The U.S. business community gave a tepid endorsement of a deal worked out by Congress Wednesday to end the federal government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling, fearing the short-term agreement struck on the verge of a national default leaves the door open for another crisis in the coming months.
Leaders of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, National Retail Federation, National Association of Manufacturers, and other major business groups in Washington, D.C., thanked members of Congress for averting what the U.S. Treasury Department said could have been the worst recession since the Great Depression. But Congress must work quickly to avoid another spending impasse that could come early next year, the business community representatives said.
Under legislation Congress passed late Wednesday night, federal employees returning to work Thursday could face furloughs once more if Congress doesn’t reach a deal by Jan. 15 to keep the government running. The debt limit also must be increased again by Feb. 7 to dodge default.
Thomas Donohue, the Chamber’s president and chief executive officer, said Congress should pass tax reform and curb federal spending, including money spent on entitlement programs, to bypass an economic catastrophe.
“The challenges we face are real and can be accomplished without the political brinkmanship we’ve seen on both sides over the past few weeks,” Donohue said in a statement. “Moving forward, we hope Congress and the administration seize the opportunity to improve our economy and . . . ensure the fiscal health of our country.”
John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable, which represents more than 200 CEOs from major U.S. companies, said in a statement that the government shutdown that started Oct. 1 and the concerns about default this month “dealt a severe and entirely avoidable blow to America’s reputation around the world while harming economic growth and job creation.”
The shutdown cost the U.S. economy $24 billion, according to Standard & Poor’s. With the closures of national parks and travelers confused about the effects of the shutdown, the tourism industry was among the business sectors that took a major hit. The American Hotel & Lodging Association said last week that hoteliers were losing more than $8 million per day during the stalemate in Washington.
“It is essential that policymakers make use of this temporary reprieve to enact budget and tax policies that will boost our tepid economic recovery, put more Americans back to work and address the nation’s long-term fiscal challenges,” Engler said.
Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, the leading trade group for retailers, and Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, the biggest U.S. manufacturing association, also expressed frustration with the brinkmanship that left Washington crippled for more than two weeks.
“This new norm of legislating from crisis to crisis is no way to govern,” Shay said in a statement.
