WASHINGTON, D.C. (OBV) — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce convened its annual State of American Business event on Thursday, Jan. 15, bringing business executives, state and local chamber leaders, policymakers, and media to Chamber headquarters, with a virtual audience watching alongside them. The program featured welcome remarks from Board Chair Ross Perot Jr., a keynote address from Chamber President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark, and fireside conversations with JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon and Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta, moderated by Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein.
Clark framed the day around the nation’s approaching 250th anniversary and what she described as a decisive moment for the country’s economic direction, citing inflation, housing affordability, health care access, workforce pressures, and uncertainty about how AI will reshape work. She argued that growth must remain the organizing principle for policy and leadership in the years ahead.
“Reaching and sustaining 3% growth is the fastest, surest way to raise living standards for Americans. And that is a goal we all share,” Clark said. “Making pro-growth policy choices will begin to alleviate the pressures and frustrations people are feeling today and ensure future generations of Americans enjoy security, mobility, and opportunity.”
Throughout the event, Chamber leaders and executives emphasized free enterprise as the engine of long-term progress, contrasting it with what Clark described as fear-driven policy choices that prioritize control over growth. Clark warned that fear, rather than politics alone, is the greatest risk to sustained opportunity.
“Free enterprise is the system that enables businesses to respond to people and to respond to problems,” she said. “Choosing redistribution over growth is a fear-based choice—it’s a zero-sum mentality that leads to scarcity, not abundance. Government control over free-market forces is a fear-based choice—it’s a bet on bureaucracy, and a bet against people. We have to be fearless.”
The fireside conversations reinforced the theme from an executive perspective, with Nassetta striking an optimistic note about demand, productivity, and the long-term impact of AI, and Dimon focusing on risk, leadership, and the importance of maintaining economic competitiveness. The discussions underscored the Chamber’s broader message that business confidence, investment, and innovation depend on policy certainty and sustained growth.
Clark closed the program by drawing lessons from the nation’s bicentennial era, arguing that past periods of anxiety ultimately gave way to renewal when leaders chose markets over government direction. She urged today’s leaders to make the same choice with confidence.
“At our essence, at our core, we are not a fearful nation,” Clark said. “I believe this can be a moment when we all decide it’s time to renew that spirit of daring, striving, growing, and improving.”
