WASHINGTON, DC – The House Small Business Committee held a forum today to discuss the challenges small businesses face in the current economic climate.  Economic concerns are at the top of the national agenda, and the witness panel offered Committee Members ideas and perspective on what it means to be a small business in today’s economy.

“In months of talking about how to stimulate the economy, I’ve heard little about what our small businesses will need,” said Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO).  “But today’s meeting highlighted that while larger enterprises are forced to lay off workers, small businesses will help to fill the employment gap, through the hiring of new employees or the creation of new enterprises.”

A report released by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) revealed that small business optimism fell 2.6 points to 85.2, the second lowest reading in the 35 year history of the survey.  Additionally, the National Small Business Association’s (NSBA) 2008 Year-End Economic Report found that 91 percent of small businesses surveyed at the end of December said the national economy today is worse off than five years ago, up significantly from 68 percent in August 2008.

In correlation with the concerns in the NFIB and NSBA surveys, witness Ted Allison, president and CEO of the St. Joseph, Missouri Chamber of Commerce, noted that while a majority of Americans “agree that our government should encourage more entrepreneurship, public policy continues to give a disproportionate preference to the big business sector.”

In his testimony, Allison submitted a series of recommendations on how Congress can stimulate economic recovery for small business.  His recommendations centered on improving access to capital, offering education and innovation incentives, and reducing the regulatory and tax burdens on small business.

Allison’s sentiments were echoed by his fellow panelists and by many of the Members in attendance.  Graves noted that any federal government program “carefully consider the long-term economic benefits as well as the short-term gains” and urged that projects with long-term benefits receive priority over projects that are designed simply to get a “piece of the pie.”

While there is an obvious need for Congress to play a role in stimulating small business, Graves cautioned against too much involvement and remarked on the importance of tax cuts in allowing small businesses – not the government – to manage more of their own resources.  “Whatever we may think of the wisdom of the federal government, it is small business owners that have the real expertise in creating growth in the American economy,” Graves said.

# # #