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September 18, 2025

2025 IFA Advocacy Summit Sets New Records

More than 400 members of the franchise community gathered in Washington, D.C. this week for the 2025 IFA Advocacy Summit.

Dig deeper: Attendees heard from an all-star line-up, including marquee names such as U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, U.S. Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS), U.S. Reps. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), Don Davis (D-NC), and Kevin Hern (R-OK), CNN Commentator Scott Jennings, and many more. Attendees went to Capitol Hill to advocate for the American Franchise Act directly with lawmakers, educating them about the importance of franchising and why it must be protected.

One big thing: The week follows U.S. House introduction of the American Franchise Act, kicking off the full-scale advocacy push for the bill. As IFA’s Matt Haller discussed with Jennings during the opening night: “There is nothing like someone from a state or a district walking through the door... not only do they take you seriously in the moment, but you're viewed as part of the fabric of the community. You’ll be shocked at how influential you are.” 

Momentum Grows For Landmark American Franchise Act

On September 10, a robust bipartisan coalition of 14 members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the landmark “American Franchise Act” (AFA).

The big picture: As IFA’s Mike Layman explains in a new video, the bipartisan support is truly significant - less than 3% of the 11,000 bills introduced each Congress have more than 14 bipartisan cosponsors. This first-of-its-kind legislation recognizes that franchisees are small businesses, and their independence must be protected by federal law. It is intentionally narrow, only applying to the franchisor-franchisee relationship and not affecting joint employer determinations outside of franchising – a decision made to garner strong bipartisan support. 

Zoom out: On behalf of America’s 831,000 franchise small businesses, IFA is grateful that after a decade of back-and-forth, the days of joint employer uncertainty are numbered. Check out just a few of the headlines the AFA generated:

• Bloomberg: Bipartisan Joint Employer Bill Offers Protection for Franchises
• Politico: House lawmakers introduce bipartisan joint-employer bill
• Nation’s Restaurant News: Congress introduces bipartisan American Franchise Act to end joint employer complications

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IFA Opposes Harmful EU Mandate

IFA voiced its concern with the European Union’s (EU) Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) that targets franchising through regulatory overreach and imposes burdensome compliance costs.

Dig deeper: The CSDDD subjects U.S. franchisors to strict new requirements or face significant penalties based on global revenue.

What’s next: To protect franchising from unfair foreign regulations, IFA is supporting the Protect USA Act, federal legislation introduced that would prohibit enforcement of EU laws against U.S. companies, and urging lawmakers to encourage the EU Commission to focus their enforcement on upstream companies in the supply chain rather than franchisors.