PRESS RELEASE
August 17, 2021
Contact:
Frank Knapp
803-600-6874
fknapp@scsbc.org
Columbia, SC–Today the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce (SCSBCC) announced its support of voting rights legislation in the US Senate. The 21-year-old chamber also is supporting a Senate filibuster carveout for Constitutional issues, like voting rights, as proposed by South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn.
“It’s not a coincidence that the United States has a strong democracy and a thriving entrepreneurial economy second to none. The two go hand-in-hand,” said Frank Knapp Jr., president and CEO of the SCSBCC. “Entrepreneurship and a nation’s entire economy suffer when electoral power is removed from the people allowing an autocratic government and the politically well-connected to control the business ventures of others.”
The chamber points to a national survey released in June of over 1,000 small business owners showing great concern for our democracy.
That survey found 60% of small business owners voicing concern over the current state of our democracy, with 38% saying it is ‘Poor’ and 22% saying it is ‘Very Bad.’
The same survey also found strong support for voting rights legislation. H.R. 1, the For the People Act, was supported by 74% of the small business owners. An overwhelming majority (86%) of small business owners said that there should be limits on the amount of money individuals and third-party groups, like PACs and Super PACs, can donate to political campaigns and candidates.
“Small business owners understand how important a healthy democracy is to a thriving economy,” said Knapp. “They want our leaders in Washington to take action to protect voting rights. If the Senate can’t pass bipartisan voting rights legislation under current rules, then the filibuster carveout must be enacted.”
The current Senate filibuster rule of 60 votes needed to pass legislation has had 162 exceptions enacted since 1969.
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