Global Innovation Policy Center

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a letter sent to President Obama and every member of Congress, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today unveiled its detailed jobs plan and called on leaders to take immediate action to create jobs for 25 million Americans who are unemployed, underemployed, have given up looking for work, or are new entrants to the workforce.

“Just about everyone in Washington has a jobs plan these days, but we need to separate the rhetoric from the commonsense proposals that will produce results,” said Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber. “Americans aren’t interested in empty promises or temporary, artificial government jobs that won’t last but will add to the deficit. We’ve come up with a plan based on practical, private sector ideas that can be turned into action items to spur faster job growth immediately.”

“Time and again, Americans have heard Congress and the administration declare that creating jobs must be the nation’s highest priority. If they are serious about that, they should enact policies aimed at growing the private sector. Our plan gives Congress and the president a good place to start—right away,” Donohue added.

In addition to urging members of Congress and the president to take action on its six-point plan in the letter, the Chamber also mobilized its network of members and grassroots supporters to push lawmakers to act immediately. This includes launching a nationwide print, online, and social media ad blitz, engaging the Chamber’s multi-million member grassroots network, and leveraging the strength of state and local chambers of commerce.

The letter to the president and Congress outlines specific, practical steps to help quickly create new jobs by:

Expanding trade and global commerce

• Passing three pending free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama could create 380,000 jobs;
• Modernizing export controls and could help create 340,000 jobs;
• Expand U.S. exports by advancing the Trans-Pacific Partnership and initiate trade talks with the EU, our largest commercial partner, to eliminate all barriers to goods traded with Europe;
• Protect 19 million IP-related jobs by cracking down on rogue websites and passing patent reform legislation.

Producing more American energy

• Opening up offshore resources could help create 144,700 jobs;
• Expanding access to federal lands for oil and gas exploration could add 530,000 new jobs;
• Promoting development of natural gas in resource-rich shale would create 116,000 jobs (in Pennsylvania alone);
• Approve the Keystone XL pipeline connecting Canadian oil fields to refineries in Texas, a project that would support 250,000 jobs.

Speeding up infrastructure projects

• Pass surface transportation, aviation, and water resource bills to enable communities to plan, hire, and prevent layoffs;
• Remove documented obstacles to 351 stalled energy projects, which could help create 1.9 million jobs annually;
• Removing impediments to private capital could add 1.9 million new jobs over 10 years;
• Fully implement the Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPC) Program, which could create 35,000 jobs a year.

Welcome tourists and business visitors to the United States

• Remove the hassle factor by expanding the visa waiver program and streamlining the visa application process;
• Promote American destinations and restore the U.S. share of the travel market to its 2000 level, which could help create 1.3 million jobs by 2020.

Streamlining permitting and provide regulatory certainty and relief

• Get job-creating projects moving;
• An executive order prohibiting discretionary regulations with a substantial economic impact would give businesses certainty and help spur hiring;
• Take up to $1 trillion in accumulated private capital off the sidelines and into business expansion by eliminating uncertainty caused by burdensome regulations.

Pass job-creating tax incentives

• Implementing a repatriation holiday and could lead to 2.9 million jobs over two years;
• Create a corporate capital gains tax window in order to free up capital for investment and job creation.

Read the Chamber’s detailed six point plan for job creation at www.uschamber.com/jobs.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.