Business Roundtable President John Engler has been making the following point repeatedly in recent interviews and public remarks: Washington has no more excuses for inaction.

From The Hill, "Business leaders lash out at both parties, tell Congress: Do your job":

“It’s driving everyone crazy that 60 provisions of the tax code expired last December 31 and 41 more are slated to expire this year,” said John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executives from the nation’s biggest corporations. 

“The government is underperforming,” he said.

Engler said CEOs in his association don’t have the “luxury of being able to say, ‘We’ll put this off until after we have an election, we’ll put this off until next year until we see who the new people will be.’ ” 

He added, “They cannot do that and don’t feel that’s appropriate if it’s being done in Washington.”

BRT's president sounded similar themes in a speech Monday before the Economic Club of Grand Rapids, Mich. From Michigan Radio: "Former Governor Engler: No kicking the can":

Engler says politicians have a lot of tough decisions to make to keep the U.S. competitive globally. That includes decisions on energy and education; but most importantly, he says, decisions about the tax code and the federal deficit. Engler says those decisions need to made as quickly as possible.

“The alternative is unthinkable. And there will be a day of reckoning and the longer we put this off the harder it gets to make the decision,” Engler said to a gathering of the Economic Club of Grand Rapids Monday. Engler said lawmakers need to make long-term decisions about the tax code instead of one time quick fixes he says only add uncertainty for U.S. businesses.

Engler appeared on WJRW for an 8 minute interview earlier in the day. Audio here.

 

And here's a segment from WOOD Channel 8, Grand Rapids.

Engler: DC is the economic problem: woodtv.com

UPDATE (11:20 a.m., Thursday, April 19, 2012) From National Journal's Influence Alley, "Engler to Congress: Get Busy"

 Business Roundtable president John Engler has been making the rounds, blasting Congress for procrastinating on major issues in media appearances and speeches.

"CEOs don't have the luxury of saying, 'Oh, we'll deal with that after the next election,'" Engler, the former governor of Michigan, said in a speech to the Economic Club of Grand Rapids, Michigan on Monday.

Echoing many in the business community, he has been criticizing Congress for allowing tax and regulatory uncertainty to persist while lawmakers sit on their hands. He acknowledged that comprehensive tax reform isn't likely to happen before November, but said that American businesses and the economy are hurting as lawmakers keep kicking the can down the road.

"Something that can't wait is action on the 60 tax provisions that expired at the end of 2011, and the 41 tax provisions expiring at the end of this year," he said in Grand Rapids. "How can any business plan for investment or hiring when no one knows what the tax code even looks like?"