Every American should have the opportunity to find employment that allows them to care for their family, buy a house, save for the future and enjoy a secure retirement.  Unfortunately, many Americans are struggling to discover those opportunities.

While Congress took some steps to strengthen the collapsing housing market and a deep downturn on Wall Street, our economy still faces serious challenge.

As the nation looks to stem the effects of the financial crisis, entrepreneurs are likely to play a critical role in the recovery process. This is largely because small firms employ half of the nation’s workforce and comprise 99.7% of American enterprise. Small businesses account for almost all of the nation’s employer firms and generate half of non-farm private output.

Health Care

Small business owners need help to pay for health insurance for themselves and their employees. High health care costs for small business owners and their employees is a major expense that eats into funds that could otherwise be used to expand a business, offer more goods and hire more workers.

 I support bipartisan legislation that would make affordable healthcare coverage a reality for small businesses.  The Small Business Cooperative for Healthcare Options to Improve Coverage for Employees Act (Small Business CHOICE Act), would help curb the rising costs of health insurance plans for entrepreneurs.  It would also lessen the volatility of premiums and add important incentives helping small firms expand coverage for working families.

It is estimated that more than half of the 47 million people across the country who lack health insurance live in a household headed by a small business owner or employee.  Over the course of the past year, small firms have seen healthcare costs rise by almost 15%.  The number of companies offering coverage, meanwhile, has dropped by more than a quarter. 

The Small Business CHOICE Act would help small businesses offer health insurance to employees through a refundable tax credit of 65%.  It also minimizes risks for insurance companies by letting small firms pool their employees with those of other businesses in voluntary health cooperatives.  That, in turn, allows entrepreneurs the benefit of negotiating far better rates for coverage—for their employees and themselves.  Self-employed individuals would save $5,000 per year on health coverage costs. Other small firms would save more than 34%.  The result would be fewer uninsured Americans and a more competitive business sector.

Trade

 Trade with foreign nations must strengthen the American economy and create more American jobs.  To ensure this, Congress must insist on trade policies that open up foreign markets to support good American jobs.  Fair trade agreements must include strong labor and environmental standards.

Congress must also insist that the World Trade Organization stops countries from continuing unfair subsidies on foreign exports and breaks down non-tariff barriers on U.S. exports.

Given the rapidly changing global economy, it is important to update the Trade Adjustment Assistance program by extending it to include service industries, create flexible education accounts to help workers retrain and provide retraining assistance for workers in sectors of the economy vulnerable to dislocation before they lose their jobs.

Congress must also work to eliminate tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas and reward the companies that support American workers.  I strongly support the Patriot Employer Act, which would provide a tax credit to companies that maintain or increase the number of full-time workers in America relative to those outside the US; continue to maintain their corporate headquarters in America; pay decent wages; prepare workers for retirement; provide health insurance; and, support employees who serve in the military.

Friendlier Regulations

 Federal regulations are an added burden for small businesses struggling to compete. More than 250,000 pages of new regulations, notices, rulings and proposals have been put forward by the federal government in recent years, and the Government Accountability Office has reported that Americans spend 720 million more hours per year filling out federal paperwork than they did three years ago. This added red tape puts small businesses at a disadvantage—for businesses with fewer than 20 employees, regulatory costs are 60 percent higher than for firms with more than 500 employees. The government needs to make it easier—not harder—for small business to operate.

Infrastructure

Improvements are sorely needed to modernize the electrical, water, and wastewater infrastructure in rural areas. We need to supply a reliable power system, access to clean water for homes and crops and the treatment of sewage. Affordable energy and broadband internet access should be available to rural areas as it is in urban centers. Developing our rural communities will create new jobs, fuel small businesses and attract larger businesses with even more jobs to offer. These improvements would mean a better place to live, as well as do business.

 Taxes

 Seeking to help struggling small businesses during these difficult economic times, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes significant tax relief for businesses and individuals.

Among the business tax cuts are:

• Bonus Depreciation.  Helps businesses quickly recover costs of new capital investments by extending the increased bonus depreciation for businesses in new plants and equipment in 2009.
• Cancellation of Indebtedness.  Provides assistance to companies looking to reduce their debt burdens by delaying the tax on businesses that have discharged indebtedness.
• Small Business Expensing.  Extends enhanced small business expensing, which doubles the amount small businesses can immediately write off their taxes for capital investments and purchases of new equipment made in 2009 from $125,000 to $250,000.
• Small Business Loss Carrybacks.  Increases cash flow by providing a 5-year carryback of net operating losses for small businesses.
• Spurring Investments in Small Businesses.  Spurs investments in small businesses by cutting the capital gains tax on investors in small businesses who buy stock (in the next two years) and hold it for more than five years.
• 3% Government Withholding.  Delays the mandate that federal, state, and local governments withhold 3 percent of payments to businesses for goods and services, which is supported by the National Small Business Association.
• Incentives to Hire Unemployed Veterans and Youth.  Provides businesses with a tax credit for hiring recently discharged, unemployed veterans and youth that have been out of work and out of school for the 6 months prior to hire.