Steaming Toward the ObamaCare 'Train Wreck' By Karl Rove, The Wall Street Journal April 18, 2013   In congressional testimony last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius blamed Republican governors for her department's failure to create a "model exchange" where consumers could shop for health-insurance coverage in states that don't set up their own… Read more »

ACA's Full-Time Work Definition Must Change, Lawmakers, Business Owner Tell Hearing By Bloomberg BNA April 17, 2013   The Republican chairman of the House Small Business Committee, a Democratic committee member, and a small business owner testifying before the panel agreed April 17 that the definition of full-time workers used in determining whether employers will pay fines… Read more »

Jamie Dimon: Small Businesses Remain Cautious By David Benoit April 12, 2013   J.P. Morgan and its Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon painted a bleak picture of the consumer and small business lending environment Friday morning. The bank broadly beat estimates, with a 33% jump in profit to $6.53 billion for the first three months of the year. But the boosts didn’t come from the… Read more »

CQ Roll Call: SBA: GOP Favors Spending Cuts But Frets Over Tax Impacts By Emily Holden April 11, 2013 Fiscal conservatives are pleased that the president’s budget would trim spending on the Small Business Administration by nearly 12 percent, but Republicans say the proposal’s overall tax policy could counteract the SBA’s efforts. Obama’s fiscal 2014 request includes more than $1… Read more »

Don't Expect Growth from Small Businesses; They've Hit a Wall By Kent Hoover April 9, 2013 The little engine that could just ran out of steam -- after three months of gains, an index of small business indicators dropped in March. The National Federation of Independent Business reports its Small Business Optimism Index fell 1.3 points to 89.5. That's below the… Read more »

Small-Business Insurance-Shopping Feature Is Delayed By Sarah E. Needleman and Louise Radnofsky April 1, 2013 The Obama administration plans to delay a piece of the federal health law designed to help small businesses shop for insurance policies, citing the need for additional time to prepare. The Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP, is supposed to… Read more »

No-Bid U.S. Government Contracts Jump 9% Defying Obama Direction By Danielle Ivory  March 15, 2013 President Barack Obama in 2009 told federal agencies that no-bid contracts were “wasteful” and “inefficient.” Four years later, his administration spent more money on non-competitive contracts than ever before. Federal agencies awarded $115.2 billion in no-bid contracts in… Read more »

Bloomberg BNA: Witnesses Tell House Panel Agencies Fail To Measure Rules' Small Business Impacts March 14, 2013 By Stephen Lee Federal regulators are not paying enough attention to the needs of small businesses and are ignoring legal requirements to modify their rules accordingly, witnesses and House Republicans said during a March 14 hearing.   The hearing before the Small… Read more »

Wall Street Journal: Camp Steps Up Small-Business Tax Push By John D. McKinnon March 12, 2013 House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp stepped up his push for a tax-overhaul bill on Tuesday, releasing a draft of legislation that could simplify how millions of small firms organize and operate for tax purposes. For small businesses, the high cost of complying with today’s complex tax… Read more »

Health Week Ahead: Florist Seeks Help on Health Law Compliance By Alex Wayne, Bloomberg News A florist and a plumber are among those who will testify… Read more »