The U.S. Chamber is calling for a "clear, timely, and predictable exit plan" to remove the federal government from its unprecedented intervention in the U.S. economy as soon as practicable.

"Dire economic circumstances have certainly justified some out-of-the-ordinary remedial actions by the government, such as the bank bailouts and the $787 billion economic stimulus package.  But enough is enough," says Chamber Executive Vice President for Government Affairs Bruce Josten. "If we don't stop the rapidly growing influence of government over private sector activity, we will squander America's unmatched capacity to innovate and create a standard of living and free society." 

The Chamber is supporting a bill by Sen. John Thune (R-SD) to mandate an end to government ownership of private entities acquired under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) by July 2010. The bill, known as the Government Ownership Exit Plan, would also prevent the government from acquiring new ownership in private businesses and would prohibit the government from making any management decisions in private businesses in which it already has an ownership interest.

Read the Chamber letter.