What Is the Debt Ceiling and Why Does It Matter?
Fill Me In: The U.S. federal government has reached the limit on the amount of debt it is legally allowed to accrue. Congress sets this amount, known as the debt limit, and has the power to raise it to meet the country’s financial obligations. Once the debt limit is reached, the Treasury Department has a limited number of tools, called extraordinary measures, that allow the Treasury to keep paying the government’s bills. Once the extraordinary measures are exhausted, if Congress doesn’t increase the
No Time to Waste: Government IT Modernization Must Take Off Now
Last week, commercial aviation came to a screeching halt. As a critical industry that is a massive economic driver within the United States, commercial aviation equates to 5% of the U.S. GDP or close to 1.25 trillion dollars. The reason for this disruption was that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Notice to Air Mission (NOTAMs) system failed. The system, which is imperative for keeping air travelers and our skies safe, provides critical information to pilots about potential safety concerns
The State of American Business Data Center
At the start of 2023, businesses are facing a multitude of economic challenges: the threat of a recession, the worker shortage, overregulation, geopolitical uncertainty. The economic indicators and data visualizations below reflect this, painting a mixed picture of our economy. While American businesses are strong and optimistic right now, there is fear that the state of the economy is weak—and confidence in government to do what they can to help is low. The U.S. Chamber's 2023 State of American Business
Calling on Congress: Improve the Outdated Permitting Process
One of the lasting legacies of the 117th Congress will be billions of dollars of new investments to address crumbling infrastructure, the digital divide, and clean energy. Adoption of a Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill had been a top Chamber priority for decades, and we worked with Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to ensure this critical legislation got across the finish line in 2021. This year, Congress followed it up with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which contained even more
