Wall Street Journal CEO Council Identifies Priorities for New Administration

Global Business Leaders Convene to Set Focus for Global Issues

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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