Entitlement reform a priority: U.S. Chamber

Controlling spending and reforming Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are among the top priorities the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will address this year, Tom Donohue, the group's president and CEO, said in his annual “State of American Business” address Thursday in Washington.

As the organization celebrates its 100th anniversary, Donohue said the state of American business is improving, but it's doing so “weakly, slowly and insufficiently to put our nation back to work.” He then identified five priority areas the chamber will focus on this year: producing American energy and rebuilding the country's infrastructure; expanding trade, investment and tourism; advancing regulatory and legal reform; developing an innovation agenda; and, finally, controlling spending and reforming entitlements.

“Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security are the principal drivers of this runaway spending,” he said in his speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters. “It's not malicious. It just happens. They already consume over 55% of all federal outlays, and, without reform, they will soon consume the total budget of the United States of America,” he continued. “All of us need to face the fundamental reality that the only way to continue these programs—and provide them for the people that expect them and need them—is to make constructive changes and do it now.”

In a news conference after Donohue's speech, R. Bruce Josten, executive vice president for government affairs, said addressing chronic disease, investing in technology, and moving to a more coordinated system of healthcare delivery are all examples of constructive changes the U.S. Chamber supports. Meanwhile, Donohue emphasized that changes to Medicare and Medicaid can be incremental.

“I think the fundamental issue is we have to back away from the position that politicians all over this country have that says: ‘We are not going to change anything about any entitlement program, so help us God.' Well, if you don't, it's going to go away when it hits tilt,” Donohue told reporters. “We can fix these systems by adjustments, not by massive changes,” he added. “We can make adjustments in age, we can adjustments in payments. You can make adjustments in requirements of who has to do what in the system, and I think you can get there pretty quickly.”