Founded | April 22, 1912 |
---|---|
Founder | Charles Nagel |
Type | business association & advocacy group |
53-0045720[1] | |
Legal status | 501(c)(6)[1] |
Location |
|
Method | Political lobbying, public relations |
Suzanne P. Clark | |
Subsidiaries | US Chamber of Commerce Foundation 501(c)(3), National Chamber Foundation 501(c)(3) |
Revenue (2015) | $174,119,090[1] |
Expenses (2015) | $175,893,100[1] |
Employees (2015) | 470[1] |
Website | www |
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]
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims to represent three 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 worked for USCC from 1997 to 2007[8] and returned in 2014, holding multiple executive roles before being named its first female CEO in February 2021.[9][10][11][12]