Yesterday, small business owners from the Virginia Main Street Alliance joined small business coalitions across the country to call out what the Virginia Main Street Alliance calls, “the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Insurance companies’ heavy handed lobbying tactics.”
According to a Tuesday report in the National Journal online, in the summer of 2009, six of the largest health insurance companies in the country began secretly funneling millions of dollars to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to oppose health reform. The total amount was estimated to be between $10 million and $20 million. The money was used “to help underwrite tens of millions of dollars of television ads by two business coalitions set up and subsidized by the chamber.”
In Virginia, the Chamber of Commerce has spent $1,342,545 running attack ads, including $94,740 against Rep. Perriello immediately after the House of Representatives voted to pass the Affordable Health Care for America Act on November 7, 2009.
“We are grateful to Congressman Perriello who stood with small businesses and voted for health insurance reform despite insurance companies’ negative ads,” said Mary Lee Washington, a self employed business consultant in Charlottesville, “It is a shame that insurance companies have worked so hard to kill the very legislation that will allow small businesses like mine access to quality and affordable care.”
“This is our own premium dollars we’re talking about here,” said Norman Dill, owner of Rebecca’s Natural Foods in Charlottesville, “The insurance companies have taken our premium dollars, laundered them through the Chamber, and used them to lobby — in the name of the business community — against the true reform of our health care system that we so urgently need. After this, how can we trust anything the insurance companies or the U.S. Chamber says?”
The Virginia Main Street Alliance is part of the national Main Street Alliance. Founded in 2008, the Main Street Alliance is a national network of small businesses working to build a new voice for small firms on health care and other policy issues. The Alliance creates opportunities to speak for themselves about health care and how to fix it. Their growing network includes small business coalitions in 16 states. The Virginia Main Street Alliance includes businesses from every region of the Commonwealth. Alliance business members typically employ between 1 and 200 employees and are the backbone of the local community.