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Small Business Committee Newsletter Printer Friendly Version
Small Business Committee Notes
Friday, May 26, 2006 Printer Friendly Version
Small Business Committee Notes May 26, 2006 -- Issue 109-45 Phil Eskeland, Policy Director, House Committee on Small Business _______________________________ RR&O Subcommittee Hearing on Data Security On Tuesday, May 23, the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform & Oversight (RR&O), chaired by Representative Todd Akin (R-MO), held a hearing on the topic of data security and the potential new regulatory burdens that could be imposed on small business. Below is a copy of Chairman Akin’s opening statement: “We live in an age where information is as valuable as currency. It is now a commodity, shared widely among many different organizations in order to generate revenue. Data mining, data collection, and targeted marketing are now very big business. These practices greatly affect small business because they improve the speed and accuracy of business transactions. Unfortunately consumers and businesses alike increasingly face many risks due to information loss. These risks stem from the negligence of the firm, unethical practices of a firm’s employees, and outside criminal activity. A firm is said to be negligent when they do not employ good practices in handling consumer’s data. The most common form of data loss results in data being mistakenly lost, such as the loss of a laptop computer, Blackberry, cell phone or some other type of portable electronic device. In most cases, this form of data loss does not result in any harm to the individual to whom the data belongs. Another form of risk arises from employees of a firm using consumer data for their own gain. This is commonly referred to as insider crime. A common example of insider crime is an employee stealing consumer’s credit card information to make purchases for themselves. Finally, risk stems from criminals who operate outside the boundaries of the company and steal consumers’ identity to make money. In the old days, a criminal would have to gain physical access to paper files in order to steal consumers’ identity or commit fraud. Today, because of greater information sharing, criminals can now gain access to the same information from the other side of the world. Although this is the least probable form of data loss for a company to incur, it is the most widely portrayed example by the media. As incidents of large data security breaches pervade the newspaper headlines, states are moving quickly to protect the rights of their citizens. Twenty-nine states have passed data breach notification laws and many more are considering legislation requiring companies to notify consumers of a possible loss of their personally identifiable information. These regulations affect many companies that store or transmit personally identifiable consumer information. Currently, companies that sell across state borders are forced to understand and comply with these various state laws. This can be particularly onerous for small businesses. As Congress seeks to address the protection of consumers’ personal information through legislation, lawmakers must consider the degree to which compliance is encouraged, relative to the amount of economic burden placed on business. We are here today to better understand the costs of complying with current state and federal law, not only in the formulation of a data security policy but in managing the necessary paper trail to prove compliance. In addition, the Subcommittee seeks to understand the effect any new overriding federal law will have on data security compliance costs for small businesses. Finally, we hope to determine whether special consideration for small businesses in the formulation of baseline provisions in a data security bill is appropriate.” For further information, please contact Chris Szymanski, Professional Staff. _______________________________ REA&T Subcommittee Hearing on Charitable Giving On Thursday, May 25, the Subcommittee on Rural Enterprises, Agriculture & Technology (REA&T), chaired by Representative Sam Graves (R-MO), held a hearing on the benefits of the Charitable Giving Act (H.R. 3908) for small business. The Subcommittee was honored to have the House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO), the author of H.R. 3908, testify before the panel. Below is a copy of the opening statement of Chairman Graves. “This hearing, entitled ‘Unlocking Charitable Giving’ will examine what can be done to ease the burdens on people and businesses that wish to help their neighbors. Americans are the most generous people in the world and have shown time and again their willingness to reach deep into their pockets to help those in need. Americans contributed large sums of money to people halfway across the world when a tsunami ripped through Southeast Asia. In fact, private sector donations almost doubled what our government contributed. The U.S. Government has pledged $857 million. U.S. private sector and corporate donations totaled at least $1.48 billion. Americans again opened both their hearts and their checkbooks to the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Americans contributed $3.27 billion to help their friends and neighbors. That, in itself, is an astonishing amount. According to a February 27, 2006 Washington Post story, ‘54 percent of remaining donations is controlled by faith-based organizations.’ This hearing will specifically look at HR 3908, the Charitable Giving Act of 2005 introduced by Representatives Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Harold Ford (D-TN). The Charitable Giving Act aims to leverage new support and resources for a broad range of community and faith-based groups from the private sector. Many of the charities that help those in need are in fact small faith-based organizations. Seventy-five percent of food pantries are religious organizations, 71 percent of food kitchens are faith-based and 43 percent of shelters in this country are funded by faith-based providers. While Representative Blunt’s bill is a tax bill, it is in concert with the President’s faith-based and community initiative. HR 3908 is designed to ‘rally the armies of compassion’ as our President says. The bill provides tax incentives and other measures to encourage charitable giving by individuals and corporations. This bill would also allow the 86 million Americans who do not itemize on their tax returns the opportunity to deduct a portion of their charitable contributions. I commend Representative Blunt for re-introducing this important legislation and I look forward to hearing more about it in his testimony.” For further information, please contact Piper Largent, Professional Staff. _______________________________ Issues in Brief On Tuesday, May 23, Senate leadership aides said that estate or “death” tax repeal will be the third order of business on the Senate floor once the Senate returns from the Memorial Day District Work Period in June. The House of Representatives permanently repealed the “death tax” by passing H.R. 8 on April 13, 2005 by a wide bipartisan vote of 272 to 162, with 42 Democrats in support (see SBC Notes 109-7). If the “death” tax repeal vote fails to get 60 votes out of 100 to break an expected Senate filibuster, Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) is expected to offer a compromise. Media reports that Senator Kyl’s estate tax compromise includes: (1) a $5 million per spouse exemption from the estate tax and (2) a new estate tax rate of 15 percent (similar to the capital gains rate). His proposal would retain a “step-up in basis” to fair market value for assets included in the decedent’s estate. On Wednesday, May 24, House Small Business Committee Chairman Donald Manzullo (R-IL) requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) study and evaluate the effectiveness of the main technical assistance programs of the Small Business Administration (SBA) with a particular emphasis on any uniqueness or duplication in services offered by Women’s Business Centers. For further information, please contact Phil Eskeland, Policy Director. _______________________________ Upcoming Events Week of May 29 – June 2 is the Memorial Day District Work Period. The next edition of SBC Notes will be published on Friday, June 9th. Wednesday, June 7 2:00PM – full committee hearing on the Commerce Department contract governing the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). For further information, please contact Dan Horowitz, Director of Coalitions and Counsel. _________________________________ Past hearings/mark-ups/roundtables/meetings in 2006 February 1, 2006 – Tax, Finance & Exports (TF&E) and Rural Enterprises, Agriculture & Technology (REA&T) joint 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.” _____________________________ 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. _______________________________ 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.”
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