Alford, H NBCoC -2021

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lost format

no merri tables

816 capt, see bak

uncle tom sellout poster boy

AFP KOCH

BERMAN

DCIEXXON

NERA BOGUS STUDY

buffer cutout $ laundering (for BS studies) CRA?

ah EJ is proxy for __ so alford is opposite?!

aha/doh he passes for a TRADE GROUP, minority bonus

secret sci open letter

see nat black CoC

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big # tags not even Complete july 2016 conf in NO (pix of dome?!)congrats evil 6/16 on defenders of prop rights all-stars rent-a-tom, see CORE hijack: note mirror: Left claims cred b/c fight for poor, cf CRM, so important to co-opt neutralize tie to kit bond? capt 816

Harry C. Alford

President/CEO and Co-Founder of the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), Harry C. Alford Jr., transitioned Monday, December 6, in Washington, DC. He was preceded in death by his wife of 40 years, Kay DeBow Alford, Vice President and Co-Founder of the National Black Chamber five months earlier.

Harry was the son of a truck driver-turned farmer (Harry Cicero Sr.) and homemaker (Christine Brown). Born in Oxnard, California, Harry spent his summers fishing and running down old dirt roads with his little brother, John Ray Alford, on the family farm in Haughton, Louisiana. Harry matriculated to Oxnard High School, making a name for himself as a football star. He enrolled at Ventura Community College and took his skills to the next level by playing and being known as a ferocious linebacker for the University of Wisconsin on an athletic scholarship. He would go on to graduate in 1970.

From there, Harry earned top honors as Company Commander in the Army's Officer Candidate School class (OC3-72). He was a wartime Veteran, serving during what the United States Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes as the Vietnam Era. As a Second Lieutenant in the US Army, our Harry served honorably taking on roles including Race Relations Instructor, Accountant, and Finance Disbursing Officer. He also received the National Defense Service Medal. In fact, everywhere he went he earned recognition for his accomplishments. He would later be inducted into Oxnard High School hall of fame in 2013 for what he did on the gridiron. This was no different in the business world, making his mark at the highest levels of both the private and public sectors.

Harry put his leadership skills to work in a series of key sales and executive positions at Fortune 100 companies such as Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and the Sara Lee Corporation. In 1989, Harry began working as Deputy Commissioner for Minority Business Development for the State of Indiana. It was during this brief tenure that he and his business partner and wife, Kay DeBow Alford, noticed that America from a Black perspective was at a crossroads. After studying the writings of such economic advocates like Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglas, Theodore Cross, and others, Harry dedicated himself to making a National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) a reality.

:{:{Leveraging from the above success, Harry and mom incorporated the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc. in Washington, DC in May 1993. For over thirty years, Harry, NBCC President/CEO and co-founder, established himself as perhaps the nation's preeminent champion of African American business empowerment. Harry built a global organization that has earned a place at the table in the White House and at the top levels of Corporate America. As the intellectual and spiritual linchpin of the NBCC, Harry was responsible for opening doors that led to billions of dollars in new business for Black-owned firms throughout the nation. }:

His courage and leadership have been noted by all in the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. His relentless energy and advocacy in helping forge international business opportunities for African Americans and emerging entrepreneurs in Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and the rest of the African Diaspora. For this work he was formally named a Cultural Ambassador by the US State Department. Harry was an award-winning columnist for the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and proudly served on the NNPA Foundation Board of Directors. Harry was an active member of the Board of Directors of the US Chamber of Commerce where he chaired the Government Oversight and Consumer Affairs Committee. He was a member of the 2008 Health Sector Assembly which is a think tank of national leaders concerned about healthcare. He was regularly called upon by Congress to testify on various legislative initiatives related to small business development, the Gulf Coast rebuilding, eCommerce, healthcare, energy, tax reform and global trade issues.}:

Harry demonstrated that anything is possible. Harry was a loving husband to Kay, the perfect father to Harry Cicero Alford III (wife Sarah Riggen) and Thomas Cicero Alford, and the most amazing grandfather to Tatum and Archer. He courageously battled through health setbacks and his health took a particular turn after the passing of Kay on July 19th this year. We like to believe Kay has called Harry home in time for her birthday (December 12th).

Harry also leaves to mourn daughters Tracie Alford, Alison Alford, Koya Pugh and Kiana Alford. Brother John Ray Alford (wife Cindy Alford), nephew Joshua Alford, nieces Shamarra Alford and Shameka Alford. And a host of cousins.

So, one final time, we'll take Harry down those old dirt roads where he learned to run, granting his wish to be buried next to his "momma," dad, and wife.

Posted online on December 30, 2021

Published in Ventura County Star

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Submitted by Larry D. Ivory

*President/CEO, Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce

It is with great sadness that our Warrior Leader and President/CEO and Co-Founder of the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), Harry C. Alford, transitioned Monday, December 6, in Washington, DC. He was preceded in death by his wife, Kay DeBow, Vice President and Co-Founder of the National Black Chamber five months ago.

In 1993, Harry C. Alfred moved the newly established National Black Chamber of Commerce from Indianapolis, Indiana to Washington, DC. The first Board Chairman was the former Assistant Secretary of Labor, Dr. Arthur Fletcher, the “Father of Affirmative Action.” Most of the existing Black Chambers derived from Harry’s initiatives and influence over the years.

Today, the National Black Chamber is the largest Black business organization in the world, consisting of regional organizations of Black Chambers in the United States, eight (8) countries in Africa, eleven (11) membership Chambers in the Caribbean and five-member Black Chambers in Central and South America. Black Chambers were also established in London and Paris under Harry’s leadership. In addition to coordinating this global operation, Harry C. Alford spoke before Congress on behalf of Black business, often several times a month. For many years, he served on the Board of Directors of the most influential Chamber in America, the United States Chamber of Commerce, in Washington, DC.

“When President George Bush asked Harry Alford to assist him with a strategy to identify any Black owned businesses remaining in the Hurricane Katrina impact zone and a plan for helping them survive, he selected the right man,” said Arnold Baker, President Baker Ready Mix, LLC. Harry brought a fresh perspective and renewed vision that nothing was impossible and held the White House accountable for making available unfettered access to the Corps of Engineers, HUD, the Department of Commerce, and DOT for the nation’s greatest rebuild.

“Today the lessons learned and visioning processes that Harry and Kay brought to fruition are responsible for tens of billions of dollars in small business inclusion programming which are now the basis for every disaster relief program. They not only made history in New Orleans but designed the base principals for recovery programs now implemented across the globe,” Baker said.

As word spread of Harry’s death condolences and personal memories of Harry’s business acumen began to pour in.

John Harmon, who is the President of one of the most successful Black Chambers in New Jersey, said that it was the guidance of Harry and his beloved wife Kay, that guided him through many business initiatives. He also said it was because of his influence that he served on the NBCC Board and the Board of Directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“I knew Harry and Kay before they left Indianapolis to establish the national chamber in Washington, D.C. I had a great relationship with him in Indiana when he served in the cabinet of former Governor Evan Bayh. I went into a meeting with him expecting resistance and I was met with agreement and a solution that led the way for Indiana Black newspapers to do business with the state,” said Dorothy R. Leavell, Publisher of the Chicago and Gary Crusader newspapers.

“When he started the National Black Chamber, our relationship expanded to include me as a board member of NBCC and when I was chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation he served with distinction on our board. He was always eager to help The Black Press ‘as a business’,” Leavell said.

Members of the NBCC Board of Directors including Fred Jordan, NBCC’s outstanding member of San Francisco and Oakland, CA, representing the west coast, said that the future of NBCC is bright and presently Charles H. DeBow, III is Executive Director and had served previously as Vice President of Global Development and Programs.

Current NBCC Board Chairman and President of the Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce, Larry Ivory, stated, “Harry Alford was the Godfather of Black Chambers in the United States and from his Washington, DC headquarters, gave Black business a seat at the table for over 28 years. Harry and Kay’s legacy will live on as we continue moving the National Black Chamber of Commerce’s agenda forward.”

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feb 2018

https://blog.ucsusa.org/elliott-negin/exxonmobils-climate-disinformation-campaign-is-still-alive-and-well/

In a recent blog post, ExxonMobil executive Suzanne McCarronreiterated her company’s claim that it fully accepts the reality of climate change and that it wants to do something about it....“I want to use this opportunity to be 100 percent clear about where we stand on climate change,” she wrote. “We believe the risk of climate change is real and we are committed to being part of the solution. So why is the company still a part of—in fact, a major part of—the problem?An exchange between Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt during a recent is a case in point, providing a window into how ExxonMobil’s undue influence continues to block climate action.

During the January 30 hearing, which was held by the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, Sen. Cory Booker inadvertently provoked Inhofe by raising the issue of environmental justice.The New Jersey Democrat cited the threat climate change-induced flooding poses to three dozen Superfund sites in his state and asked Pruitt if he was “taking into account the environmental burdens disproportionately impacting communities of color, indigenous communities and low-income communities.”

Inhofe seized the opportunity to contradict Booker, claiming that minority and low-income communities are disproportionately harmed by environmental protections, specifically citing the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which would have dramatically reduced carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants if Pruitt hadn’t repealed it.

Booker, Inhofe said, was implying that Pruitt was trying to “punish” vulnerable Americans. “I wanted to just remind you,” Inhofe told the committee, “that we had a guy I remember so well, Harry Alford. He was the president of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. He provided some of the most powerful testimony that I have ever heard when it comes to the effects of the Clean Power Plan and some of the other regulations … on black and Hispanic poverty, including job losses and increased energy costs.

“[Alford] was very emphatic as to who was paying the price on these,” the Oklahoma Republican continued, “and I think sometimes that the previous administration forgot that there are already people out there who are paying all they can pay just to try to eat and keep their house warm.”

ExxonMobil’s Echo Chamber

Inhofe’s source for his assertion? A discredited, ExxonMobil-funded study by an Exxon-funded advocacy group that was based on discredited studies by other ExxonMobil-funded organizations.

Inhofe rested his argument on previous congressional testimony by Harry Alford, president of the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), a shoestring, mom-and-pop operation that is unapologetic about taking fossil fuel industry money. “Of course we do and it is only natural,” Alford wrote on NBCC’s website. “The legacy of Blacks in this nation has been tied to the miraculous history of fossil fuel…. [F]ossil fuels have been our economic friend.”

One of NBCC’s closest economic friends is ExxonMobil, which has donated more than $1.14 million to the group since 2001.

What did the company get for that money?

In 2015, NBCC commissioned a report that claimed the Clean Power Plan would “inflict severe and disproportionate economic burdens on poor families, especially minorities.”

In fact, unchecked climate change would more than likely hurt those communities most, and investments in energy efficiency under the plan would ultimately lower electricity bills across the country.

How did NBCC arrive at its upside-down assessment? The Union of Concerned Scientists took a close look at the report and found it was based on several flawed fossil fuel industry-friendly studies. Two of those bogus studies were produced by ExxonMobil grantees: the Heritage Foundation, which received $340,000 from ExxonMobil between 2007 and 2013, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which received $3 million between 2014 and 2016.

The Chamber study, which came out just days before the EPA released a draft of the Clean Power Plan, was debunked not only by the EPA, but also by PolitiFact.com and The Washington Post. Among its many faults, the Chamber study—which was co-sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute—wildly inflated the cost of the plan and failed to consider the benefits of cutting carbon emissions.

ExxonMobil Spreads its Money Around

But there’s more than just the fact that ExxonMobil financed deliberately flawed studies to try to derail the Clean Power Plan. The company also is a major supporter of a number of Senate EPW Committee members, including Inhofe, who are adamant climate science deniers.

Inhofe has deep ties to the oil and gas industry, which has donated $1.85 million to his campaign war chest over his long career in Congress, more than twice than any other industry.Three oil and gas companies are among the senator’s top 10 corporate contributors: Koch Industries, Devon Energy and …ExxonMobil.

Six of the other 10 Republicans on the EPW Committee also are on ExxonMobil’s donation list, including Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the current committee chairman. Roughly half of the $119,500 ExxonMobil contributed to the seven senators over the last decade went to Barrasso and Inhofe, the committee’s previous chairman.

Then there’s ExxonMobil’s link to Pruitt, Oklahoma’s attorney general before President Trump tapped him to run the EPA. From 2012 through 2013, he chaired the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA)and afterward served on the organization’s executive committee. From 2014 through 2016, ExxonMobil gave RAGA $160,000 in three annual installments.

Just a few weeks after the company made its 2016 donation of $50,000,Pruitt and then-RAGA Chairman Luther Strange, at the time Alabama’s attorney general, co-authored a National Review column attacking a coalition of state attorneys general investigating ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel companies for misleading investorsand the general public about climate change. Parroting ExxonMobil’s argument, Pruitt and Strange charged that the coalition was violating the company’s first amendment right to free speech.

“The debate” over climate change, they wrote “is far from settled. Scientists continue to disagree about the degree and extent of global warming and its connection to the actions of mankind. That debate should be encouraged — in classrooms, public forums, and the halls of Congress. It should not be silenced with threats of prosecution. Dissent is not a crime.”

Inhofe Upstaged

In this case, Inhofe’s counterfactual comment didn’t make it into the ensuing media coverage. Along with nearly everything else that was said during the two-and-a-half hour marathon, it was eclipsed by a bombshell dropped by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. The Rhode Island Democrat revealed that during a February 2016 radio interview, Pruitt said Trump would be “more abusive to the Constitution than Barack Obama, and that’s saying a lot.” Whitehouse read Pruitt’s remark aloud and asked him if he recalled making it.

“I don’t,” Pruitt responded, “and I don’t echo that today at all.”

“I guess not,” Whitehouse replied.

Not surprisingly, that embarrassing nugget was the story. There was no way that Inhofe’s rambling, ExxonMobil-sponsored falsehood could compete in the media with red meat like that. But overshadowed or not, Inhofe provided yet another incontrovertible piece of evidence that—despite ExxonMobil’s statements to the contrary—the company is still very much engaged behind the scenes in trying to stymie any government attempt to seriously address climate change.

Posted in: Climate Change, Energy, Science and Democracy, Scientific Integrity

Tags: disinformation

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see bak:

https://www.mediamatters.org/daily-mail/national-black-chamber-commerce-joins-oil-industrys-op-ed-campaign-against-epa-climate}:

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For immediate release: Jul. 15, 2020

Contact: Stacey Wells, (866) 450-2648

press@yeson22.com

In Case You Missed It: National Black Chamber of Commerce Endorses Prop 22 – Save App-Based Jobs & Services Act

“(Proposition 22) would maintain access to flexible work opportunities for low income individuals by protecting their right to work as independent contractors”

SACRAMENTO – The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) has endorsed Proposition 22 on California’s November 3 ballot. NBCC is dedicated to economically empowering and sustaining African American communities.

NBCC joins a broad coalition of more than 75,000 California drivers plus social justice advocates, business and community leaders, and public safety organizations in support of Prop 22. This includes the California-Hawaii State Conference of the NAACP, the California National Action Network and the California Urban Partnership.

In their joint letter dated July 14, co-foundersHarry Alford, President and CEO, and Kay DeBow,Executive Vice President, write:

“There is more than just convenience when it comes to rideshare. Rideshare operators are true entrepreneurs.”

“We are being threatened with Assembly Bill 5 (AB5). This threatens to take away the right of Californians to work as independent contractors with flexible schedules with app-based platforms and would force them to become employees with flat wages and set schedules. An employee model would also greatly limit the availability of these services, resulting in lost work opportunities and reduced access to rideshare and delivery services that many minority communities have grown to rely on.

“The solution would be Proposition 22. It would maintain access to flexible work opportunities for low income individuals by protecting their right to work as independent contractors with flexible schedules with app-based rideshare and delivery platforms.”

“By promoting worker flexibility, this ballot measure will protect the availability of rideshare and food and package delivery services that millions of Californians rely on every day.”

“Entrepreneurship is the key to wealth and the above is a shining example of how it can work in today’s economy.”

People of color and disadvantaged communities have been disproportionately ravaged by the double blow of the coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic meltdown. App-based driving has provided opportunities for all Californians, and particularly low-income and minority Californians, to work and earn income quickly and easily. It has been especially important during these troubling times when millions have been furloughed or lost their jobs.

Furthermore, app-based driving provides opportunities to work for thousands of individuals who have trouble finding traditional employment, especially now.

Prop 22 will protect access to this very important work and provide new wage and benefit guarantees.

A study by the Berkeley Research Group confirms an employment model would further eliminate up to 900,000 app-based jobs, a reduction of between 80-90 percent of drivers currently driving today. These job losses will come at the worst possible time when California is facing high unemployment and when app-based work opportunities will provide a lifeline for people to earn income. In addition, by a 4:1 margin app-based drivers want to remain independent contractors, despite efforts by politicians to force them to become employees.

Working with app-based rideshare and delivery platforms, with their high flexibility and low barrier to entry, has proven to be a key form of work for many lower-income families needing access to income during this current pandemic.

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ggl 10 21

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TIPPING THE SCALES: PART III

When Harry Alford Speaks Up, a Washington Firm’s Clients Gain

By Zachary R. Mider

September 14, 2017

TIPPING THE SCALES

I: ‘Friends of the Court’ Have Hidden Ties to Big Investors

II: A Billionaire Family’s Stealth Campaign

III: Harry Alford’s Many Friends

QuickTake Q&A

By Washington standards, the National Black Chamber of Commerce is a shoestring operation, run by a husband-and-wife team out of an office on the edge of the city.

But Harry Alford, the group’s founder and chief executive officer, matters in this town. When he’s not before Congress or appearing on Fox News, lawmakers are citing his research on the Senate floor, or federal judges are pondering his court briefs. He speaks out on an astonishing range of issues, some of which have only the fuzziest connection to his stated goal of promoting African-American entrepreneurship.

Alford has filed friend-of-the-court briefs in recent years challenging Playboy centerfold Anna Nicole Smith’s claim to an oil fortune, backing a finance executive’s quest for a $7 million severance and siding with Samsung Electronics Co. in a patent dispute with Apple Inc.

Outside the courtroom, he has endorsed a phosphate mine, opposed gambling expansion in Maryland and advocated for the owners of Argentine debt. He has weighed in on a rum-tariff dispute involving the U.S. Virgin Islands and favored restrictions on solar power in Florida. He has both invited and opposed a shutdown of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

[pix]

The common thread: Someone with deep pockets stood to gain from Alford’s words. Many of his efforts also coincided with campaigns run by DCI Group LLC, a Washington consulting firm that gets paid to generate just the sort of advocacy Alford provides. While the chamber doesn’t disclose all of its contributors, it has acknowledged taking money from many companies that benefit from its advocacy.

Alford declined to comment for this story. Craig Stevens, a DCI vice president, said the firm is proud of its role getting people involved in the democratic process.

“Our democracy is stronger when citizens act and inform the government of how legislation, regulations, or judicial rulings impact Americans’ lives and provide policymakers with ways—if necessary—to improve them,” Stevens said in an email.

Collecting Checks

A former University of Wisconsin linebacker, Alford, 69, ran a minority chamber of commerce in Indiana before founding the national group in 1993 and moving to Washington.

At first, he got headlines for accusing businesses of discrimination, as he had in Indiana. He objected to a casino being built over a slave graveyard in Louisiana, urged a bank to increase lending in black neighborhoods and sued a telephone company, U.S. West, claiming bias against minority vendors.

“He was very helpful in the beginning,” said Herman Malone, a Denver businessman who once served as the chamber’s chairman and urged it to pursue the U.S. West suit.

As time went on, Malone said, Alford seemed to grow more interested in collecting checks from corporate executives than cajoling them.

“He kind of lost his way in who he was truly representing,” Malone said. “He used it as a vehicle to get into the corporate world.”

In a book about the U.S. West case, Malone wrote that some plaintiffs grew suspicious of Alford’s motives after he urged them to settle during a meeting in Colorado and then caught a ride back to Washington on the U.S. West company jet.

“They claimed I sold them out,” Alford wrote in a 2014 syndicated column defending his work. “Nothing bad happened on that plane—the NBCC did not receive a nickel.”

Alford testified against the Kyoto Protocol in Congress in 1998, arguing that limits on greenhouse-gas emissions would harm minorities. By the next decade, the chamber was as prominent for its pro-fossil-fuel advocacy as anything else it was doing.

Environmental groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council have accused the chamber of shilling for the industry. Exxon Mobil Corp., a DCI client, has said it gave the group more than $1 million since 2002. Alford has said he’s proud to take fossil-fuel money.

“Of course we do and it is only natural,” he wrote in a column in black newspapers in 2015. “The legacy of blacks in this nation has been tied to the miraculous history of fossil fuel.”

Supporting Role

The National Black Chamber of Commerce has backed many causes that benefit big companies and wealthy investors.

NBCC ACTION	BENEFICIARY	HIRED DCI	DONATED TO NBCC
Opposed Puerto Rico bankruptcy bill	Investors in Puerto Rico bonds
Criticized government handling of Fannie Mae	Investors in Fannie Mae shares
Opposed limits on swipe fees	Visa
Opposed pollution regulations	Exxon Mobil
Bought ad supporting phosphate mine	Mosaic
Backed Samsung at Int'l Trade Commission	Samsung in dispute with Apple
Advocated for Argentine bondholders	Investors in Argentine bonds
Supported solar measure backed by utilities	Gulf Power
Opposed Anna Nicole Smith's claim on fortune	Heirs of billionaire J. Howard Marshall II
Opposed casino expansion in Maryland	Penn National Gaming
Fought "gainful employment" rule	For-profit college operator EDMC
Defended rum tariff rules in U.S. Virgin Islands	Fortune Brands and Diageo

Source: Bloomberg News reporting

White Paper

Alford, who’s also on the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, branched out into other issues. In 2011, he campaigned against a proposed Department of Education rule that would cut off student aid at schools that saddle graduates with too much debt relative to earnings.

Alford released a white paper, held media conference calls, started a website and testified before Congress, arguing that the rule would diminish opportunities for minority students. Education Management Corp., one of the schools affected by the rule and a DCI client, was listed as a sponsor of the National Black Chamber’s annual convention in 2014 and 2015.

Another convention sponsor was Penn National Gaming Inc. In 2012, the company hired DCI to torpedo a ballot measure that would expand gambling in Maryland, threatening Penn casinos. The measure passed despite Alford’s syndicated column in black newspapers urging a “no” vote. A spokesman for Penn said the gambling company has been a member of the chamber since 2008.

In recent years, Alford has taken an interest in the rights of investors in securities, an emerging DCI specialty. In 2009, he urged Congress to punish Argentina for refusing to repay bonds whose owners included hedge fund manager Paul Singer. And last year, he wrote a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan asking him to consider the rights of holders of Puerto Rican bonds.

Alford filed legal briefs in two court cases that indirectly helped shareholders of the mortgage company Fannie Mae, another DCI cause. They are among more than a dozen the chamber has filed as a friend of the court in the past decade on issues ranging from retirement advice to labor unions. They include two that supported another DCI client, the family of Texas billionaire J. Howard Marshall II, in feuds with his widow Anna Nicole Smith and the Internal Revenue Service.

Feeding Lines

Sometimes, Alford’s public statements leave clues that someone else is feeding him lines. The Huffington Post pointed out that his 2015 op-ed in the Hill defending Education Management contained a parenthetical note to Alford from the piece’s actual author that hadn’t been removed.

A 2010 chamber press release about the Marshalls’ battle with Smith was written by a junior DCI employee, whose name appears as the electronic document’s author. The same goes for a 2013 Alford letter to the U.S. International Trade Commission defending Samsung in the patent dispute with Apple.

Alford’s campaigns haven’t always meshed with DCI’s. He’s a critic of the Durbin Amendment, which limits debit-card swipe fees. DCI’s retailer clients support it. In 2014, Visa Inc., one of the biggest opponents of Durbin, sponsored a reception at the chamber’s convention in Chicago.

DCI was founded in 1996 by three public relations executives who had worked for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. They’d pioneered the use of smokers’ rights groups to promote the industry’s message. At DCI, their client base expanded to include companies such as AT&T Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The chamber isn’t the only nonprofit that has frequently worked alongside DCI. The public-affairs firm recruited the 60 Plus Association, which bills itself as a conservative answer to the AARP, to lead a campaign in favor of holders of Puerto Rican bonds, according to the New York Times. The Center for Individual Freedom, created by a tobacco operative in 1998, has taken positions on behalf of Fannie Mae shareholders, Puerto Rico bondholders and the Marshall family.

The chamber has just two executives, Alford and his wife, according to a 2014 IRS filing. A man who answered the door one morning in August at the group’s otherwise unoccupied office in Washington’s Friendship Heights neighborhood said Alford wasn’t there and meets by appointment only.

Although the chamber says it has 140 local chapters and “reaches” 100,000 black-owned businesses, revenue from membership dues was just $2,114 that year. “All other contributions,” a category that can include corporate donations, provided $1.3 million, almost all of the chamber’s annual budget. The chamber isn’t required to disclose its donors.

Last year the Checks and Balances Project, a pro-clean-energy watchdog group, complained to the IRS that the chamber’s “primary activity appears to have been direct and grassroots lobbying to advance the agenda of its various corporate sponsors.”The IRS hasn’t acted publicly on the complaint.

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https://www.ecowatch.com/exxon-climate-disinformation-campaign-2534087685.html

ExxonMobil’s Climate Disinformation Campaign Is Still Alive and Well

By Elliott Negin

In a recent blog post, ExxonMobil executive Suzanne McCarron reiterated her company's claim that it fully accepts the reality of climate change and that it wants to do something about it.

"I want to use this opportunity to be 100 percent clear about where we stand on climate change," she wrote. "We believe the risk of climate change is real and we are committed to being part of the solution."

So why is the company still a part of—in fact, a major part of—the problem?

An exchange between Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt during a recent oversight hearing is a case in point, providing a window into how ExxonMobil's undue influence continues to block climate action.

During the Jan. 30 hearing, which was held by the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, Sen. Cory Booker inadvertently provoked Inhofe by raising the issue of environmental justice.The New Jersey Democrat cited the threat climate change-induced flooding poses to three dozen Superfund sites in his state and asked Pruitt if he was "taking into account the environmental burdens disproportionately impacting communities of color, indigenous communities and low-income communities."

Inhofe seized the opportunity to contradict Booker, claiming that minority and low-income communities are disproportionately harmed by environmental protections, specifically citing the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan, which would have dramatically reduced carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants if Pruitt hadn't repealed it.

Booker, Inhofe said, was implying that Pruitt was trying to "punish" vulnerable Americans. "I wanted to just remind you," Inhofe told the committee, "that we had a guy I remember so well, Harry Alford. He was the president of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. He provided some of the most powerful testimony that I have ever heard when it comes to the effects of the Clean Power Plan and some of the other regulations … on black and Hispanic poverty, including job losses and increased energy costs.

"[Alford] was very emphatic as to who was paying the price on these," the Oklahoma Republican continued, "and I think sometimes that the previous administration forgot that there are already people out there who are paying all they can pay just to try to eat and keep their house warm."

ExxonMobil's Echo Chamber

Inhofe's source for his assertion? A discredited, ExxonMobil-funded study by an Exxon-funded advocacy group that was based on discredited studies by other ExxonMobil-funded organizations.

Inhofe rested his argument on previous congressional testimony by Harry Alford, president of the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), a shoestring, mom-and-pop operation that is unapologetic about taking fossil fuel industry money. "Of course we do and it is only natural," Alford wrote on NBCC's website. "The legacy of Blacks in this nation has been tied to the miraculous history of fossil fuel…. [F]ossil fuels have been our economic friend."

One of NBCC's closest economic friends is ExxonMobil, which has donated more than $1.14 million to the group since 2001.

What did the company get for that money?

In 2015, NBCC commissioned a report that claimed the Clean Power Plan would "inflict severe and disproportionate economic burdens on poor families, especially minorities."

In fact, unchecked climate change would more than likely hurt those communities most, and investments in energy efficiency under the plan would ultimately lower electricity bills across the country.

How did NBCC arrive at its upside-down assessment? The Union of Concerned Scientists took a close look at the report and found it was based on several flawed fossil fuel industry-friendly studies. Two of those bogus studies were produced by ExxonMobil grantees: the Heritage Foundation, which received $340,000 from ExxonMobil between 2007 and 2013, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which received $3 million between 2014 and 2016.

The Chamber study, which came out just days before the EPA released a draft of the Clean Power Plan, was debunked not only by the EPA, but also by PolitiFact.com and The Washington Post. Among its many faults, the Chamber study—which was co-sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute—wildly inflated the cost of the plan and failed to consider the benefits of cutting carbon emissions.

ExxonMobil Spreads its Money Around

...

2x see below

https://thinkprogress.org/how-the-national-black-chamber-of-commerces-leader-is-harming-african-americans-ef14e9d917b0/

why wd DC caller batasch out funding?! b/c thinks look legit?

http://dailycaller.com/2017/06/14/debunked-study-exposes-the-huge-flaws-in-epa-science/

---

https://www.desmogblog.com/national-black-chamber-commerce

National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC)

Background

The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) was incorporated as The National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc. in 1993. The organization describes itself as “a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian organization dedicated to the economic empowerment of African American communities.”

According to their website, “In essence, the NBCC is a 501(c)3 corporation that is on the leading edge of educating and training Black communities on the need to participate vigorously in this great capitalistic society known as America.” [1]

The NBCC maintains at least 140 affiliated chapters in the United States, as well as international affiliate chapters based in Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, France, Botswana, Cameroon and Jamaica.

The National Black Chamber of Commerce is a proponent of coal power and hydraulic fracturing (fracking), as NBCC President/CEO Harry Alford revealed in a column supporting the Kemper power plant in **Kemper County, Mississippi. [2]

Stance on Climate Change

“Certainly the climate changes as time goes on - sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. So far, there is no pattern that seems to be very detrimental to our earth. There is an ebb and flow and it takes time to see any significant detrimental trend. It is like Stevie Wonder wrote, 'When you believe in things you don't understand; you suffer. Superstition ain't the way'.” – Harry Alford, co-founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. [3]

Funding

According to ExxonSecrets, The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) has received over** **$1,000,000** from ExxonMobil since 1998. [4]

NBCC's President Harry C. Alford is unapologetic about the organization's fossil fuel funding. Alford states on the group's website (emphasis added):

“Recently, a writer from USA Today wanted to know if the National Black Chamber of Commerce receives money from fossil fuel companies (coal, oil, natural gas, petrochemicals, etc.). That is a 'no brainer'. Of course we do and it is only natural. The legacy of Blacks in this nation has been tied to the miraculous history of fossil fuel and the economic growth in communities because of the successful harvest of fossil fuels. Consistent with the emergence of the Industrial Revolution and the availability of the Homestead Act for freed slaves, fossil fuels have been our economic friend.” [14]

Conservative Transparency details the National Black Chamber of Commerce's funding as follows, with data going up to 2013: [5]

Donor	Contribution
:{American Petroleum:(style="background-color:#ff9900;"):}: Institute	$75,000
DonorsTrust	$25,000
Exxon Mobil	$835,000
MyWireless.org	$150,000
Grand Total	$1,085,000

[many 990 docs]

Key People

Harry C. Alford– President & CEO

Kay DeBow Alford – Co‐founder

[6]

According to their website, “The National Black Chamber of Commerce does not distribute information about our members to protect their privacy.”[7]

Actions

January 12, 2017

NBCC's President Harry C. Alford was a signatory to a January 12, 2017 official letter of support (PDF) for Scott Pruitt,in which numerous groups, including The Heartland Institute, American Energy Alliance (AEA), and others, declared that the Senate should “swiftly approve his nomination” for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Other signatories of the letter included: [30]

- Thomas Pyle, American Energy Alliance
- Michael Needham, Heritage Action for America
- Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform
- Kent Lassman, Competitive Enterprise Institute
- Adam Brandon, FreedomWorks
- David McIntosh, Club for Growth
- Phil Kerpen, American Commitment
- Craig Richardson, Energy and Environment Action Team
- David Williams, Taxpayers Protection Alliance
- Jim Martin , 60 Plus
- Andrew Langer, Institute for Liberty
- Heather Higgins, Independent Women’s Voice
- Independence Institute
- Richard Martin, Americans for Limited Government
- Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST)
- Brett Healy, MacIver Institute
- Joseph Bast, Heartland Institute
- George Landrith, Frontiers of Freedom
- Randy Eminger, Energy Policy Network
- Paul Gessing,Rio Grande Foundation
- Mike Nasi, Balanced Energy for Texas
- Brent Mead, Montana Policy Institute
- Forest Thigpen, Mississippi Center for Public Policy

June 13, 2016

The National Black Chamber of Commerce was listed as a creditor in Peabody Energy's 2016 bankruptcy filings, reports the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD/PRWatch). [26]

While the available bankruptcy documents do not list the scale or dates of funding, they outline Peabody Energy's financial ties to a large network of groups promoting climate change denial. [27]

Prominent individuals appearing in the documents include climate deniers Willie Soon, Richard Lindzen, Roy Spencer and Richard Berman. The long list of organizations also includes groups such as Americans for Prosperity, American Legislative Exchange Council, CFACT, Institute for Energy Research, State Policy Network, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and dozens more. [28]

The Guardian also analysed and reported on the Peabody bankruptcy findings: [29] guk

“These groups collectively are the heart and soul of climate denial,” said Kert Davies, founder of the Climate Investigation Center, who has spent 20 years tracking funding for climate denial. “It’s the broadest list I have seen of one company funding so many nodes in the denial machine.”

The company’s filings reveal funding for a range of organisations which have fought Barack Obama’s plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and denied the very existence of climate change. […]

Among Peabody’s beneficiaries, the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change has insisted – wrongly – that carbon emissions are not a threat but “the elixir of life” while the American Legislative Exchange Council is trying to overturn Environmental Protection Agency rules cutting emissions from power plants. Meanwhile, Americans for Prosperity campaigns against carbon pricing. The Oklahoma chapter was on the list. […]

“The breadth of the groups with financial ties to Peabody is extraordinary. Thinktanks, litigation groups, climate scientists, political organisations, dozens of organisations blocking action on climate all receiving funding from the coal industry,” said Nick Surgey, director of research for the Center for Media and Democracy.

“We expected to see some denial money, but it looks like Peabody is the treasury for a very substantial part of the climate denial movement.”

Notable organizations listed in the initial documents include:

Notable individuals named in the initial documents include the following:

November 4, 2015

The National Black Chamber of Commerce's President and CEO Harry Alford published an article in the Philadelphia Tribune where he describes global warming as a “costly farce.” [22]

“[The NOAA and NASA ]have reported that there has been no global warming detected for the last 18 years. That is over 216 months in a row that there has been no detected global warming. At the same time, sea ice in Antarctica is building up at record levels,” Alford writes. “

“No global warming, but millions of jobs have been erased through adverse regulations in the name of addressing the global warming issue. Billions of dollars, mostly tax dollars, have been spent trying to address the same 'ghost.' Many low-income and minority communities have greatly suffered from these onerous regulations that seem to be made in vain.”

Alford says that the “the National Black Chamber of Commerce has been slandered for its energy positions”, but claims that “we are right and they are wrong.”

However, climate scientists provide an explanation for this supposed hiatus in global warming. According to Michael Mann at Penn State University, “There certainly has not been a hiatus in global warming — global warming hasn't stopped, even though you still hear those contrarian talking points.” [23]

An 2015 analysis by US government scientists in the journal *Nature and Climate Change*suggested that if temporary natural fluctuations were ignored then world was probably now warming at a rate of about 0.2°C per decade — higher than the IPCC's longer-term average. [24]

August 25, 2015

The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) was a “Supporting Organization” at the Heartland Institute's “Affordable Energy Summit 8.0,” which was co-sponsored with the Libertarian Party of Nevada in Las Vegas. Niger Innis, who serves on the NBCC's Board of Directors, was a speaker at the summit. [19]

According to the Affordable Energy Summit's “Events” webpage, the purpose of the summit was to “discuss the costs of climate change, as well as the fiscal and environmental impact of the so-called 'Clean Power Plan.'” [20] The “Events” page of the Affordable Energy Summit's website goes on to state that the speakers at the National Clean Energy Summit, which took place just one day earlier, “believe that evidence of man-made global warming is enough to justify any action intended to solve the problem, without regard for effectiveness and without any regard for the expense.” [20]

The Heartland Institute's James Taylor wrote in *Forbes* that, “Unlike the Clean Energy Summit, the Affordable Energy Summit will present the full picture on energy, economics, and the environment.” Taylor asserts that wind and solar power initiatives are “not only prohibitively expensive, but they produce worse environmental damage than the conventional power Obama and Reid seek to vilify.” [21]

July 28, 2015

The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) announced that it had joined forces with :{Consumers for Smart Solar :(style="background-color:#ffff66ff"):}:effort to support the “Smart Solar Amendment, “ which would be a “Consumer-friendly alternative to the Shady Solar Amendment proposed by Floridians for Solar Choice.” [12]

NBCC submitted a brief to the Florida Supreme Court, claiming that the Solar Amendment was misleading. [13]

“As an advocate of small and minority-owned businesses, the National Black Chamber of Commerce is concerned with the substantial, negative impacts the Shady Solar Amendment may have on small and minority businesses,” said Harry C. Alford, President/CEO of NBCC. “These negative impacts – potential increases in electric service rates and higher state and local taxes – are why we oppose the Shady Solar Amendment.” [12]

June, 2015

As reported by Media Matters, The National Black Chamber of Commerce joined other organizations including Americans for Prosperity, the Beacon Hill Institute, and the State Policy Networkin an op-ed campaign opposing the EPA's climate change plan. NBCC President Harry C. Alford alleged in newspapers across the U.S. that the Clean Power Plan would impose “economic hardship” on blacks and Hispanics. [8]

Seven nearly-identical op-eds were published:

Media Matters also reports that of the seven reports that the NBCC cites in the op-eds, three predate the Clean Power Plan, one was a preliminary analysis by a mining group, and the others received funding from fossil fuel interests.

The Op-Eds make reference to a study made by the National Black Chamber of Commerce that has also been repeated cited across conservative media sources. The original study, titled “Potential Impact of Proposed EPA Regulations on Low Income Groups and Minorities”is available here (PDF).

According to the study's abstract, “EPA is proposing new regulations, including guidelines to reduce CO2 emissions from existing fossil-fueled power plants. These regulations would have serious economic, employment, and energy impacts at the national level and for all states, and the impacts on low-income groups, Blacks, and Hispanics would be especially severe. The EPA rules would: 1) Significantly reduce U.S. GDP every year over the next two decades – over $2.3 trillion; 2) Destroy millions of jobs; 3) More than double the cost of power and natural gas to over $1 trillion; 4) Require the average family to pay over $1,225 more for power and gas in 2030 than in 2012.”

Thereport was prepared by Management Information Services, Inc. According to the group's website, the company has a history of providing services and reports for the oil and coal industries (American Electric Power Company, Chesapeake Energy, Energy Corporation of America, Peabody Energy, Washington Gas Company, Affordable Power Alliance, National Coal Council, to name a few). [15], [16]

Harry Alford also testified at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on June 23, 2015 to oppose the EPA's Clean Power Plan. With reference to the NBCC study, Alford said that “The study finds that the Clean Power Plan will inflict severe and disproportionate economic burdens on poor families, especially minorities.” He continued, saying “The EPA’s proposed regulation for GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions from existing power plants is a slap in the face to poor and minority families.” Video below. [17]

[vid]

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) rebutted this view, saying that states who have taken action on climate change have seen their economies grow:

“Many states, such as New York and Delaware, have already taken action to reduce the largest emitter of carbon pollution - power plant emissions,” Carper said. “As we will hear today, the economies of these states continue to grow at a faster rate than the states that have yet to put climate regulations in place. However, we need all states to do their fair share to protect the air we breathe and stem the tide of climate change. The EPA’s Clean Power Plan attempts to do just that.”

September, 2013

The National Black Chamber of Commerce was a signatory to a letter designed by the American Energy Alliance (AEA) asking Congress not to renew wind energy tax credits that would expire at the end of the year. [9]

Other signers of the letter included:

- American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity
- The American Enterprise Institute
- The Cato Institute
- The Centre for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change
- The Coalition of Affordable American Energy
- The Competitive Enterprise Institute
- The Congress of Racial Equality
- Freedom Works
- The Heartland Institute
- The Heritage Foundation
- Koch Industries
- The Tax Foundation

July 16, 2009

Black Chamber of Commerce President Harry Alford with Senator Boxer in a discussion on Global Warming Job Losses at a hearing by Senator James Inhofe's Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Video below. [10]

2005 [vid]

NBCC Contact & Location

As of June 2016, the National Black Chamber of Commerce listed the following contact information on its website: [25]

400 Jenifer St NW Suite 331

Washington DC, 20015

info@nationalbcc.org

Phone: (202) 466-6888

Fax: (202) 466-4918

http://www.nationalbcc.org

Related Organizations

- The African-American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, Inc., (AACCNJ)
- 60 Plus Association
- United for Jobs
- Americans for Prosperity
- Beacon Hill Institute
- State Policy Network
- National Policy Alliance - Member[18]

Resources

1. “About Us,” National Black Chamber of Commerce. Archived June 30, 2015.
2. “About The National Black Chamber of Commerce,” Kemperproject.org. Archived June 30, 2015.
3. “Environmental Racism, Global Warming and Climate Change,” National Black Chamber of Commerce. Archived June 30, 2015.
4. ExxonSecrets Factsheet: National Black Chamber of Commerce. Accessed August 16, 2016.
5. “National Black Chamber of Commerce,” Recipient profile at Conservativetransparancy.org. Accessed June 30, 2015.
6. “Management Bios (PDF)”, National Black Chamber of Commerce. Accessed June 30. 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.
7. “Frequently Asked Questions,” National Black Chamber of Commerce. Archived June 30, 2015.
8. Denise Robbins and Andrew Seifter. “National Black Chamber Of Commerce Joins Oil Industry's Op-Ed Campaign Against EPA Climate Plan,” Media Matters, June 26, 2015. Archived June 30, 2015.
9. David E. Newton.*Wind Energy: A Reference Handbook: A Reference Handbook*. (P. 74)
10. ,” YouTube Video uploaded by user Senator Jim Inhofe. July 16, 2009.
11. Connor Gibson. “Science Denial and Andrea Saul – Romney 2012 Campaign Spokesperson,” PolluterWatch, August 6, 2012.
12. (Press Release) “National Black Chamber of Commerce Joins Effort in Support of Consumer-friendly Smart Solar Amendment,” PRNewswire-USNewswire, July 28, 2015. Archived July 31, 2015.
13. “INITIAL BRIEF OF OPPONENT NATIONAL BLACK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE” (PDF), Case Nos. SC15-780, SC15-890. Filing # 28320521 E-Filed 06/10/2015 01:47:04 PM. Archived July 31, 2015.
14. “Fossil Fuels and African Americans – It’s Family!” National Black Chamber of Commerce. Archived July 31, 2015.
15. “Clients: Private Industry,” Management Information Services. Inc. Archived July 31, 2015.
16. “Clients: Trade and Professional Associations,” Management Information Services. Inc. Archived July 31, 2015.
17. Ali Meyer. “Black Chamber of Commerce: EPA Clean Air Plan Will Increase Black Poverty 23%, Strip 7,000,000 Black Jobs,”CNSnews.com, June 24, 2015.
18. Brendan Mock. “Why are black lawmakers fighting clean energy?“ Grist, October 13, 2014.
19. “Speakers,” Affordable Energy Summit 8.0. Archived September 3, 2015.
20. “Events,” Affordable Energy Summit 8.0. Archived September 3, 2015.
21. James Taylor. “What The Clean Energy Summit Doesn't Want You To Know,” Forbes, August 24, 2015. Archived September 3, 2015.
22. Harry C. Alford. “Global warming proponents cling to costly farce,” The Philadelphia Tribune, November 4, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.
23. Graham Readfearn. “Global warming hiatus explained and it's not good news,” ABC Environment, April 8, 2015. Archived March 22, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6gCqfe6bV
24. “Near-term acceleration in the rate of temperature change,” Nature Climate Change 333–336 (2015).
25. “Contact,” National Black Chamber of Commerce. Archived June 16, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6iK1Rl4Am
26. Nick Surgey. “Peabody Coal Bankruptcy Reveals Climate Denial Network Funding,” PRWatch, June 13, 2016. Archived June 20, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6iPmXjc4W
27. “In re: Peabody Energy Corporation, et al. Debtors,” United States Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of Missouri Eastern Division, Case 16-42529, May 27, 2016. Retrieved from DocumentCloud.
28. Farron Cousins. “Court Documents Show Coal Giant Peabody Energy Funded Dozens Of Climate Denial Groups,” DeSmogBlog, June 13, 2016.
29. Suzanne Goldenberg and Helena Bengtsson. “Biggest US coal company funded dozens of groups questioning climate change,” The Guardian,June 13, 2016. Archived June 20, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6iPnEUG1o
30. “Dear Senators,” (PDF), Competitive Enterprise Institute, January 12, 2017. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

National Black Chamber of Commerce worked with the 60 Plus Association and United for Jobs as a coalition to oppose climate legislation put forward by Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), as reported by Connor Gibson at Polluterwatch.[11]

TAGS:

National Black Chamber of Commerce

NBCC

denierorgs

katrina 12/05

http://www.nationalbcc.org/news/issues/231-prepartion-for-a-response-to-hurricane-katrina

DN:On Tuesday, a special House Select Committee held a hearing focusing on the role of race and class in the government’s response to Katrina. The hearing was requested by Georgia Representative Cynthia McKinney. She was one of the few Democrats to participate. It was a most unusual hearing–one that we rarely see on Capitol Hill. Survivors and activists testified that racism was a big reason so many were abandoned and allowed to die.

Excerpts of House Select Committee hearing on the government’s response to Katrina. Among those who testified: - Ishmael Muhammad, attorney for the Advancement Project and part of the People’s Hurricane Relief Fund. - Leah Hodges, New Orleans evacuee. - Dyan French, New Orleans community leader. - Harry Alford, president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce.

http://www.nationalbcc.org/news/testimonials

Congressional Testimonies TestimonialsProject Labor Agreement Testimony before the US Commission for Civil Rights Read more: Project Labor Agreement Testimony before the US Commission for Civil Rights Chairman Arnold Baker's Congressional Testimony to the House Small Business Committee, May 25, 2011Read more: Chairman Arnold Baker's Congressional Testimony to the House Small Business Committee, May 25, 2011 President/CEO Harry C. Alford's Testimony from the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

Read more: President/CEO Harry C. Alford's Testimony from the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2011 Testimony [ net neutRalIty?]Read more: Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2011 Testimony Senate Testimony, July 16, 2009Read more: Senate Testimony, July 16, 2009 More Articles ... Congressional Testimony, September 23, 2009 President/CEO Harry Alford's testimony before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform scheduled for September 23rd, 2009 President/CEO Harry Alford speaks to House and Senate regarding Cap and Trade Legislation President/CEO testifies before Pennsylvania House of Representatives about how to structure a viable minority participation program at the State Level pag2 rep?Congressional Testimonies TestimonialsCongressional Testimony, September 23, 2009Read more: Congressional Testimony, September 23, 2009 President/CEO Harry Alford's testimony before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform scheduled for September 23rd, 2009

Read more: President/CEO Harry Alford's testimony before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform... President/CEO testifies before Pennsylvania House of Representatives about how to structure a viable minority participation program at the State Level

Read more: President/CEO testifies before Pennsylvania House of Representatives about how to structure a... President/CEO Harry Alford speaks to House and Senate regarding Cap and Trade LegislationRead more: President/CEO Harry Alford speaks to House and Senate regarding Cap and Trade Legislation Responses to Roundtable Questions: Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Read more: Responses to Roundtable Questions: Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship More Articles ... Congressional Testimony on U.S. Export-Import Bank's Assistance to Small Business Congressional Testimony on SBA's Disaster Relief Programs SBA's Contracting Programs,

Congressional Testimony Record of Statement Submitted to the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee:Record of Statement Submitted to the Senate Environment & Public Works CommitteeThe National Black Chamber Of Commerce (NBCC) with offices located at 1350 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 405, Washington, D.C. is a non-profit, non-sectarian organization dedicated to economically empowering and sustaining African American communities through entrepreneurship and capitalistic activity within the United States and via interaction with the Black Diaspora.

The NBCC has one hundred and ninety (190) affiliated chapters locally based Throughout the nation as well as international affiliate chapters based in the Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana and Jamaica and Businesses as well as individuals who may have chose to be direct members with the national office.The 1 million African American businesses in the U.S. Represent sales of more than $100 billion annually and maintain an annual spending base of over $800 billion. The NBCC has harnessed much of the power of these dollars and provides unique opportunities for corporations and African American businesses to partner in creating greater opportunity for all people.

The NBCC represents 95,000 Black owned businesses and provides education/advocacy that reaches all 1 million black-owned businesses across the nation. Moreover, the NBCC is on the leading edge of educating and training Black communities on the need to participate vigorously in this great capitalistic society known as America.[las vegas?]The NBCC appreciates the opportunity to offer its views on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule to establish a more stringent National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for Particulate Matter (DOCKET NO. EPA-HQ-OAR-2001-0017).

The National Black Chamber Of Commerce has historically supported the efforts of the EPA to protect the public health of all Americans. The Clean Air Act and its regulatory structure, while controversial over the years, has been the principal driving force behind the improvements in our nation’s air quality and the reduction of harmful air pollutants. The NBCC also understands that despite this progress much work remains to be done to achieve our nation’s air quality goals. In that spirit, The NBCC continues to support EPA’S efforts to control sources of pollution and the promulgation of regulations that are both cost effective and based on sound science. As a regulated community, we can not tolerate regulation for the sake of regulation and the attendant economic costs of such policies.

The regulate and punish mentality must be abandoned so that we may address our environmental challenges while sustaining a strong economy. In that regard, the NBCC is concerned that the current EPA proposed rule to further establish a new NAAQS for urban particulate matter and to establish a more stringent PM 2.5 standard is not supported by current science and if adopted, could have an enormous adverse impact on small businesses and in particular, black owned businesses represented by the NBCC that are engaged in a broad cross section of economic activity in the manufacturing, industrial and service sectors of the economy.

Small and medium business alike are today facing a number of challenges not the least of which are higher interest rates that are putting pressure on inventory.Financing and higher energy and related operating costs that are eroding margins and placing pressure on maintaining current employment levels. The imposition of new regulations on industry, manufacturing and other sectors, in the absence of scientific evidence of a demonstrable health benefit is simply not justified. These new standards would likely result in further increased energy prices especially that of natural gas, a key energy input in urban areas.

Beyond this, given the lack of scientific justification, the NBCC is concerned about the impact of the proposed rule as a result of the expanded number of non- attainment designations under the Clean Air Act.It is well documented that a “non-attainment” designation under the Clean Air Act can carry with it serious economic and social repercussions for the geographic area so designated which produce immediate and direct impacts on major sources in and near the non-attainment areas with attendant indirect impacts on small and medium businesses and consumers as well, especially those on low and fixed incomes in terms of jobs and energy costs.Restrictive permitting requirements for companies that add new units or make major modifications to their facility are competitively disadvantage as such requirements would not apply to similar facilities operating in attainment areas.

Again, these restrictions would significantly impact urban areas. Also, non-attainment areas face the risk losing Federal Highway Funding that is vitally important to urban redevelopment. In addition, companies that build a new facility or that perform a major modification to certain existing facilities in or near a non-attainment area would be required to install the most effective emission reduction technology without consideration of cost. Moreover, new emissions in the area must be offset. thus, if there is no party willing to provide the offset, then the project resulting in increased emissions of the given pollutant cannot go forward. Take the Mercedes plant in Alabama, for instance. Our Birmingham chapter was so excited that the original plan was to put the plant inside the Birmingham city limits. Gas stations, restaurants, hotels, etc. would have benefited significantly.

Due to attainment levels, the plant was moved 90 miles to the south in rural Alabama. It devastated the expectations and growth opportunities for the largest city in Alabama. The same scenario happened in Indiana with the Isuzu plant that was destined fro Indianapolis, but ended up 70 miles north in Lafayette. We have about 250 members in the Indianapolis chapter and two in Lafayette. The impact was obvious. As illustrated by these examples, the loss of industry and economic development in and around an area could be significant because a company interested in building a facility that emits the given pollutant will probably not build that facility in a non-attainment area due to the increased costs associated with restrictive and expensive permit requirements. This again would result in jobs moving away from urban areas -- with existing infrastructure and excellent redevelopment opportunities -- into rural "Greenfield" sites that require new infrastructure be built from the ground up. This harms Brownfields and other urban redevelopment programs.

In conclusion, the NBCC is concerned that the increased costs of goods and services such as energy, and the potential for decreasing disposable incomes and loss of jobs and economic activity as a result of this proposed regulation will adversely impact black-owned and other small and medium businesses and inadvertently harm the socio-economic status of individuals and, thereby, is not in the public interest in the absence of sound scientific justification and demonstrable health benefits. Accordingly, for the reasons stated herein, the national black chamber of commerce believes the EPA should decline to promulgate its proposed “urban only” standard for coarse particulate matter, and should retain the current standards for fine particulate matter.

nra ~ kkk: pants on fire http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2013/jun/05/harry-alford/nra-founded-fight-kkk-black-leader-says/

ginni endorse cruz video 11/15 http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/virginia-ginni-thomas-endorses-ted-cruz-215988 == check and bal video 26 trips NO

25K$ edison e I

Black Chamber of Commerce President Worked to Keep Rum Cover-Over Intact

BY BILL KOSSLER — MARCH 15, 2010 National Black Chamber of Commerce President Harry Alford addresses the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce as wife, Kay, looks on. Before the U.S. Senate voted to keep desperately needed rum cover-over payments flowing undiminished to the territory, Harry Alford played a vital behind the scenes lobbying, St. Croix Chamber of Commerce President Scot McChain said at a Chamber reception last week.The Chamber feted Alford, co-founder and president of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Friday for his work on behalf of the territory at an evening reception at the Buccaneer Hotel.

While the efforts of Gov. John deJongh Jr. and Delegate Donna Christensen have been amply recorded, Alford's role has heretofore gone largely unmentioned. "As a small jurisdiction with a nonvoting delegate we are at a distinct disadvantage," McChain said. "That is where Harry Alford and his wife come in. They have curried a relationship to power they can wield. And Alford has worked with Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid to preserve the rum cover-over unchanged." On March 10, the Senate passed the bill, rejecting an amendment proposed by Florida Sen. George LeMieux (R) that would have radically altered the way the funds are allocated between the two territories.

Liquor giant Diageo is in the process of building a massive Captain Morgan rum distillery on St. Croix, financed with bonds backed by anticipated rum carry-over revenues. "As a result of the rum cover-over deal, Diageo will be able to complete this fall," McChain said. "And let us not forget the environmental enhancements and increased production for the Cruzan Rum facility." Cruzan Rum, owned by Fortune Brands, is in the midst of an expansion paid for by bonds backed by anticipated increased rum cover-over revenues brought in by the plant's increased future production. Both of the massive, ongoing St. Croix construction projects depend upon the cover-over remaining unchanged.

As co-founder of the NBCC, Alford has established himself as the nation’s preeminent champion of African-American business empowerment and has built a global organization that has earned a place at the table in the White House and the top levels of corporate America. He founded the organization in 1993, he said, after then-Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh asked him to work on increasing minority ownership of businesses in Indianapolis and statewide. "At the time, less than half a percent of businesses were black owned," Alford said. "But 18 months later it had jumped to 6.5 percent, simply through competitive procurement." Looking into the matter led Alford to ask himself why there was no organization specifically for black-owned businesses. "Indianapolis had a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce," he said. "So I said wait a minute, the city has 230,000 black residents, why isn't there a black chamber?"

Within three weeks, the nascent group had 600 members. Now there are over 14 separate chapters throughout the United States, Canada, Africa and one even in Paris, France. Since then, Alford has become a go-to guy for organizing black businesses. After Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, Alford said he spent 15 minutes with President George W. Bush and Karl Rove, after which $3 billion in contracts were signed. "Entrepreneurship is the great equalizer," he said. "It's a good argument, and an argument I can win."

Kevin Callwood, a former chief of staff for V.I. Gov. Roy Schneider, who now lobbies in D.C. on behalf of the territory, brought the rum cover-over question to Alford last November, Alford said. "To me, it seemed deJongh is trying to bring business to the territory," Alford said. "This [the LeMieux amendment] is just evil, I told him." Alford approached Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D), New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez (D) and then Reid, to press the case, he said. "You can be a political activist or a political victim," he said. "If you are not at the table, you will be on the menu." A native of California, Alford has been responsible for opening doors that have led to billions of dollars in new business for black-owned firms throughout the nation, especially in the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, according to a biography supplied by the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce.

For his work, he was formally named a cultural ambassador by the U.S. State Department. Alford began his career in the military. After earning top honors as company commander in the Army's officer candidate school, Alford held a series of key sales and executive positions at Fortune 100 companies such as Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson and Sara Lee. Alford has led large trade missions to Brazil, Ghana, Kenya and various nations in the Caribbean. Recently, he helped establish the French African Diaspora Chamber of Commerce in Paris, France.

The birth and growth of the National Black Chamber of Commerce is in line with the growth of African-American-owned firms in the United States - listed by the U.S. Census Bureau as the fastest growing segment in the nation, according to statement from the St. Croix Chamber.Alford is also an award-winning columnist for the National Newspaper Publishers Association and consults and speaks on business throughout the nation.==LI scrapeMichael BanksPresident at African-American Chamber of Commerce African-American Chamber of Commerce

Owner, African-American Chamber of Commerce of PA - NJ - DE Charles DeBowVP Global Development & Programs at National Black Chamber of Commerce Kenyatta FisherJob Development Director for Illinois Black Chamber of Commerce John E. Harmon, Sr., IOMPresident/CEO at African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey & Former Chairman, National Black Chamber of Commerce Ryan DowneyFinancial Regulatory Communications Hank HarrisCEO at Natl Black Tourism Claudia JordanCo-Host/On-Air Morning show personality at The Rickey Smiley Morning Show Jon DeBowSocial Media/Website at National Black Chamber of Commerce Larry IvoryMember of the Board at Enterprise Zone Board

10/15 The Washington Post story titled “In smog battle, industry gets help from unlikely source: black business group,” raises many important questions and concerns about Harry C. Alford and the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Given his aggressive, high-profile stance against pro-clean energy policies, the Checks and Balances Project has been asking Mr. Alford fair and important questions to help all Americans, especially African-Americans, determine the credibility of these positions.As of now, he has refused to answer any of our questions including:Why does the NBCC refuse to list its members?How many actual businesses are members (not sponsors) of the NBCC? And, how many of these members are African-American owned businesses?

According to the NBCC’s 990 forms, during the past 13 years, its annual expenditures have averaged more than $800,000, with more than one third of that amount going to “consultants” and other services from non-employee professionals. Who are these consultants and non-employee professionals, and what services did they perform for NBCC members?Will the NBCC provide a list of staff positions, as well as an organization chart? And, will the NBCC provide a list of the staff members who are and are not related to Harry Alford or Kay Debow Alford?

The NBCC claims that it is “dedicated to economically empowering and sustaining African American communities. . . .” If this is so, Mr. Alford should be willing to provide transparency about his organization to help clarify the positions it takes against the interests of communities of color. You can view the video that prompted the Washington Post article here:==refhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/in-smog-battle-industry-gets-help-from-unlikely-source-black-business-group/2015/09/28/8c1c7e34-63c8-11e5-9757-e49273f05f65_story.htmlFor years, the air over central Pittsburgh has ranked among the country’s dirtiest, with haze and soot that regularly trigger spikes in asthma attacks, especially among the urban poor. So it might have seemed odd that a black business group would choose this spot to denounce proposed restrictions on smog.

But that’s exactly what the head of the National Black Chamber of Commerce did this month. Chamber President Harry C. Alford appeared before some of Pittsburgh’s African American leaders to urge opposition to a White House plan for tougher limits on air pollution. Then he went on radio to deliver the same appeal.“Why do we impose these massive, arbitrary rules?” Alford asked. Despite the unlikely venue, the message was anything but unusual for Alford, a veteran of multiple campaigns to quash regulations intended to improve air quality or fight climate change.

Since early summer, Alford has delivered the same pitch in multiple cities, blasting a plan to impose limits on ozone, a pollutant that contributes to urban smog and aggravates breathing disorders, particularly among the elderly and very young. Alford’s message — that the proposed regulations would hurt the economy and stifle job growth — is nearly identical to the one being broadcast widely by the rules’ opponents from business and industry. The National Association of Manufacturers has poured millions of dollars into a television ad campaign criticizing the proposal, which the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to adopt in final form Wednesday. Coal spills out from a tower into a large pile at an Alpha Natural Resources Inc. coal preparation plant in Logan County near Yolyn, W. Va. (Luke Sharett/Bloomberg) [EPA draws industry’s ire with proposal to strengthen smog rules.]

But while the TV ads command the most attention, a more subtle effort is underway to reduce support for the regulations among blacks, Latinos and even the elderly — groups not usually regarded as natural allies for corporations fighting air-pollution laws. The National Black Chamber of Commerce, which acknowledges receiving strong financial backing from Exxon Mobil and other fossil-fuel interests, has specifically tailored its message to African American audiences, drawing anger from environmental and public health groups that say urban blacks would be among the biggest beneficiaries of tighter regulations.

“The dirtiest utility plants pollute and hurt black communities,” said Evlondo Cooper, a researcher for the Checks and Balances Project, a watchdog group that investigates the use of corporate money in anti-clean-energy campaigns. Cooper, whose nonprofit organization has staged videotaped confrontations with Alford at two of his recent speaking events, said groups such as the NBCC have helped foster perceptions of a sharp divide among African Americans over whether stronger air-quality laws are needed.“He doesn’t speak for black people,” Cooper said, referring to Alford, “and nothing about his support for the fossil-fuel lobby or his attacks on clean energy has been helpful to our community.”

Alford, who has boasted of accepting money from oil and other fossil-fuel companies, declined to respond to repeated requests for comment. He has argued that environmental regulations often harm minorities by slowing job growth.“I think you can have a balance,” Alford told a Pittsburgh radio station during his Sept. 2 visit. “What’s unfair is that the rules and targets keep changing.”

‘The strictest ever imposed’

The focus of Alford’s latest attack is an EPA proposal that would lower permissible limits for smog in cities across the country. Agency officials face a court-ordered deadline to promulgate a new ozone standard by Wednesday, but the law gives the agency some discretion in deciding exactly how tough it will be. A preliminary proposal unveiled last year called for changing the ozone limit from 75 parts per billion (ppb) to between 65 and 70.A lower number could have significant economic consequences: Cities that consistently fail to meet the standard could eventually face restrictions on certain kinds of industrial development. [Study: Air pollution causes 3 million deaths each year]Industry trade groups point out that many U.S. cities are still struggling to meet the 75-ppb standard introduced in 2008. Industry-sponsored studies predict widespread economic disruption if the limits are tightened.

“Adding to the absurdity of EPA’s position is the fact that current standards — the strictest ever imposed — are working to improve air quality even though they have not been fully implemented,” said Howard Feldman, senior director of regulatory and scientific affairs at the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group. “Further lowering the standard could significantly chill economic investment and activity across the nation.”

The EPA, backed by environmental and public health groups, points to studies identifying smog as a significant contributor to illnesses and premature deaths, particularly among groups living in urban centers or near power plants that burn coal.EPA Associate Administrator Thomas Reynolds said the current spate of industry attack ads recycles the same dire warnings that critics used the last time the standards were changed. “They routinely trot out the same tired playbook and rhetoric, and every time they’re proven wrong,” he said.

A familiar roleThe industry campaign was just beginning to intensify when Alford began his speaking tour. The founder and president of the National Black Chamber of Commerce traveled over the summer to Illinois, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania for a series of events, several of them coordinated or supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, another fierce opponent of the rule.

Attendees at a free luncheon on Aug. 24 in Columbus, Ohio, heard Alford blast the EPA’s ozone proposal as “one of most expensive regulations ever issued” by the U.S. government.

“It would plunge the majority of the country into ‘non-attainment,’ meaning that communities would face enormous regulatory hurdles every time they wanted to build something,” he said. It was a vintage performance by Alford, the dominant figure behind the NBCC and a staunch opponent of environmental regulations dating back to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The NBCC was established in 1993 and boasts nearly 190 chapters nationwide, but Alford has personally led the group since its founding and has appointed family members, including his wife, to key leadership posts. [Pope Francis and the case for environmental capitalism]In his frequent essays and blog postings, Alford has referred to the EPA as “wicked’ and a “monster” that is “out of control.” He flatly dismisses the notion of environmental justice — the idea that minorities suffer unfairly from pollution — as a “farce.”

“Many naive blacks have bought the lie — hook, line and sinker,” he says.Alford’s organization declines to give detailed information about the NBCC’s membership or sources of income, although records filed by the group show more than $800,000 in contributions over the past decade from Exxon Mobil. At the group’s 2015 national conference in August, a list of sponsors given to attendees included a number of major fossil-fuel interests, including Koch Industries, owned by oil magnates and conservative activists Charles and David Koch.

Such donations make up as much as 80 percent of the group’s revenue in some years, tax records show, and the NBCC has channeled its money into causes that favor fossil-fuel interests. For example, the NBCC, gave $50,000 last year to a Florida organization that sought to impose additional costs and restrictions on homeowners who want to install solar panels on their roofs.A repeated theme in Alford’s speeches and writings is that excessive regulations have prevented African Americans from achieving their potential. He argued in a 2014 op-ed article that oil, gas and coal were largely responsible for lifting freed slaves out of poverty. “Fossil fuels have been our economic friend,” he wrote.

Such stances have angered not only environmental groups but also other African American business organizations, which say Alford’s views represent at best a small fraction of black business owners and entrepreneurs. Ron Busby, president of the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce, a rival group, said internal surveys have consistently shown high levels of support among his group’s members for strong environmental regulations.[boxer ref'd/ w/ naacp?]“As a child I had asthma, and I remember my parents saying it was a black disease, because that’s what we thought, growing up,” Busby said. “Anyone who’s saying it’s not affecting our community isn’t speaking on behalf of black people.”

Washington Post Story Highlights Checks & Balances Project’s Work to Expose Anti-Clean-Energy, Pro-Polluter Front Group October 6, 2015

Lowell F. Political Affairs & Government

A few days ago, the Washington Post highlighted the unanswered questions about the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), which has been an opponent of climate action and clean energy solutions. However, what looks like a group appears to mostly comprise Harry C. Alford, his wife, Kay, and a few of his family members.

Founded in 1993, the NBCC is highly secretive — refusing, for instance, to reveal information about its membership, staffing, who their consulting clients are or what the group does for those clients. Despite this secrecy, Alford himself has admitted, even bragged about “receiv[ing] money from fossil fuel companies.” In addition, at least one investigation into the Alfords’ financing found the NBCC “isfunded primarily by fossil fuel energy companies, including Koch Industries and ExxonMobil,” with NBCC’s 2015 annual convention sponsored by “Gulf Power, the Florida division of Atlanta-based energy giant Southern Company; Koch Industries and its subsidiary Georgia-Pacific; as well as Chevron and the American Chemistry Council.”

Here are a few key lines from the Washington Post story, which highlights Alford’s appearances on radio and “before some of Pittsburgh’s African American leaders to urge opposition to a White House plan for tougher limits on air pollution.”

Since early summer, Alford has delivered the same pitch in multiple cities, blasting a plan to impose limits on carbon pollution, which contributes to premature deaths and diseases in communities of color and low-income communities.

Alford’s message — that the proposed regulations would hurt the economy and stifle job growth — is nearly identical to the one being broadcast widely by the rules’ opponents from industry. The National Association of Manufacturers has poured millions of dollars into a television ad campaign criticizing the proposal.The NBCC, which acknowledges receiving strong financial backing from Exxon Mobil and other fossil-fuel interests, has specifically tailored its message to African American audiences, drawing anger from environmental and public health groups that say the low-income and communities of color would be among the biggest beneficiaries of tighter regulations.

Evlondo Coooper, Senior Fellow with the Checks and Balances Project (C&BP) a national watchdog group (disclaimer: C&BP are clients of Tigercomm) is quoted in the Washington Post story after providing Mr. Alford the opportunity to explain why his organization accepts money from the industry which has negatively impacted communities of color.Here’s an excerpt.“The dirtiest utility plants pollute and hurt black communities,” said Evlondo Cooper, a researcher for the Checks and Balances Project, a watchdog group that investigates the use of corporate money in anti-clean-energy campaigns. Cooper, whose nonprofit organization has staged videotaped confrontations with Alford at two of his recent speaking events, said groups such as the NBCC have helped foster perceptions of a sharp divide among African Americans over whether stronger air-quality laws are needed.

“He doesn’t speak for black people,” Cooper said, referring to Alford, “and nothing about his support for the fossil-fuel lobby or his attacks on clean energy has been helpful to our community.”Alford, who has boasted of accepting money from oil and other fossil-fuel companies, declined to respond to repeated requests for comment.There’s a lot more, so definitely check out the entire Washington Post article. Also, we strongly recommend two articles by C&BP: On 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina Former New Orleans Resident Questions African-American Leaders Siding With Climate Deniers and NBCC President Harry C. Alford Refuses to Answer Questions About Coal Pollution’s Health Impacts.

Unfortunately, efforts to deny man-made climate change and attacks on clean energy have been widespread among oil and coal companies – and their paid propagandists – for many years now. For more on that topic, see The Climate Deception Dossiers by the Union of Concerned Scientists; Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s May 2015 Washington Post May op-ed entitled, “The fossil-fuel industry’s campaign to mislead the American people;” renowned climate scientist Michael Mann’s book, “The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars;” and many more sources.

Also note that Scaling Green has written extensively on fossil-fuel-funded groups (e.g., the American Energy Alliance, American Conservative Union, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Heritage Action for America, American Commitment, and Freedom Action) that push out climate science denial and attacks against clean energy, all in service of their dirty energy funders.

This Prominent Opponent Of Climate Action Has Taken Massive Amounts Of Money From Big Oil Companies

BY RYAN KORONOWSKI AUG 18, 2015

The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), a prominent critic of environmental and renewable energy initiatives, is getting even more of its funding from fossil fuel energy companies than previously thought. According to an analysis by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting (FCIR), the group’s funding — which had been known to include at least $1 million from ExxonMobil — can in fact be traced to several other fossil fuel companies.The FCIR reported that the NBCC’s sponsors included utilities, trade groups, and fossil fuel companies that have opposed action to cut carbon pollution: Chevron, Southern Company, Gulf Power, Koch Industries, Georgia-Pacific, and the American Chemistry Council.

The ExxonMobil Foundation has disclosed the grants it provides for years, and thus has been known to be a significant funder of the NBCC. The foundations affiliated with oil giant Chevron and coal-heavy Southern Company in particular do not disclose grants were previously not public funders of the organization.“NBCC has been shilling for the interests of big oil and and maybe coal and utilities interests going back nearly 20 years,” Kert Davies, the director of the Climate Investigations Center, told ThinkProgress. “To date, all we have been able to confirm was ExxonMobil’s financial stake in NBCC. Ultimately, stopping climate and other environmental protections are not the interests of ‘black business’, but the interests of very very big business.”

“The National Black Chamber of Commerce should take a firm stand against the misinformation being spread by these industries,” Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) said in a statement in early August. “I believe that we should all be on the side of families, not industry polluters. I urge the NBCC to cut ties with these groups immediately.”Last week, the Washington, D.C.-based NBCC hosted its annual conference in Florida. The Sunshine State has been ground zero in a fight over increasing access to solar power. Instead of embracing a ballot initiative that seeks to allow ordinary people to purchase solar power directly from other consumers, as conservative groups like Floridians for Solar Choice have, the NBCC “decried the Shady Solar Amendment as misleading” in a release.

Harry C. Alford, president and CEO of the NBCC, said in the statement that his concern was over “potential increases in electric service rates and higher state and local taxes” should the amendment pass. FCIR puts the source and scope of Alford and NBCC’s fossil fuel funding into perspective. Reporter Francisco Alvarado notes that Alford’s “opposition to clean energy initiatives has help[ed to] create a substantial revenue stream for the National Black Chamber of Commerce.” Looking at IRS tax filings, Alvarado found that the NBCC brings in around $1 million a year, “with most of the money coming from large companies that oppose clean energy initiatives.”

“It’s a lot of money given the organization’s small staff,” Alvarado wrote. “The National Black Chamber of Commerce lists just two key employees on annual IRS filings — Alford and his wife.” Robert Bullard, dean of the school of public affairs at Texas Southern University and arguably the foremost pioneer of the environmental justice movement, has said the NBCC has misrepresented the interests of the African American community for years. He posted a comment on FCIR’s article via his Facebook account to criticize the NBCC:

The National Black Chamber of Commerce for more than a decade has been spreading propaganda and talking points of the white U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Most black folks know Harry Alford does not represent them or the black business community at large. One need only peruse his organization’s thin membership and major contributor list to understand what’s really going on. This is not rocket science. African Americans were essential in the founding of the U.S. environmental and climate justice movement because our communities are disproportionately and adversely impacted.

The group’s opposition to policies seeking to cut pollution and increase renewable energy stretches back to the late 1990s, when the NBCC fought against the Kyoto protocol. In August 1997, the NBCC approved a resolution opposing U.S. participation in any meaningful U.N. climate pact like the one to be negotiated in Kyoto, Japan later that year. The resolution said that “the NBCC dedicates itself to educating its members, constituents, and others that there is no scientific reason for limits on greenhouse gas emissions.” It stated concerns that climate action would disproportionately impact urban areas and black-owned businesses. A portion of NBCC’s “Resolution on Global Climate Change.”

CREDIT: SCREENSHOT

Management Information Services, Inc. (MISI) bills itself as “an internationally recognized, Washington D.C.-based economic research and management consulting firm with expertise in economic forecasting, litigation support and expert witness testimony, analysis of energy, environmental and electric utility issues, and labor markets.”Roger Bezdek, MISI’s president, has been with the firm for nearly 30 years, and has spoken at past NBCC conferences. MISI has written reports for ACCCE, the “clean coal” industry group, on “the social benefits of carbon” pollution.

Bezdek has given presentations on the same topic, earning a Washington Post op-ed debunking his climate denier views.Bezdek’s firm has a history of working with NBCC. In 2000, MISI did an analysis (pdf download) about the likely economic impacts of the Kyoto Protocol on minority communities in the United States, sponsored by the NBCC and several other minority business groups. Its conclusion: “by virtually any economic, employment, or social criterion, Blacks and Hispanics will likely be seriously harmed by implementation of the Kyoto Protocol.

”MISI recently updated that analysis for the same collection of business groups in a report called, “”Refusing to repeat past mistakes: How the Kyoto Climate Change Protocol would disproportionately threaten the economic well-being of Blacks and Hispanics in the United States.”In June, MISI authored a report just for the NBCC about the impact EPA’s proposed carbon rule would have on minority communities. It concluded, once again, that “these regulations would have serious economic, employment, and energy impacts at the national level and for all states, and the impacts on low-income groups, Blacks, and Hispanics would be especially severe.” This report relied on thoroughly debunked studies from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and NERA Economic Consulting about the alleged costs of EPA’s proposed rule.

During his speech announcing the EPA’s final carbon rule for existing power plants, President Obama noted that an African American child was twice as likely to be hospitalized for asthma. “Even more cynical, we’ve got critics of this plan who are actually claiming that this will harm minority and low-income communities,” Obama said. “Even though climate change hurts those Americans the most, who are the most vulnerable.”

African American communities are disproportionately impacted by all kinds of fossil fuel pollution, including carbon pollution, which can trap heat and pollutants. This damages air quality and triggers asthma and heart attacks. Alford testified before Congress earlier this year against EPA regulations limiting ground-level ozone levels, one of more than a dozen appearances before various committees. These statements do not help African American communities, according to Dr. Michael Dorsey, interim director for the Energy and Environment Program at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

“This testimony harms African Americans,” Dorsey told ThinkProgress earlier this year. “Alford’s false claims about energy are a triple threat — they harm African Americans in their wallets, they harm them in their lungs, and they threaten the environments they live in. He doesn’t even represent black business, it’s criminal.”The NBCC’s rival, the U.S. Black Chambers (USBC), fully supports President Obama’s recently released Clean Power Plan (CPP).Ron Busby, the USBC’s president and CEO, wrote members a letter explaining why his organization gave “strong support” to the CPP.“The USBC supports any endeavor that will create businesses and jobs, stimulate the economy, increase employment while simultaneously creating a safe and healthy living environment in the U.S., preeminently, those underserved communities that are hit the hardest,” Busby said in the letter.

TAGS

ChevronExxonMobilFloridaKoch BrothersKyoto ProtocolNational Black Chamber Of CommerceSolar Power

no date (found 8/16) http://www.nationalbcc.org/news/beyond-the-rhetoric/130-if-we-really-love-africa-lets-do-this

If We Really Love Africa, LetSuch is the plight of Africa. So many African Americans profiling and claiming to care but when you get right down to it they are looking for a new place to party. Too few appear to be serious. This is what is immediately needed in Africa:1. Darfur, Sudan is the latest in a long line of genocides. If Martin Luther King was in Congress right now he would jam it up with filibuster and obstruction until this nation would act affirmatively. [like Dems on gins after orlando"] Just like Rwanda we have a leadership that just goes to sleep on this.

We must wake up or shock Congress and this Administration into quick and strong action. No one group should be allowed to perform genocide on another right before our eyes. With 42+ Black elected officials one would think there would be some courageous fighters against this evil. Getting arrested in front of the Sudan embassy and posting immediate bail doesn't get it any longer. We need substance.2. A major killer of children in Africa is malaria. The solution is simple. Just as Europe and the United States did back in the 1920's we spray the infested areas with DDT.

Shortly, the death rate of millions of Africans would subside and the quality of health care would greatly improve. Oh yea, we can work on saving a few species of animals as the need arises but the mission is to save human beings. 3. Do not move a single penny into an African nation without proof of full compliance with HIV/AIDS prevention and care. We have a Minister of Health in South Africa telling her people to eat more vegetables and HIV/AIDS will go away. All the while, 300,000 South Africans are dying each and every year. Let's get real!4. All USAID, TDA and other such funding for Africa must go exclusively on its infrastructure. Viable roads, water and sewer lines, wastewater treatment, bridges, power plants, schools and hospitals should be the top priority. These funds should go out as competitive bids and contracts to US/African joint ventures.

No more consulting contracts, feasibility studies, conflict resolution exercises and other inconsequential overly priced exercises. We need infrastructure for economic vitality and an atmosphere consistent with progress. Let's stop flushing billions of valuable dollars down the toilet for worthless programs on an annual basis.5. Let's stop "Third Country Loopholes" to Africa. Any trade enhancements or initiatives should be between the United States and sub-Saharan African nations exclusively. What does China, Malaysia, Mauritius, etc. have to do between us and Africa? Thanks for the interest Europe, Asia, etc. but we are going to do this deal and make it work for the intended party - sub-Saharan Africa. It is so sad to see a Black congressman speaking on behalf of Asian or other interests saying that Africa isn't ready for the big time so let's let China or whoever in the deal in exchange for menial jobs. Currently, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus is touting China for raw cotton and textile production in Africa under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

He says in exchange Africans can receive $80 per month sweating over some sewing machines. One African ambassador told me it's "intellectually insulting" but I declare it downright crazy. What was the Voting Rights Act for if it wasn't to empower African Americans and provide a natural ally and resource for Africa? It is shameful, despicable and extremely dangerous what we have going on right now. Wake up Black America!! It's time to hold our so called leaders and elected officials accountable. Millions of children depend on us.

Starting in January we are going to track each member of the CBC and other key congressional members to see what they are doing for Africa on a quarterly basis. We will let you know. Mr. Alford is President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Website: http://www.nationalbcc.org/. Email: president@nationalbcc.org.== Harry C. Alford, President and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC)

robinson reagan ranch funded neo-nazi? how can you call me racist, i am affiliated with West, _ and __

coincidence? henry 1970

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alford_plea

4 cites http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/06/26/national-black-chamber-of-commerce-joins-oil-in/204153

[poster of logos] recent conference

The National Black Chamber of Commerce has been among more meddlesome corporate climate change solutions blockers for the past two decades. They are under increasing pressure these days.The organization is small, basically Harry Alford and his spouse Kay Debow run it, but they have fought above-their-weight in the climate change battles over the past two decades. This is because NBCC is a great curve ball for corporate interests, purporting to represent the interests of African American people and businesses, they have served as a front group for invisible fossil fuel interests who know that putting the NBCC out on the front lines gives the appearance of a diverse movement against climate laws and policies.

There have been multiple vigorous critics of the NBCC through the years. Most recently :Media Matters did a great roundup on NBCC's efforts and counterpoints. http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/06/26/national-black-chamber-of-commerce-joins-oil-in/204153 Inside Climate News recently covered the NBCC attacks on the Obama Clean Power Plan as part of a larger effort to confuse minorities about the policy.

hastings sclchttp://insideclimatenews.org/news/12082015/minorities-targeted-misinformation-obama-carbon-clean-power-plan-national-black-chamber-commerce Van Jones and Green For All took on NBCC's attacks on the Clean Power

Plan http://www.greenforall.org/african_american_hispanic_leaders_respond_to_latest_attacks_on_clean_power_plan Congressman Alcee Hastings of Florida put out a statement decrying NBCC's corporate ties.http://alceehastings.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398461 But then in a breakthrough investigation two weeks ago, the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting revealed several new corporate funders of the National Black Chamber of Commerce via their annual meeting held just north of Miami in August 5-7, 2015.Here posted for the first time, is the page from the program from the NBCC annual meeting listing all the corporate sponsors, courtesy of Frank Alvarado, Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.

Bob Bullard laid down this comment on the FCIR webpage responding to the articleRobert D. Bullard · Dean, Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University

The National Black Chamber of Commerce for more than a decade has been spreading propaganda and talking points of the white U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Most black folks know Harry Alford does not represent them or the black business community at large. One need only peruse his organization's thin membership and major contributor list to understand what's really going on. This is not rocket science. African Americans were essential in the founding of the U.S. environmental and climate justice movement because our communities are disproportionately and adversely impacted. Anyone who says black folks don’t care or are not involved in environmental, energy or climate issues don’t really know what the hell is going on and is severely misinformed.

We have the facts. The facts show we are not standing idle on the sidelines while national climate action plans are formulated and move forward. Some of our most prestigious organizations and institutions, including our churches and faith based groups, our civil rights organizations such as the NAACP and a large consortium of our historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have taken ownership of climate justice and energy justice as their issue. They are not likely to one of two individuals from the National Black Chamber of Commerce derail their quest. Aug 16, 2015 1:12pmClimate Progress picked up the story this week, noting that NBCC's climate policy interventions have gone on for many years.

Through the ExxonSecrets database and ExxonMobil Foundation documents, we have followed Exxon and ExxonMobil funding of NBCC every year since at least the late 1990s through 2014, with a grand total of $950,000 in grants through those years. We never knew about Chevron, Southern Company or Koch Industries funding until now. While we don't have dollar amounts for these corporate sponsors, there are several key things revealed here:1. Koch corporate funding, along with Georgia Pacific, a Koch Industries owned company...therefore two channels of Koch corporate funding. Koch says this funding is part of their efforts on reforming incarceration rules and indeed the panel at the NBCC conference about incarceration which was titled: "Family Secrets (lil bro caught a case) –

OverCriminalization" was moderated by someone from Koch Industries. But why this policy advocacy work is being funded by Koch the corporation rather than the Koch brothers various charitable foundations is unknown. Maybe more of their advocacy funding is going inside the company to keep these contracts hidden from view?2. Chevron funding. This has never been revealed. Chevron has charitable foundations, but does not report such funding, unlike Exxon. Chevron corporate funding may be another pot of cash flowing to groups like NBCC. 3. Southern Company/Gulf Power funding.

Again, this has never been previously revealed. We don't know how long Southern Company has been involved with the NBCC or what exactly they are getting for their money. Could it be the Florida Solar ballot fight? (see #4 below) Interestingly, Chevron, Southern Company and Exxon were the three corporations present on the infamous 1998 Global Climate Science Communications Team4. Consumers for Smart Solar is a front group set up to fight a good ballot initiative in Florida that would allow solar power producers more freedom in Florida's electricity marketplace, for instance allowing people to put solar panels on their rooftops. What's up Sunshine State? why do you suck on solar power? partly because of utility domination. NBCC is a supporter of Consumers for Smart Solar and CSS is a supporter of NBCC, hand in hand. So quaint...makes you want to sing Ring around the Rosey. A pocket full of posies. Ashes, Ashes. We all fall down.see tea party: ga, fla:

http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/green-tea-party-solar There are a numerous other sponsors/funders that are interesting and have heretofore not been revealed connected to NBCC:American Chemistry Council, FedEx, Southwest Airlines, Facebook, Verizon, Comcast NBC Universal, TIAA CREF (Teachers retirement funds), Intuit, Penn National Gaming (gambling casinos horse racing). These companies might well be questioned about whether they support NBCC's anti-environmental agenda. What do these funders get from NBCC?They get a voice opposing the EPA and climate progress at every turn. Alford and NBCC have opposed every viable climate policy advance from UN Kyoto Protocol to Senator McCain's attempts in the early 2000s before he forgot how to be a climate champion, to Henry Waxman's valiant 2009 effort to the 2015 Clean Power Plan.

Along the way, Chevron and Exxon for instance get Harry Alford and NBCC to oppose the new EPA ozone air pollution standards, an issue that the oil industry has been hammering lately. Alford testified before Congress on this recently and there was a session at the NBCC annual meeting entirely dedicated to the EPA Ozone standards.

How do the Proposed EPA Ozone Regulations Effect My Business?

Moderator: William Kovacs, Senior Vice President, Environment, Technology & Regulatory Affairs U.S. Chamber of Commerce Panelists: Arnold Baker, President, BakerReady Mix; Harry Alford, President & CEO, NBCC; Norris McDonald, founder/ president, African American Environmental Association; Steve Higley, AFPM Notes: An oversight or omission, The American Fuel and Petroleum Marketers Association (AFPM) nor Steve Higley were listed speakers or sponsors of the meeting.Bill Kovacs of the US Chamber of Commerce appears to be a frequent wingman to Harry Alford, often appearing to testify alongside or cohosting events.Norris McDonald of the African American Environmentalist Association posted this blog describing the NBCC event and the panel on ozone standards with a slightly critical bent. However, the AAEA now seems to be promoting upcoming state level town hall meetings NBCC is holding attacking the EPA Ozone Standards.National Black Chamber of Commerce History of Attacks on Climate and Air Pollution Solutions:

Here is a short account of NBCC testimony, reports and documents we have tracked through the years. August 1997 - NBCC Resolution on Climate Change opposing US participation in the Kyoto Protocol.1998 - Refusing to Repeat Past Mistakes: How the Kyoto Climate Change Protocol would disproportionately threaten the economic well-being of Blacks and Hispanics in the United States. Study done by Management Information Services, Inc. (MISI). This report was widely distributed in Washington DC at the time.2000 - NBCC reissues a variation of the 1998 MISI report as Potential Impacts of the Kyoto Climate Change Protocol on Blacks and Hispanics in the United Statesimge from wayback] 2004-2008 - United for Jobs, NBCC was the figurehead organization of a campaign likely paid for by oil companies, and constructed by the PR Comms company, DCI Group, who around the same time build climate denial hub Tech Central Station with money from ExxonMobil and others.

United for Jobs was built intentionally to attack the 2004 McCain-Lieberman climate bill, one of the first serious and viable pieces of climate change legislation. United for Jobs slogan was "Stop the radical environmentalist lobby from taking your job away".Links on WebArchive for United for Jobs in 2004 targeting McCain bill and in 2005-6, they went more generalized "pro-oil" messaging with the campaign. The site remained live until 2008May 2009 - Report commissioned by NBCC in May 2009, done by Charles River Associates decrying the Waxman Markey climate bill that eventually was approved by the House Impact on the Economy of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R.2454)February 2011 -

Testimony of Harry C. Alford before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power in support of Rep. Fred Upton's bill Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011 March 2015 - House Science, Space and Technology Committee testimony: “Reality Check: The Impact and Achievability on EPA’s Proposed Ozone Standards”, an appearance that was taken apart by Think Progress. June 2015 - NBCC commissions another retread MISI report "Potential Impacts of EPA Regulations on Low Income Groups and Minorities" and Harry Alford testified before Senate EPW Committee Tuesday, June 23, 2015 with “The Impacts of EPA’s Proposed Carbon Regulations on Energy Costs for American Businesses, Rural Communities and Families, and a legislative hearing on S. 1324”June 2015 - In a stunning if random move, Alford penned an op-ed in the Pittsburg Courier, titled "Beyond the Rhetoric…Fossil fuels and African Americans", proudly embracing his fossil fuel funders and praising fossil fuels for lifting blacks out of poverty...if only that were true.

The legacy of Blacks in this nation has been tied to the miraculous history of fossil fuel and the economic growth in communities because of the successful harvest of fossil fuels. Consistent with the emergence of the Industrial Revolution and the availability of the Homestead Act for freed slaves, fossil fuels have been our economic friend.To be continued. Please get in touch if you have information about the National Black Chamber of Commerce.http://www.climateinvestigations.org/national-black-chamber-of-commerce-fossil-funders-revealed

==van jones

:http://www.greenforall.org/african_american_hispanic_leaders_respond_to_latest_attacks_on_clean_power_plan

June 11, 2015 Contact: kristina averykristina@greenforall.org

African American, Hispanic Leaders Respond to Latest Attacks on Clean Power Plan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 11, 2015Contact: Kristina Avery, Green For All: (541) 914-9744, or kristina@greenforall.orgMax Karlin, Voces Verdes/Hastings Group: (202) 997-3035, or mkarlin@hastingsgroup.comAfrican American, Hispanic Leaders Respond to Latest Attacks on Clean Power PlanGroups Reiterate Numerous Health and Economic Benefits for Communities of Color and Low-Income AmericansOakland, CA – Today, a coalition of groups fired back at a National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) report misrepresenting the impacts of the Clean Power Plan. The report alleges that the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan will harm African American and Hispanic families, when in fact findings from numerous independent organizations show the plan will actually benefit these communities.

In reality, the Clean Power Plan will prevent asthma and other pollution-related illnesses, create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and save families money on their utility bills. Low-income and minority Americans, who are often the hardest hit when it comes to the effects of climate change, will benefit substantially.Recently the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) produced a report reaffirming and further outlining these benefits. The report also refutes many of the myths asserted by the NBCC, known to be funded by special interest groups seeking to preserve the bottom line for dirty energy companies.

Statement of Van Jones, Founder, Green For All:“Dirty energy companies are using the Black Chamber to push out junk science and junk economics in order to try to turn communities of color against the most important clean air protections of our generation. Forty percent of those who live near polluting power plants are people of color, and African American kids have the highest rate of asthma in America. These guys are jeopardizing the health of thousands of black children across the country. They ought to be ashamed.”Statement of Adrianna Quintero, Founder, Voces Verdes:

“Make no mistake, these inflammatory scare tactics by dirty energy backers are nothing more than a blatant attempt to mislead consumers to go against their own best interests and support the multimillion dollar polluter industry that poisons our air and worsens climate change. The polluters know that an overwhelming majority of Latinos want our leaders to fight climate change, so it’s no surprise that they are desperate to derail progress towards clean renewable energy through these baseless attacks. Fortunately, Latinos know the reality: our communities are ground zero for pollution and we are ready to move towards clean energy and healthier communities.”

Statement of Dr. Jalonne L. White-Newsome, Director of Federal Policy, WE ACT for Environmental Justice:“Poor health costs! Polluted air from dirty energy sources makes our communities sick, resulting in unfair economic burdens on families from hospital costs to missed work days. The solution is not for the EPA to withdraw the Clean Power Plan. Instead, it’s an opportunity for the National Black Chamber of Commerce to fulfill their own mission of "economically empowering and sustaining African American communities through entrepreneurship" by promoting an equitable Clean Power Plan and clean energy solutions that will result in a higher quality of life for all.”Statement of Mark Magaña, Founder, GreenLatinos:

“A simple review of the public record on the Clean Power Plan makes clear that a large diversity of Latino and environmental justice communities stand in support for actions that protect our families from harmful pollution. Our groups have consistently stood up for key protections against dirty energy, which is disproportionately placed in our neighborhoods. It’s disheartening that the dirty energy industry thinks our community can be that easily fooled by a sham study paid for by polluters and distributed by a tiny subset of minority business groups that don't represent our views.

This study reeks of desperation from a dying industry, whose last gasp is rife with misinformation. Our neighborhoods, our families, and our children have been suffering the negative health effects of carbon pollution for years and we are not going to be swayed by this "hail Mary" attempt to convince us that clean energy is actually bad for us. Our national coalition of Latino environmental and conservation leaders demands clean air, and equity for our communities that have suffered for too long through the most egregious of environmental injustices.”

Statement of Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., President and CEO, Hip Hop Caucus:“This report fools no one. The EPA’s Clean Power Plan will avoid up to 6,600 premature deaths and 150,000 asthma attacks in children, and for every dollar invested through the Clean Power Plan, American families will get up to $7 in health benefits. With 60% of African Americans living within 30 miles of a power plant, the Clean Power Plan will save American lives, especially the lives of Black and Brown folks. It is deeply disappointing to see the National Black Chamber of Commerce champion a report full of dangerous lies promoted by the fossil fuel industry. Opposing the Clean Power Plan threatens the health and wealth of our communities and our businesses."

Benefits of the Clean Power Plan for communities of color include: Preventing asthma attacks and pollution-related illnesses, which disproportionately affect communities of color. One in six African American kids and one in nine Latino kids suffers from asthma. The Clean Power Plan will prevent up to 150,000 asthma attacks and 6,600 premature deaths annually by 2030, while slashing the carbon pollution from power plants fueling climate change. Additionally, the co-benefits of cutting other pollution in this plan could prevent nearly 3,300 heart attacks, 2,800 hospital admissions, and close to a half million missed work days each year, according to EPA.Addressing climate change. Power plants account for 40 percent of our nation’s carbon pollution. In order to fight climate change, we need to dramatically reduce pollution from power plants. And climate change disproportionately affects people of color. Severe weather and storms hit communities of color first and worst. For example, African Americans living in Los Angeles are twice as likely to die in a heat wave as other residents, because they lack access to cars, shade, and air conditioning. Higher temperatures are making it more difficult and dangerous for the millions of Latinos who work outdoors in the construction and agricultural trades. Bad air days exacerbated by climate pollution force kids and the elderly to stay indoors or risk asthma or other respiratory illnesses that not only put them at risk but impact families economically both in medical bills and work days missed as a result. And when disasters like Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy strike, people with the fewest resources have a harder time preparing, escaping and recovering.

Saving families on health costs. The Clean Power Plan has public health and climate benefits estimated at $55-$95 billion per year by 2030, far outweighing the costs. From the soot and smog reductions alone, each dollar invested in the Clean Power Plan could net American families $7 in health benefits.Saving families on energy bills. The clean power plan would save families an average of $8 a month on their residential electricity bills, according to EPA.Creating new jobs and opportunity. While cutting carbon pollution from power plants will protect public health, it will also drive innovation in clean energy sources that will power the 21st century, growing our economy and creating jobs. According to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute, the Clean Power Plan will create a net increase of 360,000 jobs by 2020.clean power plan climate obama low-income minorities

aug 2015Today, Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) made the following statement in conjunction with the National Black Chamber of Commerce’s 2015 Convention being held August 5-8th in Hollywood, Florida:

“Pollution is a problem that disproportionately affects minorities in our country. According to the NACCP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, 68 percent of African Americans live within 30 miles of a power plant. This means that black communities across the country are more vulnerable to exposure from power plant emissions and carbon pollution.

“Our country is taking steps to significantly reduce the amount of air pollution emitted every day. Doing so will reduce illnesses like asthma and will keep our kids from getting sick. It’s shameful that so many industries are willing to put profits over people and oppose these efforts. “The National Black Chamber of Commerce should take a firm stand against the misinformation being spread by these industries. I believe that we should all be on the side of families, not industry polluters. I urge the NBCC to cut ties with these groups immediately.”

Congressman Alcee L. Hastings serves as Senior Member of the House Rules Committee, Ranking Democratic Member of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, and Co-Chairman of the Florida Delegation. http://alceehastings.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398461

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/03/17/3634581/house-takes-on-smog/

How The National Black Chamber Of Commerce’s Leader Is Harming African Americans by Ari Phillips Mar 17, 2015 12:15 pm Smog is getting its moment in the Congressional spotlight, and the politics are dirty.

In a House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology hearing on Tuesday morning, Republicans called upon longtime utility and fossil fuel advocates — including Harry C. Alford, President and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) — to push back on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed tightening of ground-level ozone levels from to between 65 and 70 parts per billion, from the current 75 parts per billion.Alford is no stranger to Congress. In the past, he has testified that the EPA’s efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions for power plants would cause electricity prices to skyrocket. As far back as 1998 he testified that the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol would be detrimental to minority-owned small businesses. Since 1998, the NBCC has received $800,000 from ExxonMobil. It has also been funded by the tobacco industry. But Alford’s record of actively opposing environmental policies has struck a nerve with other black leaders in America, who are condemning his relationship with polluting industries. This testimony harms African Americans.

Dr. Michael Dorsey, the Interim Director for the Energy and Environment Program at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, sees Alford’s tactics as being far more than simply misleading — he sees them as actually being very dangerous to African American communities.“This testimony harms African Americans,” Dorsey, who has a PhD in environmental policy from the University of Michigan, told ThinkProgress. “Alfred’s false claims about energy are a triple threat — they harm African Americans in their wallets, they harm them in their lungs, and they threaten the environments they live in. He doesn’t even represent black business, it’s criminal.”

Automobiles, power plants, factories, and refineries all produce ozone-forming pollutants, which make up smog. Elevated ozone levels put people are at risk for premature death, aggravated asthma, and difficulty breathing, according to the American Lung Association. Alford’s remarks Tuesday parroted his past statements. He said that the proposed strengthening of ozone regulations would “shut off huge parts of country to job growth” and would lead to “loss of good health.”

In February, Alford penned an op-ed in the Hill arguing that the EPA’s proposal will shut down coal-fired power plants, which will be harmful to African Americans and African American small business owners in need of “dependable energy and predictable utility bills.”The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is directly at odds with Alford’s statements. In 2012, the NAACP released a report called “Coal Blooded” stating that of the six million Americans living near coal plants, 39 percent are people of color. NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said that “coal pollution is literally killing low-income communities and communities of color.”Dorsey argues that what Alford is doing condemns these minority communities to “remain underneath” dirty energy and prevents them from getting the many benefits of renewable energy. Because of this, the community Alford purports to represent is actually being dramatically misrepresented by arguments “not based on any science and not based on him being a serious advocate.”

“He’s just mouthing off talking points from Edison Electric,” said Dorsey. “It’s disturbing that he would subject himself to being so manipulated.”Dorsey’s distress extends to Congress as well.“Not enough Democrats or Republicans want to get together and have serious conversations about serious issues,” he said. “Throwing snowballs and playing games — when we play games with these issues people lose their lives.”A highly partisan issue, ground-level ozone regulations have done a lot to improve air quality, and lawmakers like Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), ranking Democratic member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, think they can and should be taken further.

This is not a new line of attack. “As someone who worked in the public health field before I came to Congress, I am very sensitive to the effect that poor air quality can have on all Americans, especially the young and the poor,” Johnson told ThinkProgress. “Some of my colleagues repeatedly argue that any EPA regulation will kill jobs, decimate the industrial base, and cause major harm to our economy. This is not a new line of attack.”

Johnson said that these accusations have been made for decades about every major new environmental and consumer protection regulation, “from catalytic converters to scrubbers to seatbelts. We all know that none of those predictions are true.” She said it is actually quite the opposite: “There is much more evidence that jobs are created and the economy expands following the passage of major reforms.”The overwhelming majority of scientists believe that the EPA should tighten ozone restrictions. In June 2014, the EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) — made up of scientists, physicians, researchers and air pollution experts — unanimously recommended that the agency lower the limit of ozone pollution from its current standard.

“If I’m making a diagnosis, it’s not contingent on cost of treatment,” said Dr. Mary B. Rice, from Harvard Medical School, during the hearing. “Similarly with respect to ozone pollution, the medical and scientific community has made a clear and indisputable diagnosis that ozone is harmful to human health.”As of July, 123 million people — 40 percent of the U.S. population — lived in areas that don’t meet the current ozone standards, primarily in urban and industrial settings. Ozone concentrations typically reach unhealthful levels when the weather is hot and sunny with little or no wind, according to the EPA. With a final EPA’s updated National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone due by October 1 by court order, March 17 is the last day for public comments. There have already been more than 51,000 submissions.Tags Air PollutionEnvironmental Protection AgencyHarry C. AlfordNational Black Chamber of CommerceOzone

http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/11/10/poll-shows-african-americans-support-clean-power-plan-and-climate-action-except-exxon-funded-national-black-chamber

One tactic of the fossil fuel industry’s attack on the proposed Clean Power Plan is to say it unfairly targets minority communities when in fact the opposite is true. Industry-funded groups like the National Black Chamber of Commerce are among the groups making these claims.In the past National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) president Harry Alford dismissed climate change by quoting Stevie Wonder, saying, “When you believe in things you don't understand; you suffer. Superstition ain't the way.”And while Alford may equate science to superstition, there is no doubt that he understands one thing very well – collecting oil industry money. The NBCC has received over $1 million from ExxonMobil alone.

A new poll released by the Natural Resources Defense Council reports the reality that 83% of African Americans support the Clean Power Plan. And 67% of African Americans say that action should be taken to reduce the threat of global warming.Which shouldn’t be that surprising as African Americans are more likely to feel the impacts of environmental pollution and risk than other communities in America.

The 2012 report “Coal Blooded: Putting Profits Before People” revealed that of the 6 million people living in proximity to coal-fired power plants, 39% were people of color and that seventy-eight percent of African Americans live within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant.And research shows African Americans are nearly three times as likely as whites to be hospitalized or killed by asthma.In addition to the findings of the new NRDC poll, leaders of major black churches recently presented over 10,000 pastors’ signatures to Congressional Black Caucus members in support of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan.

As reported by the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, Rev. Jesse Bottoms, vice president of the National Baptist Convention, explained what was driving this effort.“Environmental concerns are not abstractions for African Americans,” Bottoms said. “They are real, and they affect us in very real ways, particularly our children and seniors.”However, despite the polling and the efforts of the black church leadership, one critical group is not leading on the issue — the politicians representing many of these communities.

In September, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, an ad appeared in a Spanish-language newspaper targeting five Latino and African American lawmakers posing the question, “Would these politicians be willing to confront the petroleum industry and fight for Latino families?”Of course, the reality is that the five politicians who were targeted have received at least $260,000 combined from oil companies. That might explain statements like the one from Assemblyman Jim Cooper saying that solar panels and electric vehicles “are great, but they don't come to our neighborhoods.”

As far as the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), they do not even list climate change as an issue on their Issues page. The CBC is notorious for its ability to raise funds from corporations, including polluters in the fossil fuel industry.A 2010 article in the New York Times about the CBC noted that “lobbyists and executives from coal, nuclear and power giants like Peabody Energy and Entergy helped draft a report in the caucus’s name” and that a “policy document issued by the Black Caucus Institute last year asserted that the financial impact of climate change legislation should be weighed before it is passed, a major industry stand.”A 2014 article in Grist ran with the headline, “This ambassador for black politicians argues that solar drags down African Americans.” This is another favored industry talking point that claims that rooftop solar will result in higher electricity costs for low-income communities and unfairly target African Americans.

Mark Davis, CEO of minority-owned WDC Solar, was part of the group discussing the new NRDC poll results and has a very different view on the opportunity solar represents for low-income communities. “I am a Green For All Climate Champion, and renewable energy and energy efficiency are two pillars of our plan for low-income communities to lower the cost of energy, create green jobs for low-income residents, and improve the environment,” Davis said. “The Clean Power Plan can accelerate an increase we’ve already seen in African American participation in clean energy and can enhance economic empowerment in low-income communities.”The new NRDC poll reports that 87% of African Americans support using more solar over coal or nuclear power.

So while it is clear that African Americans support the Clean Power Plan, solar power, and acting on climate change, it remains to be seen if the politicians representing those communities will do their jobs and go with the will of the people over the will of polluters.==http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/09/29/national-review-online-pushes-attack-on-bill-ny/205851Nat'l Black Chamber President Smears Wash. Post For Exposing Industry-Funded Pro-Smog CampaignBlog ›› DENISE ROBBINS The president of the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) lashed out at The Washington Post for exposing his organization's oil industry funding, baselessly describing a Post article about the group's anti-environmental agenda as "[l]ies, innuendos and false claims

."The Post recently helped pull back the curtain on the NBCC's fossil fuel-friendly agenda. In a September 28 article, The Post reported that the NBCC has been fighting an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to reduce ground-level ozone pollution, the primary component of smog, and also noted that the NBCC is heavily funded by ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel interests. The NBCC has been fighting air pollution standards and climate change action fordecades.

NBCC president Harry Alford decried the Washington Post article in a column on his organization's website, titled "Environmental Extremists seem to be going cuckoo." Without identifying any specific errors in the Post article, Alford wrote that that it contained "[l]ies, innuendos and false claims" and "misinformation about the National Black Chamber of Commerce." He also described the Post article as "incomplete reporting, replete with racial innuendos," but failed to elaborate.From Alford's post on the NBCC website:

Just this week, the super liberals put out misinformation about the National Black Chamber of Commerce via the Washington Post newspaper. Lies, innuendos and false claims. The reporting was less than professional and we attempted to explain the misrepresentations to their Ombudsman. To our surprise, the Post doesn't have an Ombudsman to whom readers can go to correct inaccuracies. They even claim one of the "gotcha" men stalking me with a camera is a "writer". Just a few years ago he was in security at the Detroit Westin Hotel. Give me a break! The others they quoted also have hidden agendas.The misinformation articles, the lies and stalking us around the country are flattering. But we didn't become the number one Black business association in the world by being timid. There are a lot of "broke face" governors, senators, congresspersons and corporate CEO's who have learned this the hard way. We got a big laugh from the incomplete reporting, replete with racial innuendos. As my late mentor, Arthur A. Fletcher, once told me, "When you get on the front page of the Post you are in Tall Cotton and that ain't bad. The fact is they are fearing your movement and your side is apparently winning."The truth always wins eventually.The values and voices of America's diverse communities are too often excluded from the news media. This needs to change

. ==

:{:{ICN: After the Environmental Protection Agency released its groundbreaking carbon regulations last week, opponents worked to fill the airways and newspaper opinion pages with the message that the Clean Power Plan would cost minority communities millions of jobs and increase their poverty levels by more than 25 percent.The claims were the resurgence of a campaign put forward two months ago [2] by the National Black Chamber of Commerce. The Washington, D.C. group describes itself as a "nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian organization dedicated to the economic empowerment of African American communities," but in fact has strong financial ties to the oil and gas industry.It’s campaign was so vigorous, a prominent African American congressman, Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) made a strong statement during the group’s annual convention in Florida and urged NBCC to sever ties [3] with the industry and stop misleading minorities, who are disproportionately affected by pollution."The National Black Chamber of Commerce should take a firm stand against the misinformation being spread by these industries,"}:

Hastings said. "I believe that we should all be on the side of families, not industry polluters. I urge the NBCC to cut ties with these groups immediately."The NBCC has received more than $1 million from the ExxonMobil Foundation since 1998. Among the sponsors of that annual convention were Gulf Power, Florida's division of Southern Company, Koch Industries and its subsidiary Georgia Pacific, Chevron and the American Chemistry Council, the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting wrote [4]. "The National Black Chamber of Commerce is very well known as a front group for industry," said Aliya Haq, special projects director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's climate and clean air program. "It wasn't surprising when these claims came out. It is just their latest attempt at derailing regulation in a long history of working with fossil fuel companies."

The NBCC's arguments have raised questions about the Clean Power Plan among some minority communities, said Jacqui Patterson, director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's environmental and climate justice program."Folks in communities where I work have come to me and said they've heard this and are asking for clarification," she said. "Electricity bills for low-income and many minority communities are a higher proportion of people's income. Anything that says bills might go up definitely raises alarms."While the EPA predicts electricity prices may rise 2.4 to 2.7 percent by 2020 under the Clean Power Plan, it also argues that improvements in energy efficiency will offset the cost for consumers.

It will also improve public health by lowering exposure to fine particulates and ozone pollution in neighborhoods near power plants, saving governments and families up to $34 billion in medical expenses by 2030, according to the EPA."Pollution is a problem that disproportionately affects minorities in our country," Hastings said in his statement. "According to the NACCP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, 68 percent of African Americans live within 30 miles of a power plant. This means that black communities across the country are more vulnerable to exposure from power plant emissions and carbon pollution."The NBCC did not respond to request for comment."The NBCC claims have been fact-checked and proven inaccurate multiple times," said Dave Anderson, energy campaign organizer for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a scientific and environmental advocacy group. "

Most journalists see that, but the group is using newspapers' opinion sections to get around the fact-checking of reporters."NBCC has been fighting environmental regulations since the late 1990s, coinciding with some of its earliest donations from ExxonMobil [5]. In 2000, the organization published a study on the impacts of the Kyoto Protocol, the first international agreement on climate change, on African Americans and Hispanics. It argued the Protocol could "force millions of Blacks and Hispanics below the poverty line." NBCC president Harry Alford has testified before Congress in recent months on the negative impacts of both the Clean Power Plan and EPA plans to lower acceptable ground ozone levels.The organization is not the only one with strong financial ties to the fossil fuel industry vocally opposing the carbon regulations. Charles Steele Jr., the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who has close ties with oil and gas executives [6], has been quoted in several articles and opinion pieces contending that the Clean Power Plan will be bad for low-income households. Similar campaigns have been launched by The Cato Institute, Beacon Hill Institute, Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, Heartland Institute, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among dozens of other groups that have received fossil fuel funding [7].

Patterson and Haq said efforts to discredit the carbon regulations among minorities are particularly frustrating because these communities are expected to benefit the most from the Obama administration's carbon regulations, which is being enacted under the Clean Air Act, a piece of landmark environmental legislation signed into law in 1970."Every time we've cleaned up pollution in these communities, it has been good for these communities," said Haq. "Never have the lights gone off or bills skyrocketed from a new Clean Air Act rule. It has been good for people's health, and not bad for their budgets."© InsideClimate News Source

URL: http://insideclimatenews.org/news/12082015/minorities-targeted-misinformation-obama-carbon-clean-power-plan-national-black-chamber-commerce?utm_source=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&utm_campaign=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&utm_medium=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&utm_term=PANTHEON_STRIPPEDLinks [1] https://twitter.com/share [2]

http://nbccnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/NBCC_ozone__FInal.pdf [3] http://alceehastings.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398461 [4] http://fcir.org/2015/08/13/national-black-chamber-of-commerce-solar-energy-critic-rakes-in-cash-from-polluters/ [5] http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=113 [6] http://www.southernstudies.org/2010/09/special-report-industry-wraps-coal-ash-regulation-fight-in-the-mantle-of-civil-rights.html [7]

http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/07/31/media-disclosure-guide-here-are-the-industry-fu/204708==HUMAN EVENTS BLOGNational Black Chamber of Commerce CEO: Obama policies are “borderline Communist”John Hayward | Wednesday Feb 27, 2013 10:19 AMhttp://humanevents.com/2013/02/27/national-black-chamber-of-commerce-ceo-obama-borderline-communist/Share on Facebook 721 721 SHARES}:

Harry C. Alford, the head of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, is a former Obama voter who has become sharply critical of the President. In fact, he now professes himself to be ashamed of his vote for Obama. To paraphrase a famous Star Wars quote, he finds the President’s lack of faith in capitalism disturbing. “Borderline communist” disturbing. Alford appeared on Sean Hannity’s TV show Tuesday night to discuss his take on Obama in more detail:Alford attributes Obama’s early appeal to charisma and, frankly, a good deal of racial solidarity, with voters from various minority groups seeing Obama as an avatar of their own hopes and dreams. He sees that appeal as naive after watching Obama campaign incessantly for years, while allowing the national economy to lie fallow, or imposing his agenda at a steep cost to our general prosperity.“He’s spending, spending, spending,” said Alford. “That’s the problem. He wants to tax, tax, tax… yet the irony of it is, he dogs successful people, he says they’re bad, rich is evil. But yet he’s courting the rich on his knees, to come and give him some money, so he can use it for whatever reason, I don’t know. He’s turned out… I don’t know what he’s planning for us.”Alford compared Obama’s overwhelming support from the black community to the unconditional support a troubled family member might receive from parents and siblings… support which enables continued bad behavior. “We gotta wake up, slap ourselves and wake up,” he said.

“This is America, and everybody is involved in this. If our children are hurting, it’s our responsibility to find someone who understands that pain – ‘feels it,’ like Bill Clinton would say. This guy doesn’t feel it. In fact, he issues a lot of that pain, with a smile.”He understands that phrases like “borderline Communist” are heavily freighted, but stands by his use of the term. “It’s so anti-capitalistic, this distribution of wealth,” Alford explained. “That, to me, that says it all. He wants to re-distribute wealth, take money that was honestly earned by people who struggled, and suffered, and paid the price to win that money… he wants to take it from them, and give it to people who don’t have to do a thing. It’s the will of the State to oversee everyone.” Just for good measure, he went on to compare the Obama-friendly American media to Soviet propaganda.While certainly contentious – one cannot deploy worlds like “communist” without setting off some fireworks – it is useful to consider the current conflict in terms of capitalism versus its adversaries. Obama-style government presents itself as a modification of capitalism – it’s more fair, equitable, compassionate, smarter, etc. but he would dispute Alford’s accusation that he has turned against it. But how much can the pure, practical expression of liberty be “modified” before it’s not really capitalism any more?

And what are the proper terms for the ideologies historically aligned against it?Alford concluded by deriding the supposedly agonizing 2.3 percent sequestration spending cuts as “peanuts,” noting that private-sector CEOs would be delighted if the worst thing they had to confront was such a tiny budget cut. Of course, that’s not the worst thing our unsustainable federal government must confront; they’re only acting like it is. And if they choke on the peanuts, they’ll never be able to handle the main course of fiscal restraint.

Defenders of Property Rights Board of DirectorsHarry C. Alford, President & CEO National Black Chamber of CommerceBecky Norton Dunlop,(hon.) VP for External Relations The Heritage FoundationTimothy N. Hyde, Founding Partner DCI Group, LLCCharles W. Jarvis, Chief Executive United Seniors AssociationStephen G. Kieffer, CEO Kieffer & Co., Inc.Tex Lezar, Clements, O'Neill, Pierce, Nickens and Wilson L.L.P. (died January 5, 2004 [15])J. B. Love, Managing Partner Estancias Argentinas, LLCNancie G. Marzulla, President Defenders of Property RightsRoger J. Marzulla, (hon.) Chairman Marzulla & MarzullaVicki A. O'Meara, (hon.)Executive VP and General Counsel Ryder System, Inc.David A. Waronker, President CBD Development Group, Inc. Board of AdvisersRobert Bork, American Enterprise InstituteLamar Smith, US House of RepresentativesSenator Larry E. CraigT. Kenneth Cribb, Jr, Intercollegiate Studies InstituteJohn J. Curry, Jr., Foran, Nasharr & O'Toole Ltd.Orrin G. HatchProfessor Jonathan R. Macey, Cornell Law SchoolEdwin Meese, The Heritage FoundationRichard W. PomboEric M. Rubin, Rubin, Winston, Diercks, Harris and CookeMark Killian, Director of Revenue, State of ArizonaContactDefenders of Property Rights== WASHINGTON, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Black Chamber ofCommerce congratulated the Senate Commerce Committee for its passage of S.2686 yesterday, a bill that will open the marketplace to new competitors invideo services and will encourage high speed broadband deployment.

"On behalf of the 100,000 Black-owned businesses we represent, we thank Senator Stevens for his leadership and the Committee for their support ofthis important legislation," stated President and CEO Harry Alford. "Thislegislation means more than just what is on the surface: consumer choice,competition and lower prices. This legislation will provide jobs and newopportunities for Black-owned business. From laying the new networks toservicing these networks to providing new content that will travel thesenew networks, our business community won today." "More importantly, the Committee failed to pass controversial 'networkneutrality' legislation -- a win for small business in America. While somewould like many of the minority community to believe that regulating theInternet is necessary, we know that it will only starve those of usdependent on new and updated broadband systems," continued Alford."Last week, more than 30 of our state chapters expressed their supportfor the Senate's Communications, Consumer's Choice and Broadband DeploymentAct of 2006.

The Commerce Committee heard us. It is now up to the Senateleadership to give this bill proper consideration on the Senate floorimmediately. We urge the Senate to provide this legislation a vote on thefloor without question."The NBCC reaches 100,000 Black owned businesses. There are 1 millionBlack owned businesses in the United States. http://www.nationalbcc.org

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Harry C. Alford, President and CEO ofthe National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) and Joe Byrd, President of theNational Native American Chamber of Commerce (NNACC) today praised Members ofCongress who supported legislation that removes major barriers to high-speedInternet access and requires broadband deployment on an accelerated basis. Byremoving counterproductive regulation, the Internet Freedom and BroadbandDeployment Act of 2001 (HR 1542), delivers more competition and choices forhigh-speed Internet to small businesses and consumers. "Standing in the way of much-needed investment in high-speed Internetinfrastructure is a U.S. telecommunications law that limits the ability oflocal phone companies, potentially the most capable broadband providers, tobuild broadband networks," said Harry C. Alford, President and CEO of theNational Black Chamber of the Commerce.Today, HR 1542 will remove the disincentives for local providers to investin high-speed Internet infrastructure.

Placing geographic restrictions onInternet traffic makes neither technical nor economic sense -- and even lesssense in light of the urgent need for investment in broadband infrastructure.Both Presidents Alford and Byrd concur that with more bytes and bandwidth,minority-owned and other small businesses can now take advantage of the bestin technology to maximize productivity, growth and job creation. They deservethat opportunity. The chance to compete fairly and be the best that you canis the promise of America. By passing HR 1542, Congress has extended thatphilosophy to Internet policies."Cable companies, currently the biggest supplier of broadband services whoare not subject to any of these requirements, simply are not choosing to pickup the slack in underserved communities, nor creating a competitive market,"said Joe Byrd, President of the National Native American Chamber of Commerce.As a result, most small and medium-sized businesses do not have a choiceof high-speed Internet providers, and many have no high-speed accesswhatsoever.

This problem is magnified for minority-owned businesses, which aremore likely to be based in geographic areas with fewer computers and lowerincomes, making them relatively unattractive to cable-based broadbandproviders.About the National Black Chamber of Commerce and the National NativeAmerican Chamber of CommerceThe National Black Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit organizationdedicated to the economic empowerment of African-Americans. The NationalNative American Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit organization that promotesjob creation, economic growth, sustainable development and improved livingstandards for Tribal Nations, Native Americans, Native American businesses,and small businesses.MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Herehttp://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X15875216 ==BS WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Black Chamber of Commerce today issued the following statement in response following a House of Representative's vote to defund Gainful Employment.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110217/DC50791LOGO)"The National Black Chamber of Commerce applauds the House of Representatives for supporting college access for minority students and passing an amendment to defund Gainful Employment. This great victory will help stop a rule that would disproportionately hurt African American and other minority students who rely on career colleges to learn real-world skills that help them get jobs. "We thank the bi-partisan leadership of House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN), Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, and Representatives Alcee Hastings (D-FL) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) for bringing this amendment to the floor and rallying support to get it passed. "With unemployment rates so high, it is a mystery why the Education Department would propose a rule that makes it harder for students to get a college degree that prepares them for the working world. Gainful Employment unfairly singles out for-profits schools, whose student bodies are comprised of 39% minorities due to their flexible course loads and skill-focused classes.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce warns that if the 'Gainful Employment' rule is implemented, it will result in 100,000 jobs lost. Now is not the time to make it harder for minority students to get a college degree."We urge the Senate to fully support this amendment and protect college options for minority students who rely on federal financial aid." ===wikifluff The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) was incorporated as The National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc., in 1993. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan,nonsectarian organization dedicated to the economic empowerment of African American communities. Additionally, the organization indicates that it represents the views of its members regarding economic and political policy issues; domestically and internationally. It is organized as a 501(c) corporation and has at least 190 chapters within the United States. The NBCC also has international chapters in the Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana and Jamaica.[1] As with all Chambers of Commerce, affiliate branches are committed to carrying out the goals of the main Chamber within their areas.The NBCC is a very young national organization when compared to others such as the NAACP and CORE. It is also the first major African American organization to focus on economic empowerment. [Garvey?]

The NBCC was founded by Harry Alford, who serves as the first President and CEO. He also is a Board member of the United States Chamber of Commerce.[2] In an interview reported in Human Events, Mr. Alford identifies with the Booker T. Washington approach to African American self empowerment and sees the approach of W.E.B. Du Bois and the NAACP (whom he calls enemies of [BT] Washington) as primarily political.[3] Contents [hide] 1 Mission and strategic goals1.1 Business development1.2 Sponsorship1.3 Education, training, and technical support2 Positions on legislation3 Organization4 References4.1 CitationsMission and strategic goals[edit]The stated mission of the NBCC is to "economically empower and sustain African American communities through entrepreneurship and capitalistic activity within the United States and via interaction with the BlackDiaspora".[4]The NBCC works to fulfill its mission by implementing the following goals: