Neil Bradley
Executive Vice President, Chief Policy Officer, and Head of Strategic Advocacy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Published
March 04, 2025
Representing companies of all sizes and across all sectors, the U.S. Chamber speaks for American businesses who encourage President Trump to continue focusing on policies that prioritize growth and opportunity for Americans in every corner of the country.
Specifically, the American business community wants to hear more about these priorities during his address to the Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday.
Permanently extend the 2017 pro-growth Trump tax reforms
Over 500 businesses stand ready to help President Trump and Congress make the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) permanent, and a new survey from the U.S. Chamber shows that a strong majority of voters support making tax relief permanent and will reward candidates who back permanence. A competitive, pro-growth tax policy is essential to driving higher paychecks for American workers, improving the standard of living, and helping businesses invest more in their communities.
The TCJA significantly reduced and simplified the federal income tax burden for American families and workers and modernized how business income is taxed. Without action from lawmakers, families and businesses could see the largest automatic tax increase in American history when pro-growth TCJA provisions expire at the end of 2025.
The Chamber has been educating policymakers on the need to make the Trump tax cuts permanent through its comprehensive campaign, Growing America’s Future, leveraging policy recommendations, polling, first-hand business stories, and research.
Alternatives to tariffs for achieving policy goals
American families and businesses are struggling with high costs. Now that the administration has imposed steep tariffs on Canada and Mexico, with other targets down the road, what is the President’s plan to achieve his goals without an economic slowdown?
The Chamber supports the administration’s efforts to roll back excessive regulations, decrease taxation, and fix serious problems like our broken border and stopping the flow of fentanyl. We also want to work together to keep costs down, but tariffs will only raise prices and increase the economic pain being felt by everyday Americans across the country.
Thousands of businesses of all sizes nationwide suddenly facing higher costs and uncertainty will be watching to hear details. Many are beginning to speak out about the impact.
The Chamber urges reconsideration of this policy and a swift end to these tariffs.
The Impact of Tariffs
Unleash AI as a tool for American innovation
On his second day in office, President Trump announced the federal government’s new approach to AI: “It is the policy of the U.S. to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security.” Vice President JD Vance echoed this sentiment during his speech at February’s AI Action Summit, where he declared, “We must focus now on the opportunity to catch lightning in a bottle, unleash our most brilliant innovators, and use AI to improve the well-being of our nations and their peoples.”
After years of heavy-handed government regulation, it is a welcome change for American businesses that understand the positive impact AI will have on American prosperity. Unfortunately, states are starting to consider legislation that hinders AI adoptions and creates a patchwork of rules. The administration should encourage Congress to implement a national, risk-based approach that relies on existing laws and doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to AI regulation.
Enact permitting reform, expand domestic energy production, protect LNG exports
Our nation’s ability to build needed infrastructure—from roads and bridges to energy—is being severely hampered by an outdated permitting system. It can take years, even decades, just to get a decision on a project, thanks to overlapping reviews and endless litigation. There is bipartisan consensus that growing our economy and addressing our challenges, including rapidly increasing energy demand, will require permitting reform.
America is now an energy superpower. U.S. oil and natural gas have transformed our economy, but there is still room to grow. The President already has made great strides to remove arbitrary barriers to production, and we look forward to working with the Administration to take full advantage of our energy opportunity.
That includes U.S. LNG, which is among the cleanest in the world. Allies in Europe are relying on our LNG to wean themselves off Russian natural gas, while Asia needs it to fuel its growing economy. LNG exports represent a “win-win”—creating American jobs and generating revenue while improving global stability. Unfortunately, the previous Administration enacted a moratorium on exports. We support the Trump Administration’s efforts to resume exports and protect them in the future.
Reduce excessive government regulation
Businesses and workers across the U.S. spent too much time and money navigating the unprecedented regulatory onslaught of the past few years. This is why the U.S. Chamber sued the Biden Administration 14 times to rein in government overreach. There are plenty of opportunities to course correct while ensuring public safety, promoting competitive and free markets, and protecting the environment.
The good news is that policymakers have started to cut back on burdensome regulations through the Congressional Review Act, while federal agencies like the SEC are already taking a hard look at the rules issued by the previous administration. More can be done, and the Chamber will continue to work with Congress and the administration on this shared priority.
More on Overregulation
Protect our border while encouraging more legal immigration
We share the administration’s goals of securing the border, fighting the scourge of fentanyl, and enforcing our laws against criminals. We also agree with President Trump’s recent comments acknowledging the contributions H-1B visa workers have made to the economy.
At a time when the U.S. needs to be the world’s leader in AI innovation, semiconductor production, and research and development in many STEM fields, we must be serious about providing American companies with access to the best talent the world has to offer.
We need more legal immigration to help our economy grow. However, we haven’t adjusted many of our immigration programs since before the invention of the Internet. Issues like arbitrarily low visa quotas, burdensome eligibility criteria, and decades-long backlogs are holding back economic and wage growth.
Bottom line
Decisions made in Washington have a direct impact on local communities. The Chamber will work with the President and his team to ensure our shared priorities allow every community to achieve its unique potential for growth for American families, workers, and businesses.
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About the authors
Neil Bradley
Neil Bradley is executive vice president, chief policy officer, and head of strategic advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He has spent two decades working directly with congressional committee chairpersons and other high-ranking policymakers to achieve solutions.
