Main Street Alliance - Update

Iowa Main Street Alliance Members Lobby in DC

While in DC our Iowa Main Street Alliance (MSA) members went to the Department of the Treasury for a meeting with Gene Sperling, conducted Hill Visits with 4 Iowa Congressmen , and attended a Health Care for America Now coalition press event releasing the Medical Loss Ratio report featuring Senator Al Franken, Rep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey.

The Iowa Main Street Alliance delegation included Ron Dinsdale of Midvale Pinacotheca in Huxley, Alexander Grgurich of Foundry CoWorking in Des Moines, Chris Petersen of Family Farmer in Clear Lake, ReShonda Young of Alpha Express in Waterloo, and Sue Dinsdale, MSA Organizer.

Visits included:

Department of Treasury

Sue and ReShonda were invited to attend a meeting at the Department of the Treasury with Gene Sperling. Mr. Sperling is a senior adviser to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, a veteran aide of the Clinton White House, and a former National Economic Council director. He is being mentioned as a possible replacement for Peter Orszag who is expected to leave the Office Management and Budget in the Obama White House.

ReShonda told Mr. Sperling that small businesses come from a set of values; that access to credit is meaningless until you have customers and that economic stimulus is needed. She said that small businesses do not build their budgets on tax credits, but on expected revenues. The HC Bill 1099 was also brought up. This requires a business to issue a 1099 Form to all vendors starting in 2012 if the business purchases $600 or more in goods or services in a year from that vendor. ReShonda said right now she does a half dozen 1099’s, with this bill, she will be doing literally 100’s.

Mr. Sperling said that individual testimony/personalized stories, especially like what he heard from ReShonda would be helpful to members of congress.

Legislative meetings with Rep. Dave Loebsack and staffers, Rep. Bruce Braley and staffers, Rep. Leonard Boswell and staffers, and Sen. Harkin’s Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee staff.

In each meeting we talked about HC Bill 1099 and the adverse affect it will have on small business owners, increasing paperwork, staff time, expenses to accountants, etc. Our small business owners talked about how important it is to document all expenses and income, especially when applying for credit. It does not seem feasible that this will generate enough income to make it worthwhile.

We talked about Local Jobs for America Act and asked that our MOC’s support this.

We asked each MOC to consider pulling the economic stimulus for green job creation out of the cap and trade bill if it can not pass and making sure it is a part of economic stimulus.