U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer knows firsthand the struggles of starting and running a small business. She and her husband have grown their Anesthesia Associates Northwest firm from five employees in 2005 to 200 today. Now, this NFIB-member and former mayor of Happy Valley (Clackamas County) is elevating the needs of small businesses to a national stage.

“It’s on the back of small businesses that this country was built,” she says in this 2½-minute video filmed by NFIB (click the arrow below). Small-business owners, says Congresswoman Chavez-DeRemer “look to their leaders to be their allies, not their adversaries.”

In the video, Congresswoman Chavez-DeRemer discusses what prompted her to run for office, why it’s important to have small-business owners as lawmakers, how important it is to hear from NFIB members on small-business issues, and some of the things she’s working on.

NFIB thanks Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer for taking the time to talk to her fellow NFIB members.