NFIB Members Take Main Street Message to Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 20, 2006—Small-business owners blanketed Capitol Hill today to talk with their lawmakers about issues that affect Main Street America. Delegates to the NFIB National Small-Business Summit visited lawmakers at their offices here to explain how government actions affect the way they run their businesses back home.
NFIB member David Hurley, owner of Landmark Engineering & Surveying Corporation in Tampa, Fla., made the trek to Sen. Bill Nelson's office because he believes showing up and interacting with lawmakers makes a difference.
"When you catch them here, they know you're not kidding," he said. "It's not just lip service; it shows a real commitment."
In a meeting with Sen. Nelson's staff, NFIB member George Daniels of Daniels Manufacturing Corporation in Orlando encouraged the senator to support legislation that would establish Small-Business Health Plans.
"What the delay [in enacting legislation] means is that more and more people are not able to afford health insurance," Daniel said in the meeting, a theme echoed by his fellow NFIB/Florida members.
NFIB member Donald Overman, CEO of print wholesaler Biz2Biz2Biz of Hudson, N.H., visited the office of Rep. Charles Bass to find out for himself that his congressman was on board for small-business issues. "I have to stay active in the political process," Overman said. "I don't believe in passivity."
When members gathered at the National Building Museum Tuesday night for the Visa Awards Dinner to cap off the Summit, NFIB President and CEO Todd Stottlemyer greeted them, thanking them for serving America's entrepreneurs by taking the fight to Capitol Hill.
"Thank you for being such active members of NFIB," Stottlemyer said. "Thank you for being risk-takers, entrepreneurs, and for giving so much to your country," he continued. "As Sen. George Allen told NFIB members on our Capitol Hill visit with him, 'Keep fighting, keep winning. You're what's so great about America.'"
