This Week in Congress
The Senate plans to vote on legislation that would force the approval by President Obama of the Keystone pipeline project. The Senate also may take up legislation that would curb the ability of the National Security Agency (NSA) to collect mass amounts of personal telephone data. The Senate further is scheduled to vote on legislation that would reauthorize to the Child Care and Development Block Grant program. Read more... |
Vehicle Manufacturers’ Privacy Principles Fail to Adequately Provide Consumers Control of Their Car’s Data
On Nov. 12, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers released “Consumer Privacy Protection Principles,” which are intended to provide car owners with a set of principles regarding the sharing of personal information available from their vehicles. The principles would require car companies that sign on to obtain consumer consent before retrieving black box electronic data recorder information following a crash, or to provide third parties with certain personal information sent to the manufacturers from imbedded telematics systems. Read more... |
Imports of Chinese 134a Won't Be Subject to Dumping/Subsidy Duties
On Nov. 12, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted 4-2 that Chinese imports of the refrigerant 134a do not materially injure, or threaten to materially injure, domestic U.S. industry. As a result, no antidumping or countervailing duty orders will be issued on the subject merchandise, even though the Commerce Department previously had determined that the imports were dumped at a rate of 280.67 percent and received countervailable government subsidies at rates ranging from 1.87 percent to 22.75 percent. A public report containing the views of the commissioners and information developed during the investigations will be available after Dec. 15. Read more... |
Business Coalition Urges Boehner to Pass Online Tax Fairness Bill This Year
On Nov. 12, the Marketplace Fairness Coalition, a collection of industry advocacy organizations and independent businesses that includes the Auto Care Association, sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, urging him to consider and pass before the end of the year, legislation to create parity between retailers for sales tax collection. Currently, online retailers, or “remote sellers,” experience a competitive pricing advantage over brick-and-mortar stores, because they are not required to collect sales taxes at the point of sale. Read more... |
West Coast Port Slowdowns Continue
A diverse coalition, including the Auto Care Association, sent a letter to President Obama on Nov. 6 urging the government’s immediate involvement in contract negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. Management and labor have held talks since May but have yet to approve a final agreement on a contract that expired July, which covers dockworkers at 29 West Coast ports. Read more... |
Agencies with Affordable Care Act Oversight Issue FAQs Guidance on Individual Policy Reimbursement
The Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and Treasury jointly issued new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) guidance on premium reimbursement programs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The guidance is largely a warning that these programs do not comply with the ACA and could be subject to an excise tax. Read more... |
New Blog Post: Making Sense of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations
The Auto Care Association government affairs team publishes a blog to offer some additional insight into what is happening in Washington, D.C., the states and internationally, and how that relates to the auto care industry. Read our most recent post here: http://tiny.cc/blog111714 Read more... |
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