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CACI Submits Comments to EPA on 111(d) - Proposed Greenhouse Gas Rules
CACI recently submitted detailed Comments the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency outlining serious legal and economic concerns for the proposed rule, as well as providing constructive suggestions for each area of concern. Under President Obama’s Clean Power Plan (CPP), states will use a four-tier model to develop plans for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with each state drafting and submitting unique strategies to the EPA over the next year.
The CPP proposes regulating existing power-plant emissions under Sec. 111(d) of the Federal Clean Air Act. The proposed rule will have significant, negative impacts, however, on the U.S. economy – in the form of untested metrics, rising electricity costs, home-heating and food-processing cost increases as well as adding to the burdens of doing business in Colorado. For more information, read EPA’s Fact Sheet. The Fact Sheet calls the proposal a “commonsense plan” under President Obama’s Climate Action Plan.
House Majority Leader-elect Duran Addresses CACI Board of Directors
- Rep. Crisanta Duran (D-Denver), House Majority Leader-elect, previews the 2015 legislative session and business issues yesterday with the CACI Board of Directors. From left to right, Jon Anderson, Holland & Hart LLP; Leland Lorentzen, Golden Aluminum; and Travis Webb, BKD Advisors LLP.
Manufacturing Initiative
Coloradans Participate in White House Event to Promote Increased College Success
Representatives from Colorado joined leaders from across the country at the White House yesterday to discuss increasing college access and completion of degrees.
Dr. Nancy McCallin, President of the Colorado Community College System, was joined by Nate Easley, Executive Director of the Denver Scholarship Foundation, and Erin Brown, Executive Director of the Denver Office of Children’s Affairs.
The delegation participated in the White House “College Opportunity Day of Action”, which was designed to support President Obama’s commitment for the U.S. to lead the world in higher education through partnerships between educational institutions, the business community and the nonprofit community. President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden participated in the event
Participants were asked to commit to new action in one of four areas:
- Building networks of colleges to promote completion,
- Creating partnerships to prepare K-16 students for college,
- Investing in high school counselors, and
- Increasing college completion rates.
The Colorado Community College System committed to increase the number of graduates from its 13 colleges by redesigning its remedial education curriculum and expanding the number of degrees in its “Degrees with Designation” program. Degrees with designation provide pathways for students interested in pursuing related bachelor degrees at four-year institutions.
This is welcome news for manufacturers that consistently struggle to fill openings. Many of these positions require some basic understanding of mathematical concepts, which will be part of the community college system’s commitments. With higher levels of educational attainment often come higher wages for manufacturing workers. Increasing opportunity and attainment through a community college system is seen by manufacturers as beneficial to employers and as a way to grow America’s middle class.
This message also was echoed in the latest jobs report issued by the United States Department of Labor today. Although the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.8 percent, employers added 321,000 jobs in November. Manufacturers accounted for 28,000 of those jobs. Manufacturers continue to hire faster and pay better than many other sectors of the nation’s economy. They’re also hiring at a rate faster than this time last year. In Colorado, more than 140,000 people work in the manufacturing sector. Economists expect continued broad-based job growth into 2015.
For information on CACI’s Manufacturing Initiative, contact Patrick Pratt, Program Manager, at 303.866.9657.