Business Roundtable

Washington – In a letter delivered to Congressional leaders and the White House today, Business Roundtable (BRT) Chairman Jim McNerney, Chairman, President and CEO of The Boeing Company, urged Congress to take action to address the critical fiscal and tax issues facing the United States, warning that “without effective action soon, this uncertainty will spawn a dangerous crisis, threatening our economy, businesses and workers.”

The letter outlines the concerns of America’s leading CEOs that the impact of continued uncertainty – caused by Congressional gridlock on tax and fiscal policy – is already putting a damper on U.S. growth and job creation.

These concerns are reflected in BRT’s recently-released Second Quarter CEO Economic Outlook Survey, in which BRT CEOs lowered their expectations for sales, capital spending and hiring over the next six months.

“The current political paralysis hindering principled compromise has fueled needless economic uncertainty that impedes a more robust economic recovery,” McNerney said.

“BRT CEOs, who represent $6 trillion in revenues and more than 14 million employees, are unified in believing that just the threat of America toppling over the ‘fiscal cliff’ is having a harmful economic impact.  Further delays in addressing the relevant issues will only increase the economy-chilling uncertainty,” he added.

Business Roundtable CEOs are urging Congress to build on the bipartisanship demonstrated in recent passage of the Transportation Bill, and not to wait until a post-election “lame duck” session of Congress to resolve differences on a variety of critical tax and fiscal policy issues. 

“Now is the time to act on the even more critical issues of tax reform, sequestration, and entitlement reform,” McNerney concluded.

BRT CEOs have outlined their vision for sound fiscal policy and competitive corporate tax reform in Taking Action for America: A CEO Plan for Jobs and Economic Growth, released earlier this year.

For more information on BRT’s tax and fiscal policy initiatives, visit: http://businessroundtable.org/committees/fiscal-policy/