Washington – At its quarterly CEO meeting today, Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of leading U.S. companies, announced the release of its Roadmap for Growth, a holistic plan to return America to long-term economic growth, create jobs and position the United States as a global leader in the 21st century. The plan offers solutions from America’s top business leaders in five key policy areas – fiscal policy, market access, education, regulation and energy – that must be addressed comprehensively in order for large and small companies to drive a robust and sustainable recovery for all Americans.

“To jumpstart our economy and position America for long-term success, we must foster the ability of American businesses to drive innovation and prosperity,” said Andrew N. Liveris, Chairman and CEO of The Dow Chemical Company. “America’s dynamic business sector has the knowledge, experience and grit to drive unprecedented economic growth and job creation, but we need support from policymakers in Washington. The Roadmap for Growth comprises data-driven solutions to renew American prosperity.”

Business Roundtable CEOs are meeting with members of Congress and the Administration to brief them on the Roadmap’s recommendations. The CEOs plan to continue working collaboratively in the coming months with leaders of both parties to identify specific policy actions that will foster a favorable environment for sustained recovery and job growth.

“Congress and the Administration must bring clarity and focus to the legislative agenda in order to enable businesses to do what they do best – create jobs and drive growth. The policy prescriptions contained in the Roadmap will help move discussions forward,” said Ivan G. Seidenberg, Chairman of Business Roundtable and Chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications.

While technically out of recession, the U.S. economy continues to struggle with sluggish GDP growth and sagging consumer and business confidence. Nearly one in 10 U.S. workers is unemployed, and more than 17 percent are underemployed. At the same time, public debt is set to rise to 100 percent of GDP within a decade and overwhelm future growth.

Business Roundtable’s Roadmap for Growth outlines data-driven recommendations for policy changes in five important areas:

• Fiscal Policy: Redesign the corporate tax system to promote investment and strengthen U.S. competitiveness in the international economy, and undertake significant reforms to reduce government spending before the American economy is swallowed by debt.
• Market Access: Pass all pending free trade agreements and aggressively pursue more to increase America’s exports.
• Education: Invest in programs that focus on performance and encourage innovation – such as Race to the Top – and place a stronger emphasis on math and science education to promote a competitive and well-educated 21st century American workforce.
• Government Regulation: Re-evaluate wide-ranging financial, environmental and health care regulations to ensure they promote the greatest possible measure of competition, choice and growth.
• Energy and the Environment: Invest in a comprehensive suite of new energy technologies and expand access to traditional sources to simultaneously advance America’s environmental, economic and energy security interests.

“The private sector – with its technology, expertise and capital – is the engine that will drive the recovery our nation so desperately needs. We look forward to continuing our work with leaders on both sides of the aisle to quickly enact the policies that will incentivize America’s small and large businesses to get Americans back to work and get the economy back on track,” said Liveris.

Click here to learn more about Business Roundtable’s Roadmap for Growth.