President Barack Obama is moving forward and pushing an aggressive agenda that includes climate change, immigration reform, financial reform and health care reform among others. This week, the President continues to push his health care agenda and Republicans continue to push back, saying, "Now is not the time." There are some in Congress that are also saying, "Now is not the time to talk about a second stimulus bill." However, there is some discussion about introducing a second stimulus bill to help bolster the economy. Such a bill would not come to pass until after Labor Day, however, if the economy does not improve, some further help will be needed and something even more significant than the first one.
Michigan...It is time to seize the opportunity
Although it is officially summer, there is a big chill across Michigan. With the auto industry firmly in control by the federal government, Congress continues to focus on the economy, the environment and on everyone’s health. Just before the July 4th recess, the U.S. House of Representatives passed The American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act (HR 2454), a major piece of legislation affecting climate change, energy and the environment. While Detroit and the entire state of Michigan continue to struggle, we must find opportunity amidst crisis and take advantage of every and any opportunity to restore stability to Michigan’s economy. There is no doubt that our struggling automakers and suppliers will receive additional help once ACES passes Congress. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) also will provide much needed assistance for Detroit and for Michigan.
Restoring stability and setting a path to economic diversity requires leadership to make a bad situation good. The climate change legislation contains a number of provisions that can bolster our state’s position, bring our auto industry into the next generation and help diversify our state’s economy so we are no longer a one-industry town. This includes:
Retooling existing and recently abandoned plants to meet new fuel and energy standards.
Retrofit plants to accommodate electronic vehicle production.
Securing funding for Detroit’s efforts to create light rail and mass transit in the region and become a model for other communities by adapting the latest and cleanest transportation technology.
Direct engineers leaving the auto industry to create new companies to support the development and commercialization of clean energy technology.
Lobby the federal government to have Detroit house one of eight regional Clean Energy Innovation Centers.
Celebrate our collaborative efforts to incubate new companies in partnership with our universities through the University Research Corridor and Next Energy and identify federal resources to expand Next Energy and Tech Town.
This bill also contains a number of provisions vital to the growth of green vehicles and a number of opportunities to keep the engineers, designers and line workers recently laid off, from the auto industry, employed in Michigan. By no means is this a perfect piece of legislation, and it does not necessarily favor Detroit over other regions. However, it is a blueprint by which Detroit and this state must change if we are to weather this storm and restore stability to our economy and to our people. We as a state must work together to leverage our assets and seize the opportunities provided to us in this legislation. By taking advantage of the tools given to us, we can take advantage of the incentives and financial opportunities to retool our economy and emerge much stronger than we have ever been.
Community Colleges Must Turn to Washington for Financial Aid
President Barack Obama is expected to announce today an initiative to invest $12 billion in community colleges nationwide over the next 10 years. According to today's Detroit News, Components of the initiative to be announced today will include $9 billion to fuel community college challenge grants, $2.5 billion for construction and renovation of buildings and $500 million for online curriculum development. The initiative will get under way within the first six months of 2010. However, the President has said, "Our community colleges can serve as 21st century job training centers, working with local businesses to help workers learn the skills they need to fill the jobs of the future. We can reallocate funding to help them modernize their facilities, increase the quality of online courses and ultimately meet the goal of graduating 5 million more Americans from community colleges by 2020." This is welcomed news as community colleges will rely less and less on the state to provide funding. In fact, more community colleges are finding more funding available at a federal level.
In May, the president outlined measures to make it easier for the unemployed to pursue a degree or training and get help paying for it. Through the White House Automotive Task Force, funding also is being made available to communities negatively affected by the auto industry.
According to the Detroit News, the Labor Department is providing job search services to approximately 15,000 auto workers affected by permanent plant closures through emergency grants. It also has boosted Small Business Administration loans to auto, boat and recreational vehicle dealers.
Today's announcement by the President provides great impetus for community colleges to aggressively seek federal funding for a variety of programs and projects that will help the President achieve his goals of increasing community college enrollment. For example, many community colleges throughout the country have received federal funds for nursing programs, workforce and job training related programs, homeland security and other opportunities.
In fact, here is just a sampling of federal funding individual community colleges will receive in FY 2010:
$200,000 to the Riverside Community College for construction of the School of Nursing in Riverside, California; $250,000 for Metropolitan Community College of Omaha, Nebraska, for construction of a Health Careers Center; $72,750 to the Southwest Tennessee Community College for expansion of a biotechnology building in Memphis, Tennessee; $97,000 to Hudson County Community College for construction of Union City Campus in Union City, New Jersey; $397,000 to Southeast Community College (Cumberland, KY) for facilities and equipment for an allied health training facility. (This is a continuation of the FY 2004 project that will be used to renovate 69,900 gross sq. ft. of an existing building to create the Southeast Education Alliance Center); $2,000,000 to Waubonsee Community College (Sugar Grove, IL) for science building at Waubonsee Community College in Illinois; $317,000 to Clatsop Community College, Astoria, OR, for equipment and technology for its Technology for Student Access Initiative; $250,000 to the Riverside Community College in Riverside, California for facilities construction and renovation improvements; $250,000 to the Montgomery County Community College for facilities construction of the Small Business Development & University Transfer Center in Pottstown, PA; $200,000 to Polk Community College, Lakeland, FL for a corporate college program; $99,000 to South Seattle Community College, WA for apprenticeship training programs; $199,000 to Central Maine Community College, for education programs, student recruitment and marketing activities; $50,000 to Dutchess Community College, Poughkeepsie, NY, for the upgrade of the college computer network; $317,000 to the Community College of Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, for it's Closing the Gap college preparation and retention initiative for minority students, including student scholarships; $96,000 to Washington State Community College in Marietta, Ohio for construction of a conference center; $248,000 to Western Nevada Community College to create an Occupational Therapy Assistant program; $496,000 to Iowa Lakes Community College to create a Wind Energy and Turbine Technology education program; $422,000 to Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland, OH for equipment and programming for the Centers for Nursing and Health Careers; and, $397,000 to West Shore Community College (Scottsville, MI) for workforce investment and training for unemployed individuals'.
The President also has said that, "Without community colleges, millions of people would not be able to access the education and skills they need to further education or succeed in the workplace." And last month, Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff said, "What's been forgotten is how important our community college system is to the economy. As a competitive advantage for the United States, the community college system is essential, and the administration is intent on boosting funding for growth of the system.”
There are a number of community colleges throughout the country, including here in Michigan, that have recognized a renewed focus on community colleges by Congress and the President. In fact, a number of them have retained lobbyists to advocate on their behalf for individual earmarks and to help direct federal public policies that will affect their college, their research and the programs they provide the students and community. In Michigan, specifically, the following community colleges have retained outside lobbying counsel:
Schoolcraft College Kalamazoo Valley Community College Lansing Community College Mott Community College Oakland Community College Wayne County Community College
The following Michigan (public) universities and colleges have some sort of federal advocacy effort now under way and already retained an outside lobbying firm:
Eastern Michigan University Ferris State Grand Valley State Lake Superior State Michigan Technological University (uses in house counsel) Northern Michigan University Oakland University Central Michigan University
The University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University each have a Washington office and from time to time bring in outside legislative and regulatory counsel, while Saginaw Valley State and Western Michigan University have not retained outside advocates. The following private universities have retained outside lobbying counsel:
University of Detroit Ave Marie Lawrence Tech Michigan Jewish Institute Northwood University Walsh College
In addition to federal funding which is available to community college, Congress is working on a number of other issues that will affect your work. For example, Congress is still debating the Higher Education Authorization Bill with important provisions that will help or hurt students in capturing financial aid. The Labor-HHS bill actually increases funding for the NIH and NSF.
With the state of Michigan scaling back their budget, particularly the funding for community colleges, it is important that community colleges turn to the federal government for financial support, particularly at such a crucial time in Michigan's history. Our community colleges can provide Michigan with the economic lifeline for retraining and retooling an aging workforce and help us move forward into the next economy.
Congress' Road Ahead
Congress returned to work this week after a seven-month marathon, passing the following issues: - The economic stimulus package; - Curbs on abusive credit card practices; - An omnibus bill setting government spending for the current fiscal year; - A budget resolution outlining plans for the next fiscal year; - A supplemental spending bill to fund the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; - Expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program; - An equal pay anti-discrimination bill; - Sweeping tobacco regulations; - Pentagon acquisition reforms; - A public lands package designating more than 2 million acres as protected wilderness; - Expansion of national service programs.
The come back to work with an aggressive agenda, to tackle important issues before they go on their August recess, including:
Energy and Climate Change Legislation The House passed their version in late June. The Senate is planning on debating a bill now before the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee sometime in the fall. Senate Majority Reid has indicated that he will merge the climate-change legislation with the energy legislation that has already been approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Health Care Reform Health Care remains the President's top priority, however, it is not without its challenges. The House is planning on voting on health care reform before their August recess but is running into roadblocks by conservative Democrats. The Senate will debate health care sometime after that but obstacles remain in passing truly comprehensive reform.
Appropriations Congress is about to pass their first set of appropriation bills but, as with most years these days, not all the spending bills will be passed by the start of the next fiscal year -- October 1, 2009.
Transportation The current highway bill expires September 30, 2009, leaving hundreds of transportation projects in jeopardy of completion. The President wants to extend that deadline for 18 months and provide a 'pay-as-you-go' strategy to help jump start some of those projects. With health care reform and climate change still on the table, in addition to all of the appropriation bills that have yet to be passed, the transportation reauthorization will likely get extended into 2010.
Financial Regulation Last month, the President introduced a number of regulations pertaining to the financial industry. Before August, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass), Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, will markup the legislation revamping the financial regulatory system, including a measure that would create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The House is expected to vote on this measure, sometime in the fall.
Food Safety Congress remains interested in tightening inspections and imposing new fees on food safety. This could have an impact on area food banks, schools and speciality food retail shops.
Education The President wants to eliminate the subsidized private student lending program and shift to a direct loan program to help save money. There is also an effort to expand Title IX (the federal law barring discrimination in education on the basis of sex) to help bolster female student's interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Immigration After energy, health care and financial industry reform, the President wants Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. However, a lack of votes and time will likely push this issue into next year.
The decisions Congress makes has a large impact on how we do business and in how we conduct our lives. Although we face many challenges during this difficult time, now is the time to engage lawmakers and regulatory agencies in a discussion about how your company is affected and what legislative steps you can take to emerge from this economy, stronger, more efficient and ready to expand in the next economy.
IN THE PUBLIC EYE: PROTECTING A CLIENT’S REPUTATION
The sands have shifted in the practice of law. Gone are the days when clients were only concerned about the legal ramifications of a lawsuit or legal quagmire. Today, clients are often also concerned with how they are judged in the public eye and perceived by their customers, vendors and by their own families. In protecting a client’s reputation, “an attorney’s duties do not begin inside the courtroom door -- he or she cannot ignore the practical implications of a legal proceeding for the client.” An attorney should take reasonable steps to defend a client’s reputation.
This is particularly important in an environment where news is reported “24/7” and at times even delivered instantaneously to our cell phones. Likewise, with sales of newspapers and magazines at all-time lows, the media is hungry for a story even if no story really exists. Therefore, lawyers must be more diligent in looking at the big picture in protecting their clients’ interests in the court of law as well as in the court of public opinion.
Today’s legal strategies demand public relations
Today’s business environment demands an aggressive strategy to resolve issues legally while protecting one’s reputation publicly. As a result, lawyers need to be more than legal counselors or advocates. They need to be familiar enough with how perception is created within the public eye and how to use the media effectively to manage that perception. Therefore, the potential impact any litigation will have on a client’s image, reputation, investor relations and future business must be considered in creating a legal strategy.
To protect a client’s legal interests and also to preserve the client’s reputation publicly in a high-profile case, defense counsel should consider engaging public relations counsel early in the process, so as to develop a complementary strategy and get advice on how to deal with the media and protect the client’s public relations interests. In developing a broad defense strategy that embraces both legal and public relations concerns, lawyers need to look beyond the facts and include public relations concerns as a comprehensive defense. Public relations counsel can assist defense counsel by managing the public relations issues while defense counsel focuses on the traditional elements of mounting a defense. If both the legal and the public relations components are to succeed, it is essential that defense counsel and public relations counsel coordinate their efforts.
Protecting a client’s reputation
A lawyer who is going to represent a client outside the courtroom must become more comfortable in talking freely about their client’s case. Lawyers, trained to protect client confidences and to control information, have a natural tendency to answer only the questions that are asked and to give no more information than is necessary to resolve the issue. In the view of the public, however, information and communication are the two factors that build trust and go a long way toward preserving one’s reputation.
A public relations counselor can employ specific tactics to protect the reputation of a company or an individual leading a company while reinforcing issues legally. For example, in the public eye, we are presumed guilty if we respond to a reporter’s question with “no comment.” A better way to respond to a question you do not want to answer or are not ready to answer is to deflect it, by saying something like: “That is a very good question, one that we are looking into at the moment. As soon as we learn something new, we will get back to you promptly.” Retaining public relations counsel
The attorney-client privilege is generally preserved in retaining public relations counsel during the course of litigation. However, it helps when your public relations counsel also happens to be a licensed attorney. In fact, public relations seems to be a popular alternative career for attorneys. In any event, defense counsel should exercise care to ensure that any privilege is preserved. It also is preferable that the public relations firm be retained by and report to defense counsel rather than the client. This will help in mounting a coordinated defense and also help to preserve attorney-client privilege by ensuring that all communications pass through defense counsel.
Likewise, public relations counsel should include defense counsel in all stages of communication and consult closely with defense counsel in developing key messages to make sure it complements the legal strategy rather than puts it in jeopardy. Defense counsel should be present during any conferences involving public relations counsel and the client.
Given the stakes in today’s litigation environment, defense counsel may find it helpful to develop a relationship with a public relations firm, so that it can be ready to assist on short notice if and when it is needed. For example, some public relations firms are known for their expertise in crisis and reputation management while others focus more on soft promotions and publicist work. Some public relations firms focus specifically on litigation communications practice, and even have attorneys and registered lobbyists on staff.
Many of the larger law firms have a chief marketing officer that they can rely upon for initial help or guidance, while others have already retained a public relations firm to assist with matters that are beyond the routine. In any event, defense counsel should look for a public relations firm that has relationships with the media, both local and national, on-line, in-print and on-the-air. A useful source of information on public relations firm is the website maintained by the Council of Public Relations Firms at www.prfirms.org.
In preparing for litigation or creating a legal strategy to meet a clients objectives attorneys must consider the impact on their client’s businesses and reputations. Reputations take years to create and only seconds to destroy. Engaging public relations counsel early can create a comprehensive strategy that will help clients – and defense counsel -- succeed.
[i] Gentile v State Bar of Nevada (Kennedy opinion), 510 US 1030, 1043 (1991).