As the clock ticked toward Tuesday's deadline to raise the debt ceiling, manufacturing groups on Monday urged Congress to take swift action to avert the first default in the nation's history.
The House of Representatives apparently listened, as House members approved an 11th-hour debt deal Monday night. The Senate is expected to take up the measure Tuesday at noon EDT.
In a letter to the Senate, the National Association of Manufacturers' Aric Newhouse asserted that failing to raise the debt limit would "seriously disrupt our nation's economy and threaten manufacturers' ability to create high-paying jobs."
"The Budget Control Act puts us on a path toward addressing our nation's fiscal crisis over the long term," wrote Newhouse, senior vice president of policy and government relations for the association.
"Moving forward, manufacturers are committed to working with policymakers in addressing our nation's fiscal challenges to ensure a pro-growth, pro-competitiveness, pro-manufacturing economy, with the recognition that some programs are critical to our nation's economic and national security."
"As business leaders, we strongly support passage of this bipartisan agreement," said John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of major U.S. companies.
"Our elected leaders must act affirmatively to ensure America's credibility, put our country on a path of real fiscal responsibility and protect the long-term interests of American workers and families."
