CEOs Press Congress, Obama White House to ‘Do Everything They Can to Promote Predictability’

An economic outlook released by the Business Roundtable on Sept. 15 found that CEOs are cautious about the economy’s near-term prospects. Also, those top executives are scaling back business plans for capital investment over the next six months.

The outlook’s index, which is a composite index of CEO plans for the upcoming six months of sales, capital spending and employment, decreased from 81.3 in the second quarter of 2015 to 74.1 in the third quarter of 2015.

“As the survey highlights, volatility and economic uncertainty continue to impact business leaders when making investments and hiring decisions. And this means, we’re encouraging Congress and the administration to do everything they can to promote predictability and to spur investment,” Randall Stephenson, chairman of the Business Roundtable and chairman and CEO of AT&T, told reporters Sept. 15.

“These are the keys to unlocking economic expansion and job growth,” Stephenson added.

The group’s members, such as Transport Topics Top 100 companies FedEx Corp. and UPS Inc., are scheduled to meet with congressional lawmakers this week to urge them to avoid a shutdown of the federal government, and to approve tax reform policies this year. Funding for the current fiscal year expires Sept. 30.

John Engler, the group’s president, added that he expects Congress to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, which expired over the summer. The group wrote congressional leaders on Sept. 14 calling for the bank’s reauthorization. The bank was established to help national firms finance exports through lending assistance.

“In the face of fierce foreign competition, it is critical for Congress to restore a level playing field for U.S. companies and workers by reauthorizing Ex-Im Bank,” they wrote. “Reauthorizing Ex-Im Bank would help expand U.S. exports, generate and sustain American manufacturing and jobs, and grow the U.S. economy, at very little risk to U.S. taxpayers.”