(INDIANAPOLIS) -- Indiana Chamber of Commerce President Kevin Brinegar offers his reaction to President Barack Obama's speech on jobs:

"It is always encouraging to hear our national leaders support needed improvements to our transportation infrastructure and job training programs that will help put more people back to work. Disappointment, however, is the only way to describe several of the other outlined proposals. These include adding to our already monumental budget deficit, direct stimulus-style assistance to state and local governments that largely failed in 2009 and further expansion of unemployment benefits when the goal for everyone needs to be helping return employees to the payroll."

Brinegar adds that the Indiana Chamber fully supports practical ideas with a more immediate and lower-cost impact that were presented earlier this week by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Among them:

• Expanding trade and global commerce by passing pending free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. 
• Letting American energy workers responsibly develop all sources of domestic energy by opening up offshore resources, expanding access to federal lands for oil and gas exploration and approving the Keystone XL pipeline.
• Speeding up infrastructure projects by passing a multi-year highway bill with adequate funding to enable states and communities to plan projects, hire employees and prevent layoffs. 
• Streamlining permits and providing regulatory certainty and relief. The president should issue an executive order prohibiting agencies from issuing discretionary regulations that would have a substantial economic impact - until the economy improves.
• Passing job-creating tax incentives without adding to the deficit via a repatriation holiday - reducing taxes on profits earned overseas - and reduction in the capital-gains tax rate.
• Welcoming tourists and business visitors by expanding the visa waiver program and reforming the visa application process to ensure consistent, fair and timely procedures without compromising security.

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The Indiana Chamber of Commerce is the state's largest broad-based business advocacy and information organization, representing nearly 5,000 member companies that employ 800,000 Hoosier workers.