Commerce chief: Energy a key to US success

U.S. economic growth requires big changes in the way the country handles energy, education, taxes and trade, the president of the US Chamber of Commerce said recently.

At the chamber's annual State of American Business event, Thomas Donohue laid out a series of steps that he said were among 300 policies it will issue in 2017.

“We must roll back many of the costly and excessive rules that are hampering economic growth," he said. "The regulatory system itself, which hasn’t been updated in 70 years, must also be reformed to promote smarter, more transparent regulation.”
 
He said energy should be a priority, and that the United States must consider all of the ways of harnessing it in order to lower energy costs, create jobs and increase national security. Other areas that he said needed major revisions are the American infrastructure, which needs to be modernized, and the outdated tax code, which he believes must be simplified.

"We believe that every American can unite around this mission because growth is the only way to achieve job creation, higher wages, and expanded opportunity for all," he said.