Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Will Promote Contributions of Franchises
The International Franchise Association is pumped about the relaunch of the Congressional Franchise Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers who will inform the public about the contributions that franchise businesses make in their communities. The Congressional Franchise Caucus is co-chaired by Republican Reps. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma and Beth Van Duyne of Texas, and Democratic Reps. Tony Cárdenas of California and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey. The original Congressional Franchise Caucus was launched in 2016.
Michael Layman, the IFA’s senior vice president of government relations and public affairs, said his organization is “grateful to the leadership of Reps. Hern, Cárdenas, Van Duyne and Gottheimer for helping to educate their colleagues on how franchising improves lives for so many entrepreneurs, workers and customers.” The revival of the caucus comes about seven years after it was originally established.
What the Co-Chairs Say
Hern, who knows about franchising firsthand, said he looks forward to participating in the caucus. “As a former franchise owner, I know how important it is to have government leaders who understand what it’s like to live on the other side of the policies and regulations coming from D.C. I’m excited for the opportunity to co-chair the Franchise Caucus and help advance the priorities of franchisees around the country.”
Cárdenas also has been directly involved in the industry and entrepreneurship. “As a former franchise and small business owner, I am proud to join my colleagues in serving as a co-chair of the Congressional Franchise Caucus. The franchise model offers an avenue for new business owners to build generational wealth while removing some of the uncertainty that comes with starting a business from square one. Many of these businesses are minority-, woman- and veteran-owned and play an important role in our economy. I look forward to working through the caucus to ensure their voices are heard in Congress.”
Van Duyne hailed franchise business as “a vital part of economic growth and opportunity for our country. I continue to hear from North Texan franchise small businesses about the many challenges they face – from workforce issues to regulatory troubles – and am working to get the federal government out of the way for our job creators. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to deliver solutions that help our nation’s franchise small businesses continue to operate through the challenges they face.”
In Gottheimer’s home state of New Jersey, he says there are “nearly 20,000 local franchise establishments supporting more than 200,000 jobs and contributing billions in economic output. I’m proud to help relaunch the bipartisan franchise caucus this Congress to ensure we’re supporting franchise small businesses, franchise owners and employees” through policies that strengthen the U.S. economy.
Impact of U.S. Franchises
There are 790,000-plus franchise businesses in the United States that produce $825.4 billion of economic output, according to the IFA. Franchising also supports more than 8 million direct jobs and generates nearly 3% of the nation’s gross domestic product. Franchise businesses are varied in the products and services they provide, hotels to health care to home services, and education to restaurants.
People of color own roughly 26% of franchises, and veterans own 14%, IFA further states. And a third of franchise owners say they wouldn’t own a small business without the franchise business format. State-by-state statistics regarding the economic contributions of franchising in each state is available here.
IFA members regularly meet with lawmakers at various levels of government on behalf of the franchise business model. One key initiative is the IFA’s annual Washington, D.C., leadership summit, when franchise industry leaders meet with members of Congress about pending legislation and federal regulations. Another is the Open for Opportunity Roadshow, where IFA members bring franchisees, franchisors and local legislators together to discuss the value of franchising.