WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Wall Street Journal's first annual CEO Council -- with more than 100 CEOs and members of the U.S. Congress -- concluded today with the release of a prioritized list of issues facing the incoming administration and the new Congress.
To address the issues in depth, the group worked within four task forces. The task forces were charged with identifying and ranking the most urgent priorities within four issue areas -- finance and the U.S. economy, energy and the environment, health care, and America's role in the global economy.
The 18 priorities set -- in ranked order -- include:
* FISCAL STIMULUS: Quickly craft fiscal stimulus in the U.S. in cooperation with parallel efforts by G-20 countries, particularly cash-rich economies with capacity to increase domestic demand. For the U.S., stimulus should exceed $300 billion. Should emphasize investment in infrastructure, including environmental, education and low-carbon energy. Should not worsen the long-term budget deficit. Should avoid tax rebates and rely on more permanent tax cuts. Should use state and local government as a channel. * EDUCATED WORKFORCE: President-elect Obama should ask businesses to lead in the actions necessary to build a competitive workforce for the immediate and long term. Emphasis on improved K-12 education, intellectual capital creation. Enact national education standards and assessments, devote funds to teacher excellence, and improve teaching schools. * ECONOMIC VISION: President should announce economic team soon and convene conference to recommend immediate priorities and long-term policy direction. Make sure the President communicates a clear message about the direction of policy. Must include a program for long-term fiscal responsibility. * COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY/ENVIRO POLICY: Put national legislation in place that starts us on the road to decarbonize our economy and to create the most energy-efficient economy in the world. Level with the American people that ensuring an adequate and diverse energy supply in a low-carbon world will not be cheap and easy. But the transition must be transparent and fair to all Americans. This recognizes that linking the economy, the environment and energy policy bolsters security for all three. * LONG-TERM TAX POLICY: Change tax code to encourage employment, job creation, investment, and enhance global competitiveness. Consider raising taxes on gasoline and broadening corporate tax base to lower rates. * CORPORATE TAX RATE: Long-term, lower the corporate tax rate to increase American competitiveness. Avoid double taxing money coming into the U.S. from American earnings entering the U.S. Would level the playing field. Short-term, pro-competitive tax changes with immediate stimulative impact. Do not extend corporate tax to offshore earnings. Temporary tax reduction in repatriation earnings. Expense capital expenditures immediately. * DEFINE VALUE, REFORM PAYMENT: Change the reimbursement system to reward preventive care and evidence based care, and extend government efforts to no longer reimburse inappropriate, unnecessary or wasted care. Move Medicare to a pay-for-value model. Define and measure desirable outcomes for most common diseases. Include costs to government, private sector. Redistribute Medicare payments to favor physicians who perform well. To collect data, wire the nation's hospitals and doctor's offices, with government- set standards for interoperability. * EXPAND IMMIGRATION OPPORTUNITIES: Expand Visa and Greencard programs to allow talented foreign nationals who have studied in the U.S. to remain in the U.S. and to allow talent recruitment abroad. * NEW TRADE AGENDA: A new trade agenda will require enhancing U.S. competitiveness through investment in basic R&D, health care and education, a better social safety net at home, and a focus in negotiations on the fastest growing sectors. President-elect Obama should embrace and complete the Doha Round. Counters protectionism notion, displays U.S. leadership, more feasible to complete now. Lead WTO to undertake sectoral agreements. * TORT REFORM: Use the vaccine model to reform malpractice. * REGULATORY OVERHAUL: Appoint blue-ribbon panel to spend a year considering changes to financial regulation and supervision aimed at improving safety, transparency, and accountability. Implement them in first term of new administration while Treasury, Fed, other regulators focus on providing liquidity, re-capitalizing banking system, returning financial markets to normal functioning and improving credit conditions. Avoid overreaction to maintain global competitiveness. Reduce procyclicality in the regulatory and accounting regime. * FIGHT OBESITY: Use the bully pulpit to reduce the obesity epidemic to drive a prevention message. Go to restaurant associations, food marketers, churches and schools to change cultural issues that drive obesity. Make obesity the top priority for the surgeon general. Address race-based health disparities in obesity and other problems. * ELECTRIC CARS: Aim for electric cars to represent 10% of total car sales in 2020 and up to 50% in 2030. Provide long-term federal financing to facilitate the transition. Technological priorities improving battery technology and developing lighter-weight materials. * UNIVERSAL HEALTH INSURANCE: Enact comprehensive health-care reform, including universal access to affordable, quality care. * DECARBONIZE POWER SECTOR: A coordinated strategy to curb emissions from electricity production. For renewables, federal eminent domain to site transmission lines, and federal spending to improve energy-storage technology. For coal, to promote carbon capture and sequestration, boost federal R&D spending and streamline licensing and siting of storage facilities. For nuclear, resolve storage issues. Create a cap-and-trade system. * ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Change regulations to allow utilities to capitalize investments in energy efficiency rather than just adding generation capacity. Increase consumer incentives for purchasing energy-efficient technology. Create a federal building-efficiency code. Toughen federal appliance-efficiency standards. * BUILD HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE: Focus on primary care. Include registered nurses, nurse practitioners and allied professions, as well as medical doctors. Make sure there are enough professionals to support increased access. * BUY ILLIQUID ASSETS: Use remaining TARP money and possible additional spending to buy illiquid assets from financial institutions to provide a light at the end of the tunnel.
Also addressing the Journal's CEO Council tonight was Rahm Emanuel, the newly-appointed chief of staff for President-elect Barack Obama.
The CEO Council opened last night with a dinner session that included U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr., and two former U.S. Treasury Secretaries, Robert E. Rubin and Lawrence H. Summers.
A wrap-up of the CEO Council's first meeting will be covered in a Journal Report to be published on Nov. 24. For more information and a list of participants at The Wall Street Journal CEO Council, please visit http://ceocouncil.wsj.com.
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