Clark, who took over as head of the USCC in March, said the group ignores party affiliation when seeking to build coalitions with lawmakers on priority issues. She said the endorsed House Democrats “really helped push business’s number one priority, which was the free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, over the finish line,” according to Axios.
“While some focus on @USChamber endorsing 23 freshmen Ds, take note, Chamber also just endorsed GOP challengers to 4 freshmen Ds b/c they were below 70 [percent] on scorecard & challengers earned endorsement,” he wrote.
The USCC’s announcement that it was endorsing Democrats drew critical reactions from Republicans, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) calling the move hypocritical and rejecting any potential endorsement of himself by the organization.
In the interview with Axios, Clark was asked about the USCC’s relationship with Democrats and Republicans in Washington, which she described as “strong” on both counts. She was immediately challenged on that assertion by Axios reporter Mike Allen, who argued the Chamber’s relationship with Republicans had become weaker and marked by “hard feelings about those endorsements.”
Clark said her own impression of “conversations” with lawmakers on Capitol Hill was different, while standing by her characterization that those relationships are “strong.”
One of the USCC’s current priorities is encouraging a bipartisan resolution of negotiations on an infrastructure plan.
President Joe Biden kicked off infrastructure negotiations earlier this year when he announced a $2.3 trillion package that would be funded in part from a corporate tax rate hike.
Republicans opposed the package because the tax hike would partially roll back a key provision of their 2017 tax reform bill, and because Biden’s package included pieces deemed unrelated to infrastructure, such as $500 billion for elder and disabled care.
Negotiations led to a $1.7 trillion counteroffer from the White House and a $978 billion plan from Republicans.
“Recent infrastructure proposals by Senator Capito, yesterday’s plan by the Problem Solvers Caucus, and ongoing negotiations among the core group of bipartisan Senators proves there are paths that will lead to a bill that can be signed into law,“ Bradley wrote. ”We strongly encourage Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate to continue those efforts and avoid unnecessary, divisive, and time-consuming reconciliation procedures.”
“We commend those Members of Congress who are dedicated to doing the hard work of finding common ground.”
In the negotiations, Republicans have taken the view that an infrastructure deal should be more narrowly tailored to focus on physical needs such as investment in roads, bridges, and public transport, while Democrats have sought to include so-called human infrastructure in the package, such as child care, as well as climate change priorities.
