More than 140 leaders of the biggest US companies, including Goldman Sachs, Pfizer and KKR, have urged the White House and congressional leaders to strike a deal to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a “potentially devastating scenario”.
In an open letter to President Joe Biden and the Republican and Democratic leaders from both the House and Senate on Tuesday, executives from a wide range of leading businesses and investment firms warned a failure to raise the debt ceiling could have “disastrous consequences” for the US economy.
“We write to emphasise the potentially disastrous consequences of a failure by the federal government to meet its obligations,” the signatories wrote. “Absent a resolution, the government is likely to run out of money as soon as June 1. Action to end the pending debt crisis is necessary now.”
The letter was organised by the Partnership for New York City, a group co-chaired by Albert Bourla, chair and chief executive of Pfizer, and Rob Speyer, president and chief executive of Tishman Speyer, the real estate group. It was signed by executives representing broad swaths of corporate America from companies including airline JetBlue, glasses retailer Warby Parker and media group Condé Nast.
The letter came just hours before Biden was set to meet the four top members of Congress — Republicans Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell and Democrats Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries — to try and make progress on a potential deal to raise the debt ceiling and avert default.