The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Thursday warned Congress: Businesses are “fed up” with gridlock.
The nation’s largest business lobbying group made it clear, during its annual conference, that corporate America wants results out of a divided legislative branch, encouraging bipartisan breakthroughs on immigration, permitting, the debt ceiling and other key issues.
The message comes as lawmakers worry that the Senate and House will struggle to reach consensus on must-pass spending bills, let alone bolder legislative efforts.
“The polarization, the gridlock, the overreach, and the inability to act smartly and strategically for our future is making it harder for all of us to do our jobs, fulfill our roles, and move this country forward,” U.S. Chamber CEO Suzanne Clark said.
Business lobby fears debt ceiling crisis
The debt limit came up throughout the Chamber’s conference, highlighting the business community’s concern about the prospect of a historic default that would devastate the U.S. economy.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has pledged to couple any debt limit increase with spending cuts as part of his agreement with GOP opponents to win the gavel, raising the risk of a dangerous standoff later this year.
“We had dinner with a bunch of business leaders and our board members last night talking about their priorities. And there was fear, empathic emotion around the need to not default on our debt, to not play chicken with the true faith and credit of the United States,” Clark told reporters.
Still, Chamber officials said they share Republicans’ concerns about the national debt and pointed to potential overhauls to entitlement programs.
“This isn’t some binary choice. We can find a way though bipartisan solutions for both, and the consequences for failing to do so have to be unacceptable to everyone,” Neil Bradley, the Chamber’s top lobbyist, told reporters.
The U.S. is rapidly closing in on its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit. As soon as this month, the Treasury Department will have to take “extraordinary measures” to free up cash and pay borrowers, measures that will likely last until July or August.
In an interview with the Chamber’s Evan Jenkins, a former GOP congressman, Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio) called his caucus’s debt limit strategy “disconcerting.”

Thehill