People in the news

Dan Danner

President and CEO, National Federation of Independent Business (since February 2009)

(NFIB)

Why He Matters

The voice of the small businessman in Washington, Danner will have a say in many of the major debates taking place this year from health-care reform to new labor legislation.

A former steel industry lobbyist, Danner spent time in Reagan's White House and Commerce Department before finding his place representing small-business owners at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Vice president, National Federation of Independent Business (1993 to 2009); Vice president of federal relations, George Mason University, (1991 to 1993); Chief of staff to Commerce Secretary William Verity, (1987 to 1989)
Hometown: Middletown, Ohio
Alma Mater: Purdue University, B.S, Electrical Engineering, 1968; Xavier University, M.B.A. 1971 (part-time)

Spouse: Bekki
Web site

Path to Power

Danner grew up in Middletown, Ohio and received a B.S. in electrical engineering from Purdue University.

But the outgoing Danner and engineering desk job wasn't for him. "I was very interested in people and everything about people," he said.

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After graduation he took a job in sales and marketing at Armco, Inc., a steel company headquartered in his hometown.

He enrolled in a part-time MBA program at Xavier University, and earned his degree in three years of Saturday morning classes.

Small Business Owner

After business school, Danner stayed at Armco, but in his spare time became what he called "a frustrated small-business-owner-wannabe."

He and a partner started three different small-business ventures in refrigerator rentals, music and games. "The most we ever had was one and a half employees," Danner said.

Still, he was shocked at the complications and challenges. "We paid taxes in two different states and multiple counties." None of Danner's side-businesses took off, but "I learned how hard and frustrating it is," he said, knowledge that he would use later in his career representing small-business owners.

Early Political Involvement

Danner became involved with the local Jaycees in the mid-1970s and became a member of the Middletown Chamber of Commerce.

Soon after, he began running political campaigns, first for a friend running for re-election to the local school board, then for another friend who was challenging an incumbent for a spot on the city commission. "To my very good fortune, both won," Danner said. "That really got me involved in politics."

Armco Steel

The head of government affairs at Armco had noticed Danner's extracurricular activities. He asked Danner if he'd like to be a lobbyist for the steel company.

"I said, 'I'm not sure. What do I do?'" Danner remembered. "They said it's essentially a sales-type job: know the product, know the customer."

That sounded like something Danner could do. In 1976, he moved to Columbus, Ohio, where Armco's state lobbying efforts were focused.

In fall 1978, he transferred to Washington, D.C., to work on federal issues for Armco. At the time, that meant lobbying the government on energy and trade issues as they related to the steel industry. He stayed at Armco until 1986, eventually becoming manager of its national legislative services.

Reagan White House

In early 1986, Danner went to the Reagan White House as deputy director of the Office of Public Liaison, now called the White House Office of Public Engagement. The American steel industry was in a downward spiral, and Danner was looking for opportunities to expand beyond Armco. At the Office of Public Liaison, new head Mari Maseng, who is now married to conservative pundit George Will, was looking for someone to revamp the office's business outreach. Danner took the job.

He remained at the White House until October 1987 when, after the death of then-Commerce Secretary Howard Baldridge, President Reagan named former Armco CEO William Verity as the new secretary.

Verity and Danner had been close both professionally and personally. Danner called the older man "an enormous influence on me, and one of the nicest, most caring people I have ever met."

"I watched from the inside as his choice came about," Danner said. "And then he asked me to go to the Commerce Department as his chief of staff."

Danner had worked with the Commerce Department during his time in the steel industry, but that was mostly from a trade standpoint. Once in the head office, "The diversity of the agency was an enormous eye-opener," he said. He helped Verity manage agencies as diverse as the National Weather Service and the U.S. Patent Office, where he oversaw a computer upgrade to "get patents out of shoeboxes," he said.

Danner served at Commerce for 19 months, staying on to help new Secretary Robert Mosbacher's transition when George H.W. Bush became president in 1989.

George Mason University

"I was thinking that a little while out of Washington would be restful," said Danner, who spent about two and a half years in Fairfax County, Va., helping George Mason University with a capital campaign as the school's vice president of federal relations from 1991 to 1993.

"I very quickly missed downtown Washington," Danner confessed. "I like everything about it."

National Federation of Independent Business

In summer 1993, Danner returned to the city he loves to work for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a lobbying group that represents America's small businesses in Washington.

He came aboard as the vice president of the NFIB's non-profit education foundation, one of three non-profit arms. The other two are a research arm and a Small Business Legal Center. The group also has a for-profit member services branch.

In 1995, he shifted over to another NFIB branch to head the association's lobbying and political action arm. Over the years, more and more of NFIB's activities fell under Danner's jurisdiction. In February 2009, he became NFIB president and CEO.

The Issues

"I love what we do, I love what we stand for, and I love who our members are," Danner said.

"I'm a huge believer in small business," said Danner, who considers himself a frustrated small business owner who "maybe didn't have the guts that some of our members do."

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Danner believes the entrepreneurs he represents are truly the backbone of the American dream, and he's a passionate advocate for the issues that matter to them, including tax reform, reducing health-insurance costs and keeping the power of labor unions in check.

Health-Care Reform

The cost of providing health insurance to employees is crippling small businesses across the country, so reforming health care has been "a top issue for our members for a dozen or more years," Danner said.

"The small group market where our guys buy [insurance] is fundamentally broken," Danner said. He cited research that said owners of small businesses have to pay rates up to 20 percent more than owners of larger companies because the employee pools are smaller. Danner likes the idea of creating a regional or even a national marketplace through the use of a pool or connector program. "Something that gives [small business owners] more choice and hopefully lowers cost," he said.

Danner said that unlike during the 1993-1994 health-care reform debate, "the status quo is no longer an option for our members. They really want something, need something done," he said.

The NFIB has allied itself with many organizations who also agree that action must be taken, including the Business Roundtable, the American Association of Retired People (AARP) and the SEIU.

Although Danner is also against mandating that employers provide health care for their employees, he has also allied with the health-insurance industry in voicing opposition to a government-run insurance option.

"I would say as a starting point, we are not in favor of a public plan," Danner said at a spring 2009 conference of the private health-insurance industry. He was joined by Karen Ignagni, who heads America's Health Insurance Plans.

"I think our members generally favor a private health-care marketplace," Danner said. "And second, we would have concerns whether you do in fact crowd out, by government competition; you crowd out the private sector."

Taxes

Expect the NFIB to take strong positions on hot topics in tax policy, including the upcoming debates over the estate tax, alternative minimum tax and S corporations, which usually do not pay any income taxes.

The estate tax, which is up for renewal at the end of 2009, is an especially crucial issue for Danner's members. He said that "A great many of them are family businesses and farms and they want to be able to pass that on without having the business dismantled."

Emissions Reduction

The NFIB has come out strongly against a cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions, which Danner said could drive up utility bills by 40 percent. There are small businesses out there today that could not take that and still stay in business," Danner said.

"This is much more than an environmental issue," said Danner, who calls the program "Tax and trade."

Labor

Danner has pledged to fight against labor-mandated employee benefits, such as mandatory paid sick leave and expanded family leave. Business groups argue such requirements put an unfair financial strain on the owners of small businesses.

The NFIB is also fighting hard against the Employee Free Choice Act, which contianed a provision opponents call "card check." The provision would have given workers the option to forgo a secret-ballot election and unionize once a majority of them had signed cards in favor of unions.

Opponents say eliminating a secret ballot opens workers up to intimidation by pro-union groups. "To eliminate a secret ballot election is, we think, is just wrong," Danner said.

Even in the event the union does choose to hold a secret ballot vote, Danner disagrees with the legislation's allowance for binding arbitration in the case of disputes. "To have an arbitrator tell you what to pay [your employees] is just wrong," he said.

In July 2009, Democrats withdrew the "card-check" provision from the bill. They said the remaining bill would still make it easier for workers to unionize by shortening the union elections.

The Network

Danner has deep ties to the Washington business community, including to Thomas J. Donohue, who heads the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

On health-care reform, Danner's NFIB has allied themselves with groups, including Karen Ignagni's AHIP and Andy Stern's SEIU.

Additional Resources