Washington, D.C., May 21st - Friends: National Small Business Week begins May 24th.  It’s a great opportunity for us to commend small business owners and highlight their contributions to our economy and workforce.  In honor of National Small Business Week, the House Small Business Committee has invited small business owners from across the country to participate in a hearing on… Read more »

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar; Associated Press Zach Hoffman was confident his small business would qualify for a new tax cut in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law. But when he ran the numbers, Hoffman discovered that his office furniture company wouldn't get any assistance with the $79,200 it pays annually in premiums for its 24 employees. "It leaves you with this feeling… Read more »

By Meredith Whitney; Wall Street Journal The next several weeks will be critically important for politicians, regulators and the larger U.S. economy. First, over the next week Capitol Hill will decide on potentially game-changing regulatory reform that could result in the unintended consequences of restricting credit and further damaging small businesses. Second, states will approach… Read more »

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar; Associated Press Attorneys general and governors for 20 states won't be alone in their legal challenge to President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. The nation's most influential small business lobby is going to court with them. The National Federation of Independent Business will join the argument that Americans cannot be required under the… Read more »

By David Hogberg; Investor's Business Daily A little-noticed provision in the new health care law may not only dramatically increase paperwork for small businesses, but also put them at a disadvantage against their larger competitors. At issue is the law's Section 9006, which is supposed to generate tax revenues by expanding the reporting requirements for 1099 tax forms. Under… Read more »

Friends: This week, the House Small Business Committee held a hearing to discuss the impact of broadband Internet technology on small businesses.  During the hearing, I stressed the importance of expanding broadband infrastructure to rural communities.  It was helpful to hear directly from American small business owners on how increasing access to reliable Internet services would help… Read more »

By Meen Thiruvengadam; Wall Street Journal U.S. efforts to stabilize the financial system have done little to boost small business lending and it remains unclear what impact the Obama administration's latest lending push will have, a report released Thursday said. The report from the Congressional Oversight Panel, which oversees the government's $700 billion financial sector bailout,… Read more »

By Hal Weitzman; Financial Times Small businesses in the US are still cutting jobs, even though they are more optimistic about economic conditions than they have been in two years, according to a survey released yesterday by the National Federation of Independent Business, a lobby group. The sentiment among businesses with fewer than 500 employees helps explain why unemployment rates… Read more »

By Sarah E. Needleman; Wall Street Journal Small-business hiring continues to show little sign of a recovery, despite recent efforts by Washington to stimulate job creation. April marked the 27th consecutive month in which small businesses either shed more or the same number of jobs that they added, according to a monthly survey to be released Tuesday by the National Federation of… Read more »

Friends: In addition to the environmental damage, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico threatens countless small businesses throughout the coastal region.  Individuals in a range of fields, from fishermen and shrimpers to hoteliers and workers in the tourism industry, face an uphill battle to manage the economic effects of the spill. With the livelihoods of millions at stake, our number… Read more »