The following op-ed was authored by Tom Linebarger, Chairman and CEO of Cummins Inc. and Chair of the Business Roundtable International Engagement Committee; and Mike Bertsche, the President & CEO of Camcraft. After years of negotiations, the 12-nation trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership is facing its toughest challenge yet: election-year politics.

Just 1.6 miles. That was the distance between India's Vikram moon lander and the moon before the communication with the lander was lost. But optimism and pride for the mission still abounds, as the orbiter was successfully deployed and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) plans to map the surface of earth's closest - and only - natural satellite. 

It took more than 40 years for half of all U.S. households to have a telephone after its invention, but only 10 years for half of the U.S. population to own a cell phone1. At 1,454 feet, the Empire State building stood as the world’s tallest building for nearly 40 years after it was built in 1931. But in the 40 years since, that mark has been topped numerous times, and was nearly doubled by the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai, reaching a lofty 2,717 feet in 2010. Humanity continues to break its earthly limits in many ways today, and at an ever-increasing pace.

Cummins Inc. [NYSE: CMI] today announced they will launch the QuikDisc™ Rotor for U-Series wheel ends at FDIC International, the premier event for fire and rescue professionals in North America.  With QuikDisc, Cummins becomes the first manufacturer to offer air disc brakes for a single rear-drive axle at the 33,500 lb capacity rating used by heavy fire apparatus and introduces an industry-first patented two-piece hub design that fundamentally changes how disc brake rotors are serviced in the field.