NFIB Members Take It to the Hill Tuesday
NFIB National Small-Business Summit delegates meet with lawmakers
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 20, 2006—Today hundreds of small-business owners took it to the Hill as they met with lawmakers face-to-face to let them know how decisions made in Washington impact small businesses across the country.
As part of the NFIB National Small-Business Summit, NFIB members joined forces to make the voice of small business heard on Capitol Hill. In his remarks to Summit delegates Monday morning, NFIB President and CEO Todd Stottlemyer issued a challenge: Take your struggles, concerns and stories to lawmakers and demand that they listen.
"It's about going to Capitol Hill and telling your representative and senators—face-to-face—about the pressing issues that affect your business, and what you want them to do," urged Stottlemyer. "Let them know where you stand, and that you will hold them accountable."
Current legislative issues were on the forefront of many small-business owners' minds as they visited Capitol Hill, giving them plenty to discuss with their lawmakers. Recent U.S. Senate votes blocking Small-Business Health Plans and permanent death-tax undoubtedly came up in many offices on Capitol Hill Tuesday. Stottlemyer rallied Summit delegates to continue contacting their senators on behalf of these critical pieces of legislation. "NFIB is not about moral victories," he said. "Tell your senators we will not give up."
Many small-business owners are watching Congress closely this week as it considers a line-item veto provision. In his remarks Monday, Stottlemyer noted that small-business owners have the perfect opportunity to "demand fiscal discipline and responsibility" from lawmakers and remind them that "not everything is a priority."
"Runaway government spending is a threat to our economic freedom," Stottlemyer said. "It impacts interest rates and increases the cost of capital. It restricts the ability of small businesses to expand."
Also Tuesday at the Summit, eBay president and CEO Meg Whitman addressed Summit participants, as did Sens. Michael Enzi (Wyo.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.) and Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Adviser to the President Karl Rove.
