(2013-0924-F) National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)

The materials in FOIA 2013-0924-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. Founded in 1943, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is a conservative lobbying organization. Fortune Magazine in a recent issue ranked the NFIB as the number one business lobby and third overall among all advocacy groups. Convinced that nobody represented the interests of small business, C. Wilson Harder left his job at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in May 1943 and established the organization at Burlingame, California. He eventually moved to San Mateo and the headquarters of the group remained there for nearly fifty years before re-locating to Nashville in 1992. Under Harder’s leadership the NFIB made considerable strides, initiating a number of practices that continue to the present day. A political action committee (Save America’s Free Enterprise Trust) came into existence and within a short period of time grew to be quite influential. The creation of the Mandate Ballot was the brainchild of Harder. Every member received one of these on a regular basis in order to obtain their views on important matters affecting small businesses. Harder would then send the viewpoints of members to both Congress and state legislators. Modernized and updated, the Mandate Ballot continues to be a staple of NFIB operations in the 21st century. In recent years the NFIB has consistently supported Republican candidates at the national and local level. The 2010 elections witnessed 25 members of the organization (all Republicans) gain seats in the 112th Congress. At the same time, the NFIB took up the position of lead plaintiff in opposition to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare). It joined 26 states in a lawsuit contesting the legaility of the legislation. The case, known as National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, eventually came up before the Supreme Court. The nation’s highest court issued its ruling on June 28, 2012, upholding the central tenets of the Act. During the Clinton Adminstration, the National Federation of Independent Business outlined a platform of resistance to any changes within the health care system. The NFIB’s chief lobbyist, John Motley, put into effect a strategy targeting key senators and representatives on committees dealing with health care concerns. In addition, he would focus on small-business owners in assisting to exert pressure on these members of Congress. Specifically, employer mandates came in for increased scrutiny and criticism. In the end, the lobbying activities of the NFIB played a crucial role in the defeat of the Clinton Adminstration’s health care reform plan. As governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton established a better rapport with the NFIB. Clinton helped small business in many ways, so much so that Terry Hill, a spokesman for the group, said the manner in which he cooperated could best be described as “different and innovative.” The NFIB recognized his actions in this regard by bestowing upon him the “Guardian of Small Business” award. He ended up being the only governor to receive such an honor from the independent organization. Records responsive to this FOIA included correspondence, memoranda, press releases, transcripts, newspaper articles, publications, and handwritten notes. This material to a large degree highlight the differences between the NFIB and the Clinton Adminstration over health care reform. The president of the group during much of the 1990s, Jack Faris, wrote to President Clinton many times. In the collection, there are letters requesting President Clinton to address annual meetings of the NFIB. Faris also frequently corresponded with the White House about the position of the group on matters of special interest to small business. The WHORM-Alpha File contains correspondence between Alan S. White, Sr., Arkansas Federal Liaison Officer of the NFIB, and President Clinton relating to a possible speaking engagement at the 50th Anniversary of the organization in June 1993. In the end, President Clinton, did address the NFIB in Washington, D.C. In addition, there is correspondence from White related to the re-election of Senator Dale Bumpers. The WHORM-Subject File-General contains correspondence, drafts, schedules, and publications. Included in these records is a signed letter from the NFIB’s president (along with Herman Cain, Chief Executive Officer of the National Restaurant Association, and ten other similar leaders) stating how an increase in the minimum wage would most assuredly have a detrimental effect on “mom and pop” businesses. White House Staff and Office Files including Communications and Public Liaison contain talking points, reports, charts, graphs, papers, business cards, speeches, faxes, and issue-oriented press releases by the NFIB. The files of Russell Horowitz contained a paper entitled “Relationship Between SBA (Small Business Administration) and NFIB During Clinton Administration” in which the author praised President Clinton for appointing a small business owner (Erskine Bowles) to head up the SBA. Furthermore, the writer declared the NFIB to be “particularly delighted that Administrator Bowles would have a seat on the National Economic Council and saw this as a change for small business to finally have real input into the country’s economic policy.” The files of Ann Walker contain fact sheets, memoranda, and numerous articles covering the activities of the NFIB for the time period 1987-1993. In the fact sheets the researcher can find the basic position of the group on the following issues: wedge legislation, health care, family leave, consumer affairs, labor, Americans With Disabilities Act, Social Security, corporate taxation, and technology policy. Organizations, think tanks, and newspapers include The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Crain Communications, Inc., Softline Information, Inc., U.S. Newswire, Inc., The New York Times, Federal Information Systems Corporation, Educational Broadcasting – The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, CNN, McGraw-Hill, Inc., Gannett Company, Inc., Penton/IPC, Hospitals – Journal of the American Hospital Association, American Political Network, Inc., The Heritage Foundation, Rochester Business Journal, ABC News, Investor’s Business Daily, Inc., and Newsweek. The files of Barbara Woolley contain papers rebutting the NFIB stance (particularly on health care). These papers generally contain a summary called “Response to NFIB Analysis” followed by a section referred to as “Misconceptions in the NFIB Analysis” under which each item is dealt with as “Rhetoric” and “Reality.” Examples of actual Mandate Ballots are in included in the records. Such points in these ballots include taxation (“Should taxpayers be allowed to designate up to 10% of their tax payment to reduce the deficit?”) and minimum wage (“Should the minimum wage be indexed for inflation?”).