Washington – Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten released the following statement ahead of President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress:

“The CEOs of America’s leading companies are committed to working with President Trump and Members of the 119th Congress to promote economic growth and expand opportunity for all Americans. Advancing sound economic policies is fundamental to achieving our shared, bipartisan goal.

“For Business Roundtable, that starts with extending and strengthening the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which helped level the playing field for U.S. companies, increase domestic business investment by 20% and create more than 500,000 new American jobs. We applaud the House for taking important steps toward extending President Trump’s signature tax legislation, and we encourage both chambers to find a path forward on a competitive, pro-growth package that makes the tax reforms permanent. 

“The cumulative burden of regulation is a major impediment to businesses’ ability to invest more at home, create American jobs and grow the U.S. economy. For the United States to be successful over the long run, we need to make significant regulatory reforms, including to our unwieldy permitting system. We encourage the Administration to scale back overreaching regulations and urge Congress to enact comprehensive permitting reforms, which would unlock greater investment in American manufacturing, infrastructure and energy production. 

“Business Roundtable supports the President’s goals of strengthening border security and restricting the flow of fentanyl into the country. As the work to further restrict the flow of fentanyl continues, we urge negotiators to redouble efforts to secure a path forward that swiftly removes the recently implemented tariffs. These tariffs, especially if they are long-lasting, run the risk of creating serious economic impact.


“Business Roundtable supports commonsense trade policies to open markets to U.S. exports, revitalize the domestic manufacturing base and de-risk supply chains. In the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), President Trump secured important new provisions to protect American jobs, bolster domestic manufacturing and strengthen the U.S. economy. Today, trade with Canada and Mexico supports more than 13 million American jobs and strengthens U.S. competitiveness globally. We call on the Administration and Congress to preserve the benefits of this critical trade deal. 

“America needs a workforce with the skills and training required for the in-demand jobs of today and tomorrow. Many Business Roundtable member companies are taking this challenge head on by hiring individuals based on skills and not just degrees, expanding apprenticeship programs and embracing second chance employment. Policymakers can complement these private-sector initiatives with reforms to the public workforce development system.

“Business Roundtable looks forward to partnering with the Administration and Congress on policies that will strengthen U.S. competitiveness, grow the economy and increase economic mobility.”