On March 11, 2020, National LGBT Chamber of Commerce and a large coalition of NGLCC Affiliate Chambers sent a letter to congressional leadership urging Congress to strongly consider small businesses, nonprofits, associations, and hourly works when drafting any potential aid legislation for industries impacted by coronavirus. See the text of the letter below, along with the full list of signatories in the images attached.
To learn more, reach us at advocacy@nglcc.org
RE: Potential Aid for Industries Impacted by Coronavirus
Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leaders McConnell, McCarthy and Schumer:
We, the undersigned, represent the network of national offices and affiliates chambers of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). The NGLCC and our affiliate chambers serve as the business voices of the national and local LGBT business communities. NGLCC was founded as the exclusive organization for certification of LGBT-owned businesses and works to foster opportunities for small businesses and corporate members to promote an inclusive economy through supply chain activities. Per NGLCC’s groundbreaking America’s LGBT Economy Report, the LGBT business owners we collectively represent add more than $1.7 trillion to the US economy and create tens of thousands of jobs nationwide.
We write regarding prospective federal intervention to support the airline, travel and other targeted industries impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic. The NGLCC and our affiliate partners urges you to also include small businesses with limited access to bridge capital, small businesses employing hourly employees, trade associations, nonprofits and other tax- exempt organizations within any federal aid packages or supplemental appropriations measures, as many have been and will be harmed by slowing in dues collections, event cancellations, and reduced meeting attendance as a result of COVID-19. Our organizations are primarily 501(c)(6) and 501(c)(3) that represent thousands of small businesses and together employ tens of thousands of people across the country. To keep our economy strong, our organizations and those we represent must be strong—and we must be included in any relief packages for the American workforce.
We know many of our partner are sending similar request, showing the solidarity in the business and nonprofits communities for this ask. We offer two additional recommendations:
1) Ensure that hourly employees and paid interns, who are the majority of many smaller associations and organizations, are not left out of these essential measures.
2) Provide a fix for the drafting error in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 to ensure the 15-year Qualified Improvement Property (QIP) benefits are included, as intended. Small businesses are the economic engine that provides jobs for the majority of America’s workforce. Further delay in fixing this error will increase its negative impact, decrease economic activity and threaten job creation.
According to the Events Industry Council’s 2018 Economic Significant Study conducted byOxford Economics , more than 1.9 million meetings occur in the United States each year – with more than 250 million attendees. These meetings contribute more than $446 billion to U.S. gross domestic product and directly support 5.9 million jobs nationwide. The NGLCC produces the world’s largest LGBT business event – the NGLCC International Business & Leadership Conference—and our local affiliates produce monthly, if not weekly, programs that substantially impact local economies.
Many associations like ours operate similarly to small businesses and are greatly impacted if employees are forced to take sick leave or are quarantined as a result of COVID-19 interaction. We are aware the Trump Administration and Congress are considering measures for small businesses that may require cash flow assistance amid the outbreak, and urge that tax-exempt entities be included in any temporary aid designed to stem the economic fallout resulting from COVID-19.
