March 12, 2009
Excerpts from President Obama’s Remarks to the Business Roundtable
know this: throughout our history, there have been times when the market has fallen out of balance. There have been moments of economic transformation and upheaval when prosperity and even basic financial security have escaped far too many of our citizens. At these moments, government has stepped in not to supplant private enterprise, but to catalyze it — to create the conditions for thousands of entrepreneurs and new businesses to adapt and to thrive.
That’s why we laid down railroads and highways to spur commerce and industry. It’s why, even in the midst of civil war, Lincoln launched a Transcontinental railroad, and Land Grant colleges and the National Academy of Sciences. It’s why we initiated universal public high schools and passed a GI bill to nurture the skills and talents of all our workers. It’s why Eisenhower built an interstate highway system, and Kennedy pointed us to the moon, knowing that the exploration would lead to unimagined innovations here on Earth.
That is what we have done in the past. And that is why I’ve chosen to address education, energy, and health care in this budget — because we can’t wait to make the investments today that will lead to tomorrow’s prosperity.
Below is a list of CEOs expected to attend the Business Roundtable meeting with the President.
Stephen F. Angel, Praxair, Inc.
Alan L. Boeckmann, Fluor Corporation
Gregory H. Boyce, Peabody Energy Corporation
Gregory Q. Brown, Motorola, Inc.
Gary C. Butler, Automatic Data Processing, Inc.
Kenneth I. Chenault, American Express Company
James Cracchiolo, Ameriprise Financial
Alexander M. Cutler, Eaton Corporation
Michael T. Dan, The Brink’s Company
Daniel R. DiMicco, Nucor Corporation
James Dimon, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
John V. Faraci Jr., International Paper Company
G. Steven Farris, Apache Corporation
Eric C. Fast, Crane Co.
J. Brian Ferguson, Eastman Chemical Company
Daniel S. Fulton, Weyerhaeuser Company
James Goodnight, SAS Institute Inc.
William D. Green, Accenture
Evan G. Greenberg, ACE Limited
H. Edward Hanway, CIGNA Corporation
Lewis Hay III, FPL Group, Inc.
Edmund F. Kelly, Liberty Mutual Group
Jeffrey B. Kindler, Pfizer Inc
Ellen J. Kullman, DuPont
A.G. Lafley, The Procter & Gamble Company
John C. Lechleiter, Eli Lilly and Company
Steven F. Leer, Arch Coal, Inc.
Steven R. Loranger, ITT Corporation
Kathryn V. Marinello, Ceridian Corporation
Theodore A. Mathas, New York Life Insurance Co.
Michael B. McCallister, Humana Inc.
Charles G. McClure, ArvinMeritor, Inc.
William L. McComb, Liz Claiborne, Inc.
Bill McDermott, SAP
Harold McGraw III, The McGraw-Hill Companies
Charles W. Moorman, Norfolk Southern Corporation
Anne M. Mulcahy, Xerox Corporation
Ronald L. Nelson, Avis Budget Group, Inc.
Thomas C. Nelson, National Gypsum Company
George Nolen, Siemens Corporation
Marvin E. Odum, Shell Oil Company
Dinesh C. Paliwal, Harman International Industries, Inc.
Samuel J. Palmisano, IBM Corporation
Richard Parsons, Citi
Antonio M. Perez, Eastman Kodak Company
Bernard Poussot, Wyeth
Kendall J. Powell, General Mills, Inc.
James H. Quigley, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
David M. Ratcliffe, Southern Company
Matthew K. Rose, BNSF Railway Company
Wilbur L. Ross, WL Ross & Co. LLC
Edward B. Rust Jr., State Farm Insurance Companies
Dean A. Scarborough, Avery Dennison Corporation
Ivan G. Seidenberg, Verizon Communications
David B. Snow Jr., Medco Health Solutions, Inc.
Theodore M. Solso, Cummins Inc.
Lee J. Styslinger III, Altec, Inc.
Michael H. Thaman, Owens Corning
Kent J. Thiry, DaVita Inc.
Rex W. Tillerson, Exxon Mobil Corporation
James S. Turley, Ernst & Young, L.L.P.
Daniel C. Ustian, Navistar International