National Small Business Week: Democratic Proposals Support Small Business Growth & Jobs

This week marks National Small Business Week (May 20-26), recognizing the many small businesses across the nation that are our economy’s job-creating engine. As the economy continues to improve, Democrats have consistently proposed policies that support small businesses.

What Democrats Have Done: A central priority during the 111^th Democratic-controlled Congress was restoring the economy by investing in job creation. While Republicans voted against almost every job-creating bill that came to the Floor, Democrats have been committed to supporting small-business proposals:

• Enacting tax cuts for small businesses in 2010 totaling $77 billion over 10 years, such as:
• raising the small business expensing limit to $500,000;
• providing a 100% exclusion of capital gains from taxes for investors in small businesses;
• tax cuts for 100% first-year expensing of capital investment in 2011 and 50% in 2012 (bonus depreciation);
• payroll tax cut;
• tax cuts to encourage new business start ups; and
• tax cuts to help up small businesses afford health insurance coverage.
• Passing the Small Business Jobs Act that created the Small Business Lending Fund and the State Small Business Credit Initiative.
• Championing the Recovery Act, which gave small businesses tax credits for hiring unemployed workers, helped them make the capital investments essential to their growth, and expanded access to and lowered costs for SBA loans. 

Current Proposals: While indicators show that the economy is growing, many companies, especially small businesses, are still struggling. Democrats are continuing to work to ensure that small businesses have the resources to keep innovating, growing, and creating jobs, with policies such as:

• Reauthorizing the U.S. Export-Import Bank, which supported more than 3,000 small business transactions and was responsible for nearly 300,000 jobs added last year. More than 85% of the Ex-Im Bank’s transactions support small and medium-sized businesses.
• Passing the 3% Withholding Repeal and Job Creation Act, which repealed onerous tax withholding requirements, returning capital to small contractors. 
• The Make it in America Plan to support small businesses, increase competitiveness, and strengthen manufacturing so that American companies can grow and create jobs here in the US.  This plan includes eight bills that have already been signed into law:
• U.S. Manufacturing Enhancement Act [8/11/2010]
• Protecting American Patents [8/10/2010]
• Preventing Outsourcing [8/10/2010]
• Small Business Jobs Act [9/27/2010]
• Energy Jobs and Training for Veterans Act [10/13/2010]
• America COMPETES Reauthorization Act [1/4/2011]
• Leahy-Smith America Invents Act [9/16/2011]
• Reauthorization of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs [12/31/2011]