Sen. Susan Collins and NFIB President Brad Close with Collins’ Guardian of Small Business Award. Photo contributed by the office of Sen. Susan Collins

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins received the Guardian of Small Business Award from the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation’s largest small business association, for her “advocacy on behalf of job creators.”

“Small businesses are the job-creating engines that power our economy, employing nearly half of American private sector workers,” Collins said in a news release. “From downtown main streets to rural parts of our state, small businesses contribute to the vitality of communities and support families. Throughout my Senate service, I have championed policies that help small businesses start, grow and prosper, and I am honored to receive this recognition from the NFIB.”

“The NFIB Guardian of Small Business Award is presented to senators who have proven themselves to be real champions of small business,” said NFIB President and CEO Brad Close. “This Congress, small businesses emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic but faced continual threats of high inflation, workforce shortages, and supply chain disruptions. These NFIB Guardians demonstrated strong support of small businesses on key issues. NFIB is unique in that we only represent small and independent businesses, and our members decide our policy positions. We are proud to recognize the elected officials from the 117th Congress who earned this distinction by taking pro-small business votes that supported an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program and opposed tax increases and new mandates that would have threatened Main Street’s economic recovery. NFIB commends Senator Collins on being named a Guardian of Small Business.”

In 2020, Collins co-authored the Paycheck Protection Program to help small employers stay afloat and continue paying their workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Maine, small businesses received more than 47,000 forgivable loans totaling $3.2 billion, supporting hundreds of thousands of Maine jobs.

The Guardian of Small Business is NFIB’s most prestigious award. It is reserved for lawmakers who vote to support key issues that are important to small business owners.