WASHINGTON -- Congressman Tom Petri has been named a National Federation of Independent Business' Guardian of Small Business for his votes on key small business issues during the 108th Congress. NFIB President and CEO Jack Faris presented the award to Petri and noted, "Congressman Petri has done what we hoped every politician would do. And that is, he said he was for small business, and then, for years and years he's been voting for small business. I've been giving him this award for the last 12 years. He votes 100% to support small business."

Petri said, "Small business is the backbone of America. We need to recognize that the hand of government regulation falls a lot heavier on a small business than it does on a big business that can afford to hire specialized people to deal with all this, and err on the side of creating more freedom and opportunity for small business rather than more regulation."

Rep. Petri receives his "Guardian of Small Business" Award from National Federation of Independent Business President Jack Faris.