Small Business
Small business is the key. It creates 2 out of every 3 new jobs. It is my mission as a member of the Small Business Committee to help small businesses do what they do best: create good jobs, drive innovation, and strengthen the middle class.
Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy: they create good jobs, drive competitiveness and innovation, and strengthen economic security for the middle class. In Washington, I am fighting to strengthen small business to help turnaround our economy.
My priorities for helping our small businesses include:
Delivering Contracts to Small Business
Expanding Access to Capital
Entrepreneur Growth Act
Helping Small Business Discover New Customers: Exporting
Delivering Contracts to Small Business
As the Ranking Member of the Contracting and Workforce Subcommittee of the House Small Business Committee, I am California’s leading advocate for small businesses in Washington. Small businesses make up more than 99 percent of all American companies but receive fewer than one-quarter of federal contracts. I am focusing on making it easier for small businesses to compete for government contracts.
This year I passed major federal contracting reform legislation that will increase federal contracting opportunities for small business and protect against contracting fraud and abuse. This includes the Building Better Partnerships Act of 2012, a bipartisan bill I introduced to help small businesses more easily join mentor-protégé programs that lead to federal contracts. With unemployment above 8 percent, I am dedicated to bringing more entrepreneurs into the federal procurement marketplace to increase opportunities for small businesses and to create jobs.
Expanding Access to Capital
All businesses need access to capital to buy equipment, fulfill orders and send their products to consumers. But the economic downturn tightened an already underserved market in lending for small businesses. That’s why I strongly supported the establishment of the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF), a federal fund of $30 billion that was created under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. So far the fund has provided 332 community banks across the country with $5.2 billion in funding to increase lending to small businesses.
This will help small businesses expand, create jobs and ensure more families can Make it in America.
Entrepreneur Startup Growth Act
A critical segment of small businesses are self-employed individuals who are still developing their businesses.
The toughest time of the year for any business, and especially microentrepreneurs, is tax time. But it is also a great opportunity for these businesses to start better financial planning and business development. That is why I introduced the Entrepreneur Startup Growth Act to create a grant program to offer free business tax assistance to low-income entrepreneurs and the critical business development services they need to grow. This program will help microentrepreneurs save money on their taxes and ensure they have the business advice they need to succeed. Nearly 9.8 million people are self-employed, and by helping them grow their business we will drive American job growth.
Helping Small Business Discover New Customers: Exporting
The one thing businesses say they need during these tough times is customers. The lack of consumer demand at home has taken its toll on our small businesses. We need to do more to create an economy of the future where companies can create jobs by shipping American-made products overseas. Foreign markets can serve as an important tool to boost sales and offset lower demand at home. Unfortunately, businesses can’t just say “I want to export” today and have a new market at their fingertips tomorrow.
Helping Local Business Owners. I host exporting workshops for local businesses to discover how they can tap into new export markets. My workshops are a great way for local businesses to learn about the tools and resources that can help them grow and thrive. You can sign up for my e-newsletter to learn about the latest workshops. I also regularly update both Facebook and Twitter to notify my constituents about new local workshops and events. Like and Follow me today to learn how my staff and I can assist you.
Doubling American Exports for Businesses. I am also supporting funding for the National Export Initiative – a plan to double American exports by 2015. With 95% of the world’s consumers living outside of the United States, exporting American products must be a crucial component of our economic future. And we can succeed, but only if U.S. companies, farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises – the engines of economic growth – receive the encouragement and support they need as they seek new markets for their goods and services.
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