IFA Pres. and CEO Matthew Shay participates in choice hotels international's capitol hill update.

The opening session of the Choice Hotel's 55th Annual Convention focused on the theme "Achieving more together," by highlighting that if the industry stands together the franchise and hospitality industry can make a difference on many legislative issues facing businesses.

Among a variety of issues facing the industry, the panel discussed how the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as "card check" could, if passed, significantly change workplaces across the country and ultimately hurt employer's ability to create new jobs.

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International Franchise Association Pres. and CEO Matthew Shay said that the bill has had significant support in the past, but that as members of Congress learn more about the issue, they are I reconsidering how strongly they support it. At a recent event sponsored by IFA, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid outlined his five major goals for the year, and card-check was not one of them, which indicates that card-check may not be high on Congress' agenda.

Another key issue discussed was the credit crisis. Shay said that a top issue for IFA is to work with Congress and the administration to improve access to capital. According to a new IFA report, Shay said that "for every million dollars invested in lending to a small business, you create 34 new jobs--sustainable jobs--not a job created from the stimulus package for sprucing up a mall that goes away when the mall is spruced up."

He added that IFA is spending "a significant amount of time talking to people on Capitol Hill about increasing the total loan guarantee from $2 million to $3 million, increasing the percentage of the guarantee from 75 percent to 90 percent and waiving fees on loans to small business."

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