White House extends open hand to CEO

WASHINGTON, July 13 (UPI) -- The White House is trying to bridge differences with a Verizon official charging the administration is creating a poor environment for U.S. business, aides say.

In a letter to Verizon Chief Executive Officer Ivan Seidenberg, who also leads the Business Roundtable, President Barack Obama's senior adviser, Valerie Jarrett, said the administration looked forward to ongoing discussions with Seidenberg on business regulations, The Hill reported Tuesday.

"While we may disagree on some issues, we have an open door and are always willing to consider input and ideas from everyone, including the business community," Jarrett wrote in the letter sent Monday. "We can all agree that when lax or poorly crafted regulations contribute to problems such as the financial crisis, or the oil spill, ultimately America's businesses and economy suffer."

The White House has been fighting the business community's charges that the administration's policies and regulations are anti-business. Seidenberg exacerbated the situation last month during a speech to the Economic Club when he spoke of a divide between Washington and business that he said hampered the economy and job creation, the Washington publication said.

"By reaching into virtually every sector of economic life, government is injecting uncertainty into the marketplace and making it harder to raise capital and create new businesses," Seidenberg said in his remarks.