Educate Yourself! MBA Members Encouraged to Attend Western Pennsylvania Legislative Reception September 22 Event to Be Held at CNX Resources
The Manufacturer & Business Association’s (MBA) mission is to build a pro-business environment in Pennsylvania.
That is a simply stated goal, but what does it really mean and how do we do it? From the point of view of this lobbyist, who has been working at her craft for 15 years, it begins and ends with one word — education.
As a businessperson, it is important to actively build and maintain a general awareness – educate yourself – about what is happening at the state and federal levels of government and how these actions impact business. The MBA helps with this through newsletters, this column, legislative updates and other programming.
It is important to know your lawmakers, state and federal, and to occasionally pick up the phone, write them a letter, or send them an email. Educate them about your top concerns.
Elected officials must continually be reminded that smaller businesses are backbone of the Pennsylvania economy. They need to understand smaller businesses; know how many employees a business has, how a business gets customers, how businesses meet payroll and the barriers to growth.
Those who write the laws and regulations must be aware of how their actions and consequences impact smaller businesses. If we are silent, it means that we are “OK” with the status quo.
To understand their viewpoint, sign up for their email newsletters to become educated about their work. The MBA helps with this. You can easily find your lawmakers and their contact information on the MBA Government Affairs website at https://www.mbausa.org/ services-and-benefits/government-affairs/.
However, the best education is to meet lawmakers in a social atmosphere – not just when you need something – so they can speak directly, face-to-face, and increase their understanding of businesspeople and vice versa. Hopefully, through education, misconceptions can be eliminated. Some lawmakers think businesspeople “write everything off” and turn on the “money spigot” at will. Likewise, some businesspeo- ple think lawmakers are “bought and sold” by big business and are not interested in addressing smaller business’ concerns. The MBA helps with this.
Meet With State and Federal Lawmakers
MBA is partnering with the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and the Pittsburgh Business Exchange to host the first reception of its kind in the western half of the state, the Western Pennsylvania Legislative Reception. All 90 western Pennsylvania lawmakers, state and federal, are invited to attend.
SMC Business Councils, now merged with MBA, held legislative receptions for 14 of the past 15 years. This new, expanded event will have a much broader attendance of lawmakers and the region’s corporate leaders and smaller business owners. The goal is to make it the biggest and best legis- lative reception in western Pennsylvania.
The reception creates an opportunity for you to speak with lawmakers, so you can educate lawmakers about the issues of top concern to business. Through conversation you can educate yourself about issues and government.
The MBA sincerely invites you to attend. The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. September 22, 2021 at CNX Resources in Canonsburg, PA. A sell-out crowd of 400 people is expected.
Another fact that elevates this reception above others is the evening’s special guest, Speaker of the House, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Bryan Cutler. We in Pennsylvania are very fortunate to have Representative Cutler at the helm. He is dedicated, conscientious, and an extremely knowledgeable individual. Come and say hello to him!
This is a step you can take to build a pro-business environment in Pennsylvania.
Watch your inbox for registration details or email me at eileenanderson@mbausa.org.
