Halftime for the 105th Congress
The 105th Congress is in recess until Jan. 27, 1998. Although 1997 fell short in media attention compared to that generated by the 104th Congress, this does not dilute the in-roads made with pro-business initiatives in the last year. The outlook for the remaining days of the 105th Congress is very promising. Both Republicans and Democrats are beginning to focus on major tax reform. It is critical that small-business trade associations keep reform for the business community on the front lines. Fortunately, both the House and Senate small-business committees have strong chairmen dedicated to directing attention to the business community. Hearings have already taken place in 1997 with an emphasis in the committees on tax reform and the Automotive Service Association (ASA) submitted testimony in the hearings.
The undisputed legislative achievement for 1997 was the agreement to balance the federal budget. This achievement could end up as the historical hallmark for the Clinton presidency. The law requires the budget to be balanced by no later than fiscal year 2002. Although President Reagan's media skills brought the budget crisis to the forefront of American public policy, it took a Republican Congress and a Democratic president to resolve it. Less media focus surrounded a crucial component of the balanced budget agreement -- the largest tax cut in a generation. Embodied in the tax section of the law is a capital gains tax cut, increases in the estate tax exemptions, increase in health insurance deductions, changes in individual retirement accounts, etc. ASA was active through the Small Business Legislative Council, a coalition of small-business associations, in achieving many of the small-business tax reforms.
The other high profile legislative accomplishments for 1997 were the fiscal year 1998 appropriations bills. Central to small businesses were continued efforts to move the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from enforcement and penalties to an agency focused on education and training. Although Congress has an on-going effort to reform policies at OSHA through legislative initiatives, it has achieved a great deal of reform through OSHA's funding. Monies to fund OSHA have shifted from enforcement to education. These kinds of policy changes occur immediately, resulting in relief for the small-business community. ASA met with top OSHA officials to confirm these policy shifts and assure independent repairers that they are not the targets of any special OSHA enforcement initiatives. ASA is an active proponent of voluntary inspections to better educate shop owners as to OSHA's regulations.
Senate Small Business Committee Chairman Kit Bond was successful in passing reauthorization legislation that enhances the Small Business Administration in assisting small businesses. Many of the agency's programs were expanded under the legislation. Bond has been a very strong advocate for the small-business community.
ASA also acted to make sure a controversial amendment to a vocational education authorization bill did not become law. The provision had the potential to dilute funding for local vocational school programs. ASA will continue to work to ensure that vocational legislation enhances -- not diminishes -- local vocational efforts.
ASA had a very good year in making certain that controversial legislation not move without positive changes for the repair industry. Specifically, national uniform titling legislation passed the House of Representatives only after increasing the salvage definition's percentage from 75 percent to 80 percent. Two other variables, value and age of the vehicle, still are not satisfactory to ASA. ASA is concerned that Congress is creating too large of a potential pool of salvage vehicles. The age of potential salvage vehicles has to decrease while the value has to increase. ASA lobbied for the Senate bill to lower the potential number of salvage vehicles by changes in the age and value categories. If this did not occur, ASA sought to have the bill held over until 1998 in order to diminish the potential salvage pool. ASA was successful in these efforts and the bill will be considered again in 1998; having no bill is better than having a bad bill.
Although there was a flurry of last minute attempts to pass legislation to stall or eliminate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) regulations on ozone and particulate matter, the regulations are firmly in place and most analysts agree that there is little chance of altering the regulations in 1998. ASA's chairman, Bob Anderson, has appointed a special task force to work with top EPA officials as they sort through future state implementation plans including inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs. It is important that the industry be in front of the I/M debate and not locked into a reactionary position as was the case after the implementation of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
What about 1998? Many of the issues mentioned earlier will be brought up again in 1998. ASA will continue to work for comprehensive tax reform and to make sure that small business receives the attention it deserves. ASA will strive to improve the current uniform titling legislation, and enact serious OSHA reform and other specific automotive-related legislation.
ASA will also initiate several important legislative and regulatory packages in a variety of arenas. ASA's board of directors has agreed to work to pass legislation for replacement crash parts, point of sale of paint products, tough anti-steering laws and regulations, and other significant bills. ASA wants to make sure that any regulatory efforts by states or the federal government are fair and practical to the operation of independent repair facilities.
The next year will be another major step for the repair industry. ASA policy clearly works best when it involves both federal and state efforts. A consistent, comprehensive and unified effort will determine the future for repairers.
Halftime for the 105th Congress || Top 10 Automotive Repair Web Sites || Assessing the Quality of Aftermarket Collision Repair Parts || Proper Timing Tips to Get Under Your Belt || Women Want Positive, Receptive Customer Service || Review of NACE-97 || Guest Editorial: Aftermarket parts: Here to stay || Tech to Tech || Tech Tips || News Briefs || Taking the Hill || Around ASA || Shop Profile || Net Worth || Stat Corner || Chairman's Message
AutoInc. Magazine ®, Vol. XLVI, January 1998