SIFMA Leads Joint Trades Letter Urging Congress to Raise Debt Limit

Release Date: October 21, 2015

Contact:  Carol Danko, 202-962-7390, [email protected]

SIFMA Leads Joint Trades Letter Urging Congress to Raise Debt Limit

Washington, DC, October 21, 2015 – Today,SIFMA led a group of joint trade associations representing financial and business institutions in sending a letter to Congressional leadership urging Congress to raise the debt limit.

The text of the letter can be found below and at this link here.

October 21, 2015

The Honorable Mitch McConnell                        The Honorable John Boehner

Majority Leader                                                 Speaker

United States Senate                                           U. S. House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20510                          Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Harry Reid                                The Honorable Nancy Pelosi

Democratic Leader                                            Democratic Leader

United States Senate                                           U. S. House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20510                          Washington, DC 20515

Dear Senators McConnell and Reid and Representatives Boehner and Pelosi:

Congress is again considering enacting an increase in the statutory debt ceiling.  The undersigned associations, which represent a broad range of leading financial and business institutions respectfully urge you to raise the federal debt limit.  A failure to act quickly and authorize our government to pay its debt obligations will have a negative and lasting result on global investors and their confidence in the creditworthiness of the United States.

We cannot afford to jeopardize the on-going, but not fully established economic recovery of our nation.  A failure to increase the debt ceiling will result in a massive increase in borrowing costs and create tremendous uncertainty about the willingness and ability of our government to meet its financial obligations.  It will not only jeopardize financial commitments to senior citizens and our military, but it will also undermine international confidence in the United States’ established position as the strongest and most dependable financial partner.

Congress should not jeopardize economic growth with the massive spike in borrowing costs that would result if the federal government defaulted on its obligations.  It is critically important that the United States stands fully behind its legal obligations.

In making this recommendation, we remain very concerned about the level of the federal debt and large annual budget deficits and remain committed to working with you and the Administration to address our nation’s fiscal challenges.  The U.S. government must spend less and more wisely to restore balance to our fiscal position.

We trust that, under your leadership, the Congress will again take the necessary steps to preserve our nation’s financial standing in the world and help ensure that the American economy continues its current path toward restored prosperity.

Thank you in advance for considering our request.  We look forward to continuing to working with you during the 114th Congress to advance this and other critical legislation.

Sincerely,

American Bankers Association

Financial Services Roundtable

Investment Company Institute

National Association of Manufacturers

Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association

U.S. Chamber of Commerce