Monday, July 23, 2012

Grassley, Thune Continue to Seek Answers on Federal Loan to Luxury Car Maker

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. John Thune today continued their pursuit of information about the Department of Energy's selection of a luxury automaker -described as "troubled" in various media reports -- for a $529 million federal loan for advanced technology vehicles manufacturing.  The federal government made part of the loan to the Fisker Automotive Corporation, then froze the remaining portion, raising questions about whether the company was vetted properly in the first place.

Grassley and Thune have sought answers from the Energy Department about the loan.  So far, the Energy Department has not provided much of the requested information.  Grassley and Thune today wrote to the Fisker Automotive Corporation, seeking much of the same information they requested from the Energy Department.

"The taxpayers deserve an accounting of what went wrong with the Fisker loan and whether the Administration misled the public about the economic benefits of the loan," Grassley said.  "The riskiness of loans to companies that may or may not be able to pay them back deserves scrutiny.  The taxpayers can't and shouldn't have to subsidize these decisions."

"There continues to be more questions than answers when it comes to the Obama administration's decision to loan Fisker Automotive $529 million of taxpayer funds," said Thune.  "Taxpayers deserve to know what went wrong and why this loan was approved in the first place.  Although taxpayers have already lost millions on bad Obama administration loans, this administration continues to ignore our basic questions on how these risky bets were made."

The senators' letter today to the Fisker Automotive Corporation is available here.  The senators' June 25 letter to the Energy Department available here.  The senators' initial letter to the Energy Department is available here.  The Energy Department's response is available here.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 required the creation of a direct loan program from the federal government to car companies through the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing incentive program.   Fisker's two planned vehicles would sell for more than $100,000 and about $50,000.  The high retail prices seem to indicate the vehicles would be out of reach for most Americans, thereby seeming like a questionable choice of investment for a federal program.  Also, the senators questioned whether the company's vehicle production in Finland diminishes the goal of developing advanced vehicle technology to create jobs in the United States.

By Senator Tom Harkin

At a recent field hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in Cedar Rapids, a new generation of Iowans living with disabilities described their high expectations to succeed in the competitive labor market.  This group of young people, whom I refer to as the "ADA Generation," are inspiring and motivated.  The strategies they shared should serve as a national model of what can be done to increase the employment participation rate for all individuals with disabilities.

Emilea Hillman of Independence is only 24 years old, but she is already an entrepreneur and owner of Em's Coffee Co., a café where she employs six people.  After spending months developing a business plan and navigating the challenges that face any new small business owner, she opened the shop in 2009.  Em, who has an intellectual disability, uses various techniques to help her in remembering orders and now has a loyal customer base.

Ron Frank, the manager of the Walgreens in Cedar Rapids, described how his company has pioneered efforts for enhancing employment for youth and adults with disabilities.  This local store has partnered with Goodwill of the Heartland to provide a job skills training program, allowing job seekers with disabilities to gain both classroom knowledge of the retail environment and skills necessary for hands-on experience in a retail setting.

As these Iowans demonstrated, young people with disabilities know that they can succeed in the workplace, and the private and public sectors are ready to give them the chance.  But despite those facts, people with disabilities have not begun to see the benefits of our nation's economic recovery.  Last year, nearly 3 million Americans without disabilities joined the labor force, but over same period, 94,000 workers with disabilities left the labor force.  In Iowa, even with our relatively low unemployment rate in comparison to the rest of the country, individuals with disabilities face barriers to finding jobs.  As Alex Watters of Milford, a young man with a spinal cord injury, said at the hearing, "A talent pool is sitting stagnant due to the overwhelming obstacles in their way."

As the country celebrates the 22nd anniversary of the ADA this July 26th, I released a report that urges Congress, the Administration, the business community, and society at large to make the issue of disability employment a national priority.  In this report, I call attention to the bad shape that disability employment is in right now, but I also focus on several new factors, which have the potential to reshape employment for people with disabilities.  I am delighted that the new chair of the National Governors Association (NGA), Jack Markell of Delaware, recently announced that he will make boosting disability employment his top priority during his tenure of the leader of NGA.

Although the numbers highlighted in my report are sobering, I think that we are at a turning point for bringing more people with disabilities into the workforce.

For more information about the ADA, please contact any of my offices in Iowa or Washington, D.C., or visit my website at harkin.senate.gov.

A PDF version of the article is available by clicking here

New Law Improves Access to Public Meeting Information

WHEATON - July 19, 2012. As part of his ongoing efforts to increase government accountability and transparency, Governor Pat Quinn today signed legislation to strengthen the Illinois Open Meetings Act. The governor was joined at the ceremony, held in the DuPage County building council chambers, by local legislators and DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin. Governor Quinn is committed to restoring integrity to Illinois government.

"This law gives the public greater access to information and activities that impact their lives," Governor Quinn said. "Increasing government openness and accountability from the statewide level to the local level will make Illinois a stronger, more ethical state."

House Bill 4687, sponsored by Rep. Sandra Pihos (R-Glen Ellyn) and Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale), requires public bodies conducting a public meeting to ensure that a copy of the meeting notice and agenda is available to the public for the entire 48 hours preceding the meeting. The measure specifies that public bodies can satisfy this requirement by posting the meeting notice on the Internet. The law also ensures that meeting agendas provide the public with adequate information about the meeting's actions.

"I applaud Governor Quinn's ongoing commitment to achieve more openness and greater transparency in Illinois government," Chairman Cronin said. "By bridging the information gap between government and taxpayers, we make meaningful progress in the effort to restore the trust of our residents and the integrity of state government."

"This new law will require all entities subject to the Open Meetings Act to provide a certain level of specificity when creating their agendas," said Rep. Pihos.

"I'm happy we were able to work together in a bipartisan way to close a loophole that didn't serve the public," Sen. Dillard said. "This measure will help the public be better informed about what their local governments are doing."

This legislation was inspired by a court case centered on an Illinois municipality that posted a meeting notice before the meeting but did so in a building that was locked on the weekends and not accessible to the public. This legislation closes that loophole by requiring online posting of meeting agendas that list meeting action items in such cases and which are continuously available. The law takes effect Jan. 1.

Since taking office, Governor Quinn has made improving ethics and increasing government transparency and accountability a top priority. In 2011, the governor signed new laws that hold local governments more accountable by requiring them to provide information such as finances, contracts and non-compliances to County Boards. Governor Quinn also launched Appointments.Illinois.Gov, Accountability.Illinois.Gov and Data.Illinois.Gov to bring more transparency to state appointments, contracts and salary information and public data collected by state and federal agencies.

Great coaches take into consideration an athlete's talent and heart when they're building a team, but they consider group dynamics, too, says entrepreneur J. Allan McCarthy.

"It's not just a matter of getting the fastest, strongest and smartest players on your side," says McCarthy, an international scaling expert and author of Beyond Genius, Innovation & Luck: The 'Rocket Science' of Building High-Performance Corporations (www.mccarthyandaffiliates.com).

"If you're building a championship team, you're gauging how the individual athletes fit together; how their personalities, talents, drive and abilities will mesh to meet the team's goals. It's exactly what you need to do to build a winning corporate team. As Michael Jordan, put it, 'Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.' "

In the 2011 film Moneyball, Coach Billy Beane picks his players based on analysis and evidence, says McCarthy, who has worked with hundreds of companies. He doesn't ever just "go with his gut."

McCarthy provides key points for building a successful, effective team:

· Lead with a team, not a group: A team of leaders behaves very differently than a group of leaders. Many companies don't know the difference. "It comes down to clear goals, interdependencies and rules of engagement," McCarthy says, Every corporation claims to hire only the best and the brightest but it is evident that getting the best and brightest to function as a team can be a challenge.

· Know your goals: McCarthy cites Bill Gates - "Teams should be able to act with the same unity of purpose and focus as a well-motivated individual." Many big-name CEOs like to say their talent runs free with innovative ideas. "It makes for compelling literature," McCarthy says. But would that work on the football field? Corporations need their personnel to think out-of-the-box but also act in a prescriptive culture - to work within a system in order to achieve common objectives.

· Not everyone can be the coach - or the quarterback: The problem with executives is that they all want to lead and none want to follow, McCarthy says. A team made up of executives is like a group of thoroughbred stallions confined to a small space called an organization -- plenty of kicking, biting and discord. Thoroughbreds don't naturally work well as a team. Better to define responsibilities that build a "foxhole mentality," wherein one person has the gun, the other the bullets, McCarthy says. It's in the best interests of both for each to succeed.

· The strongest teams are adept at resolving conflict: Hiring the best and the brightest should create a diverse, competent group ? but inevitably these stallions generate friction that can sabotage company progress. So, sensitize team members to the early warning signs: know-it-all attitudes, multi-tasking during team meetings, exhibiting dominant behavior, not responding in a timely fashion or engaging in avoidance. Agree, as a team, on how to mutually manage and minimize counterproductive behaviors as they surface.

· Create individual and team agreements: Here is where the "rubber meets the road" - it's the final stage of planning who will do what for team objectives, as well as a collective agreement on team rules and interdependencies. Ask individuals to openly commit to what they will do, and how the team is to function. The public declaration stresses employee obligation and collaborative management.

"We live in a 21st-century economy where speed and efficiency is a top priority, and that often means a 'shoot first, ask questions later' mentality," McCarthy says. "But you get the team that you plan for, not necessarily what you pay for. If time is money, then I'd invest it in creating and building a championship team."

About J. Allan McCarthy

J. Allan McCarthy, principal of J.A. McCarthy & Affiliates, has more than 20 years of experience across 15 industries and more than 200 companies. He is a scaling expert who helps organizations determine how to best align strategy, structure and workforce capabilities. He earned his master's of management from Golden Gate University, a Stanford University AEA MBA refresher, and has worked with many international companies, including Cisco Systems, Raychem Corporation, SAP Inc., Redback Networks, BEA Systems and Ericsson.