The Federal government has shutdown, and Democratic and Republican leaders are not bending in their discussions on how to achieve fiscal responsibility. Concern is deepening in financial markets, and among businessmen, about the potential for a U.S. default of its debt.In just one day this week interest rates rose, making it twice as expensive for […]

In August the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established the 2013 annual percentage standards for the RFS program for biofuel, biomass based diesel, biofuels and renewable fuels. These standards will apply to all gasoline and diesel produced or imported in 2013. The EPA also provided more lead time to obligated parties to demonstrate compliance with the […]

MRAA attended a meeting last week organized by the Ethanol Coalition. The overall feeling was that Congress itself has done little legislative work. However, the coalition felt Congress is still on schedule for hearings and perhaps reform/repeal legislation in October, which is the original goal. A press gathering was held in San Francisco in August […]

Members of the House and Senate tax-writing committees are putting together legislative drafts that may determine the fate of one of our most prized tax benefits, the second home mortgage interest deduction. In addition other key tax deductions, such as, property tax write offs and capital gains exclusions are on the table for elimination too. […]

A member of MRAA sent staff a note with great concern about significant increases to the price that distributors will be charging for gasoline beginning on September 16. According to the material supplied to the MRAA office, the primary driver of the conversion to sub-octane (typically 84-octane) gasoline is the Renewable Fuels Standard passed by […]

The US Chamber of Commerce’s recent small business survey found that Washington policies hamper job growth, with over a quarter of small businesses saying they have lost employees in the past year. According to the survey, the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is a top concern increasing by 10% since June 2011. Seventy-one per cent of […]

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas joined with other marine groups in a grassroots campaign requesting the US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water Quality to complete the saltwater criteria document for copper that would be based on new data and the Biotic Ligand Model (BLM). This new standard would allow for more accurate […]

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas has long held the position that the Renewable Fuel Standard must be revised to prevent damage that ethanol blends above the 10% level will cause to engines of all types. The MRAA’s perspective aligns nicely with the head of the third largest ethanol producer. The Des Moines register […]

In the past few years, USEPA has taken over many programs originally managed by state agencies. USEPA takeovers of state programs is up 2,750 percent. This has resulted in drastic increases in regulation of navigable water, something the MRAA is opposed to. Read more about the activities of USEPA here.

Congress is discussing the possibility of increasing the federal minimum wage. The passage of this could affect your business. as S. 460 would increase the wage to over $10.00 per hour from the current $7.25. The Obama Budget includes a new wage of $9.00. Also, a companion bill in the House (H.R. 1010) has been […]