| Weekly Update from Sam |
| Dear Friends,
Eighty-eight million Americans supported small businesses last weekend on Small Business Saturday, up nearly 15 percent over last year (NFIB/American Express survey). That’s a great expression of the widespread understanding throughout the country that small businesses build communities and grow the economy. There’s some more good news for small businesses. They are benefiting from lower gas prices, down 89 cents from a June peak (AAA), and there are signs that the economy is slowly improving with small businesses leading the way in job creation.
That’s encouraging, but we’re still not out of the woods. The Wall Street Journal this week had a headline: “Basic Costs Squeeze Families.” Among the soaring costs they identified are necessities: health insurance, other health care expenses, rent, groceries and education. Also listed were phone and home internet services, which are increasingly important to everything from schoolwork to small businesses. Wages haven’t kept pace with rising costs, and common cutbacks include clothing purchases and restaurant meals – decisions that directly affect many small businesses.
The federal government can do its part to encourage economic growth by reducing unnecessary regulations and lowering the tax burden. This week, the House voted to extend some crucial tax relief for small businesses. In 2015, the new Congress will keep the focus on creating jobs and renewing economic growth for the long haul.
Sincerely,
Sam Graves
Chairman
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Latest Committee Action
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| On Thursday, by a bipartisan vote of 300-119, the House passed the bicameral National Defense Authorization Act of 2015 (NDAA), which included Committee-sponsored contracting reform legislation. These reforms will help small businesses better compete for contracts and improve the government’s efforts to reach the goal of 23 percent of federal contracts going to small businesses. During the 112th Congress and early in the 113th Congress, the Committee was successful in including much of its small business legislation in the final NDAAs that were signed into law. About 70 percent of government contracts are awarded by the Department of Defense. See the full list of Committee legislation included in this year’s NDAA. |
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News from Washington
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On Wednesday, by a bipartisan vote of 404-17, the House passed the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2014 (H.R. 647). The ABLE Act allows individuals with disabilities to set up tax-free savings accounts for qualified expenses, and empowers efforts to live more independently and save for the future, including education, retirement and job-training.
On Wednesday, the House passed the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 which would stop a tax hike on small businesses and American manufacturers. The legislation includes the following key extensions for small businesses: research credit, bonus depreciation, increased expensing limitations and treatment of certain real property as section 179 property, temporary exclusion of 100 percent of gain on certain small business stock, and reduction in S-corporation recognition period for built-in gains tax. The Committee has made small business tax issues a priority, including this “Tax Day” hearing.
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| Stay Plugged In |
Be sure to follow Congressman Graves on Facebook to keep up with Sam in 2015, along with key legislation and events in Congress.
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