More News

While the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is seen by some as tilting to the right on national and global issues, officials with Maryland chambers stress that they take nonpartisan positions when working on policies to help members.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's clash with the White House over President Obama's policy goals, from combating climate change to health insurance reform, is the result of the national organization's increasingly partisan tilt toward the Republican Party in recent years, said Richard Parsons, former president and CEO of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce.

But it is important to note that every chamber operates independently, said Parsons, who founded consulting company Parsons & Associates of Derwood after leaving the chamber.

"At the national level, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce does tend to have a very partisan outlook and very pro-Republican," Parsons said. "I don't think they've been as careful as the chambers here have been of working with both parties."

The local chambers and the state chamber have done a better job of focusing on policies, not parties, to accomplish their goals, he said.

Recently, and most publicly, several members of the U.S. chamber, including computer giant Apple, left the group over disagreements with the organization's stance on climate change legislation.

Even though the Maryland Chamber of Commerce is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, it does not mean the state organization agrees with the national group on every issue, said Kathleen T. Snyder, president and CEO of the state chamber. The same is true of every business and group that is a member of the state chamber, she said.

"There won't be 100 percent agreement on everything because our members are very different and have different priorities," she said.

One of the big differences between the state and national chambers is "style," Snyder said. Tactics used by the U.S. chamber, as well as some of the policies pushed by the group, would not work in a state such as Maryland, she said.

"Maryland is a very liberal state," Snyder said. "We deal with a very liberal congressional delegation and we deal with a liberal State House. As a Maryland chamber, we look at how we can grow coalitions."

The U.S. chamber does an effective job of lobbying in Washington, "but they don't control what our positions are," she said.

"Their style sometimes turns some people off, but the Maryland chamber is going to remain a member because their information is valuable," Snyder said. "The Maryland chamber prides itself on being nonpartisan and basing our testimony on everything we say to the press and the public at forums to be based on facts."

With the State House and governor's mansion controlled by Democrats, the state chamber cannot be perceived as partisan Republican like the U.S. chamber, she said.

"We try to rise above the fray and focus on what do our members want," Snyder said. "In our last membership survey 94 percent gave us good to excellent ratings on our lobbying. You can be aggressive in your lobbying and the Maryland chamber is, you can be forceful in your arguments and the Maryland chamber is, but we're not going to be partisan at all."

That position has kept open doors to Maryland chamber officials that are closed to U.S. chamber officials.

"I meet regularly with the Maryland Chamber of Commerce to discuss health care reform and many other issues," Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D) of Baltimore said in an e-mail. "The Maryland Chamber and I are engaged in a conversation and a dialogue based on mutual respect, courtesy and a desire to create and sustain jobs. We are trying to solve problems in Maryland rather than trying to create them."

Smaller chambers of commerce have their plates full with local issues, said Brien J. Poffenberger, president and CEO of the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce.

"There is no relationship between the different levels," Poffenberger said. "While there might be some confusion about the U.S. chamber and the spitting match they're in, that doesn't really pertain to us because we're focused on the issues important to us: the roads, the schools, the potholes."

Local members have not really commented on national issues, he said.

"The mandate we have from our members is to be the voice of business in Washington County," Poffenberger said.