September 20, 2011
M11-036
To: SPEEA
Council
From: SPEEA Organizational Planning
Committee (Org Planning).
Subject:
Pre-Submitted New Business: Support
SPEEA promoting the Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA).
Background
Coalition for a Prosperous
America is a coalition of Farm groups, Manufacturers, and Labor Unions.
Web: www.prosperousamerica.org
The Trade Problem
America’s trade policies have
caused grave harm to our country’s economy, security and people. Our trade
deficit is over $1.5 billion per day. One in five manufacturing jobs have been lost in 10 years as tens of thousands of
manufacturers have closed. Each energy intensive factory lost to another
country produces up to eight times more global warming emissions than in the
U.S. America’s traditionally large agricultural trade surplus has disappeared
since NAFTA implementation. Food imports exceed exports and enter the country
without food safety inspection. Trade agreements dangerously undermine America’s
sovereignty by overriding the U.S. Constitution and local, state and federal
laws.
We need international commerce that roughly
balances imports and exports, without surrendering sovereignty, the environment
or food safety. America
can have trade that promotes its industrial and agricultural policy, produces
jobs, increases incomes, and preserves our strength.
Mission
The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA)
is working for a new and positive U.S.
trade policy that delivers prosperity and security to America, its citizens, farms,
factories and working people. We are an unrivaled coalition of manufacturing,
agricultural, worker, consumer and citizen interests working together to
re-build an America
for ourselves, our children and our grand-children. We believe America
can provide good jobs for workers, affordable goods for consumers, opportunity
for farms and manufacturers and a clean environment without compromising our
national sovereignty and security. We are committed to achieving this outcome.
The Coalition for a Prosperous America is a
nonprofit organization representing the interests of 2.7 million households
through our agricultural, manufacturing and labor members.
Activities
CPA’s focus is upon the grass roots. We are
educating citizens and local opinion leaders where they live and work. We are
identifying those elected members of Congress who favor improved trade policies
and, as importantly, those who do not. We will hold major events during the
electoral cycles to inform citizens on the issues. Engaging Washington is important, but politicians
come home on the weekends, and must face the citizens. Engaging America
is our primary focus.
2010 Activity:
·
Helped pass the Currency Reform and Fair Trade Act in the
House by an overwhelming margin of 348-79 in September 2010. This bill would
allow the U.S.
to neutralize foreign currency manipulation through countervailing duties.
·
Met with over 80 House and Senate offices in DC to advocate
for remedying trade, currency, tax and import safety.
·
Met with Obama Administration officials from the U.S. Trade
Representative’s Office, the Department of Commerce, the Department of
Agriculture and the White House. Advocated a national trade and economic strategy
to balance trade, create jobs and grow our economy.
·
Held our Holiday Salute event in December 2010, where we
awarded our Carl E. Jones Award to Congressmen Tim Ryan and Tim Murphy who
authored the Fair Currency Bill. We also recognized the work of many CPA
supporters including businessmen and organizations that assisted in the House
passage of the Bill.
·
Facilitated the Western Pennsylvania Economic Summit, Co-Chaired by Congressmen
Jason Altmire (D-PA-04) and Timothy Murphy (R-PA-18). The Summit convened scores of local/regional
organizations to discuss and agree upon long term
trade and economic growth methods.
·
Hosted Congressional and Senate candidate forums to educate
candidates and voters on trade issues.
·
Produced a multi-organizational document “Fixing America’s
Economy II” for use by citizens, companies and trade associations to advocate
for smarter trade and economic policies to government officials and candidates
for office.
·
Developed a trade vote history scorecard for voters to
evaluate legislators’ words versus their deeds.
·
Sponsored “Smart Trade meetings in Illinois,
Colorado, Pennsylvania
and Georgia
designed to build voter support for balanced trade.
·
Managed the TradeReform.org blog which is one of the top
economic blogs in the country.
2011 Legislative priorities:
- Currency manipulation bill
- Value Added Tax
- National trade and manufacturing
strategies
- [against] Korea FTA
Additional Information:
70% of the CPA’s work is in
local organizing, which may be more useful to us than the DC lobbying. If CPA
coordinates with the Washington Fair Trade Coalition, we can broaden our
advocacy base locally, and break the spell of being the “most trade dependent
state” in the country.
Michael Stumo is the President
of CPA.
He has been quoted. In link below
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/25/free-trade-agreements
lobbying_n_906623.html?view=print&comm_ref=false
“It’s
not a fair fight,” agreed Michael Stumo, president of the Coaltion for a
Prosperous America, which counts among its members the owners of companies that
produce brass, chemicals and machine tools. “It’s the transnational’s versus
the domestic producers and domestic manufactures,” he said.
“there is no argument to be made from the past 17 past trade
agreements that this will be a net trade benefit or a net jobs benefit for America,”
said Stumo. “Past agreements have failed the test.”
SPEEA Org. Planning Committee Recommendation
The SPEEA Organizational
Committee recommends passage of this motion.
There is no Cost to SPEEA.
Motion
It is moved that: Although Org Planning is not recommending
that SPEEA join Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) at this time, we see
value in the organization. We recommend
that SPEEA share information about CPA with a wider audience of labor and other
community based groups that SPEEA is affiliated/associated or working with, to allow
them to investigate joining or working
with CPA.
More background info:
News
Release
Coalition for a Prosperous America
March 11, 2010
CPA Members Advocate National Trade Strategy to 80 Congressional Offices
Members of Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) delivered a balanced trade
message to over 80 House and Senate offices this week. On March 9 and 10,
our members told Congress to refocus their efforts on developing a national
trade strategy, passing a currency manipulation bill, and opposing a harmful
trade agreement with Korea.
"We asked Congressmen across the country to agree on a pro-America trade
and economic strategy," said Brian O'Shaughnessy, CPA's Chief Co-Chair and
Chairman of Revere Copper Products. "Neither party is addressing the
trade deficits that are gutting our economy. We can grow our economy and
achieve full employment with a strategy to produce and invest here rather than
offshore our industries."
CPA members asked Representatives and Senators to support a national trade and
economic strategy that promotes investment and production in the United States.
Key issues included foreign currency manipulation and border taxes. CPA
members urged policy makers to pass The Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act of
2009 (H.R. 639 and S. 326) to address foreign currency manipulation.
Massive foreign tariffs in the form of value added taxes are also harming our
trade competitiveness. Unfortunately, many in the Administration and
Congress are promoting a trade agreement with Korea which will cause more harm.
"Our agricultural products face a 35% currency tariff when selling to China,"
said Joe Logan, CPA Agriculture Co-Chair. "Congress should
immediately pass the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act to neutralize this
unfair barrier to America's
farmers and ranchers."
"When my company exports copper or copper products, we must pay a 17%
value added tax to foreign countries," said O'Shaughnessy. "The
VAT is also used by trade rivals to provide massive subsidies when they ship
products to the U.S.
My company could grow and employ more people if Congress recognized this
problem and addressed it effectively."
CPA members also oppose the Korea
trade agreement which will further harm our trade competitiveness.
"Government data shows that the Korea deal will not produce net
exports or net job creation," said O'Shaughnessy. "The Korea deal also has a 35% "rule of
origin" provision which will incentivize Chinese exporters to use Korea as a profitable, low-tariff,
trans-shipment portal into the U.S.
market. Past bilateral trade agreements have stimulated a massive trade
deficit. We need a new trade strategy for balanced trade and then
negotiate trade agreements to carry out that strategy." "CPA is a
coalition of the people who make and grow things here," said Bob Baugh,
CPA Labor Co-Chair. "We believe that America’s economic and national
security is tied to a productive economy that creates good jobs. A
vibrant American manufacturing economy is a bipartisan cause central to
achieving that security. Congress must begin where it left off last
year by taking action on currency legislation, a national manufacturing
strategy and putting an end to bad trade deals." "Our
Coalition has persuaded many more members of Congress to support addressing
currency manipulation, value added taxes, and a national trade strategy then
ever before," said Dave Frengel, Chair of the CPA Pennsylvania Chapter, and Director of Government Affairs for Penn United
Technologies in Saxonburg, PA. "U.S. manufacturers are globally
competitive and ready to grow, but our government leaders must implement these
solutions to leave the Great Recession behind us and create jobs."
"We approached members of both parties with the core issue for economic
recovery, which is balancing our trade deficit so we produce more goods, food,
jobs and wealth in this country," said Adam Parr of the Steel
Manufacturers Association, a CPA member who participated in the Fly In.
"The CPA Fly In offered a real opportunity for three diverse groups to
come together and advocate for real solutions to the economic problems that we
currently face."
The Coalition for a Prosperous America is a nonprofit organization
representing the interests of 2.7 million households through our agricultural,
manufacturing and labor members.