Main Street Alliance Supporters:
Common sense climate and energy legislation was delayed in the Senate a few weeks ago. Now, there are some who want to set us even further from a new clean energy course by gutting the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to set reasonable standards for big polluters’ greenhouse gas emissions.

As small business owners, we know our businesses are the backbone of our local economies. And we know climate change poses a direct threat both to the health of local communities and to the economic stability of small businesses and local economies. The Main Street Alliance extends its support for the EPA to do its job, protect the public health, and set new standards for large greenhouse gas emitters.

These new standards will not only protect local economies from the perils of climate change but will also encourage investments in clean energy and create green jobs, moving our economy forward toward a new energy future, not back into the dirty energy policies of the past.

Of course, Big Oil, Big Coal and other entrenched interests are doing their best to weaken the EPA’s authority to do its job. That makes it all the more important for small business owners like you to stand up and be heard on this issue that is so important for the future of small businesses and the communities we serve.

Please join us in signing on to the Main Street Alliance’s Stand With Small Businesses, Not Big Polluters statement on new EPA standards.

On July 22-23, a dynamic team of 50 small business leaders from 17 states spanning the country from Maine to Washington gathered in Washington, DC for MSA’s national small business summit on the theme “America’s Small Business Values at Work.” Small business leaders led a packed agenda that included briefings on a range of issues, a press conference on health reform, Hill visits with congressional offices, workshops on health reform implementation and responsible taxes, and strategic planning sessions. The summit created opportunities for small business leaders to speak for themselves on issues that matter to the Main Street small business community across America.

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On July 16, the Main Street Alliance and Small Business Majority released results of a poll of 319 small business owners in ME, MA and NH indicating strong support for clean energy and climate legislation. John Naylor, owner of Rosemont Markets based in Portland, ME, spoke on a press conference call about the poll results with representatives from the Main Street Alliance and Public Policy Polling.

Click here to listen to the audio of the press call

Click here to download state-by-state results

On June 17, the Main Street Alliance joined Small Business Majority in filing a friend of the court brief in U.S. district court in Virginia, registering small business opposition to the lawsuit attempting to repeal key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Virginia MSA leader Tammy Rostov joined SBM CEO John Arensmeyer and attorney Joseph Sandler on a press call to discuss the brief.

Click here to download the audio file from the press call

Click here to read the brief

Reuters small business columnist Deborah L. Cohen profiles Iowa MSA leader ReShonda Young in this piece highlighting MSA’s work to create opportunities for small business owners to speak for themselves, building a new national voice for small businesses.

Read the full article at Reuters.com

On May 19, after a long floor debate and many amendments, the Senate passed the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010. The action now moves to a conference committee where differences between the Senate’s bill and the one passed by the House in December must be reconciled.

The Main Street Alliance submitted a letter signed by over 100 small business owners from more than 20 states to Senate leaders in late April outlining key priorities for the financial overhaul package. Along with continuing to press for a strong consumer protection arm to protect small business owners and their customers, MSA is pushing to end “casino style” proprietary trading by commercial banks and refocus banks on the important role of extending credit to small businesses.

Read the letter here

On June 28, the Main Street Alliance released an endorsement letter for the Local Jobs for America Act, a proposal to create and save 1 million public and private sector jobs and give a much-needed boost to local economies as the economic recovery hangs in the balance. In the letter, small business leaders write, “To promote a robust recovery, we need concerted action to create and save good-paying jobs that are the bedrock of the small business customer base.”

Read the full letter

On June 10th, MSA submitted a letter to Conferees from the House of Representatives and the Senate working to reconcile the two financial reform bills. The letter highlights three important points for small businesses in the legislation.  The Conferees were asked to support an independent consumer financial protection agency, putting an end to proprietary trading and including long overdue debit card protections for business owners.

Read the full letter

On May 25, MSA submitted a letter to President Obama, House and Senate Leaders, SBA Administrator Karen Mills and Cabinet Secretaries commemorating National Small Business Week. The letter assesses progress on Main Street policy priorities and lays out a vision for advancing policies that benefit small business owners, their employees, and the communities they serve.

Read the full letter

Small business owners in the MSA network welcomed the passage of a comprehensive health reform package in late March. The final reform package makes big winners of small businesses by ending insurance company discrimination, promoting affordability, expanding choices and containing costs.

Download fact sheet

One of the immediate benefits of the new health care law is a premium tax credit that will make health coverage more affordable for small businesses. Want to find out if your business could qualify for the credit? The Center for American Progress has created a handy online calculator.

Go to calculator

In his speech on health care reform in Portland, Maine on Thursday, President Obama highlighted Bill Milliken, owner of Maine Beer and Beverage and Market House Coffee in downtown Portland. The President talked about how the health reform package will help Bill afford health coverage for more of his workers. Bill is a member of the Maine Small Business Coalition.

Watch the video clip

Read the story in the Portland Press Herald

Based on a survey of 1,237 small business owners from 13 states, this report assesses participating small businesses’ experiences with the economic recession and evaluates Main Street business owners’ views on financial reform. The survey found strong support among participating small business owners for financial reform and creation of a consumer financial protection agency.

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