| Weekly Update from Sam |
Dear Friends,
This week, the Small Business Committee launched a new resource to help small businesses help shape federal regulations and add some real world common sense to the process. This initiative, “Small Biz Reg Watch,” will highlight proposed regulations that will likely affect small firms, and inform business owners of how to make comments to the appropriate federal agency.
Most small businesses do not have lawyers or lobbyists to help them with regulatory compliance, like some larger corporations do. Not all regulations are bad, but many can be unnecessarily burdensome, so it is important that small companies get to express their concerns before rules become final. Small businesses bear a regulatory cost that is much higher than the cost of compliance for large businesses. This initiative will help small companies make their voices heard.
On select proposed rules that impact a large number of small businesses, the Committee will communicate about the regulatory comment period via email, social media, and even district events around America. Small businesses are also encouraged to join the hundreds of small firms that share insights with us at our interactive web platform, “Small Biz Open Mic.”
Sincerely,
Sam Graves
Chairman
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News from Washington
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On Tuesday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a projection that the economy will remain slow this year. Unemployment is expected to remain above 7.5% through 2014 for a sixth consecutive year, the longest stretch in the past 70 years. While the CBO forecasts that the nation’s yearly deficit will dip below the trillion dollar threshold, it is projected to rise again later in the decade. Responsible spending reductions are needed to change that trajectory. By 2023, the national debt is projected to equal an unsustainable 77% of the nation’s economy (Gross Domestic Product), and still be going up.
On Wednesday, the House passed the Require a PLAN Act, H.R. 444, by a vote of 253-167. The legislation requires President Obama to put forward a serious fiscal plan without further delay. For nearly four years, the Senate has failed to pass a budget. The President missed Monday’s deadline for submitting a budget, a pattern repeated in four of the past five years. In serious times, this neglect diminishes the President’s claim to be serious about addressing the debt. Small businesses have to make budgets; so should the federal government. |
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Fox Business Interview
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On Wednesday, in a national television interview, Chairman Graves discussed the Committee’s initiative, “Small Biz Reg Watch,” small businesses’ role in economic growth and the need for reduced government spending.
Watch the interview here.
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| Notable Op-Ed |
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Chairman Graves in the Washington Examiner
The Income Tax at 100 Years Old
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| February 8, 2013 |
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| What We're Reading |
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Small Biz Resources
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| Tweet of the Week |
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RepPeteOlson @OlsonPressShop
Richmond sm. biz owner, Novoa, tells how POTUS’ higher taxes & regs hurt his ability to stay afloat & create... http://fb.me/2w0QluDW7
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