Small Business Majority Launches Sign-On Campaign Urging Congress to Prevent a Government Shut Down

Washington, DC̢??‰۝Small Business Majority launched a national sign-on campaign this week asking small business owners to let their representatives in Washington know a government shut down could adversely affect their bottom lines. Additionally, the letter urges Congress to be responsible and pay the country̢??‰?s bills by raising the debt ceiling because a default would undermine consumer confidence in what is the most important quarter of the year for many small firms.

The letter tells Congress that what it ̢???clearly doesn̢??‰?t realize is that a government shut down doesn̢??‰?t just impact government employees, but many small businesses as well. The threat of the government closing up shop alone diminishes my customers̢??‰? confidence and creates a huge amount of uncertainty, which wreaks havoc on my bottom line. Not only that, but this is all happening in the fourth quarter̢??‰۝the most important time of the year for countless entrepreneurs. Slackening sales now has serious consequences on my profits for the rest of the fiscal year.̢????

The idea for the campaign came out of meetings Small Business Majority̢??‰?s Network Council had with D.C. policymakers earlier this month. Talks about shutting down the government instead of funding it for another year with the healthcare law intact, coupled with the upcoming debt ceiling debate for the second year in a row was too much for the 15-member Network Council to take.

"It seems to me that lawmakers are trying to do everything they can to derail our fragile economic recovery. There̢??‰?s a real chance that they may not come to an agreement about the budget and the government could be shut down. That is frightening from the small business perspective. This is not just a political issue, it affects real small business owners all across the country and we want to collectively tell Congress their political gamesmanship is hurting our businesses and our economy,̢???? said Mike Brey, owner of Hobby Works in Fairfax, Va and a member of Small Business Majority̢??‰?s Network Council. ̢???It's not a game to me. Just the threat of shutting down the government and not paying our debts scares my customers, and when they̢??‰?re scared they don̢??‰?t go shopping. I can̢??‰?t grow my business and put more people to work if I don̢??‰?t have customers. Congress needs to start working together for the good of our economy instead of playing politics. Doing otherwise puts my business and many others in jeopardy."

To read the letter visit http://www.stoptheshutdown.com.