Template:NFIB In the News

Latest News on NFIB


 * How restaurant lobby blocks living wage for fast food workers


 * "If you ask most Americans about the NRA, they will think of the National Rifle Association. But another powerful industry trade group bearing those initials, the National Restaurant Association, conducts its own campaign of duplicitous lobbying and outright deception at the expense of the public interest.


 * Restaurants employ more than 13 million workers, so it is no surprise that industry lobbyists are paid a lot of money to ensure this workforce remains disempowered.


 * The NRA, which has a staff of 750 people, spent more than $4 million in 2012 alone currying favor in Washington, D.C. But with recent fast-food strikes and restaurant workers increasingly speaking out against low wages and other forms of labor exploitation, the mask of the other NRA is slowly peeling away."


 * Koch Bros.-backed group gave millions to small business lobby


 * "NFIB and its affiliated groups received $2.5 million from Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, a conservative advocacy group with deep ties to the Koch empire. Of the five men that sit on the group's board, four are current or former employees of Koch companies and one is a friend of Charles Koch's.


 * Freedom Partners gave the NFIB $1.5 million last year, the biggest single contribution the federation received, according to tax records. The Koch-backed group gave three other NFIB-affiliated group another $1 million, making Freedom Partners among the top two biggest contributors to those groups, records show.


 * The big-money donations are raising questions about whose agenda NFIB is serving, that of mom-and-pop businesses or the captains of big industry."


 * NFIB Received Huge Koch Brothers-Linked Contribution In 2011


 * "The National Federation of Independent Business received a $500,000 contribution from a group funded by the daisy chain of conservative nonprofits linked to the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers. Since Barack Obama became president, the NFIB has been the lead plaintiff against Obamacare in the Supreme Court case, advocated for the extension of tax cuts for upper-income Americans, launched a campaign to block regulations including new emissions rules for power plants, and spent millions through its affiliate organizations to support Republican candidates for the House and Senate."


 * The Paid Sick Leave Battle Widens in the States


 * "In recent months, more and more cities and states are requiring that employers give paid sick leave to their workers. It’s a broadly popular policy, and a necessary one—one in three American workers has no guarantee of being paid during an illness, including only 25 percent of part-time workers. Aside from creating even more economic vulnerability for workers, this can greatly increase the spread of seasonal flus, which costs businesses $10.4 billion every year, according to the CDC."


 * Small Business Owners Push Back Against Anti-Tax Agenda


 * "For years, groups like the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) succeeded in portraying the consensus position of the “small business community” as staunchly favoring lower tax rates on top income earners and corporations. The tax debate surrounding the so-called “fiscal cliff” has exposed the myth that these groups actually represent small businesses and shows that many of these large national groups have very different interests at stake."


 * Business groups hold their noses and back Boehner's Plan B for fiscal cliff


 * "Both the chamber and NFIB have been strong supporters of Republicans in congressional races, so their support for Plan B could sway some conservatives to support the bill despite their misgivings about voting for any tax increase."


 * In Conference Call, Romney Urged Businesses To Tell Employees How to Vote


 * "In a June 6, 2012 conference call posted on the anti-union National Federation of Independent Business’s website, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney instructed employers to tell their employees how to vote in the upcoming election."


 * New NFIB 501(c)(4) spends in McCaskill-Akin Senate race


 * Records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics show that NFIB's "The Voice of Free Enterprise" group disclosed $10,453 in outside spending in the Missouri Senate race between Claire McCaskill and Todd Akin. The spending, disclosed on October 8, was for mailings opposing McCaskill. Read more here.


 * Funders of NFIB’s lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act also gave to Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity Foundation and ALEC


 * Contributions compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics show that in 2010 the NFIB Small Business Legal Center (SBLC) received $1.15 million from Donors Trust, a major supporter of the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity Foundation. Read more here.

Documents/Links:

 * Center for Responsive Politics compilation of donations to NFIB and affiliates
 * Donors Trust IRS form 990 for 2010 (see p. 65)
 * Bradley Foundation IRS form 990 for 2010 (see pp. 72-73)

Key Stories on NFIB


 * CNN, Koch Bros.-backed group gave millions to small business lobby, Chris Frates, November 21, 2013.


 * Businessweek, "How the Insurance Industry Funded Small Business's Anti-Obamacare Message," John Tozzi, May 14, 2013.


 * PRWatch, "NFIB's "I Built My Business" Astroturf Bus Tour Gets Rolling in Wisconsin," Harriet Rowan, October 25, 2012.


 * Dayton Business Journal, "Business group makes seven-figure ad buy in Ohio," October 23, 2012.


 * Mother Jones, "Stock Photo Women Love Conservative Politicians!," Kate Sheppard, October 16, 2012.


 * The Nation, "NFIB, a Mainstream GOP Group, Backs Akin," George Zornick, October 10, 2012.


 * Huffington Post, "NFIB Exposed: 'Voice Of Small Business' Is A Front, Group Charges," Dan Froomkin, September 26, 2012.


 * Entrepeneur, "New Site Accuses NFIB of Political Partisanship," Catherine Clifford, September 26, 2012.


 * Salon, "Who's really looking out for small biz?," Jared Bernstein, July 27, 2012.


 * Mother Jones, "Meet the Front Group Leading the Fight Against Taxing the Rich," Josh Harkinson, July 23, 2012.


 * The Hill, "Big money behind misinformation on healthcare law," Frank Knapp Jr., June 29, 2012.


 * Huffington Post, "NFIB, Plaintiff In Supreme Court Lawsuit Against Obamacare, Refuses To Disclose Donors," Greg Rosalsky, June 27, 2012.


 * 'Inc.'', "Small Business Group Under Fire on Funding," John McDermott, 'June 25, 2012.


 * Washington Post, "Clash over financial disclosure escalates, spilling into presidential race," Dan Eggen, June 23, 2012.


 * Wall Street Journal, "Lawmakers Question Small-Business Group's Funding," Angus Loten, June 14, 2012.


 * Reuters, "Who truly speaks for small businesses?" John Stoehr, May 22, 2012.


 * New York Times, "Whom Does the N.F.I.B. Represent (Besides Its Members)?" Greg Robb Mandelbaum, August 26, 2009.


 * Nashville Scene, "Size Matters: Just how big is the nation’s premier small-business lobby, really?" Sarah Kelley, July 27, 2006.

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