SNOWE
OUTLINES SMALL BUSINESSES AGENDA FOR 109th CONGRESS; PLAN AIMS TO SUSTAIN GROWTH
OF SMALL FIRMS
(Washington) – Following her reelection
as Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S.
Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) today outlined an ambitious preliminary agenda
for the 109th Congress, addressing many of the foremost concerns of small business
owners, and aiming to reduce unnecessary burdens hampering small businesses from
creating jobs.
Snowe’s preliminary agenda includes
initiatives to address the health insurance crisis, legal, regulatory and tax
compliance burdens, access to capital, global competition and contract bundling,
but is subject to expansion in response to the President’s forthcoming Fiscal
Year 2006 budget and the final legislative agenda issued by the Senate’s
leadership.
“As the economy moves forward, we must
work diligently to sustain the strides made in recent months and to lay a foundation
supporting existing small business operations - while still nurturing budding
entrepreneurs willing to invest their time and money to launch new business ventures,”
Snowe said. “As a nation, we have reached a critical point where common sense
and economic reality demand that policies affecting small businesses be given
absolute priority to sustain growth.”
“My goals
for the Committee include maintaining and improving small business programs administered
by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that will not only promote overall
stability in the small business sector, but also that help prepare small firms
to deal with difficult challenges over the long term, including global competition,”
she added.
Snowe was reelected unanimously by Senate Republicans
on Wednesday to lead the Committee. “I am honored by the confidence expressed
by colleagues,” she said. “I look forward to remaining at the helm of
this important Committee for the next two years. Many diverse issues and concerns
face small business owners, and I pledge to continue my fight for legislation
that will help them succeed, both in Maine and across the country,” she added.
Under
Snowe’s leadership last year, a final resolution to the long delayed reauthorization
of the SBA was passed and enacted into law, ensuring that the SBA assistance programs
on which the small business community relies will be available over the next two
years. Passage of the reauthorization, as part of the “Ominbus Appropriations
Act,” (H.R. 4818) passed at the end of the 108th Congress, also will allow
Senator Snowe and the Small Businesses Committee to devote more time to specific
problems concerning small business owners.
Snowe also pledged
to lead the Committee to address a broad array of issues, including vigorous oversight
activities to ensure that SBA programs operate efficiently and provide practical
assistance to help small businesses succeed.
Snowe’s
preliminary agenda includes:
Health care:
Association
Health Plans (AHPs) - access to health care and the cost of health insurance remain
leading concerns of the nation’s small businesses. As a result, ensuring
final passage of AHP legislation and promoting greater competition in small group
health insurance markets will be a key priority.
Legal/regulatory
burdens:
Small Business Compliance Assistance - legislation
to help small firms better understand and comply with federal agency regulations
by ensuring that the agencies’ duties to publish how-to compliance guides
as required by the “Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act”
are clearly specified in the law.
Litigation burdens:
The Committee will examine the unique challenges the
current legal system imposes on small firms and evaluate options to alleviate
those burdens.
Independent Office of Advocacy - legislation
to erect a firewall around the SBA’s Office of Advocacy and guard against
political interference in its day-to-day management.
Taxes:
Tax
code simplification - initiatives to encourage changes in the tax code that simplify
or reduce the paperwork and record keeping burdens affecting small businesses
and the self employed as well as the costs associated with meeting IRS compliance
regulations.
Access to capital and markets:
SBIC
Program Reform - promoting a consensus among Congress, the Administration and
the SBIC industry to reform and improve the SBA’s Participating Securities
Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program.
Trade
and small manufacturers:
The Committee with strengthen
existing trade assistance programs for small manufacturers and examine new options
to promote and facilitate the success of small exporters in global markets.
Procurement/federal
contracting:
Contract Bundling - reforming federal procurement
policies to strike a balance between encouraging contracting opportunities for
small firms and promoting streamlined, high-efficiency buying practices by federal
agencies.
