The President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness released its interim report to President Obama late Monday, "Taking Action, Building Confidence." (Full report, summary.) The Business Roundtable found much to like in the document, as highlighted in a statement from BRT President John Engler.

The council, chaired by Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE and a member of Business Roundtable's Executive Committee, identified five broad policies that members concluded could aid investment and hiring in the United States.

1. Measures to accelerate investment into job-rich projects in infrastructure and energy development;
2. A comprehensive drive to ignite entrepreneurship and accelerate the number and scale of young, small businesses and high-growth firms that produce an outsized share of America’s new jobs;
3. A national investment initiative to boost jobs-creating inward investment in the United States, both from global firms headquartered elsewhere and from multinational corporations headquartered here;
4. Ideas to simplify regulatory review and streamline project approvals to accelerate jobs and growth; and,
5. Steps to ensure America has the talent in place to fill existing job openings as well as to boost future job creation.

In a statement, BRT President John Engler said:

In infrastructure, energy development, technology, training and many other places, the Jobs Council report identified examples of where a slow and unresponsive federal government has hindered growth and hiring,” Engler continued. “Over-regulation and ineffective permitting discourage economic growth, and the Council has pointed out ways to overcome these obstacles.

At the same time, the Jobs Council recognized that the federal government can help create a climate that encourages private sector investment, research and development, and global opportunity.”

We trust the President and Congress will give the Council’s report the serious attention it warrants.
 

President Obama travels today to Pittsburgh to visit an excellent training program run by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and, reports indicate, promote his American Jobs Act. We trust the President will also give the Council's report the serious attention it warrants.