Chamber Backs Judge Roberts
Recently, in its first-ever endorsement of a United States Supreme Court nominee, the Judicial Review Committee of the National Association of Manufacturers unanimously endorsed the nomination of Judge John Roberts as Supreme Court Chief Justice and supports his confirmation by the Senate.

“The Kansas Chamber supports the NAM’s bold new direction and supports the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of Judge Roberts because The Chamber recognizes the impact that the judiciary has on the business climate,” said Chamber President & CEO Lew Ebert.

“The Kansas Chamber’s 10,000 employer members realize the influence that the judiciary have on the economic climate. And, too often, hard-fought gains made in Congress or the Executive Branch are lost in the judicial system,” Ebert added.

Studies show that 80 percent of a federal judge’s civil caseload – slightly lower for the Supreme Court –is made up of issues that directly impact business and manufacturing, including contract law, employment law, regulatory issues, and property rights.

In endorsing Roberts’ nomination, The Kansas Chamber of Commerce joins with the National Association of Manufacturers in recognizing that:

• The job of a justice is to faithfully apply the law.

• When judges make new laws and regulations from the bench by distorting existing liability laws, they create an unfair and unpredictable legal environment that encourages more litigation.

• Over the past fifty years, tort costs in the U.S. have increased more than a hundredfold to over $246 billion annually. That amounts to 2.3 percent of our GDP – an amount seven and half times greater than that of the next nearest competitor.

• These out-of-control liability costs drive businesses out of the United States hurting consumers, patients, investors, taxpayers, and workers.

• The manufacturing community and its employees have a huge stake in the outcome of these deliberations.

• Business cannot afford to sit on the sidelines with the third branch of government making so many decisions that affect our economic health.