The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), has been quite publicly announcing that it will play an active role in the upcoming congressional elections, and this will likely be a warm up for the 2016 presidential vote. According to the NFIB on it’s new website Vote for Main Street, “The 2014 elections are set to serve as a critical referendum on Washington’s ability to restore trust with Main Street businesses and workers.”
In order to determine which candidates really fit the bill as small business advocates, the NFIB has developed a “test” based on the candidates support of the following five key issues:
- Requiring Congress to pass a balanced federal budget each fiscal year
- Repealing the annual fee on health insurance providers enacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)
- Returning to the original definition of a full-time work week to 40 hours, instead of the recently recognized 30 hour work week in the Save American Workers Act
- Requiring the federal government to certify that the ACA is not having a negative economic impact on the nation’s small businesses
- Enacting “reasonable” limits on the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate utility plant emissions
Though all of these measures have been introduced in Congress, none of them have made it into law. The NFIB believes that voting these five bills into law will create a significant positive impact on U.S. small businesses and result in the creation of millions of jobs. The organization has stated that it will begin listing a roster of “Small Business Certified” candidates on it’s website as the elections draw closer.
The NFIB has further promised to put some political muscle behind the candidates who pass the test. According to Kent Hoover, Washington Bureau Chief, at The Business Journals, “NFIB will be putting money and manpower behind candidates who pass this test, and telling voters about candidates who fail it. The organization plans to spend more than $1 million on political ads in its “Vote for Main Street” campaign, and some staff and NFIB members will directly work on campaigns as volunteers…”
What do you think? Do you consider the five issues above to be the most pressing for small business owners heading into the 2014 congressional elections?