Transportation is front and center in the minds of our legislators, business leaders, workforce, and families all across the state. A robust and well-maintained surface transportation network - including roads and bridges, public transit and rail systems - has been essential to America's economic success and dynamism. Growing frustration continues to mount as bipartisan solutions have been elusive. Colorado's population continues to swell and our congestion woes mount. Studies estimate traffic congestion cost Americans $124 billion, a number projected to rise to $185 billion by 2030. By 2030, the average American household is expected to incur traffic-related costs of $2,301 per year, a 33% increase compared to 2013. 

If you are like me and follow news about the internet, you have no doubt seen the screaming headlines about net neutrality and the Federal Communications Commission. Contrary to what made those headlines so clickable, the FCC did not radicially change how the internet operates. Rather, the FCC did right by consumers by returning to the light-touch regulatory framework that allowed the internet to thrive from 1996-2015. That bipartisan light touch framework successfully protected consumers and governed the internet from its inception more than 20 years ago until 2015. Over the decades, the internet grew, innovation exploded, and the nation witnessed unprecedented investment. 

A recent study of the impact on the potential U.S. withdrawal from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) reported Colorado could lose $2.1 billion in business and tens of thousands of jobs. An analysis last November from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found similar economic impacts. 

The economic analysis came from the Business Roundtable, a Washington, D.C. - based group that includes chief executive officers of 23 of the nation's top companies. The roundtable's board is led by JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and includes members who represent three companies with Colorado ties: Stryker, Ball Corporation and Lockheed Martin. 

Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced that they are partnering on ways to address healthcare for their U.S. employees, with the aim of improving employee satisfaction and reducing costs. The three companies, which bring their scale and complementary expertise to this long-term effort, will pursue this objective through an independent company that is free from profit-making incentives and constraints. The initial focus of the new company will be on technology solutions that will provide U.S. employees and their families with simplified, high-quality and transparent healthcare at a reasonable cost. 

In statements around Tuesday's State of the Union Address, Business Roundtable emphasized policy priorities including tax reform, regulation, trade, infrastructure and immigration: 

Business Roundtable President & CEO Joshua Bolten previewed the address by highlighting the successes of tax and regulatory reforms and identified priorities around trade, infrastructure and immigration. Bolten also discussed the issues in a Bloomberg interview. 

The Chair of the Immigration Committee called on Congress to resolve disputes over immigration policy, starting with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program. "A bipartisan agreement on DACA has the real potential to end the gridlock on meaningful immigration reform," said Chuck Robbins, Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, Inc. 

Mike Burke, Chairman and CEO of AECOM and Chair of the Infrastructure Committee, said Business Roundtable was encouraged that President Trump made infrastructure a priority in his speech. "Congress must ultimately come up with a long-term solution to shore up federal trust funds that support highways, inland waterways and ports," Burke said. Burke also outlined infrastructure financing approaches in a lengthy Bloomberg TV interview. 

How Colorado's education standards and aligned assessments will help make young Coloradans work-force ready, military-eligible and crime-free.

What happens in our classrooms today will determine Colorado's future success. But some signs are troubling. For example, only 37 percent of Colorado 8th graders are proficient in math and just 38 percent are proficient in reading. If our young people are not well-educated, they will not be ready for college or careers, including careers in the military, and will be more likely to turn to crime. 

Morgan Stanley would like to share with you the recent investor Pulse Poll from Denver financial advisor Todd Hauer. Here are the three topics that are included in the op-ed. 

Registration is now open for the ReadyNation Global Business Summit on Early Childhood, November 1-2 in New York City. This event convenes business people, policymakers, funders and other leaders to learn how to strengthen the economy and workforce through investments in early childhood. This is the only business-to-business gathering that inspires and equips executives from companies of all sizes and industries to promote solutions that prepare young children to succeed. In addition, special pre-and post-conference sessions for non-U.S. participants will help them start developing networks of business champions in a variety of countries.