Bayer Corp employee of the year: Richard Burr

Submitted by scharrison on Tue, 04/27/2010 - 1:14pm

Those of us who have studied Senator Richard Burr's Congressional acts couldn't help but notice a plethora of legislation suspending duties or tariffs on various and enigmatic chemical compounds.

I've spent time here and there trying to link these compounds together, in an effort to discover which private corporations were being served by these bills. Well, it appears there's one really big one, and it's a foreign-owned corporation at that.

Through the lobbying firm Implu, wielded by lobbyists Jean Riemers and Jennifer Spurgat, Bayer spent $2.5 million in 2009 pushing, among other things, many of the following efforts that can be linked to Burr's bills:

MISCELLANEOUS TARIFF BILL: TO SEEK INTRODUCTION OF BILLS (NO NUMBERS YET); (TO PROVIDE DUTY SUSPENSION OR DUTY REDUTION ON CHEMICALS AS LISTED BELOW:

A BILL TO REDUCE TEMPORARILY THE DUTY ON AE 0172747 ETHER

A BILL TO EXTEND THE TEMPORARY REDUCTION IN DUTY ON BETA-CYFLUTHRIN

A BILL TO EXTEND THE TEMPORARY REDUCTION OF DUTY ON TRIADIMEFON (BAYLETON
TECHNICAL)

**the list continues**

So how does this fit into the debate about how Richard Burr has served the people of our state? First, let's look at some basic performance statistics.

Of the 72 bills Burr authored last year (2009), 45 of them were these duty/tariff reductions. That means a little over 60% of the legislation he or his minions wrote was dedicated to undermining efforts to protect American jobs. That's three days every week working against us.

In his entire 16 year Congressional career, 21% of the legislation he wrote was for this, or one day every week working against us. You might say his efforts to work against us have increased, the longer he's been allowed to "serve" us in DC.

But not only do these tariff reductions hurt American and North Carolinian chemical producers while boosting Chinese companies that poison the environment and people who are unlucky enough to be nearby, the profits from these calculated moves haven't gone to American companies, they're going back across the ocean to Germany, the corporate home of Bayer.

The question about Richard Burr shouldn't be how much good he's done, which is very little, but how much damage. By any reasonable metric, Senator Burr has done much more harm than good; not just to our state, but the entire country, as well.

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The irony is breathtaking

Submitted by James on Tue, 04/27/2010 - 2:11pm.

How such an asshole gets away with this kind of crap while pretending he's doing the job for American workers ... it boggles the mind.

Do good. Be nice. Have fun.

The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (“MTB”)

Submitted by Brandon on Tue, 05/04/2010 - 9:53pm.

“The comments about jobs are incorrect. The benefit of the tariff bills is clearly to protect U.S. jobs, including jobs in NC. The bottom line is clear: temporarily suspending or reducing duties on inputs and products not made domestically are essential to maintaining a viable and globally competitive manufacturing sector in the United States and removes needless taxes on American companies. By reducing the tariffs paid on imported products, that are not available in the U.S., the bills make U.S. manufacturing sites more competitive, thus keeping jobs here in the U.S. The study,copied below, shows that the MTB actually protects about 90,000 jobs in the U.S.”

THE MISCELLANEOUS TARIFF BILL:
A Bipartisan, Transparent Process that Boosts Domestic Manufacturing and
Makes U.S. Industry More Competitive

The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (“MTB”) is a unique legislative process that provides vast benefits to U.S. manufacturers. By combining individual duty suspension, duty reduction, and other technical trade provisions into one package, this bipartisan legislation creates and supports American jobs, benefits consumers, and promotes U.S. economic growth.

The MTB process can be technical and seemingly cumbersome in nature. However, the bottom line is clear: temporarily suspending or reducing duties on inputs and products not made domestically are essential to maintaining a viable and globally competitive manufacturing sector in the United States and removes needless taxes on American companies.

For over 20 years, Congress has regularly passed the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill. In fact, it is one of the few truly bipartisan pieces of legislation considered in recent Congresses. Lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle routinely support the MTB because of the direct and immediate impact it has on constituent companies. Members have confidence that the bill will give U.S. manufacturers a much needed boost in the competitive global marketplace without harming domestic businesses.

Furthermore, the MTB is perhaps the most public and transparent legislative process. Each Congressional cycle, large and small businesses appeal to their representatives in Congress to introduce temporary duty suspension or reduction legislation in an effort to realize much-needed relief for manufacturing facilities throughout the United States. Public advisories are issued by the Congressional committees with jurisdiction. The Department of Commerce, U.S. International Trade Commission, and Customs and Border Protection meticulously vet individual tariff bills to ensure that each provision meets the strict standards imposed by the MTB process.

To be eligible for inclusion in the MTB package, the tariffs suspended must 1) be on products not manufactured in the United States, 2) fall below a cost threshold as established by Congress, and 3) generally be non-controversial. At any point, citizens have public access to the proposed legislation and they are encouraged to object to the consideration of any provision. If legitimate objections are received, those provisions are dropped from the MTB package.

The MTB can mean the difference between a profitable U.S.-based manufacturing facility and one whose future is in jeopardy. By supporting this legislation, Members of Congress are supporting thousands of well-paying U.S. manufacturing jobs and eliminating needless taxes on all Americans. Passing the MTB is essential to boosting the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing facilities, their workers, and the broader U.S. economy.

Could you please provide

Submitted by scharrison on Tue, 05/04/2010 - 11:04pm.

a link to this study, or at least some information about its authorship?

I have a hunch you won't be able to provide the former, because I'm pretty sure this hasn't been published to the Web (yet). Which means you've probably got it on disc or had the digital file sent via e-mail. Which also means you know who performed the study and disseminated the results.

Since it looks like your guy is pulling 80% tonight, I'm hoping you'll be happy enough to oblige my modest request.