July 14, 2000
vol. 1, no. 20
Contents:
Voluntary
Arbitration Bill Clears In Subcommittee
Death
Tax Repeal Clears Senate
Voluntary Arbitration Bill Clears In
Subcommittee
On July 13, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial
and Administrative Law approved H.R. 534, the Motor Vehicle
Franchise Contract Arbitration Fairness Act of 2000. The bill
was forwarded to the full Judiciary Committee by unanimous
voice vote.
The measure generated significant discussion over the use
of mandatory and binding arbitration not only in motor vehicle
franchise contracts, but also in other take-it or leave-it
contracts. Subcommittee member Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
expressed concern that the use of binding arbitration clauses
in consumer contracts and other areas was not considered in
the bill. Public Citizen, a consumer group affiliated with
Ralph Nader, proposed that the bill should be amended to
prevent dealers from using mandatory arbitration in consumer
and employment contracts.
Rep. Nadler inserted into the record a letter from NADA in
response to Public Citizen's concern, indicating that NADA
neither encourages nor supports the use of mandatory and
binding arbitration in any contract of adhesion and that NADA
would not oppose future efforts to address this issue in other
areas. NADA's letter helped to convince Rep. Nadler not to
offer an amendment broadening the bill in other areas, while
Rep. William D. Delahunt (D-Mass.) encouraged Democrats to
keep the bill narrow.
Siding with automobile manufacturers, the Chamber of
Commerce wrote to all Members of Congress objecting to the
bill. The National Federation of Independent Business, the
leading group representing small businesses in the U.S.,
commended Rep. Mary Bono (R-Ca.) for introducing the bill to
protect small business dealers.
"We've all invested a lot to time and effort to get to this
point, and the next few days could make a real difference in
the likelihood of enactment this year," said Tom Greene, COO
of NADA Legislative Affairs. Many groups are pressuring
Congress to delay further action in opposition of H.R. 534/S.
1200. NADA dealers need to counter immediately by thanking
Members for supporting the bill, and asking them to urge
leadership to move the bill out of the Judiciary Committee
without amendment before the August recess. Please contact the
Legislative Office to share any reports.
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Death Tax Repeal Clears Senate
H.R. 8, the NADA-backed bill to repeal the estate tax,
was approved by the full Senate on July 14 by a bipartisan
vote of 59 to 39. Nine Democrats supported the measure. The
bill had been approved by the House by a vote of 279-136. The
President has stated his intention to veto the bill despite
increasing bipartisan support for repeal.
"This vote further demonstrates that the repeal of the
‘death tax' is a bipartisan issue gaining support, and we
believe that we are making real progress in convincing
Congress and the President to eliminate this unfair tax," said
Tom Greene, COO of NADA Legislative Affairs. "We need to keep
up the pressure."
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National Automobile Dealers Association
Public
Affairs Group
703-827-7407
nada@nada.org
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