The Small Business Watchdog

Each week while Congress is in session the Office of Advocacy will post a highlights schedule of congressional hearings and committee markups that we think will be of interest to stakeholders in the small business community. For further information on the hearings in question please contact the relevant congressional committee.
THIS WEEK
The confirmation hearing on the [...]

[Read more →]

The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee heard from entrepreneurs struggling with the evaluation process for Gulf Coast oil spill cleanup proposals at a June 17 hearing.
A movie star, an Environmental Protection Agency administrator, a university professor and an official at an oil-eating microbes company appeared before the committee to discuss utilizing small business innovation [...]

[Read more →]

The EPA has responded positively to industry pleas and a request from our office to delay the implementation of the controversial Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (LRRP).  {See earlier June 7th  blog below about the Senate bill).
The rule requires renovation and repair contractors working on homes, schools and day care centers built before 1978 [...]

[Read more →]

Each week while Congress is in session the Office of Advocacy will post a highlights schedule of congressional hearings and committee markups that we think will be of interest to stakeholders in the small business community. For further information on the hearings in question please contact the relevant congressional committee.
THIS WEEK
The Senate voted Monday on [...]

[Read more →]

Each week while Congress is in session the Office of Advocacy will post a highlights schedule of congressional hearings and committee markups that we think will be of interest to stakeholders in the small business community. For further information on the hearings in question please contact the relevant congressional committee.
 Tuesday, June 15
9:30 a.m.         Subcommittee Hearing
Energy [...]

[Read more →]

On June 9, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before the House Committee on the Budget. Chairman John Spratt (D-S.C.) and Ranking Member Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) were in attendance, along with many committee members from both parties. Bernanke fielded questions concerning the economic outlook of the United States, including specific ones regarding the issues facing [...]

[Read more →]

Each week while Congress is in session the Office of Advocacy will post a highlights schedule of congressional hearings and committee markups that we think will be of interest to stakeholders in the small business community. For further information on the hearings in question please contact the relevant congressional committee.
Wednesday, June 9
10:00 a.m.       Full Committee [...]

[Read more →]

A bill with an amendment to modify a controversial Environmental Protection Agency regulation passed in the Senate on May 27 and the two houses of Congress have made plans to conference their two versions of the bill.
The regulation in question—the “Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program (LRRP)”—implements a new rule that requires renovation and repair [...]

[Read more →]

On Tuesday, June 1, members from Advocacy’s interagency team attended the Sixth Annual Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Institute Rulemaking Conference.  The event, co-sponsored by the American Bar Association’s Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice and the Center for the Study of Rulemaking at American University, featured several panel discussions on recent developments in [...]

[Read more →]

The unfolding tragic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to affect—and is already affecting—thousands of small business owners, from fishermen to hotel and hospitality providers in states along the Gulf Coast. Sadly, it’s also a reminder, belated for some, of the need for disaster planning in small businesses.
Disaster preparedness and recovery is [...]

[Read more →]