The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce® (NGLCC) is encouraging you to add some advocacy to your August by making your voice heard!
Take advantage of your U.S. Representatives and Senators being at home for the August congressional recess by speaking out about priorities for LGBT business owners and the community at large. Schedule a meeting in their district offices, send a letter or attend a town hall. Now is the time to let your elected officials hear your views on important issues such as ENDA and the Small Business Jobs Act.
"Members of Congress need to know that the LGBT community and our allies are solidly behind an inclusive ENDA and the Small Business Jobs Act," said NGLCC president and co-founder Justin Nelson. "Hearing from constituents during the recess is vitally important to the long-term prospects of passage for both bills."
Working as an active part of the United ENDA Coalition, the NGLCC believes that the transgender-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) will pass soon. ENDA would outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) introduced the measure last summer and members need to hear from you now to get moving on the legislation.
Nelson noted that in 29 states it is still legal for workers to be fired from their jobs because of sexual orientation and in 38 states because of gender identity.
The NGLCC is asking LGBT and allied businesses to contact their elected representatives and tell them to support a fully inclusive ENDA. To help in this effort, United ENDA has developed an August Recess Calendar, which includes suggestions for when and how to set up meetings with your members or their staffs, as well as tips for writing letters to the editors of local newspapers and blogging for action on ENDA. Download the calendar here.
Find background, talking points and sample language to send to your Representatives and Senators about ENDA here.
The NGLCC is also encouraging its members and allies to encourage the Senate to support passage of the Small Business Jobs Act. Although a vote on the Senate's version of the legislation has been put on hold, the NGLCC is urging people to talk to their Senators to keep this bill on the table.
Both the House and Senate versions of the bill propose limits for SBA 7(a) loans—the most commonly used business loan, which guarantees a portion of loans provided by commercial lenders—to be increased from $2 million to $5 million; limits for a 504 loan—a long-term financing tool for economic development within a community—to be increased from $1.5 million to $5.5 million; and limits for microloans, which are designed to make small loans to small businesses, to jump from $35,000 to $50,000.
The bills also call for increases in the amount of deductible start-up expenditures, and include provisions that would increase the exclusion of capital gains taxes to 100 percent.
For more information about the Senate's version of the bill, download the summary here.
For more on the House legislation, download a summary here.
Find district office contact information for your U.S. Representative here.
Find state office contact information for your U.S. Senators here.
