In the past few months, the Business Roundtable has sent a clear message to Washington with a successful multi-million dollar campaign to push back on corporate tax increases. But while companies are messaging around societal issues like climate change, racial equity, and voting rights, they are not backing their words up with action, particularly now, when we are presented with a once-in-a-decade opportunity to support federal legislation addressing these challenges. The authors recommend that 1) the Business Roundtable lead a large-scale campaign to support the most ambitious climate provisions in the Biden administration’s proposed budget, and 2) that the business community support critical legislation to shore up U.S. voting and election systems.
Over the past 18 months, America has experienced unprecedented tumult: a global pandemic, an economic recession, a contentious presidential election, the violent siege of the U.S. Capitol, and restrictive voting laws in multiple states. The U.S. has seen a decline in quality of life since 2011, according to a rigorous analysis from the Social Progress Index. The American Dream we have long cherished is at risk. And despite continued economic growth, the environment for business has eroded.
Most disappointing in this era of government inaction is the lack of conviction to drive solutions from the business community. Business’ public messaging has shifted dramatically in recent years, with much more emphasis on societal issues like climate change, racial equity, and voting rights. Yet today, when we are presented with a once-in-a-decade opportunity to support federal legislation addressing these challenges, business leaders are not backing up their words with action.
While business has been absent on climate and election legislation, America’s most prominent business group — the Business Roundtable, which represents approximately 200 CEOs — has demonstrated its influence in driving results in Washington when it puts its muscle behind it. In the past few months, the Business Roundtable led a successful multi-million dollar campaign to push back on corporate tax increases, deploying CEOs for press opportunities, directly lobbying lawmakers, and investing in significant media buys. The campaign sent a clear message to leaders in Washington: Tax rates are non-negotiable, and the Business Roundtable’s support is contingent on your policy position.
Why not send this same non-negotiable message on climate and preserving democracy?
The good news, however, is that it’s not too late. In the weeks ahead, business has an unprecedented opportunity to be part of the solution in a crucial moment as the reconciliation bill, major infrastructure bill, and election bills make their way through Congress. The Business Roundtable can prove once again that American business is serious about responding to urgent climate and democracy risks. And this type of action is certainly not unprecedented. In 2006, Walmart CEO Lee Scott was among a group of leading CEOs who vigorously supported Congress’ renewal of the Voting Rights Act, recognizing that equal access to voting was essential for his employees and customers. It passed with bipartisan support and was signed by President Bush. In November 2020, industry associations and CEOs were unified in their support for the legitimacy of the presidential election results and condemnation of the subsequent insurrection. A peaceful transfer of power occurred to President Biden on January 20, 2021.
What would such leadership look like now?
First, the Business Roundtable can lead a large-scale campaign to support the most ambitious climate provisions in the administration’s proposed budget. This would align with its historical support for evidence-based climate policies, such as carbon pricing, that reward climate progress. We cannot underestimate the importance of getting this right. The last time Congress had an opportunity to address climate change was more than a decade ago, when a climate bill failed in Washington by the slimmest of margins. Inaction now would solidify profound environmental risks in the decades ahead. And as global leaders gather in Scotland for the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, failure to address climate change would further undermine America’s credibility and stall climate efforts globally.
Second, the business community can support critical legislation to shore up our voting and election systems, the centerpiece of which is the Freedom to Vote Act compromise legislation advanced by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. This pragmatic bill, aimed to standardize our current state-by-state patchwork system, would ensure every American can participate in elections and prevent future efforts to foster election violence or discredit legitimate elections by insulating results from partisan actors. We are facing risks to our democracy unprecedented in our nation’s history — the U.S. has been downgraded from a full democracy to a flawed democracy by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index, one-third of Americans believe President Biden won as the result of voter fraud, and Americans’ trust in government has slipped to 24%. This bill will be an important first step to repairing the system and our trust in it.
A shift away from the traditional way business wields political influence is also long overdue, and the need for a change doesn’t just arise from the policy frustrations of the moment. Our decades of research and experience have shown that government alone is unable to effectively respond to our current challenges, with partisanship as a major barrier to consensus and solutions. If CEOs continue lobbying only in their short-term self-interest, not only will America’s competitiveness suffer, it will prove that business’ role in Washington is business as usual — and that CEOs don’t deserve the relatively high trust Americans have in business compared to our other institutions.
Stepping out ahead on these issues takes courage. Many of the executives we speak with are deeply concerned with the failure of our politics and want to deliver on the expectations of their employees. However, CEOs are also fearful of partisan fights and are increasingly wary of political retribution, a disturbing tactic that we see routinely deployed by autocratic governments and political leaders which we never would have imagined would occur in the U.S. In April, legislators in Georgia threatened Delta with new taxes after it came out in opposition to a restrictive voting rights bill. That same month, Florida Senator Marco Rubio threatened to cancel Sodexo’s food service contract when its leadership supported voting rights legislation. These incidents underscore the urgency for the business community to take a united stand.
Failure to reach an agreement today on badly needed legislation where the U.S. has been lagging could send our nation down a dangerous path of polarization, environmental crisis, and even a crisis of constitutional legitimacy. Bold innovation by business has long been a source of American competitiveness. Now we must summon our courage, and apply the same innovation in business engagement in policy and politics. The stakes for America couldn’t be higher.