NAWBO Philadelphia members brought messages to the legislators and reported back to us about their experiences and a call to action!* This year NAWBO Advocacy Days’ activities were scheduled as virtual meetings. Representing NAWBO Philadelphia, Jen Bravo and Sandy Clitter met with staff from several key legislators and brought back a report —Jen Bravo is interviewed here:
Q. How was your experience overall and which offices did you talk with?
A. Sandy and I had great meetings with the legislative correspondents from 3 different offices on Thursday, 6/4. The correspondents we spoke with work for the following 3 legislators: · Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan – represents PA’s 6th district · Senator Bob Casey · Senator Pat Toomey
Q. Jen, what is a legislative correspondent?
A. I'd describe them as an office staffer who focuses on one or a set of specific issues (small business, health care, for example) and aids their elected official in crafting or responding to legislation that pertains to it. I think of them as the funnel for information that eventually winds up with the representative, from the public and from other representative's offices.
Q. Can you give us some highlights from those meetings?
A. Gave each office an intro (or reminder, where applicable) to NAWBO at a national and local level · Discussed the programming and work of both the chapter and the Center · Shared the NAWBO advocacy agenda and reminded them that we are a resource whenever they are considering legislation related to small business · Thanked them for their support of the recent PPP expansion bill · Asked for their support of the Small Business Expense Protection Act of 2020. This is a bipartisan bill that would clarify language in the PPP to ensure small businesses can deduct expenses paid for with a forgiven PPP loan on their 2020 taxes as they normally would.
Q. Is there something our members can do to help advocate for passage of this bill?*
A. Absolutely! In most of our meetings, the offices did not yet have the bill on their radar. It is crucial that small business owners across the country use their voices to express the need for this change. The best way to do this is with a quick phone call to the office of your Congressperson and Senators. If you’ve never done this before, don’t be intimidated! Each call will take just a few minutes, and they’ll record your name and position for the office’s records. Here’s what to do: House Representative: You can easily find your Congressperson’s contact info by entering your zip code at: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative. Here’s all you need to say: “Hello, my name is ______ and I live in (city/state). I own (name of company) in (city/state) and am a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners. I’m calling to ask for the representative’s support for HR 6821, the Small Business Expense Protection Act of 2020. The continued deductibility of my normal business expenses is critical to the health of small businesses like mine across the country.” Senators: All Pennsylvanians are represented by the two Senators listed below: Sen. Pat Toomey: (202) 224-4254 Sen. Bob Casey: (202) 224-6324 Here’s what to say: “Hello, my name is ______ and I live in (city/state). I own (name of company) in (city/state) and am a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners. I’m calling to ask for the Senator’s support for SB 3612, the Small Business Expense Protection Act of 2020. The continued deductibility of my normal business expenses is critical to the health of small businesses like mine across the country.”
Q. It seems the basic format of these suggested “calls to action” can be used in the future for other advocacy actions on behalf of small business, by inserting the appropriate legislation in place of the current one. If that’s the case, this is something we can use as a reference going forward?
A. Yes, and members can keep track of what NAWBO is working on for women business owners by following updates and resources on NAWBO National’s website tab, ADVOCACY, at https://www.nawbo.org/advocacy