|
Small Business Committee Newsletter Printer Friendly Version
Small Business Committee Notes
Friday, December 08, 2006 Printer Friendly Version
Small Business Committee Notes December 8, 2006 -- Issue 109-59 Phil Eskeland, Policy Director, House Committee on Small Business FINAL EDITION _____________________________ Rep. Steve Chabot to be the Next Republican Leader of the House Small Business Committee On Thursday, December 7, the House Republican Steering Committee voted to elevate Congressman Steve Chabot of Cincinnati, Ohio to Ranking Member on the House Small Business Committee – the top Republican position on the Committee. “I am honored to have been selected for this responsibility and look forward to the opportunity to further help America’s small businesses," said Congressman Chabot. "In this position, I will continue to promote policies that encourage economic growth and foster an environment where entrepreneurs and their employees can prosper." One of the most important functions of the Small Business Committee is overseeing the Small Business Administration and its programs. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is charged with assisting and protecting the interests of America’s small businesses while also helping hard-working Americans start and grow their own businesses. Additionally, the SBA works to provide loans, government contracts, and counseling to small business owners and their employees across the country. Rep. Chabot said he believes the Small Business Committee should also focus on making health care more affordable to small business owners and their employees – including supporting legislation to create association health care plans that allow small businesses to band together through associations to purchase quality health care for workers and their families at a lower cost because of increased purchasing power. In addition, Rep. Chabot said he will be a committed advocate for reducing taxes, frivolous lawsuits and regulatory burdens on small businesses and their employees. The Cincinnati, Ohio area boasts more than 30,000 small businesses and approximately 365,000 small business employees. It is also home to large businesses such as Proctor & Gamble, General Electric Aircraft Engines, Cintas, Kroger and Chiquita, which are all supported by countless small businesses both in Cincinnati and around the country. Rep. Chabot has served as a member of the Small Business Committee since 1995. For the past six years he has also served as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution. For a copy of his biography, please visit www.house.gov/chabot under the “About Steve” icon. _______________________________ Tax Extender Bill Passes On Friday, December 8, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 6111, the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, as amended, by a vote of 367 to 45. This bill has three major components: it extends critical tax relief, extends energy provisions encouraging alternate and renewable energy sources, and updates and reforms the Medicare system. Of interest to small businesses, the bill extends through 2007: The Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit; The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) for hiring individuals who face barriers in employment – and combination of the credit with the Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit in 2007; 15-year depreciation for leasehold improvements; 15-year depreciation for restaurant improvements; The availability of Archer Medical Savings Accounts; and The Gulf Opportunity Zone bonus depreciation for certain highly damaged areas. Further, H.R. 6111 contains several provisions designed to improve Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), most particularly by allowing rollovers from health Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) into HSAs and allows one-time rollovers from Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) into HSAs. The bill is expected to pass the Senate later today or tomorrow. For further information, please contact John Westmoreland, Chief Tax Counsel. _______________________________ House and Senate Pass Manzullo Initiatives to Help American Small Businesses Export Overseas On Wednesday, December 6, U.S. House Small Business Committee Chairman Donald Manzullo (R-IL) voted for legislation to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank and expand its outreach to help more small businesses sell their goods and services overseas. The House amended and passed the bill unanimously on Wednesday morning, and the Senate followed likewise on Wednesday night, sending it to the President’s desk for his signature. S. 3938, authored by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), would reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank’s charter for 5 years and would restore a Small Business Division within the Ex-Im Bank, a top priority in similar legislation (H.R. 5068) co-written by Chairman Manzullo. Created in 1934 as an independent U.S. government agency, the Ex-Im Bank provides export credit guarantees, insurance and direct loans to help American companies export overseas. The legislation also includes provisions championed by Chairman Manzullo to give the restored small business division more teeth by authorizing small business specialists within each division of Ex-Im Bank the ability to approve loans, guarantees and insurance at recommended levels up to $10 million. These provisions will speed up consideration of small business loans by experts who will know what is necessary to help small businesses compete overseas. In addition, S. 3938 allows the Senior Vice President of the Bank’s Small Business Division to intervene and advocate for small business exporters in specific transactions. Finally, S. 3938 enhances Ex-Im’s delegated loan authority to private banks for medium-term transactions. “I was pleased to work with the Senate to restore a Small Business Division within Ex-Im and place small business specialists within each operating division of the Bank who will be able to expeditiously approve loans, guarantees or insurance for small employers exporting overseas,” Chairman Manzullo said. “Although they employ the majority of Americans and create most new jobs each year, small businesses do not sell as much overseas as they should. This legislation will help them increase their exports so they can prosper and create more jobs for Americans.” Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a study requested by Manzullo that showed the Ex-Im Bank has consistently missed its statutory 20 percent set aside mandate for small business since Congress increased the mandate in 2002. For more information, please contact Phil Eskeland, Policy Director. _______________________________ FEMA’s Response to the Rockford Flood On Tuesday, November 28, the House Small Business Committee held a hearing on the response of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the Labor Day flash flood in Rockford, Illinois. Below is a copy of Chairman Manzullo’s opening statement: “The purpose of this hearing is to explore the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) response to the Labor Day flash flood that occurred here in Rockford. During this hearing, the residents who were affected by the flood will provide FEMA with personal testimony on the nature and extent of the damage. The massive flooding on Labor Day in Rockford affected 768 homes and initially displaced roughly 1,400 residents. The City of Rockford and charitable organizations have contributed more than $2 million dollars to the recovery efforts. However, two months have passed since the flood, and 213 damaged homes are still not repaired. In addition, City and State officials estimate that the remaining uninsured and underinsured homes will require more than $5.5 million in additional disaster assistance. Unfortunately, this is much more than the City and State say they are able to provide. Without immediate federal assistance, many families affected by the flood face the prospect of a winter without proper heat and water. Shortly after the Labor Day flood, Rockford Mayor Morrissey and Illinois Governor Blagojevich declared Rockford a city and state disaster area. The Governor then appealed to the President and FEMA for a major federal disaster declaration. A federal disaster declaration would provide individual assistance of up to $5,000 to repair damaged homes and thousands more to replace lost personal property. On October 20, the President and FEMA denied the Governor’s request for a major federal disaster declaration, claiming that the disaster did not rise to the level necessary to warrant federal intervention. Because of significant discrepancies between the damage estimates FEMA used to deny the disaster declaration and the actual damage figures collected by the City and State, the State of Illinois appealed this decision. To date, there has been no decision on the appeal. I hope today’s hearing will allow the President and FEMA to make a more informed decision on Governor Blagojevich’s pending appeal for federal disaster relief. I also hope this hearing will highlight the need for continued improvement in the federal disaster declaration process. I look forward to the testimony of the witnesses.” For more information, please contact Chris Szymanski, Professional Staff. _______________________________ Upcoming Events After passage of another continuing resolution extension through February 15, 2007, which will fund most of the domestic operations of the U.S. government, including the Small Business Administration later tonight, the 109th Congress is expected to adjourn for the year sometime over the weekend. This is the last edition of SBC Notes for the 109th Congress. Again, it has been a pleasure serving you and providing you these updates over the past four years. Hopefully, the Small Business Committee staff serving Representative Steve Chabot will continue with the tradition of sending weekly e-mail to update you on the activities of the Republican-side of the committee. Happy holidays! _________________________________ Past hearings/mark-ups/roundtables/meetings in 2006 February 1, 2006 – Joint Tax, Finance & Exports (TF&E) and Rural Enterprises, Agriculture & Technology (REA&T) Subcommittee hearing on “Transforming the Tax Code: An Examination of the President’s Tax Reform Panel Recommendations.” February 8, 2006 – Regulatory Reform & Oversight (RR&O) Subcommittee hearing on “The Internet Sales Tax: Headaches Ahead for Small Business?” March 2, 2006 – Workforce Empowerment & Government Programs (WE&GP) Subcommittee hearing on the “Oversight of the Small Business Administration’s Entrepreneurial Development Programs.” March 8, 2006 – TF&E Subcommittee hearing on the “Oversight of the Small Business Administration’s Finance Programs.” March 15, 2006 – REA&T Subcommittee hearing entitled, “The Missouri River and its Spring Rise: Science or Science Fiction?” March 15, 2006 – hearing on the Fiscal Year 2007 Budget and Reauthorization Proposals of the SBA. March 16, 2006 – RR&O Subcommittee hearing entitled, “The State of Small Business Security in a Cyber Economy.” March 30, 2006 – RR&O Subcommittee hearing on the “Procurement Assistance Programs of the SBA.” April 5, 2006 – hearing on “IRS Latest Enforcement: Is the Bulls-Eye on Small Businesses?” April 6, 2006 – RR&O Subcommittee hearing entitled “Can Small Healthcare Groups Feasibly Adopt Electronic Medical Records Technology?” April 26, 2006 – hearing on “Cutting Our Trade Deficit: Can the U.S. Muster Its Diverse Trade Promotion Operations to Make an Impact?” April 27, 2006 – WE&GP Subcommittee hearing on “Healthcare and Small Business: Proposals that will Help Lower Costs and Cover the Uninsured.” May 3, 2006 – REA&T Subcommittee hearing on “The Future of Rural Telecommunications: Is Universal Service Reform Needed?” May 3, 2006 – hearing on “What is the Proper Balance between Investor Protection and Capital Formation for Smaller Public Companies?” May 10, 2006 – hearing on “Bridging the Equity Gap: Examining the Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Act of 2006.” May 23, 2006 – RR&O Subcommittee hearing on “Data Protection and the Consumer: Who Loses When Your Data Takes a Hike?” May 25, 2006 – REA&T Subcommittee hearing on “Unlocking Charitable Giving.” June 7, 2006 – hearing on “Contracting the Internet: Does ICANN Create a Barrier to Small Business? June 21, 2006 – Joint hearing with the Government Reform Committee on “Northern Lights and Procurement Plights: The Effect of the ANC Program on Federal Procurement and Alaska Native Corporations.” June 27, 2006 – RR&O Subcommittee hearing on “S Corporations: Their History and Challenges.” June 27, 2006 – WE&GP Subcommittee hearing on “Immigrant Employer Verification and Small Business.” June 28, 2006 – TF&E Subcommittee hearing on “The Effects of the High Cost of Natural Gas on Small Businesses and Future Energy Technologies.” July 13, 2006 – RR&O Subcommittee hearing on “An Update on Administration Action to Reduce Unnecessary Regulatory Burdens on America’s Small Manufacturers.” July 20, 2006 – Joint REA&T and TF&E Subcommittee hearing on “Does China Enact Barriers to Fair Trade?” July 25, 2006 – hearing on “Failure to Comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act: IRS Endangering Small Businesses Yet Again.” August 10, 2006 – WE&GP Subcommittee field hearing in Loveland, CO on “Health Care and Small Business – Real Options for Colorado Businesses.” September 27, 2006 – hearing on “Advancing Security and Commerce at Our Nation’s Ports: The Goals are not Mutually Exclusive.” November 28, 2006 – FEMA’s Response to the Rockford flood. _____________________________ Small Business Website Check out the Small Business Committee website at http://www.house.gov/smbiz. The site includes regular updates on small business committee news. The site features special projects, press releases, hearings and scheduling information. In January, click on to the minority link for information about House Small Business Committee Republicans. _______________________________ Phil Eskeland Deputy Chief of Staff & Policy Director House Committee on Small Business Phil.Eskeland@mail.house.gov (202) 225-5821 To contact any staff member listed in the above newsletter, please use the general number for the House Small Business Committee – (202) 225-5821. Please E-mail me if you want to be removed from the mailing list or if you know of others who might be interested in receiving this publication. Mission Statement of the House Committee on Small Business "We promote the success of America’s small businesses by leveling the global economic playing field and reducing domestic burdens that impede their growth. In this spirit, we work to ensure that every branch of the U.S. government understands the critical role America’s small businesses play – both at home and abroad – including the jobs they create and the spirit of entrepreneurship they embody."
|
