Of the endorsements he has picked up in his re-election bid, John Barrow is proudest of the one he received Monday morning.

The two-term Savannah Democrat was endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce after scoring an 80 on the organization’s voting record scorecard during the last session.

“It is the Chamber’s goal to elect a pro-business Congress,” said Moore Hallmark, executive director of the Chamber’s southeastern regional office. “We work hard in the interests of businesses, both large and small, to advance legislation that encourages economic growth, job creation and a less intrusive federal government.”

Barrow faces a challenge from former Congressional aide John Stone, a Republican from Augusta, for his seat in next Tuesday’s general election.

Barrow, a former Athens attorney with his own practice, gladly accepted the endorsement and the Chamber’s Spirit of Enterprise Award.

“I think it’s essential we break the stalemate and gridlock in Washington between the folks who look at the only way to protect workers is to bash business and the only way to grow business is at the expense of the workers,” he said.

“I’m one of the pro-business members of Congress who realizes you cannot take care of workers unless you take care of the businesses that hire them, that provide the jobs and provide the economic growth.”

Earlier this month, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, excoriated the U.S. Chamber as having become a functionary of the Republican Party. Barrow and Hallmark dismissed Schumer’s criticisms.

“Working on both sides of the aisle on all sides of the issues for a pro-business, pro-growth agenda is the cure for what ails America,” Barrow said. “We need balance in all things. I don’t agree with those folks who want to bash those institutions that are trying to bring us together.”

Said Hallmark: “This country is made up of small businesses. They are the engine that runs this country and its economy. We want to recognize members of Congress who support that and recognize the importance of small businesses.

“While sometimes there is a great deal of gridlock that takes place in Washington, it doesn’t mean that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the members of Congress on either side of the aisle cannot and do not work together, and we’ll continue to do so.”

Barrow pointed to his years as an attorney in private practice as helping him understand the dilemmas of a small business owner.

“You’ve got to make payroll, got to find insurance for your employees,” he said. “There’s not a problem that small businesses have that I have not had to deal with in the last 25 years. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the gold standard of being pro-business and pro-growth. They monitor the issues that matter. They sift the votes that count and the votes that don’t count. Having their support is a pretty good indication that you’re on the right track.”

Barrow noted that his voting record with the Chamber is not 100 percent, though at 80 percent only Tom Price (R-Roswell) tied his mark among Georgia’s U.S. House delegation. Barrow voted for the SCHIP renewal, the employee free choice act, which would do away with the secret ballot process to unionize workplaces, drug price negotiations and the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, all opposed by the Chamber.

“No interest group, no party, nobody has it right 100 percent of the time,” he said. “The thing I think voters expect us to do is to study the issues, look real at the choices in front of us, create better options and vote on things that will help folks back home fix what’s broken with our economy.

“I’m proud to have the support of the U.S. Chamber because they’re focusing on the issues that matter most, the job creation and the business community. If you can’t take care of business, you can’t take care of the workers and the employees.”