ABA Members Go to Washington

Two ABA member booksellers were among an array of small business owners who traveled to Washington, D.C., on Thursday, April 11, to meet with members of Congress, and to join Representatives Steve Womack (R-AR) and Jackie Speier (D-CA) for a press conference highlighting the importance of passing the Marketplace Fairness Act this year.

The Marketplace Fairness Act recently received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate when put to a vote as an amendment to the Senate budget resolution. The fly-in was organized by the Alliance for Main Street Fairness.

Sarah Pishko of Prince Books in Norfolk, Virginia, and ABA Board member Sarah Bagby of Watermark Books & Café in Wichita, Kansas, were in Washington for the event.

At the press conference, Pishko said, “No online retailer should get a free pass when it comes to collecting sales tax. Government should not have two different sets of rules for retailers that compete against one another, that sort of interference in the free market is driving local retailers out of business. By coming to Washington, I hope our leaders can see how important this issue is to small businesses in Virginia that make up the backbone of our communities.”

Look for more on the fly-in in next week’s Bookselling This Week.