The United States Chamber of Commerce is pushing for legislative results this year even in a divided Congress, speakers at the 2023 State of American Business event stressed.
Speakers this year called for bipartisan breakthroughs on immigration, the issuing of permits, and the debt ceiling. Suzanne Clark, CEO of the U.S. Chamber, specifically highlighted how partisanship hurts small business owners.
"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," Clark stated.
The agenda Clark laid out appeared to mirror that of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., placing the southern border crisis, countering China, and reducing government spending as part of a debt limit deal at the forefront.
"We work all day long with House Republicans in every part of that conference. [I] sat next to House Republicans at dinner last night, talked to one on the way into work this morning," the CEO continued.
Neil Bradley, the chamber's top lobbyist, informed reporters that the group shared Republicans' concerns over the national debt and would be interested in working towards entitlement reform, according to The Hill.
However, "this isn't some binary choice," Bradley qualified. "We can find a way through bipartisan solutions for both, and the consequences for failing to do so have to be unacceptable to everyone."
Clark later told the press that she recently discussed a potential debt ceiling deal incorporating spending cuts with various business leaders. One of their top concerns, she noted, was the prospect of a default of the U.S. dollar.
"We had dinner with a bunch of business leaders and our board members last night talking about their priorities," she said. "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."
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