A meeting between White House Chief of Staff William Daley and manufacturing executives became a gripe session about administration policies, attendees said. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg |
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WASHINGTON, June 17 (UPI) -- A meeting between White House Chief of Staff William Daley and manufacturing executives became a gripe session about administration policies, attendees said.
National Association of Manufacturers members, in Washington to lobby lawmakers for looser industry regulations, aired their grievances on several issues, including environmental regulations and the lack of movement on free-trade agreements during their session with Daley, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
Session participants said the audience applauded when Massachusetts utility executive Doug Starrett accused the administration of blocking construction at one of his facilities to protect fish, saying government "throws sand into the gears of progress."
Daley, a former banker tasked by the Obama administration to build bridges with business, said he did not have many good answers, expressing some frustration at what he called "bureaucratic stuff that's hard to defend."
"Sometimes you can't defend the indefensible," he said.
Daley also provided frank assessments on issues of interest to the executives, the Post said.
Politics was proving to be a challenge in moving free-trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia forward, Daley said, suggesting there were "people who lose from these agreements" while urging businesses to lobby their workers to help overcome opposition on Capitol Hill.
Concerning an effort to lower the corporate tax rate, a key goal of business groups, Daley said "there are winners and losers," warning that some small businesses might face a tax increase.
