Speakers: Samuel J. Palmisano, CEO, IBM; David Cote, CEO, Honeywell; President Barack Obama.

Sam Palmisano: Mr. President, thank you for the opportunity to be here today, and I think you'll agree that across all of America and around the world, in boardrooms and cabinet rooms and kitchen tables, people are fixated on what's necessary to address the economic emergency.

There's a gathering global consensus that bold and aggressive steps are needed of both business and government working together to address what's required to move the worldwide economies.

In the past several years—excuse me, the past several days—I've been in contact with many of leaders in the corporate world—actually, I could have said in the past several years I've been in contact with many leaders in the corporate world—but I think there is a unanimous commitment in support of the president.

We all agree we need to reignite growth in our country. We know we must create jobs for the 21st century. And, therefore, we need to invest and to build the more modern and the more competitive infrastructure into the future.

There's clearly no reason, we believe, to undertake projects just for the sake of activity. We need to undertake projects that actually will create jobs and make our infrastructure, make our country much more competitive for the long-term.

So it is a balancing act between the short-term crisis and what we need to do for the long term.

We really believe all this is possible today for many reasons, because there's a convergence of factors, one being the technology itself, as well as the economic need we find ourselves in, in the current situation.

As a country, we have to compete in the world. Yes, it is flatter. Yes, it is smaller. But we would argue it's also smarter.

And today you'll see technology embedded in processes and systems, everything from environmental clean water to energy conservation to basic supply chains for all of business.

So the world does have a much smarter infrastructure, and therefore, the base to build for the future. It's there.

We are excited. I can't tell you how excited we are about the president's commitment to lead us to the future.

And the support for health I.T., the support in the area of smart grids, the support in the area of education and broadband, all those things are essential. They're essential in the short term, because in the research we've done, working with the transition team, we know that $30 billion could create a million jobs in the next 12 months. But it's also every bit as important because we touch so many factors in the ecosystem that'll create jobs for decades to come.

So we're honored to be here. I'm honored to be speaking on behalf of the business community. And I would just say that it's an imperative that business and government come together, we help the president get the package through, and we get to work. And we have a lot of work ahead of us.

So thank you for your time.

And now, led me introduce my colleague and good friend, David Cote from Honeywell.

(APPLAUSE)

David Cote: Honeywell is a company with about $37 billion in sales, about 60,000 employees in the U.S. We have operations around the world.

And you probably think of us as the thermostat business. Your little thermostat on the wall, that hopefully is a Honeywell. That's probably the way you think of us.

But at the end of the day, that's a very small business for us, less than 1 percent of our sales. And you should think of us as jet engines, the most sophisticated avionics in the world. Turbochargers that allow engines a third smaller than normal to produce the same power as a full-sized engine, using 25 percent less fuel, generating 25 percent less emission. Controls for all kinds of homes, buildings, factories, refineries.

So we touch a lot of parts of the economy and we get to see a lot of things around the world.

And I'd say the message has to be that the situation is dire. Economically, clearly the situation is dire. With small—some small exceptions—you can always find a company not touched by it—no company is immune.

And everybody's being touched by this

It's tough for everybody right now. There are few exceptions. Even if you feel you're going to do fine weathering the downturn, you have to think about your customers and your suppliers. Everybody's being affected.

The demand just isn't there. And there's incredible fear. Everybody's just so concerned about what's going to happen next that things are just walking up. And we need to do something to break that walkout.

You see companies doing all the things that they would do when they start to see demand fall: sales fall, hiring stops, layoffs begin, and expenses get cut everywhere—a bad dynamic for all of us, and all stemming from that lower demand.

We are very supportive of the reinvestment act. Our message would be: Needs to get done fast. We have to get this thing done quickly, and get it down—get it out there. A lot people have said it, and I think it's absolutely right. We can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. And we need to start investing for our future.

We very much appreciate an aggressive approach here, and think it makes a lot of sense. Getting money out fast to people who will spend it, and getting the velocity of the spend. And then the reinvestment, investment in the future of the country, whether it's infrastructure, energy efficiency, math and science, which is particularly important to us. All these things need to happen.

You look at energy efficiency, there are great strides that we can make in this country in energy efficiency. There are a number of solutions out there that are possible. And we just need to encourage people to do it. It improves our energy security. It just makes sense.

Math and science. We have to make math and science cool again in the U.S. It has to become cool. We need this—we have a desperate need for engineers. That's all math-and science-based. We need to make that cool again, it's one of the best investments we can make.

And now is not a time for the country to be timid. We need to get this thing done. I have great confidence; the business community has great confidence in our president to provide the direction and the leadership that is needed, in these tough times, to make it happen.

But he can't do it alone. The Congress, the American people, all of us as a business community—all of us have to help.

And, Mr. President, I can say that, for Honeywell, you can count on us and all of our employees to be there to help support this.

Now, it's my job, at this point, to introduce the president of the United States. And when I was asked to do it, I have to say, I thought, OK, so this guy has been watched for two years, every action, every hour, what can you possibly say?

So what I thought would make sense to do is just to say, Mr. President, we appreciate your leadership, the vitality that you're bringing to these tough times, that are needed, and I'd have to say, thank God you are not a timid man.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

President Obama: Thank you. Well, I want to thank Sam and David for their outstanding words. I want to thank all of you for being here today.

A few moments ago, I met with some of the leading business executives in the country. And it was a sober meeting. Because these companies and the workers they employ are going through times more trying than any that we've seen in a long, long while.

Just the other day, seven of our largest corporations announced they were making major job cuts. Some of the business leaders in this room have had to do the same.

And yet, even as we discussed the seriousness of this challenge, we left our meeting confident that we can turn our economy around.

But each of us, as they've indicated, are going to have to do our share. Part of what led our economy to this perilous moment was a sense of irresponsibility that prevails in Wall Street and in Washington. And that's why I called for a new era of responsibility in my inaugural address last week; an era where each of us chips in so that we can climb our way out of this crisis. Executives and factory floor workers; educators and engineers; health care professionals and elected officials.

As we discussed in our meeting a few minutes ago, corporate America will have to accept its own responsibilities to its workers and the American public. But these executives also understand that without wise leadership in Washington, even the best run businesses can't do as well as they might.

They understand that what makes and idea sound is not whether it's Democrat or Republican, but whether it makes good economic sense for their workers and companies. And they understand that when it comes to rebuilding our economy, we don't have a moment to spare.

The businesses that are shedding jobs to stay afloat—they can't afford inaction or delay. The workers who are returning home to tell their husbands and wives and children that they no longer have a job, and all those who live in fear that their job will be next on the cutting blocks, they need help now.

They are looking to Washington for action, bold and swift. And that is why I hope to sign an American Recovery and Reinvestment plan into law in the next few weeks.

Now most of the money that we're investing as part of this plan will get out the door immediately and go directly to job creation, generating or saving three to four million new jobs. And the vast majority of these jobs will be created in the private sector. Because, as these CEOs well know, business, not government, is the engine of growth in this country.

But even as this plan puts Americans back to work, it will also make the critical investments in alternative energy, in safer roads, better health care and modern schools that will lay the foundation for long-term growth and prosperity. And we'll invest in broadband and emerging technologies, like the ones imagined and introduced to the world by people like Sam and so many of the CEOs here today, because that's how America will retain and regain its competitive edge in the 21st century.

I know that there are some who are skeptical of the size and scale of this recovery plan, and I understand that skepticism, given some of the things that have happened in this town in the past.

That's why this recovery plan will include unprecedented measures that will allow the American people to hold my administration accountable. Instead of just throwing money at our problems, we'll try something new in Washington: We will invest in what works. Instead of politicians doling out money behind a veil of secrecy, decisions about where we invest will be made public, on the Internet, and will be informed by independent experts whenever possible.

And we will launch a sweeping effort to root out waste, inefficiency and unnecessary spending in our government.

And every American will be able to see how and where we spend taxpayer dollars by going to a new Web site called recovery.gov., because I firmly believe what Justice Louis Brandeis once said, that sunlight is the best disinfectant. And I know that restoring transparency is not only the surest way to achieve results, but also to earn back the trust in government without which we cannot deliver the changes the American people sent us here to make.

In the end, the answer to our economic troubles rests less in my hands, or in the hands of our legislators, than it does with America's workers and the businesses that employ them. They are the ones whose efforts and ideas will determine our economic destiny, just as they always have.

For in the end, it's businesses, large and small, that generate the jobs, provide the salaries, and serve as the foundation on which the American people's lives and dreams depend.

All we can do, those of us here in Washington, is to help create a favorable climate in which workers can prosper, businesses can thrive and our economy can grow.

And that is exactly what the recovery plan I've proposed is intended to do, and that's exactly what I intend to achieve soon.

Thank you very much for being here.

(APPLAUSE)