SPI works the Hill, White HouseSPI works the Hill, White House

The Society of the Plastics Industry has been busy lately, with President Bill Carteaux and other industry leaders meeting with President Bush on June 27 at a special roundtable organized by the White House to gather input from industry leaders as the president continues to press for Social Security reform. That meeting came just days after Carteaux and others in the business community met with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and other White House officials to talk about the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA; more on CAFTA in the next item).

"These meetings were an excellent opportunity to raise the visibility of SPI," Carteaux said in a prepared release. "Our involvement demonstrates that the White House is taking seriously the concerns of American manufacturers, including the plastics industry."

In a separate release, the SPI encouraged its members to urge their lawmakers to take action on natural gas supplies. Carteaux said SPI would continue to press Congress to include provisions in the proposed energy bill that would allow states to access their offshore natural gas reserves, which offer the greatest promise for price relief in the short term.

Gene Steadman, chairman of the SPI Energy Task Force, noted that the grassroots letter campaign waged over the previous year by companies and individuals in response to SPI''s calls for action had a tremendous impact.

In another release, the SPI announced that it has hosted a global conference in Washington, DC, on threats to food packaging. Regulatory officials and experts from around the world-including the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-discussed how global efforts to protect against bioterrorism and safeguard public health could potentially impact the food packaging industry. The event was sponsored in part by the SPI.

"Global markets are increasingly interconnected. Many in the packaging industry recognize that it is essential that their products can be readily used in most, if not all, countries," said Carteaux. "At the same time, international regulations addressing public health and security are becoming more complex and harder to navigate. This conference is part of SPI''s ongoing effort to help our members overcome these obstacles."