Advocacy

In a victory for the banking industry, a federal appeals court has overturned a July 2013 ruling by a U.S. district court that ordered the Federal Reserve to rewrite rules to lower the cap on debit card swipe fees.

The Annual Children’s Book Art Auction and Reception to benefit ABFFE will be hosted this year by bestselling author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka. The auction will be held on Wednesday evening, May 28, at BEA.

ABFFE and more than 30 civil liberties and privacy groups have sent a letter urging Congress and the president to adopt reforms limiting intelligence agencies to searching only records that pertain to people who are suspected of planning or committing illegal acts.

ABA recently met with the staff of six U.S. representatives on the House Committee on the Judiciary to urge them to reach a consensus in support of sales tax fairness legislation.

ABFFE has joined civil liberties and open government groups in urging President Obama to speed the release of a Congressional report on the CIA program that detained suspected terrorists in secret prisons and subjected them to coercive interrogation techniques following the 9/11 attacks.

On  March 12, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary held a full committee hearing on the issue of sales tax fairness. The hearing focused on various ideas for collecting sales tax on remote sales not covered in the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013.

Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, explains why this week's filing of an amicus brief in a case that will be heard by the Supreme Court in April is a particularly appropriate moment to consider the important role that booksellers play in defending free speech.

Due to the snowstorm on March 3 in Washington, D.C., the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary hearing on sales tax fairness legislation scheduled for March 4 has been postponed until March 12. The postponement forced ABA to cancel its Advocacy Day planned for March 4.

On Tuesday, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies hosted a webinar on the findings of this year’s Independent Business Survey, the post-holiday survey of independent business owners across the U.S., which was released earlier this month.

With the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary scheduled to hold a hearing on sales tax fairness on March 4, ABA is calling on booksellers to express their support by creating testimonials and meeting with their representatives at local district offices during the mid-February congressional recess.

Booksellers who have been providing health insurance to their employees should remember that the Affordable Care Act includes federal tax credits for small businesses.

A post-holiday survey of 2,602 independent business owners across the U.S., including ABA member bookstores, has found that the Buy Local message is boosting customer traffic and improving the outlook on Main Street.

With the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary expected to hold a hearing on sales tax fairness sometime in March, ABA is urging members to show their support for this important issue by creating testimonials and meeting with their representatives at local district offices during the mid-February congressional recess.

The Small Business Majority is asking business owners to sign a letter urging lawmakers to confirm Maria Contreras-Sweet as head of the Small Business Administration as soon as possible.

ABA is asking booksellers to provide either a written or video testimonial in support of federal sales tax fairness legislation that would level the playing field for Main Street retailers.