Council Asks New Administration For Action in First 100 Days to Recapture American Competitiveness

WASHINGTON—In a major press conference at the National Press Club Wednesday, November 11, the Council on Competitiveness—comprised of CEOs, university presidents and labor leaders—called for America’s new leaders to take bold action to recapture U.S. competitiveness. Chad Holliday, chairman of the Council and chairman and CEO of DuPont, called for an ambitious Compete Agenda that asks the government to transform its approach to workforce training, invest heavily in research and development, launch a national savings bond program to raise capitol for next-generation infrastructure and enact the Council’s 100 Day Action Plan on Energy.

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CompetePass: A personal, portable pass to new training and a new career. Give American workers the power to choose specific career paths, while the private sector and government team up to offer training opportunities that are both relevant and required.

CompeteNext: America needs to headline the next big idea, the next technology breakthrough or the next major innovation. Let us double the investment in basic and applied research across the federal government and triple the investment in energy-related research.

CompeteBonds: America needs next generation infrastructure—Internet access in every community, high-speed mass transit and a coast-to-coast electric interstate superhighway. The Department of the Treasury can establish CompeteBonds to help our citizens save and invest in their own country at the same time. If every American bought a $20 bond, we could raise $6 billion.

CompeteEnergy: Energy security is the key to America’s economic prosperity. The next administration needs to execute the Council's energy plan, published in Prioritize. A 100-Day Energy Action Plan for the 44th President of the United States, which includes accelerating the use of low-carbon energy solutions; building a smart, national electric grid; and taking advantage of federal research assets to enhance our energy revolution.

The Council’s Compete Agenda was issued by Holliday; Shirley Ann Jackson, vice chair of the Council and president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Susan Hockfield, president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Edward J. McElroy, president emeritus of American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO; and Deborah L. Wince-Smith, president of the Council on Competitiveness.