The National Retail Federation urged the House to approve legislation that would put the federal debt ceiling on hold until mid-May.“This move will give Congress the time it needs to deal with the debt ceiling in a thoughtful and deliberative manner rather than letting it turn into another fiscal cliff,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Fiscal policy discussions need to take place in a way that provides the stability and certainty our economy needs to grow and create jobs, and should not be left to last-minute deals and midnight votes.”
“Giving Congress a powerful incentive to pass a federal budget is an important part of this bill,” Shay said. “Living within a budget is the key to prudent management of our nation’s fiscal health in the first place. Every single day, retailers make tough decisions about their finances in order to pay their employees and to work within their budgets, and our government should do the same.”
The House is scheduled to vote on legislation that would leave the current $16.4 trillion debt limit intact but says that it “shall not apply” until May 18. Without legislation, the debt ceiling could be hit in mid-February. The measure also mandates that paychecks for members of the House and Senate be held in escrow beginning April 15 if lawmakers have not passed a budget.
As the world’s largest retail trade association and the voice of retail worldwide, NRF represents retailers of all types and sizes, including chain restaurants and industry partners, from the United States and more than 45 countries abroad.
Retailers operate more than 3.6 million U.S. establishments that support one in four U.S. jobs – 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.5 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy.