U.S. Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Tom Donohue unveiled a wide-ranging plan to create jobs through boosting domestic energy production, reforming the tax and entitlement systems and slashing red tape facing the private sector.
Delivering his annual State of American Business address, Donohue scoffed at suggestions that the country’s slow comeback from the 2008 economic crisis is owed purely to the severity of the recession.
“Misguided government policies have also slowed our growth and cost Americans a lot of jobs, and a lot of raises,” Donohue said.
Donohue called for enactment of a sweeping immigration reform, and the repeal or replacement of major provisions of the Affordable Care Act and Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law.
He vowed to use the Chamber’s political operation to advance its agenda in the election year, putting lawmakers on notice that it will reserve is considerable clout for those who support business-friendly policies.
“In primaries and in the general election, we will support candidates who want to work within the legislative process to solve the nation’s problems — and who understand that business is not the problem, business is a big part of the solution,” he said.