International Franchise Association Awards Bipartisan Members of Congress with “Franchise Champion Award”

Members of Congress honored for standing up for policies that protect and strengthen America’s 832,000 franchise local businesses and the nearly nine million jobs they support

September 29, 2026 // Franchising.com // WASHINGTON – The International Franchise Association today announced it awarded 130 bipartisan Members of Congress with the “Franchise Champion Award” for their support of policies to protect American’s locally owned franchised businesses.

“These lawmakers have shown they will stand up for Main Street, and we are proud to honor them with the Franchise Champion Award,” said Michael Layman, IFA Chief Advocacy Officer. “Franchise small businesses across America power jobs and serve their communities, and they depend on lawmakers for a regulatory climate that will allow the franchise business model to grow now and into the future.”

The award was initially presented at the IFA26 Advocacy Summit, an event that brought nearly 600 franchisors, franchisees, and suppliers to Washington, D.C. to advocate for the bipartisan American Franchise Act (AFA). With over 832,000 franchise establishments that provide jobs for nearly 9 million Americans, franchised businesses are locally owned establishments that contribute over $900 billion to the nation’s economy. A state-by-state impact of franchising is available here.

Below is the full list of recipients:

Senators

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD)
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE)
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Sen. Angus King (I-ME)
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK)
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS)
Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT)
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA)

Representatives

Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL-4)
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA-33)
Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO-4)
Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA-12)
Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI-7)
Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA-5)
Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL-4)
Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI-1)
Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-OR-2)
Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK-5)
Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL-12)
Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO-7)
Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH-15)
Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA-2)
Rep. Ed Case (D-HI-1)
Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-6)
Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA-5)
Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA-6)
Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX-27)
Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK-4)
Rep. James Comer (R-KY-1)
Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA-21)
Rep. Jeff Crank (R-CO-5)
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28)
Rep. Don Davis (D-NC-1)
Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-4)
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL-26)
Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-TX-6)
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN-6)
Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS-4)
Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO-8)
Rep. Mike Ezell (R-MS-4)
Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX-4)
Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-ND-At Large)
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL-6)
Rep. Brad Finstad (R-MN-1)
Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN-7)
Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI-5)
Rep. Charles Fleischmann (R-TN-3)
Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE-1)
Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA-20)
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5)
Rep. Scott Franklin (R-FL-18)
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL-28)
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX-26)
Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX-5)
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX-34)
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5)
Rep. Adam Gray (D-CA-13)
Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI-6)
Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA-9)
Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL-8)
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD-1)
Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC-8)
Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC-10)
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK-1)
Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA-2)
Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN-9)
Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI-4)
Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-CO-3)
Rep. Brian Jack (R-GA-3)
Rep. David Joyce (R-OH-14)
Rep. Trent Kelly (R-MS-1)
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA-16)
Rep. Jennifer Kiggans (R-VA-2)
Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA-3)
Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN-8)
Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL-16)
Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY-1)
Rep. Nicholas Langworthy (R-NY-23)
Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL-15)
Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA-5)
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA-36)
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA-7)
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY-11)
Rep. Tracey Mann (R-KS-1)
Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI-10)
Rep. Richard McCormick (R-GA-7)
Rep. John McGuire (R-VA-5)
Rep. Daniel Meuser (R-PA-9)
Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV-1)
Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL-15)
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-1)
Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL-1)
Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT-1)
Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV-2)
Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC-14)
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI-2)
Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-TX-1)
Rep. Zachary Nunn (R-IA-3)
Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA-23)
Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-MD-2)
Rep. Robert Onder (R-MO-3)
Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL-6)
Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-FL-1)
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA-10)
Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA-50)
Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX-11)
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL-3)
Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC-7)
Rep. Michael Rulli (R-OH-6)
Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL-5)
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA-1)
Rep. Derek Schmidt (R-KS-2)
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI-3)
Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA-8)
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX-17)
Rep. Jefferson Shreve (R-IN-6)
Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11)
Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN-8)
Rep. Gregory Steube (R-FL-17)
Rep. Dale Strong (R-AL-5)
Rep. David Taylor (R-OH-2)
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24)
Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA-15)
Rep. William Timmons (R-SC-4)
Rep. David Valadao (R-CA-22)
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI-3)
Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ-2)
Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24)
Rep. Tony Wied (R-WI-8)
Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX-25)
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC-2)
Rep. Robert Wittman (R-VA-1)
Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR-3)
Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-IN-2)

About the International Franchise Association

Celebrating over 60 years of excellence, education, and advocacy, the International Franchise Association (IFA) is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations, and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the more than 832,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 8.8 million direct jobs, $907.3 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy, and almost 3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees, and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology, and business development.

SOURCE International Franchise Association

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