American Benefits Council

==Background==
The American Benefits Council describes itself as 'a dynamic membership organization representing the breadth of American business'American Benefits Council Memberships Accessed 26th February 2008 and an 'advocate of employer-sponsored benefit programs'American Benefits Council About the CouncilAccessed 26th February 2008. They aim to shape the world of corporate benefits policy with the mission 'to be the most effective advocate for voluntary private employee benefits'. In doing so they initiate and champion 'legislation and regulations favorable to our members' needs and interests, and influences policy development within Congress and the White House and executive branch agencies'. They also 'fend off policy proposals that add burdens, liabilities and costs for the employer plan sponsor community'ibid.
==Members==
In 2008, the American Benefits Council list the following membersAmerican Benefits Council Memberships Accessed 26th February 2008...
* 3M Company
* ABM Industries Inc.
* Administaff Inc.
* ADP
* AdvaMed
* Aegon Group
* AEtna Inc.
* A G Edwards & Sons Inc.
* Alaska Forest Association
* Allegiance
* Allstate Insurance Company
* Alston & Bird LLP
* Altria Corporation
* America's Health Insurance Plans
* American Airlines
* American Century
* American Council of Life Insurers
* American Electric Power
* American Express Company
* American General Financial Group
* American Standard Companies
* Ameriprise Financial
* Aon Consulting Inc.
* Associated Benefits Corporation
* Assurant
* AstraZeneca
* AT&T
* AutoNation
* Avaya
* AXA Financial
* Baker & Daniels LLP
* Ball Corporation
* Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll LLP
* Bank of America
* Bank of the West
* Baxter Healthcare Corporation
* Black & Decker
* Blue Cross & Blue Shield Association
* Boeing Company
* BP America Inc.
* Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
* Bryan, Pendleton, Swats & McAllister
* Buck Consultants Inc.
* Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP
* Callan Associates Inc.
* Campbell Soup Company
* Capital Group Companies Inc.
* Caremark
* Caterpillar Inc.
* CBS Inc.
* Celanese Americas Corporation
* Ceridian Corporation
* CF Industries Inc.
* Charles Schwab & Co. Inc.
* Chrysler
* CIGNA
* Citigroup Inc.
* Coca Cola Company
* Colgate-Palmolive Company
* ConAgra Foods Inc.
* Conner & Winters LLP
* ConocoPhillips
* Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers
* Coventry Health Care
* Darden Restaurants
* Davis & Harman LLP
* Day Pitney LLP
* Deere & Company
* Dell Inc.
* Deloitte & Touche
* Delphi Corporation
* DirecTV
* The Dow Chemical Company
* Dow, Lohnes & Albertson PLLC
* Drinker Biddle Gardner Carton LLP
* Duke Energy
* The DuPont Company
* Edward Jones Company
* El Paso Corporation
* Eli Lilly and Company
* Embarq Corporation
* Emerson
* Employee Benefits Institute of America
* The Epler Company
* Equifax Inc.
* Ernst & Young LLP
* Express Scripts Inc.
* ExxonMobil Corporation
* Faegre & Benson
* FedEx Corporation
* Fidelity Investments
* Fiduciary Counselors Inc.
* Fiduciary Risk Management
* Financial Engines
* Findley Davies Inc.
* Fiserv Inc.
* Food Marketing Institute
* Ford Motor Company
* General Dynamics
* General Motors
* GlaxoSmithKline
* Goodrich Corporation
* Goodwin, Procter & Hoar LLP
* Great Plains Energy
* Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Co.
* Greyhound Lines Inc.
* Groom Law Group Chartered
* Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
* Halliburton
* Hallmark Cards Inc.
* Hartford Life Insurance Companies
* Haynes Benefit Group
* Helms Mulliss & Wicker PLLC
* Hershey Foods Corporation
* Hewitt Associates LLC
* Hewlett Packard
* Holland & Knight LLC
* Honeywell
* Hooker & Holcombe Inc.
* HSBC
* Humana Inc.
* IBM Corporation
* Ice Miller
* ING Americas
* Intel Corporation
* International Truck and Engine Corporation
* Investment Company Institute
* ITT Corporation
* Ivins, Phillips & Barker Chartered
* Jackson Lewis LLP
* JC Penney Company Inc.
* Jenner & Block LLP
* John Hancock Financial Services Inc.
* Johnson & Johnson
* Joy Global Inc.
* J P Morgan
* Kaiser Permanente
* The Kellogg Company (Kellogg's)
* Kilpatrick Stockton LLP
* Kraft Foods
* The Kroger Company
* Leggett & Platt Incorporated
* Lincoln National Life Insurance Company
* Littler Mendelson P.C.
* Lockheed Martin
* Lockton Benefit Group
* Lucent Technologies Inc.
* Marathon Oil
* Marriott International
* Mars Inc.
* Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc.
* Massachusetts Financial Services
* Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.
* McAfee & Taft
* McDermott, Will & Emery LLP
* McDonald's Corporation
* McGuireWoods LLP
* MeadWestvaco
* Medco Health Solutions
* MediaNews Group
* Mercedes-Benz
* Mercer Human Resources Consulting LLP
* Merck & Co., Inc.
* Meredith Corporation
* Merrill Lynch & Company Inc.
* MetLife
* Microsoft Corporation
* Miller & Chevalier
* Milliman USA
* Monsanto
* Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
* Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association
* Motorola
* MullinTBG
* Mutual of Omaha Insurance
* National Business Coalition on Health
* National Grid USA Companies
* National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
* National Telephone Cooperative Association.
* Nationwide Insurance Companies
* NCR Corporation
* New York Life Insurance Company
* Norfolk Southern Corporation
* The Northern Trust Company
* Northrop Grumman Corporation
* Northwest Airlines
* NSTAR
* Occidental Petroleum Corporation
* Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart P.C
* Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
* PACCAR Inc.
* Pacific Life Insurance Company
* Parker Hannifin Corporation
* Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP
* Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler
* Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
* Pfizer Inc
* Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
* PIMCO
* Plan Advisory Services
* Polese, Pietzsch, Williams & Nolan
* Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP
* Post & Schell P.C.
* PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
* Principal Financial Group
* Procter & Gamble
* Prudential
* Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG)
* Qwest
* Rabobank International
* Raskin Benefits Advisors LLC
* Raytheon
* Reed Elsevier Corporation
* Reynolds American Inc.
* Rockwell Automation
* Rohm and Haas Company
* Russell Company
* Ryder System Inc.
* Salt River Project (SRP)
* The Savitz Organization
* Schering-Plough Corporation
* The Segal Company
* Seyfarth Shaw LLP
* Shell Oil Company
* Siemens Corporation
* Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation
* Sony USA
* Southern Company
* State Street Corporation
* Steelworkers Pension Trust
* Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP
* Stoel Rives LLP
* Sungard
* Sunoco Inc.
* SunTrust Banks Inc.
* SUPERVALU INC.
* Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP
* T Rowe Price Associates Inc.
* Target Corporation
* Textron Inc.
* Thompson Hine LLP
* TIAA-CREF
* Time Warner Inc.
* Towers Perrin
* Troutman Sanders LLP
* UBS Financial Services Inc.
* Unilever Inc.
* United Benefits Group
* United HealthCare Corporation
* United Parcel Service Inc.
* UnumProvident
* USAA
* The Vanguard Group Inc.
* Venable LLP
* Verizon
* Viacom Inc.
* Vulcan Materials Company
* Wachovia Corporation
* The Wagner Law Group
* Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
* Watson Wyatt Worldwide
* Wellpoint
* Westinghouse Electric Company
* Weyerhaeuser Company
* Willis Corporation
* Winston & Strawn LLP
* Winterthur U.S. Holdings
* Wm Wrigley Jr Company
* Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC
* WorldatWork
* Workers in Employee Benefits (WEB)
* WPP
* Wyeth Inc.
* Xerox Corporation
* Yellow Roadway Corporation
* YMCA of the USA
==People==
* C Ron Cheeley - Senior Vice President for Schering-Plough is reported to be a member of the American Benefits CouncilSchering-Plough C Ron Cheeley Accessed 26th February 2008. Cheeley is also a member of the Schering-Plough Foundation Board of Trustees, a member of the National Academy of Chief Human Resources Officers and serves on the board of directors of the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. His previous involvements include serving as group vice president with the Pharmacia Corporation, as a Director for the Coca Cola Company and as chairman of the board of directors and a member of the executive committee of WorldatWork (1999-2000). Cheeley has also served as chairman of the Conference Board Research Council on Employee Benefits and on the Conference Board Executive Compensation Council. 
==References==
Category:Corporate Lobby Groups