Newsletter: Helping Small Businesses Succeed
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Being home last week for the Independence Day holiday provided a wonderful opportunity to hear from people all around the Tenth District.
It was a particular honor to attend the opening ceremonies for the Department of Defense Warrior Games in Chicago, and then speak to several Gold Star families and Wounded Warriors at a ceremony at Naval Station Great Lakes on the evening of July 4.
We also hosted a Health Care Forum on Friday. This event was a chance to hear real-life stories from people affected by the ACA, followed by an engaged conversation about both the challenges and the opportunities for improving our nation's health care system.
And now for something completely different...later this week, I'm hosting my first Facebook Live Town Hall. Read on for details on how to join!
HELPING SMALL BUSINESSES SUCCEED
In Congress, I'm focused on creating jobs and promoting a growing economy that raises the standard of living for all Americans, and that starts with supporting the small businesses that are the engine of our economy.
Last week, we hosted an event to connect local entrepreneurs with the many resources and organizations available in our community to help their businesses grow and succeed. The Small Business Administration, Small Business Advocacy Council, SCORE, U.S. Navy, area banks, and much more were on hand to answer questions for attendees. It was also a pleasure to welcome my friend and Ranking Member on the House Small Business Committee, Rep. Nydia Velázquez (NY-07) to the Tenth District for this event.
Read more about the small business event on our website.
LISTENING ON HEALTH CARE
More constituents have contacted me about health care than any other issue – more than 5,000 letters, emails, and phone calls since the beginning of this year.
On Friday, we held an event to hear from more people about this issue that affects all of us. I'm grateful to everyone who came out and spoke. These stories – worrying about finding affordable coverage with a pre-existing condition, facing rising costs while approaching retirement age, losing coverage if the Medicaid expansion were reversed – are what I carry with me to DC and why I'm so opposed to President Trump's reckless repeal plan.
This event also made clear our health care system is far from perfect. But passing this legislation would move us in the wrong direction - making our current problems worse and leaving millions more without insurance. The way forward is working together to improve our current health care system rather than undermining it through repeal.
Read coverage of Friday's health care event in the Lake County News-Sun.
FACEBOOK LIVE TOWNHALL
So far this year, we've held more than a dozen Congress On Your Corner events around the Tenth District to hear from you and answer questions. While I'm in Washington this week, we're trying something a little different – a Facebook Live Town Hall.
Please join us on Facebook at 1:00pm on Thursday, July 13. To submit a question ahead of time, visit my Facebook page and leave a comment or send me a message on Twitter using #AskBrad. I'll also be answering a few questions submitted live.
NEIGHBORHOOD OFFICE HOURS
Our office hosts frequent Neighborhood Office Hours for constituents to more easily meet with caseworkers and staff to discuss any federal issues that they may have and learn more about services our office can provide. We're here to help if you have issues with Medicare, Social Security, the Veterans Administration, immigration and more.
This week, we'll be in Des Plaines, Grayslake, Zion, Highwood, NorthChicago, and Deerfield. Check out the full schedule on our website and come meet with us when we're in your community!
WEEKLY WRAP-UP
At a ceremony honoring Gold Star families at Naval Station Great Lakes on July 4th.
Answering questions at our "Congress on Your Corner" event Saturday in Niles. Health care was a major topic of conversation here and throughout the district this week.
Continuing our "Brad At Your Business" series with a visit to the Greek-American Rehabilitation and Care Center in Wheeling to learn more about their work with seniors.
Eating lunch with Rep. Velázquez, Mayor Cunningham and local small business owners at Juan's Chuck Wagon before our small business event.
Meeting some younger constituents at the Gospel on the Beach event in Waukegan.
Having a great time at the Scoop the Loop event in Waukegan.
As always, please continue to stay in touch and share your thoughts, either by calling our DC office at (202) 225-4835 or emailing via our website.
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Brad Schneider
Member of Congress