 |
CONGRESS BREAKS FOR AUGUST RECESS
This week, Congress officially started its August recess
which serves as a great chance to meet with your lawmakers
while they are back home. On Monday, September 8th, when
Congress returns both chambers will likely be in session for
a few weeks before they break again for the 2014 elections.
A government funding measure is possibly the only bill that
will move forward before the mid-term elections. While
appropriators have said they want to develop an omnibus
package to close out fiscal year 2015, it is more likely
that a Continuing Resolution (CR) will develop which would
fund the government through December 2014. This will force a
lame duck session which will allow Congress to address other
measures including tax extenders legislation. The Senate
Finance Committee’s tax extenders package includes the $1
per-gallon biodiesel blender’s tax credit and applies
retroactively to January 1, 2014. PMAA continues to support
the biodiesel blender’s tax credit.
OIL EXPORT BAN ACCELERATING REFINED PRODUCT EXPORTS
Due to the U.S. oil export ban and
the shale oil boom, Gulf Coast crude oil supply has hit
record levels which have caused the West Texas Intermediate
(WTI) crude oil contract to plunge to a six month low. Gulf
coast refineries have been able to take advantage of the
cheaper WTI prices and are processing crude at record levels
and sending refined products overseas given their European
counterparts are having to buy higher priced Brent crude
oil. Oil companies have either booked or plan to book
several medium range tankers to ship cheaper Gulf Coast
refined products to Europe. In July, refineries in the Gulf
of Mexico processed 8.62 million barrels a day, the highest
since the Department of Energy started collecting data in
1992.
The Gulf Coast oil supply glut has also renewed
an interest in reforming the Jones Act to allow cheaper and
more abundant foreign tankers to ship America’s light sweet
crude oil to Mid-Atlantic refineries and refined products to
states such as Florida which is experiencing supply
shortages. PMAA supports efforts to reform the Jones Act to
alleviate the Gulf Coast supply glut which will bring
cheaper motor fuels and heating oil prices to consumers.
OZONE RULE NEEDS ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS
Under section
109(d) of the Clean Air Act, EPA is required to seek
guidance from its Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee on
any “adverse public health, welfare, social, economic, or
energy effects” that arise from efforts to revise air
quality standards. EPA did not do this when its’ federal
environmental advisory committee concluded late June in a
letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy that the EPA
should consider lowering the current 75 ppb ozone national
ambient air quality standard to 60-70 ppb. The report even
went further to suggest a 60 to 65 ppb range would be best,
stating that a standard of 70 ppb would offer only a
“limited margin of safety” for human health.
Sen.
David Vitter (R-La.), the ranking Republican on the Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee, and Rep. Lamar Smith
(R-Texas), chairman of the House Science, Space and
Technology Committee sent a letter to EPA seeking a response
by early August as to how EPA plans the further economic
review that is required by law. The
letter urges the EPA to allow its independent expert
advisors to conduct a full evaluation of the adverse effects
of the agency’s upcoming proposal to tighten ozone
standards. By the EPA’s own estimates, the new ozone
regulations are expected to cost taxpayers up to $90 billion
per year, making them the most costly regulations ever
proposed.
Established in 1977, the Clean Air
Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) provides advice to the
EPA Administrator on the technical bases for EPA's national
ambient air quality standards. EPA is under court order to
issue a proposed rule to either revise or retain the current
standard by December 1, 2014 and EPA will consider the
Committee’s recommendations in making that determination.
However, the EPA is not bound to the Committee’s
recommendation.
EPA’s potential
ozone proposed rule is estimated to cost more than EPA
predicts, upwards of one trillion dollars per year from
2020-2030, according to the National Association of
Manufacturers. Lowering of the standard would force more
counties into non-attainment, and, therefore, requiring RFG
and lower RVP gasoline which would increase the cost of
motor fuels. PMAA believes the economic consequences from a
new ozone standard will be severe and must be considered.
Current standards are working and the value of moving
towards a lower ozone standard is not backed by scientific
evidence. An overly stringent ozone standard will create
bottlenecks and chaos in the gasoline marketplace.
JULY 2014 PMAA SMALL BUSINESS COMMITTEE (SBC) PAC CONTRIBUTIONS
PAC Co-Chairs Michael Fields and Gerry Ramm are grateful for
the PMAA Small Business Committee (SBC) PAC contributions
from the following individuals during the July 1 - 31
timeframe:
Alabama: Richard Collins,
James Eidson, Jr., Russell Hager, Wayne Hollar, Richard
Mayers, James Parr, Tim Shirley
Arkansas: Benny
Magness
Colorado: Meyer Sussman
Connecticut:
Robert Barrieau
Indiana: Don Good
Maine:
Jonathan Mapes
Michigan: Robert Hohn
Nevada: Joe
McGinley
Oregon: Joe Arntson, Lee Powell, Sondra
Powell, Kenneth Poole, Nancy Poole, Jason Powell, Paul
Romain, Ron Tyree, Ruth Zirkle
South Carolina: Dan
Durbin, David Jordan, Karol Kunkle, Aaron Rice, Jr., A.
Pierce Stockman, III
Virginia: Nancy Allen, B. Lash
Barksdale, James Candler, Robert Claytor, Danny Cockrham,
Robert Conrad, Christopher Earhart, James Emmart, Gary
Gilmore, Garry Gray, Angus Hines, Jr., Richard Koontz, Jr.,
Bill Lester, Lloyd Little, Wayne Mears, G. Michael Neish,
Michael O’Connor, Stan Pallett, Sanjay Patel, James Pollard,
III, Paul Pollard, Wayland Pond, Ron Prewitt, James
Ridenour, Sr., William Russell, Randall Sheetz, Bruce
Spencer, David Sutton, Lester Terhune, III, David Walsh, W.
Stratford Ward, Jr., John Watts, Jr., John Woodfin, Jr.,
Mauro Zenarolla
Wyoming: Chris Jackson
PMAA MEMBER SERVICES SPOTLIGHT FEATURING: FEDERATED INSURANCE
Best Practices for Eliminating Distractions Caused
by Cell Phones and other Electronic Devices
As a national insurer of commercial vehicles, we have seen
the devastating effects technology can have when allowed to
distract drivers from their most important task—driving. We
strongly encourage your business to develop a clear,
unequivocal, and enforced policy against the use of cell
phones and other electronic devices while driving.
Implementing these policies does not require your business
to lose communication with your drivers or decrease
efficiency. By putting the proper policies and procedures in
place, communication can be maintained and efficiencies can
be increased by requiring drivers to concentrate on the
tasks at hand.
Please click
here to find out these best practices to help
enforce your distracted driving policy and effectively
eliminate the use of cell phones and other electronic
devices while driving.
For additional information or to discuss this in further
detail, please contact your
Federated regional representative or PMAA’s
newly-assigned National Account Executive
Jerry Leemkuil at
800.533.0472
JULY 2014 PMAA MDF CONTRIBUTORS
PMAA’s Marketer
Defense Fund wants to thank the following individuals for
their contributions during the July 1- 31 timeframe:
Arizona: Arizona Petroleum Marketers
Association
California: Matt Cullen
Colorado: Colorado Petroleum Marketers
and Convenience Store Association, Greg Parish
Florida: Ed Hinson
Indiana:
Tim Drayer, Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience
Store Association, Derek Jones, Gene Moser, Gary Myers
Massachusetts: New England Fuel
Institute
Missouri: Missouri
Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association
New York: John Maniscalco
North Carolina: David Newsom
North Dakota: North Dakota Petroleum
Marketers Association
Ohio: Janel
Kruse
Oklahoma: Oklahoma Petroleum
Marketers & Convenience Store Association
Oregon: Oregon Petroleum Association
Pennsylvania: Samantha Lantz, Robert Shuey
Corporate donations are acceptable. The monies raised
for MDF are used for special projects, personnel and
materials dedicated to strengthening our lobbying efforts on
Capitol Hill.
INVITATION TO VISA WEBINAR: August 20, 2014
Recap the 2014 North America Payment Card Security
and Technology Symposium
At 10 a.m.
Pacific time on Wednesday, 20 August 20, 2014, Visa
will host a free webinar to recap the North America Payment
Card Security and Technology Symposium that was held on July
23-24, 2014 in Foster City, California.
The symposium
featured presentations by Visa program experts and panelists
from organizations such as Cisco Systems, FireEye, Ingenico,
Microsoft, Smart Card Alliance and the U.S. Secret Service.
The webinar will summarize the following topics:
-
Understanding
the Evolution of Malware
-
Demystifying
Tokenization
-
Optimizing
Card-Not-Present Fraud Prevention Strategies
-
Navigating
U.S. EMV Implementation
-
Managing
Mobile Payments Risk
-
Approaching
the Intersection of Cyber Security and Privacy
This one-hour
webinar will be presented in English only and will not be
rebroadcast in other languages. Participants must attend via
computer. Attendance is limited to 1,000 individuals, and
registration is required. To register, click
here.
Note: The username and password created at
registration will be necessary to access the webinar on the
day of the event.
For more information, please contact
your Visa Account Executive or
email.
Notice: This Visa communication is
furnished to you solely in your capacity as a customer of Visa
Inc. (or its authorized agent) or a participant in the Visa
payments system. By accepting this Visa communication, you
acknowledge that the information contained herein (the
"Information") is confidential and subject to the
confidentiality restrictions contained in Visa's operating
regulations, which limit your use of the Information. You
agree to keep the Information confidential and not to use the
Information for any purpose other than in your capacity as a
customer of Visa Inc. or a participant in the Visa payments
system. The Information may only be disseminated within your
organization on a need-to-know basis to enable your
participation in the Visa payments system.
Please be
advised that the Information may constitute material nonpublic
information under U.S. federal securities laws and that
purchasing or selling securities of Visa Inc. while being
aware of material nonpublic information would constitute a
violation of applicable U.S. federal securities laws. This
information may change from time to time. Please contact your
Visa representative to verify current information. Visa is not
responsible for errors in this publication. The Visa Non-
Disclosure Agreement can be obtained from your Visa Account
Manager or the nearest Visa Office.
PMAA PARTNER SPOTLIGHT FEATURING: MERIDIAN ASSOCIATES, INC.
Focus on
Competitive Advantage featuring John C. Maxwell!
 Join
fellow marketers on October 28 and 29 at the beautiful Loews
Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson for a stellar line-up of
speakers including our keynote, John C. Maxwell, renowned
author and leadership expert. Experience effective round
tables, networking opportunities and workshops designed for
your petro success. With over 20 years of experience,
Meridian Associates hosts the premier event in the industry
to power your petro business forward. You'll enjoy new
information, innovation and insight including actionable
take-away plans to execute immediately. It's our trademark -
backed by a guarantee that's unmatched in the industry.
And there's much more including our always anticipated
ranch dinner at a new "in-town" venue and - new this year -
a spouse event that's sure to please. Take advantage of our
special add-on room rates and mix a little pleasure with
business before or after the event. What a great way to
refuel your energy and business at the same time!
Take advantage of early bird rates by August 31!
Check out our
website for all the details.
|
|
