Associations Announce Support for Debt Ceiling Legislation

Ahead of today’s vote in the House and next week’s Senate vote, NAW, ABC, NAM, and AGC have voiced their favor of the legislation.

(NAW) — The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) which represents the 8.2 trillion-dollar wholesale distribution industry, issued the following statement after the announcement of a debt ceiling deal between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA):

“Distributors are pleased to see our nation’s leaders put country ahead of party and come together on a deal to raise the debt ceiling, reduce spending, and reform the federal government, said NAW President and CEO Eric Hoplin. This is a critical moment for America and default is not an option. Our nation cannot outrun the consequences of irresponsible spending now or in the future and cannot delay the passage of this critical legislation. Time is of the essence as we approach this week’s final vote and now is the moment to pass the Fiscal Responsibility Act without delay and send it to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

“The Fiscal Responsibility Act would not only raise the debt ceiling, and reduce out-of-control spending it will also help lift Americans out of poverty and ease the current workforce shortage while avoiding new tax increases originally proposed by the President’s budget that would have harmed small businesses, workers, and families at a time of economic uncertainty.

“While distributors are encouraged to see an agreement finally come together, it is disappointing that lawmakers and the Administration came so close to hitting the debt ceiling and did not begin negotiations until House Republicans passed a bill last month. We have been here before and should aim never to approach the fiscal cliff in this manner again. America deserves responsible and thoughtful leadership from our government, and its elected officials,” concluded Hoplin.

(ABC) — ABC issued the following statement in support of the recently announced bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.

“ABC applauds the agreement between U.S. House Republicans and President Joe Biden to address the debt ceiling and limit government spending to help secure the economic future of the United States. The bipartisan bill, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, also saves hardworking taxpayers’ dollars, avoids new tax increases originally proposed in the president’s budget and delivers a significant win on permitting reform,” said Kristen Swearingen, vice president of legislative & political affairs at ABC.

“As the Biden administration implements historic federal investment in our nation’s infrastructure, ABC members are pleased that the FRA includes much-needed reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act and the federal permitting process, including lead agency authority and establishing reasonable timelines for environmental reviews.

“These reforms will help contractors complete projects across the country both efficiently and effectively. ABC hopes that Congress will continue on this bipartisan path to provide additional reforms to the permitting process and remove more unnecessary and burdensome red tape that has hindered critical construction projects for decades.

“ABC urges members of the House and U.S. Senate to support this legislation.”

(NAM) — Following an announcement that the White House and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had reached a deal to avoid default on U.S. debt, National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons released the following statement:

“Manufacturers congratulate President Biden, Speaker McCarthy and their negotiating teams on reaching an agreement to lift the debt limit. As we have said from the beginning, defaulting on our debt would create economic chaos, harming manufacturing workers and their families and jeopardizing our leadership in the world. Congress should act quickly to pass this agreement and to demonstrate to Americans and to the world the continued strength of our institutions and our democracy.

“Manufacturers have been a leading voice for permitting reform, so we are encouraged that this legislation takes critical steps to improve our broken permitting system, helping us more fully leverage our domestic energy sources and expand manufacturing in the United States. We will work with Congress and the administration to build on this progress and create a comprehensive bipartisan permitting reform package that also helps unlock the full potential of laws meant to encourage the growth of manufacturing in America, such as the historic infrastructure law and the CHIPS and Science Act.

“Once this debate is behind us, our leaders must turn their focus to other policies critical to unleashing manufacturing’s full potential: addressing the crushing regulatory burden facing manufacturers, improving our immigration system and ensuring that our tax code supports manufacturing in America by encouraging investments in innovation and capital equipment.”

(AGC) — The Associated General Contractors of America’s chief executive officer, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in reaction to the emerging details of the proposed agreement to lift the nation’s debt ceiling limit:

“The debt limit deal announced over the weekend includes significant reforms to a federal permitting process that has, until now, been one of the main impediments to progress on many vital infrastructure projects. These reforms will reduce the time it takes to complete environmental reviews without weakening any of the strong protections built into the process.

“The agreement’s new work requirements for some individuals receiving federal assistance should help bring more people back into the workforce. It is no secret that pandemic-era measures that paid people not to work have resulted in severe workforce shortages in virtually every sector of the economy. These shortages have undermined economic growth, including in construction. The new measures included in this deal should help make labor shortages less severe while delivering people from dependency to the dignity of high-paying careers in professions like construction.

“The biggest challenge with the deal will be to maintain already-promised levels of infrastructure funding into future years. Given how much time and energy the administration has spent announcing funding for projects that have yet to begin construction, the President has a lot vested in protecting those investments and ensuring those projects move forward, as do the bipartisan majorities in Congress that supported the original funding bill. We will remain vigilant in our efforts to protect that funding.

“We urge Congress to adopt this debt limit deal to protect the nation’s economic vitality, accelerate permitting, address labor shortages and continue investing in aging and overburdened infrastructure.”