China Trade
Makes Strange Bedfellows
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The Democrat-Republican divide was
replaced by an urban-rural split in determining
how North Carolina's congressional delegation
voted on extending permanent normal trade
relations (PNTR) with China. The four members who
voted for passage of the bill represent urban
areas -- the Triangle, Charlotte and Hickory. The
five Republicans and three Democrats who voted
against PNTR mainly represent rural parts of the
state or areas heavily dependent on textiles.
The House approved the legislation 237-197 on
Thursday, with 164 Republicans and 73 Democrats
in favor. Voting no were 57 Republicans, 138
Democrats and two Independents. See how the entire House voted.
The measure now goes to the
Senate, which is expected to take up the bill
after Congress returns from its Memorial Day
break. Sen. Jesse Helms strongly opposes it and
Sen. John Edwards is undecided. The Senate is
expected to concur in passage, handing President
Clinton a major foreign policy victory.
Business leaders applauded House passage of the
China trade bill, with the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce calling the bipartisan vote "a
victory of fact over fear and a historic win for
the American economy and our national
security." North Carolina supporters said
normal trade relations with China would bring an
economic windfall to the state by opening new
markets for commodities and manufactured goods.
China isn't one of North Carolina's major trading
partners. The $254.2 million in goods we sold to
China last year ranks it the state's 16th-largest
foreign market.
Price and other supporters said the legislation
will boost that total significantly by requiring
China to slash tariffs on poultry, pork, tobacco
and other commodities, as well as on such
manufactured goods as chemical and pharmaceutical
products, computers, telephones and other
high-tech items. "This is potentially one of
the most positive developments in years for North
Carolina tobacco farmers," Cong. Bob
Etheridge (D-2nd) said in a statement. "This
is a big, big victory for our state's tobacco
farmers and rural economies." Etheridge
swung in favor of the trade bill after China
dropped restrictions on tobacco imports.
How They Voted
(Statements
explaining their votes are posted on some
members' web pages linked below)
Yes
Cass Ballenger, R
Bob Etheridge, D
Sue Myrick, R
David Price, D
No
Richard Burr, R
Eva Clayton, D
Howard Coble, R
Robin Hayes, R
Walter Jones,
R
Mike McIntyre, D
Charles
Taylor, R
Melvin Watt, D
Ergonomics
Update: OSHA
will hold an informal public hearing on July 7 on
the economic impact of its proposed ergonomics
standard on state and local governments, the
United States Postal Service and railroads.
Public comments on these issues are due no later
than June 22, 2000. While OSHA's ergonomics
proposal addresses these workers, the original
economic impact statement did not include these
costs. Although OSHA does not cover state and
local government workers, states that run their
own OSHA programs (about half the states,
including North Carolina) do and would cover
workers within their jurisdictions. The
supplemental economic analysis concludes that the
ergonomics proposal would affect another 8.7
million workers in state and local government at
more than 165,000 sites. OSHA estimates these
workers experience about 175,000 musculoskeletal
disorders (MSDs) each year. OSHA estimates that
adding the three groups to its ergonomics
proposal would raise the total net costs by
nearly $420 million per year. The public hearing
will be held July 7, beginning at 9:00 a.m., in
the auditorium of the Francis Perkins Building,
200 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.
20210. Comments also can be transmitted
electronically through OSHA's
web site.
Hot Weather:
The four-month period of
January through April this year was the warmest
January-April period on record in the United
States in 106 years of record keeping, according
to statistics calculated by National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration scientists working
from the world's largest statistical weather
database. NOAA's National Climatic Data Center
in Asheville holds data
that spans through the entire 106 years of record
keeping. The preliminary data indicate that
nearly 70 percent of the country was much warmer
than normal, while less than one percent of the
country was much cooler than normal. The
persistent warmth of the past eleven months has
resulted in record warm ranks for several
combinations of months ending in April 2000.
These include each of the nine periods from
February-April 2000, January-April 2000, back to
June 1999-April 2000. The temperature value, at
44.3 degrees Fahrenheit, was .3 degrees over the
second warmest January-April, which occurred in
1990.
SBA Revises SIC Codes: The U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA) on Oct. 1 will adopt a new
industrial classification system that more
accurately reflects today's small business
sector, especially the fast-growth technology
area. It will serve as the basis for the agency's
widely used small business size standards. The
new system, known as the North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS), reflects recent
business development trends by listing a greater
number of advanced technology and service
industries than the current Standard Industrial
Classification (SIC), which has been in use since
the 1930s. The NAICS classification system now is
used to compile business and trade statistics in
the United States, Canada and Mexico. "The
phenomenal growth of our national economy in
recent years has created entire new industries,
especially when measured by the technology
sector," said SBA Administrator Aida
Alvarez. "The SBA is adopting NAICS to keep
current and more accurately classify our diverse
economy. The benefits of this more precise
classification will be shared by all, but
particularly by those small businesses in these
emerging industries.” Federal procurement
officials and others use size standards to
determine whether a business is large or small.
Knowing the correct size standard can pave the
way for a firm to receive contracts, research and
development awards and financial or technical
assistance reserved only for small businesses.
Read more about the issue.
Airline Merger:
United Airlines, the
world's largest carrier, has agreed to acquire US
Airways in an $11.6 billion deal that would
create an airline with nearly twice the number of
flights as its nearest competitor. US Airways is
the dominant carrier at Charlotte Douglas
International Airport and is a major carrier at
Raleigh-Durham International Airport. United
plans to keep US Airways' Washington-New
York-Boston shuttle and enough slots at Reagan
National to feed Washington-area passengers to US
Airways international hubs in Pittsburgh,
Philadelphia and Charlotte. The merger agreement
was said to be an all-cash deal, with United
paying $4.3 billion and assuming US Airways' debt
of $1.6 billion. The rest of the $11.6 billion
price tag involves assumption of aircraft leases.
The newly merged airline would have hubs from
coast to coast and about 6,500 daily flights,
nearly double that of American Airlines. United
is primarily an east-west airline, while US
Airways primarily flies north-south routes.
United said the acquisition would add 560 routes
to its system.
Taylor and Taxes:
Jackson County Tax
Collector Beverly Buchanan has asked the U.S.
House to garnishee the paycheck of Cong. Charles
Taylor (R-11th) for $3,583.50 as payment for a
delinquent property tax bill the county says he
owes. Buchanan said Taylor owes the county
$17,989.37 in taxes, going back to 1996, on six
parcels totaling 628 acres. The money requested
covers taxes on one of the parcels. Taylor
declined comment. His lawyer, Robert Long, denied
Taylor owes back taxes in Jackson County. The
dispute involves Taylor's claim for a lower tax
rate because his land is under active forest
management.
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