American Chamber of Commerce
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| Founded | 1912 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Charles Nagel |
| Type | Advocacy group |
| Focus | Business advocacy |
| Location |
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Area served
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United States industry |
| Method | Political lobbying, Public relations |
|
Key people
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Tom J. Donohue, President |
| Slogan | Fighting for your business |
| Website | uschamber.com |
The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is a business-oriented American lobbying group. It is not an agency of the United States government.
Politically, the Chamber usually supports Republican political candidates, though it has occasionally supported conservative Democrats. The Chamber is the largest lobbying group in the U.S., spending more money than any other lobbying organization on a yearly basis.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's own history of itself describes it as originating from an April 22, 1912, meeting of delegates. The Chamber was created by President Taft as a counterbalance to the labor movement of the time.
In 1993, the Chamber lost several members over its support for Clinton's healthcare reform efforts. The Chamber had chosen to support healthcare reform at that time due to the spiraling healthcare costs experienced by its members. However, House Republicans retaliated by urging boycotts of the organization. The Chamber operated its own cable television station, Biz-Net until 1997 in order to promote its policies. The Chamber shifted somewhat more to the right when Tom Donohue became head of the organization in 1997. By the time health care reform became a major issue again in 2010–2012, the organization opposed such efforts. The Washington, D.C., headquarters of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce occupies land that was formerly the home of Daniel Webster.
Although all chambers can work with all levels of government, they tend to concentrate their efforts on specific levels: Local chambers of commerce tend to focus on local issues, state chambers on state issues, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce focuses on national issues at the federal government level. They also work closely with a number of other youth organizations in the country about the value and role of business in our society today.
In late 2011 it was revealed that the Chamber's computer system was breached from November 2009 to May 2010 by Chinese hackers. The purpose of the breach appeared to be gain information related to the Chamber's lobbying regarding Asian trade policy.
Since a 1971 internal memo by Lewis Powell advocating a more active role in cases before United States Supreme Court, the Chamber has found increasing success in litigation. Under the Burger and Rehnquist Courts the Chamber was on the prevailing side 43% and 56% of the time, respectively, but under the Roberts Court, the Chamber's success rate rose to 68% as of June 21, 2012.
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Wikipedia