Business Roundtable applauds President Bush's bold State of the Union
agenda
2 February 2005
WASHINGTON. Business Roundtable President John J. Castellani hailed
President Bush's State of the Union address this evening, saying it promoted
innovative, pro-growth approaches that will benefit all Americans.
"The President's speech articulated the right agenda, at the right time,
for the right reasons —to grow this economy and safeguard the economy in the
future," said Castellani.
"Our highest priority is fostering strong economic growth that will
result in more jobs for American workers, and the President spoke to that
goal."
Castellani noted that several of the President's priorities resonated
with those outlined by the Roundtable:
"We are focused, as is the President, in reducing costs to business and
consumers by curbing lawsuit abuse," he said. "This abuse costs our economy
$246 billion per year, and has increased a hundredfold over the past 50
years. The real tragedy is that those harmed get less than 50 cents on the
dollar in today's court system.
"We will work to strengthen the financial security of our nation's
retirees by reforming Social Security, which is safe for current seniors but
is in danger for future generations. The Roundtable believes that reforms
should strengthen Social Security's long-term financial foundation, protect
benefits for current retirees and those near retirement, and provide the
option of personal accounts to younger workers.
"We look forward to improvement in the health care marketplace through
successful implementation of the Medicare Modernization Act, through
improving information technology and creating incentives for disease
protection and wellness.
"These priorities — and efforts to continue to strengthen the education
of our nation's students, improve homeland security, and preserve and
protect the environment — are critical components of a strong and
competitive U.S. economy. We look forward to working with the Administration
and Congress on these important objectives."
Business Roundtable (www.businessroundtable.org/)
is an association of chief executive officers of leading corporations with a
combined workforce of more than 10 million employees in the United States
and $4 trillion in revenues. The chief executives are committed to
advocating public policies that foster vigorous economic growth and a
dynamic global economy.
Source: Business Roundtable
CONTACT: Tita Freeman of Business Roundtable, +1-202-496-3269, or
+1-202-368-2883
Website:
www.businessroundtable.org/
The full State of the Union address:
www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2005/index.html
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