Washington ? Ford president and CEO Alan Mulally called a meeting with President Barack Obama and other business leaders "constructive" as policymakers work to avert a fiscal showdown.
Mulally and other CEOs including the chiefs of GE, Xerox, Proctor & Gamble, Wal-Mart, Dow Chemical and American Express met with Obama for over an hour at the White House, along with Vice President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.
Unless Congress acts, the Bush era tax cuts expire on Dec. 31, and $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts to defense and domestic programs over 10 years take effect - called the "fiscal cliff."
Obama wants to get a deal done before year's end, he said.
"I think the president is very committed to (reaching) a solution to the fiscal cliff," Mulally said.
Mulally declined to discuss what he said during the meeting.
"We focused on what we all can do together to find a solution to the fiscal cliff but also to continue to create an environment where we can continue to enhance economic development," Mulally told The Detroit News in an interview outside the White House after the meeting. "I was honored to participate. It was a very very constructive meeting."
Asked if he was worried about the financial uncertainty impacting auto sales, Mulally didn't directly answer. "We're focused on the solution," Mulally said.
Xerox CEO Ursula Burns ? who also attended the meeting - told reporters that business wants a compromise deal.
"This is all about trying to make American business more competitive, trying to have a fair, balanced approach to tax reform, to spending," she said, saying she is confident a deal will be reached.
Some business leaders arrived at the White House early to watch Obama's East Room press conference on television. The meeting began at 2:15 p.m. with administration economic officials and the president joined the meeting just before 3 p.m.
dshepardson@detnews.com
(202) 662-8735
Source: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121114/POLITICS03/211140455/1361/rss41
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