West Virginia small business owner Chris Yura will join a group of small business owners from across the country in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 17, where they will spend several days speaking about small businesses’ needs with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), administration officials and members of the Small Business Administration, among others.
Yura is part of Small Business Majority’s Network Council—business owners from various industries across the nation who volunteer their time and entrepreneurial expertise to educate policymakers and the media about the biggest issues facing small businesses today. This will be the 2nd annual Network Council Trip hosted by Small Business Majority. The group will spend three days in the Capitol discussing issues including healthcare reform, clean energy, taxes, access to capital, immigration reform and more.
On Thursday, Sept. 19, members of the Council will also participate in a tax and entrepreneurship panel co-hosted by The Hill Newspaper and Small Business Majority, with keynote addresses given by Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Ben Cardin (D-MD). The panel will discuss key tax policies currently on the table and small businesses’ struggle to access capital.
“I am excited to go to Washington on behalf of my company and other small businesses to tell lawmakers what we need to not only survive in this economy, but to grow,” said Yura, owner of SustainU Clothing in Morgantown. “I plan on listening to my representatives and proposing some ideas on policies I’d like to see coming out of Washington to help small businesses succeed. Small businesses are the backbone of this country and we need to work toward solutions that help our companies flourish.”
Yura and other members of Small Business Majority’s Network Council will also meet with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Bill Corr and others as time and schedules permit.
Small business owners will be traveling from 15 states, including: California, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia. Follow the group on Twitter at @SmlBizMajority #SBVoices from Sept. 17-19, 2013.
About Small Business Majority
Small Business Majority is a national small business advocacy organization, founded and run by small business owners, to support America’s 28 million small businesses. We conduct extensive opinion and economic research and work with our rapidly growing network of small business owners across the country to ensure their voices are an integral part of the public policy debate.
