CEOs urge Congress and White House to end shutdown

Business Roundtable, which represents the chief executive officers of major U.S. companies, is urging Congress and the White House to end the partial government shutdown as concerns grow about the funding lapse’s impact on the economy.

“The shutdown is harming the U.S. economy and American workers, both federal employees and those in the private sector supporting government functions,” Business Roundtable said in a statement Wednesday. “The shutdown is also preventing policymakers from focusing on solutions to create strong, sustained economic growth in America.”

{mosads}The shutdown is now more than one-month long, and congressional Democrats and President Trump remain at an impasse over his demand for more than $5 billion funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Senate is slated to vote on two separate proposals to reopen the government on Thursday — one that includes funding for a wall and one that does not — but neither is expected to get the 60 votes needed to advance.

As the shutdown drags on and federal workers spend more time on furlough or working without pay, fears about its economic impacts have mounted. White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett said Wednesday that the U.S. could see zero economic growth in the first quarter of this year if the shutdown continues through the end of March, though he also predicted that growth would rebound once the government reopens.

Business Roundtable encouraged lawmakers and the White House to come up with a “bipartisan solution” to end the shutdown so that the country can “move forward with an agenda to maximize opportunities for U.S. workers and support economic growth.” The group’s statement did not provide any specific suggestions about what a bipartisan agreement to reopen the government should look like.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce also urged policymakers to end the shutdown and said it supports a deal that would both increase border security and provide protections and legal status for certain immigrant groups.