UN stands in solidarity with Finland in its fight against terrorism,' says Guterres
19 August 2017 – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today condemned the terrorist attack in south-western Finland which killed at least two people.
NATIONAL
WASHINGTON TIMES: Speaker Ryan denounces ‘moral relativism’ on neo-NazisHouse Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Monday that the white supremacists who have gained such a high profile in recent weeks remain “only on the fringes” of American life, but said the country cannot tolerate any attempts to show moral relativism.
NYT: The Solar Eclipse: First Contact in Oregon
Closer to Oregon’s coast at Depoe Bay, a small town near where the total eclipse will first touch American soil, eclipse chasers woke to thick fog, which was beginning to clear. The National Weather Service in Portland, Ore., reported that some coastal areas “are looking perfect” for viewing.
Daily Bible Verse: The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me— A prayer to the God of my life.
Psalm 42:8 NKJV
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