Reps. Warnick, Manweller honored by NFIB for supporting and protecting small business

Reps. Warnick, Manweller honored by NFIB for supporting and protecting small business

Reps. Judy Warnick and Matt Manweller were each recently presented the “Guardian of Small Business Award” by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) for their voting records during the 2013-14 legislative sessions.

NFIB State Director Patrick Connor commended Warnick and Manweller for taking some difficult votes to support small businesses and being leaders on business and economic development issues.

“Representative Manweller distinguished himself as a leader on small business issues both in committee and on the floor of the House,” said Connor. “As the ranking minority member of the House Labor and Workforce Development Committee, Manweller called to task fellow lawmakers and witnesses alike whose faulty arguments in favor of more regulations and more government intervention in the private sector defied common sense and the basic laws of economics. Moreover, he was an eloquent and compelling advocate on the House floor for tax and regulatory fairness for our state’s entrepreneurs, particularly our rural small-business owners. It was an impressive showing for a freshman lawmaker.”

“As an NFIB member and small-business owner herself, Representative Warnick has an innate understanding of what it takes for job creators to be successful,” Connor explained. “Throughout her tenure in the House, Warnick has been a faithful ally, working to lessen the burden of high taxes and excessive regulations on our state’s small employers. Main Street has been fortunate to have her steadfast support in the state House.”

The award recipients are graded on votes they take during the two-year legislative cycle that help or hurt small businesses. A lawmaker must have an 80 percent voting record or higher to receive the award. Both Warnick and Manweller had a 90 percent voting record on the 10 House bills tracked by NFIB. The report card, including descriptions of the legislation, can be found here.

“I am pleased to have been recognized by NFIB for my support of small business, but we have a lot of work to do to make this a small business-friendly state,” said Manweller, R-Ellensburg. “There needs to be some stability for employers. A good start would be an end to the business-killing legislation proposed every year that is detrimental to our employers and economy. We need leadership at the top, and elected officials willing to look at what not only helps big business, but the small guys as well.”

“I see the concerns and struggles daily in the operation of our business in Moses Lake,” said Warnick, R-Moses Lake. “We need to give the private sector the opportunity and incentive to invest in or expand their business, instead of imposing or proposing rules and regulations that are damaging their livelihoods.” 

Sixty percent of members of the NFIB, America’s Voice of Small Business since 1943, have five or fewer employees. Small businesses are crucial to the fiscal condition of the state and numbered 546,885 in 2010.

The 2014 legislative session ended on March 13. The 2015 legislative session will begin on January 12.

For more information about Rep. Manweller, visit: www.representativemattmanweller.com.

For more information about Rep. Warnick, visit: www.representativejudywarnick.com.

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