U.S. Chamber chief Donohue says Obama administration isn't 'anti-business'

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue said he didn't believe the Obama administration is "anti-business," even as he went after White House policies.

Republicans have tagged the White House as "anti-business" for working with Democrats in Congress to expand government and regulate the private sector. Donohue echoed similar policy critiques of the White House and Democrats in a speech Wednesday, but he told reporters there wasn't a battle between the Chamber, the business lobby group and the administration.

"We're not going there," Donohue said. "The president and his and gang have a job to do. We have a job to do."

Donohue said the Chamber is trying to get capital loosened up to bolster private economic activity.

In his speech, he called for a short-term extension of all of the Bush-era tax cuts, a reduction of the deficit in the long term, increased oil and gas drilling, approval of free trade deals and a halt to new energy regulations, all policies that have been favored by Republican leaders.

The Chamber and the White House have worked together before. Donohue and the Chamber backed the Obama administration's $862 billion stimulus last year, seeing it as necessary to boost the economy out of a deep recession. The White House said Wednesday that the spending and tax cut package has saved or created about 3 million jobs, about as many as it expected.

Donohue said while the stimulus hasn't done as well as he hoped it would do, he would still support it if he had to consider it again. He said another stimulus wasn't needed now, considering the other problems the country faces.