Council on Competitiveness Releases CEOs Proposals to Bolster U.S. Manufacturing Sector

Three Dozen Chief Executives from America's Leading Companies Deliver Vision of Economic Recovery

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Three dozen CEOs from America's leading companies outlined their insights and recommendations for the future of the U.S. manufacturing sector in a report released today by the Council on Competitiveness.

Ignite 1.0: Voice of American CEOs on Manufacturing Competitiveness, unveiled by the Council at a media event on Capitol Hill, is a summary of interviews with the chief executives from America's top companies, including Deere & Company, Dow Chemical Company, DuPont, Ford Motor Company and Lockheed Martin Corporation. The companies participating in the study represent nearly $1 trillion in annual revenue and employ hundreds of thousands of American workers.

"We need to develop a holistic vision and inspirational goals for the future, understand our prosperity is tightly linked to our ability to make things, energize people around that vision, that understanding, and those goals, and then go out and manufacture our future - and the future of our grandchildren – together," the report says.

Ignite 1.0 features specific recommendations over a broad set of topics that include energy policy, capital costs and U.S. education in science and technology. The report indicates that CEOs support investments in a balanced energy portfolio, enhanced tax credits for scientific research and a greater emphasis on performance-based STEM education programs.

"America's manufacturing sector is facing unprecedented challenges that must be addressed before the country can experience a robust and widespread economic recovery," said Council President & CEO Deborah Wince-Smith. "This report articulates a short-term strategy, driven by America's business leaders, which will create the right environment for manufacturing firms to create growth and jobs in the United States."

The document is the first in a three-part Ignite series to be released by the Council's U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative (USMCI). The initiative will draw insights from university presidents and labor leaders in the second and third installments in the series. The USMCI is focused on developing a comprehensive National Manufacturing Strategy to deliver to Congress and the Administration at a national summit in December 2011.

The Council on Competitiveness is a leadership organization comprised of CEOs, university presidents and labor leaders working to ensure U.S. prosperity. The Council has one goal: to strengthen America's competitive advantage by acting as a catalyst for innovative public policy solutions that address America's major competitive challenges and capitalize on its unique strengths.

SOURCE Council on Competitiveness