The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce is encouraging you to add some advocacy to your August by making your voice heard!

Take advantage of your U.S. Representatives and Senators being at home for the August congressional recess by speaking out about priorities for LGBT business owners and the community at large. Schedule a meeting in their district offices, send a letter or attend a town hall. Now is the time to let your elected representatives hear your views on important issues like health care reform and ENDA.

Health care reform

With all of the misinformation being circulated about health care reform, it's easy to see why people would rather tune out than speak up, but this is an important time to ensure priorities of LGBT small businesses are a part of any health reform measure passed by Congress. Tell members of Congress that it's time to put partisan politics aside and pass meaningful health care reform.

With more than 36 percent of small businesses that offer health insurance saying they are either cutting back on coverage for employees or dropping it completely, the issue has reached a critical point. The NGLCC believes the following items must be a part of any health reform measure that moves forward:

Increasing options for small business coverage
The NGLCC supports a mechanism for small businesses to pool together to purchase health insurance, decrease costs and increase options. In many states, small business owners have only one or two choices of insurance providers. A recent study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) shows that in most states, the five largest insurers control 90 percent of the market. Access to larger purchasing pools is needed to help lower the costs of insurance for small businesses.

Tax incentives for small businesses to offer health insurance to employees
Tax incentives for small business owners and tax parity for the self-employed will help small firms purchase the coverage they desire and become more competitive. These firms want to succeed, and they want to provide health insurance. Small businesses pay on average 18 percent higher premiums than big business, and tax incentives can help level the playing field.

No coverage mandate for small businesses
Of those small businesses that do not currently offer health insurance for employees, 76 percent cite affordability issues as their number one reason for not offering health coverage. Coverage mandates and additional costs are not only counter intuitive, but will serve to push small businesses to failure.

Domestic partner parity in coverage
Businesses, large and small, should not be penalized with the unfair taxation of domestic partner health benefits, as is currently the case. Such taxes are an impediment to increasing coverage. Businesses are not taxed for offering spousal and dependent coverage of opposite-sex married couples, but businesses are taxed for same-sex domestic partner coverage of employees. Any health reform plan should include tax parity for domestic partner health coverage.

Employment Non-Discrimination

Working as an active part of the United ENDA Coalition, the NGLCC was pleased to see the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) include employment protections for transgender employees. ENDA would outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) introduced the measure earlier this summer and members need to hear from you now.

"Members of Congress need to know that the LGBT community and our allies are solidly behind an inclusive ENDA," said NGLCC president and co-founder Justin Nelson. "Hearing from constituents during the recess is vitally important to the long-term prospects of passage." Nelson noted that in 29 states it is still legal to be fired from your job because of your sexual orientation and in 38 states because of your gender identity.

The NGLCC is asking LGBT and allied businesses to contact their elected representatives and make their voices heard in favor of a fully inclusive ENDA. Encourage members of Congress to support the Frank-Ros-Lehtinen bill in the House of Representatives and the bill sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkely, D-Ore., in the Senate.