Small Business Majority network members attend fly-in in Washington
On October 21 and 22, Small Business Majority hosted 20 small business owners for an advocacy opportunity in Washington, D.C. The fly-in brought small business owners from our network to Capitol Hill to discuss key issues facing entrepreneurs today.
As healthcare costs and insurance premiums continue to rise, one of the main concerns for small business owners at the fly-in was the need for lawmakers to protect affordable healthcare and extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits (EPTCs). For many of the small business owners present, the EPTCs make coverage attainable. Javaughnae Malone, owner of Vivian's Door in Alabama, who met with the office of Sen. Katie Britt (AL) noted that she relies on the ACA after aging out of her father's health insurance plan. Dwayne Thomas, owner of Greenlight Creative in Oregon, explained that his employees depend on the credits and could see significantly higher health insurance premiums next year without them, causing many to downgrade plans or lose coverage altogether.
“My employees rely on the Affordable Care Act because my company is too small to be able to get decent pricing if we were to provide a group health insurance option… when I asked several of my employees what they would do without the EPTCs, one told me they would drop their insurance entirely while another said they would likely have to marry their partner just to get on a health plan,” said Dwayne, who met with the office of Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (OR).
Additionally, small business owners advocated for tariff relief, as increased tariffs continue to drive uncertainty and strain bottom lines. Small business owners like Mike Brey, owner of Hobby Works in Maryland, met with the office of Rep. Kweisi Mfume (MD) and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (MD) to share how rising import costs have added hundreds of dollars to many items he sells, forcing him to pass some expenses on to his customers. Small business owners like Nikki Bravo, owner of Momentum Coffee in Illinois and Jyoti Jaiswal, owner of OMSutra in New York, echoed similar sentiments in their respective meetings with the office of Reps. Danny Davis (IL) and Thomas Suozzi (NY).
Despite the federal government shutdown, our network members met with the offices of more than 20 Democrat and Republican lawmakers, and concluded the fly-in by meeting with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. For small business owners in attendance, like Chrishon Lampley, owner and CEO of Love Cork Screw in Illinois, small business advocacy remains a critical way to earn support from lawmakers and to highlight the policies small businesses need to grow and thrive.
“Advocacy and really speaking on behalf of the small business owner is so important because we need help at all costs….,” Chrishon said. “You have to ask for what you need because nobody knows what we go through except us entrepreneurs. So being here was so great because I was able to say, ‘this is what you can do for us,’ because we’re always in the weeds and always doing everything for ourselves, trying to survive in this crazy world of being a small business owner.”