Chamber head calls shutdown a ‘bad idea’

The head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Friday that it would be a “bad idea” to shut down the federal government.

Speaking at a breakfast hosted by The Christian Science Monitor, Tom Donohue, the Chamber’s president and CEO, told reporters that the business group has been telling lawmakers to avoid a shutdown over the federal budget impasse.

“I’ve been telling people that it’s probably a bad idea to shut down the government,” Donohue said.

Donohue said a short closure of the federal government would have little effect on the nation’s economy but would “upset” those running Washington.

“No, I don’t think it upsets economic growth that much. It certainly upsets the people who have to run our government,” Donohue said.

If a government shutdown stretched beyond next week though, it would begin to have an effect on economic growth due to the decline of consumer spending, according to Bruce Josten, the Chamber’s executive vice president for government affairs.

“If it’s three to five days, it doesn’t really have a huge impact. If it goes on for several weeks, it clearly is going to have an impact because you are talking a lot of paychecks that aren’t going out,” Josten said.

Donohue was loath to blame any party or lawmaker for the possible shutdown. He compared it to “a great sparring match” between the White House and Congress.

“Do I think there’s a villain? No, I think it’s a jousting for position,” Donohue said. “I think this is a great sparring match where hopefully they don’t close the government because it would be a pain in the neck. But we are ready for whatever they do.”