Mike Mitternight compliments her work as chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Mike Mitternight, owner of Factory Service Agency, a small air-conditioning business in Metairie, has publicly tangled with Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., over the federal health care overhaul. Landrieu provided a crucial vote for the legislation, which Mitternight, speaking for the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, criticized as a "job crippler," earning him a four-page letter of riposte from the state's senior senator.
View full sizeMike Mitternight, president of Factory Service Agency Inc. of Metairie, was photographed in October 2008. But Mitternight recently sang Landrieu's praises when Landrieu, who chairs the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, was honored, along with Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, the ranking Republican on the committee, and Kevin Wheeler, deputy staff director for the committee under Landrieu, as MVPs of Small Business Innovation Advocacy by the Small Business Technology Council and National Small Business Association.
Landrieu, Snowe and Wheeler were praised for their work in gaining long-term reauthorization for the Small Business Innovation Research program. "The SBIR program is one of the most successful small-business programs out there," said Mitternight, chair of the NSBA Health and Human Resources Committee. "Sen. Landrieu worked tirelessly to ensure its long-term success and, as a trustee of NSBA, I am proud to recognize her efforts."
Bruce Alpert can be reached at balpert@timespicayune.com or 202.450.1406. Jonathan Tilove can be reached at jtilove@timespicayune.com or 202.450.1404.
