Blog November 2011

This week pieces of President Obama’s American Jobs Act supporting veterans and government contractors won approval from both chambers of Congress. The provisions passed would repeal a tax on government contractors, boost job training for veterans and offer tax credits to companies that hire unemployed veterans.

On Thursday, November 10, 2011, the Senate passed a bill that would repeal a 3% withholding tax on federal contractors that was signed into law in 2005 but has been yet to be enacted. Prior to the passage of this provision, if enacted, government agencies would have been required to withhold 3% of all payments to federal contractors and send the funds directly to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

This week, the United States is hosting the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers and Economic Leaders’ Meetings in Honolulu, Hawaii. As President Obama’s lead negotiator and spokesperson on trade, I will host a meeting for my fellow APEC Trade Ministers in preparation for President Obama’s meeting with APEC Leaders later this week and to build on the success of the APEC Trade Ministers’ meeting held in Big Sky, Montana last May.

Small businesses in emerging industries – like clean energy – have cutting-edge ideas that are strengthening our country and changing the world. Today, we’re helping them continue to do just that in two major ways.

First, unlike larger firms, many small firms don’t have the staff or time to search for all of the federal opportunities that can help them grow and create jobs.

We’re pleased to announce that they’ve got a new tool with green.sba.gov, where they can find all federal opportunities in a single location.

President Obama proclaimed that this November is National Entrepreneurship Month, a time when “we celebrate the remarkable and everyday successes of our entrepreneurs and innovators, and we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring our economy remains the engine and the envy of the world.”

The White House and the U.S. Small Business Administration announced the launch of the Young Entrepreneur Series (YES), which will connect young and aspiring entrepreneurs with SBA officials, local business advisors and resources to help them start or grow their own small business.

“For our economy to thrive in the 21st century, we must set about creating the next generation of entrepreneurs,” said SBA Deputy Administrator Marie Johns.  “Young Americans need to know that starting a business is a viable alternative to going to work for somebody else.  There is a clear and urgent need to create more jobs for young Americans, and encouraging business ownership is an important way to meet that goal.”