WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and 20 business leaders worked through lunch Wednesday on ways to boost anemic U.S. job creation and improve their own testy relations amid rising anxiety over the slow economic recovery.
The president said he wants ideas from business
leaders on how to "seize the promise of this moment."
The closely watched session represents something of
a reset for the president as he seeks common ground with a business community
that has bristled over the administration's approach to health care, financial
regulations and executives' bonuses.
With unemployment at 9.8 percent and weak home
prices and tight credit placing a drag on growth, the president was looking to
shake loose more than $1.9 trillion in untapped corporate cash to help the
recovery.
Agenda items included an overhaul of the tax
system, ways to ease regulations on business and greater private sector
investments.
A priority for business leaders is altering or eliminating
regulations they believe are creating uncertainty and hindering growth, a step
White House officials say Obama is open to considering.
The policy climate for Obama-business relations has
changed since the November elections altered the balance of power in the
capital, giving Republicans control of the House.
In recent weeks, Obama announced a new trade
agreement with South Korea that corporate leaders applauded and negotiated a
tax deal with Republicans that included new business investment incentives. The
Senate passed that measure on Wednesday.
No major announcements were expected from the
session. But Obama's outreach meets the White House's goal of sharpening his
image as a president willing to reach out to former antagonists, a move that
has angered liberals but could resonate with independent voters.
The office of House Republican leader John Boehner
issued a statement calling the session a "nothingburger," arguing
that previous attempts had not resulted in any business-friendly policies.
"The White House's 'olive branches' to the
business community are more like twigs, really," the statement said.
In his comments, Obama pushed his agenda of
investment in education, cleaner energy sources and high-speed rail. And he
spoke of making a firmer stand in Washington on fiscal discipline, an area
where Congress and White House have long made promises but with little result.
Overall, Obama said the path to economic growth is
clear, and he added: "I'm committed to taking that path. I know America's
business leaders are as well."
The president joined the CEO group a short walk
from the White House grounds across Pennsylvania Avenue at the Blair House,
better known as guest quarters for visiting dignitaries.
Some of the executives are Obama backers and members
of White House advisory boards who have worked with the administration for some
time.
Among them are Penny Pritzker, a Chicago business
executive who served as finance chair of Obama's presidential campaign, and
Robert Wolf of UBS, a member of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory
Board, an Obama golfing partner and a Democratic fundraiser.
Others scheduled to attend are well known to the
president, including American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault, Cisco Systems CEO
John Chambers and Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
But there are past critics in the group, too. Jeff
Immelt, CEO of General Electric, has complained that "government and
entrepreneurs are not in sync." And he has called for progress in shaping
an energy policy. "Our policy is uncertainty," he said in June.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, released from
the hospital days ago after undergoing treatment for a kidney stone, was
expected to participate, too.
"We have to be competitive, and the private
sector needs to stand up," said Austan Goolsbee, the chairman of the White
House Council of Economic Advisers. "There is opportunity perhaps in the
fact that the corporate sector has begun to rebound and there is cash on their
balance sheets."
Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said some
companies are recovering, others are waiting for demand to increase and others
are "looking for some certainty in the regulatory environment."
Wednesday's meeting comes as the business sector has tempered its past criticism. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue has said his organization wants to cooperate with the administration, as it did on the recent South Korea trade agreement.
Copyright
2010 The Associated Press.
