Special Edition: Debt Limit Update

May 30, 2023

Chamber Bulletin

DEVELOPMENTS THAT MATTER

Let’s Get the Debt Limit Deal Passed

Over the Memorial Day holiday, the White House and Congressional leaders agreed to raise the debt limit and tackle federal spending. The bipartisan deal contains many solutions the Chamber has been advocating for months. Now, Americans and the business community must help ensure it becomes law.
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The deal must be approved by the House and the Senate and signed by President Biden by June 5 when the U.S. is expected to run out of borrowing authority.

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The Chamber is focused on getting the bill passed by Congress and signed by President Biden.

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Why it matters: A debt default would be catastrophic for the economy and devastating to families and businesses.
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Take action: Contact your Member of Congress. Tell them to pass the debt limit deal and avoid a catastrophic default.
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Details: The deal includes measures to slow federal spending, encouraging greater workforce participation, and steps to improve the federal permitting process.
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Big picture: For months the Chamber has urged our leaders to do their jobs and avert an economic crisis.
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We laid out solutions to help shape a deal including repealing unspent COVID funding and implementing discretionary spending caps and called for the inclusion of permitting reform in negotiations. By leading the debate much of this ended up as part of the deal.

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What we’re doing now: We sent a Key Vote Letter to Members of Congress on Monday urging them to support the legislation and noting that their vote will be included in our "How They Voted" scorecard.
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This is a priority, because any unnecessary delay could result in the U.S. defaulting on its debt.

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Our take: “Americans deserve a government that works. With the news of a deal to avert a debt ceiling crisis, the President and congressional leaders have shown they can come together on a bipartisan basis and act in the best interests of our country. Federal leaders should use this opportunity to limit out-of-control spending to avoid simply passing on the issue to future generations,” said Chamber President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark.
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Bottom line: Congress must quickly pass the agreement and get it to the President’s desk for his signature.
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Dig deeper:
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The Dire Consequences of a U.S. Debt Default

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Why the Chamber Fights for a Debt Limit Deal

Contact Congress

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TOP OF MIND

Important Win on Permitting Reform

One of the Chamber’s top priorities this year is federal permitting reform. The debt limit deal offers an important first step.
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Why it matters: Billions of dollars of investments are ready to go into modernizing our nation’s infrastructure.
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But these critical projects could sit idle for years because of an antiquated and cumbersome process where waiting for a permit can take longer than construction itself.

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Be smart: The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the law governing much of the federal permitting process, was enacted five decades ago, and hasn’t been meaningfully updated since 1982.
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The deal also includes approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a much-needed piece of energy infrastructure.

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Big picture: While the changes in the deal do not completely fix the broken permitting process, they do demonstrate progress for the first time in nearly half a century.
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A bipartisan consensus recognizes that more must be done, and this represents progress and positive momentum paving the way for more reform this Congress.