Small business groups urge lawmakers to vote against reform

A host of groups and coalitions representing small businesses on Thursday ramped up their campaigns to encourage lawmakers to vote against House Democrats' healthcare bill.

The more 50 employer associations that comprise the Small Business Coalition for Affordable Healthcare, as well as the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), separately mailed letters to lawmakers to stress that votes for House Democrats' healthcare proposal would essentially function as votes against small business.

NFIB in particular even threatened to count Saturday's scheduled vote as a "key vote" that would affect how the group ultimately rates members' records on small and independent business issues.



"Because H.R. 3962 will not lower healthcare costs and threatens our economic recovery, NFIB will consider a 'NO' vote a vote in support of small business," wrote Susan Eckerly, one of NFIB's senior vice presidents.

Both the NFIB and the employers' coalition take issue with the same provisions in H.R. 3962 that they did with its predecessor, H.R. 3200: the inclusion of an employer mandate, the introduction of new taxes and fees to pay for reform, the creation of a public option that could hurt private enterprise and the expansion of "poorly structured" healthcare tax credits.

Taken together, they argue, those provisions are sure to constrain businesses' growth and prevent them from hiring new workers.

"While we agree that reforms msut be made to improve access to quality, affordable healthcare, [we] are deeply concerned about the devastating impact this legislation will have on their businesses, their employees and the overall economic recovery," the coalition, which boasts such members as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, wrote Thursday.

Both groups sent their respective letters to all lawmakers this week, but the apparent targets seem to be Blue Dog Democrats, many of whom still seem to be on the fence about Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) proposed reform. The NFIB's effort alone is unlikely to sway those lawmakers to vote against the bill, but its release on Thursday -- a day filled with protests of Democrats' healthcare bill -- nonetheless makes Democrats' vote-whipping process ahead of Saturday all the more difficult.

"NFIB will continue to advocate for reform because, as both democratic and republican lawmakers have said, the status quo is not acceptable," the group wrote. "Our small business owners agree, but reform must make the problem better, not worse."