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United States Chamber of Commerce

The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is a business association advocacy group. It is the largest lobbying group in the United States. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urging of President William Howard Taft and his Secretary of Commerce and Labor Charles Nagel.[2][3] It was Taft's belief that the "government needed to deal with a group that could speak with authority for the interests of business".[4]

Not to be confused with United States Department of Commerce.

Founded

April 22, 1912 (1912-04-22)

Charles Nagel

business association & advocacy group

53-0045720[1]

501(c)(6)[1]

Political lobbying, public relations

Suzanne P. Clark

US Chamber of Commerce Foundation 501(c)(3),
National Chamber Foundation 501(c)(3)

$174,119,090[1]

$175,893,100[1]

470[1]

www.uschamber.com

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims to represent 3 million businesses but this claim is often contested.[5] It is funded primarily by multinational corporations.[5][6]


The current president and CEO of the Chamber is Suzanne P. Clark.[7] She previously worked in the Chamber from 1997 to 2007,[8] and returned in 2014, holding multiple executive roles before being named the organization's first female CEO in February 2021.[9][10][11][12]

Campaigned against portions of the .[64] (Introduced 02/14/2002) (07/30/2002 Became Public Law)[65]

Sarbanes–Oxley Act

Supported the SAFETY Act. (Passed 2002)

[66]

Supported the .[18] (Introduced 01/26/2009) (02/17/2009 Became Public Law)[67]

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Supported the Food Safety Modernization Act. (Introduced 03/03/2009)

[68]

In April 2009, the Chamber began an ad campaign against the proposed .[69] Critics such as the National Association of Manufacturers have contended that additional use of card check elections will lead to overt coercion on the part of union organizers. Opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act also claim, referring to perceived lack of access to a secret ballot, that the measure would not protect employee privacy. For this reason the Chamber argued the act would reduce workers' rights.[70]

Employee Free Choice Act

Opposed the climate change bill.[71] (Introduced 05/15/2009)[72] "[H]elped kill several attempts to pass climate-change legislation" between 1997 and 2010, but did not oppose efforts by Senators Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman in 2010.[73]

American Clean Energy and Security Act

In November 2009, the Chamber was reported to be seeking to spend $50,000 to hire a "respected economist" to produce a study that could be used to portray health-care legislation as a job killer and threat to the nation's economy.

[74]

The Chamber views some reform as necessary, but opposed the that was passed, asserting that it would damage loan availability.[18] (Introduced 12/02/2009) (07/21/2010 Became Public Law) [75]

Dodd/Frank legislation

Supported the (SOPA).[76] (Introduced in House (10/26/2011)[77]

Stop Online Piracy Act

Supported the Jobs Act of 2012. (Introduced 12/08/2011) (04/05/2012 Became Public Law)

[78]

Supported the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. (Introduced 02/25/2013) (07/22/2014 Became Public Law)

[79]

Supported the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. (Introduced 02/04/2015)

[80]

Actively lobbies against anti-tobacco policies implemented in other countries.[82] In particular, it opposes attempts to carve out tobacco from the Investor-state dispute settlement mechanism negotiated under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.[83] (The TPP was not ratified)

[81]

Supported the Ozone Implementation Act of 2017 (Introduced 02/01/2017)

[84]

Supported the Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act. (Introduced 02/07/2017)

[85]

Supported the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act. (Introduced 02/09/2017)

[86]

Supported the SAFE Act. (Introduced 03/16/2017)

[87]

Opposed the .[18] (Introduced 03/20/2017)[88]

American Health Care Act of 2017

Opposed the .[89] (added new bullet point) (On March 28, 2017)[90]

Clean Power Plan

Supported the Reauthorization Act. (Introduced 04/25/2017)

[91]

Supported the Self Drive Act. (Introduced 07/25/2017)

[92]

Supported the Tribal Tax and Investment Reform Act of 2017. (Introduced 10/05/2017)

[93]

Opposes the , which aims to limit foreign influence on U.S. elections.[94] (House - 06/27/2018)[95]

DISCLOSE Act

Opposed to using the government shutdown and limit as negotiating tactics.[96]

debt ceiling

Qualified opposition to financial regulation.

[18]

Americans for Transportation Mobility

Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness

Center for International Private Enterprise

Global Energy Institute

Institute for Legal Reform

Institute for Organization Management (IOM)

U.S. Chamber Litigation Center

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (previously the National Chamber Foundation)

Opposition[edit]

Several organizations have attacked the Chamber for its advocacy, including Chamber Watch (a campaign of Public Citizen). Advocates for independent business, like the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) and green businesses, like the American Sustainable Business Council, have fought the Chamber on multiple issues. Among major divisions between the Chamber and these business advocates is allowing corporations to engage in electioneering.[136] Oliver E. Diaz Jr. says one example of this was when the Chamber spent $1,000,000+ to fund negative campaign ads against him and have judicial candidate Keith Starrett elected instead.[137]


Some in the business community have criticized the Chamber's approach to public issues as overly aggressive. Hilary Rosen, former CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, added that "Their aggressive ways are out of step with a new generation of business leadership who are looking for more cooperative relationship with Washington."[138]

US Chamber of Commerce institution

Global Intellectual Property Center

National Federation of Independent Business

U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce

United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Anthony D. Salzman

General:

Davis, Cory, "The Political Economy of Commercial Associations: Building the National Board of Trade, 1840-1868," Business History Review, 88 (Winter 2014), 761–83.

Heald, Morrell. "Business thought in the twenties: Social responsibility." American Quarterly (1961): 126–139.

in JSTOR

Lesher, Richard and Dave Scheiber. Voice of Business: The Man Who Transformed the United States Chamber of Commerce (2017), Richard Lesher was president of the US Chamber of Commerce from 1975 to 1997.

Werking, Richard Hume. "Bureaucrats, businessmen, and foreign trade: the origins of the United States Chamber of Commerce." Business History Review 52#03 (1978) pp: 321–341.

Kinderman, Daniel. "The US chamber and chambers of commerce respond to Black Lives Matter: Cheap talk, progressive neoliberalism,

or transformative change?" Business and Politics 24(4), 491-516.

Official website

Real Clear Politics Portal

Guide to Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America. Publications. 5332. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell University.

Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.

Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America. Communications Development Division. Videotape collection, 1988-1992.

on Twitter

United States Chamber of Commerce

38°54′1.8″N 77°2′15.4″W / 38.900500°N 77.037611°W / 38.900500; -77.037611