The Huffington Post Business
After spending much of last year relentlessly touting the benefits of a proposed $30 billion fund that would jumpstart bank lending to small businesses, the Obama administration forecasts the initiative will fall far short, spending just a little over half of the intended allotment, according to the White House's spending plan for 2012.
After spending… Read more »
The Wall Street Journal Financing and Investing
President Obama's fiscal 2012 budget proposal for the Small Business Administration asks Congress for $985 million—45% less than the $1.8 billion that the agency received in 2010.
"We have to tighten our belt, too," said SBA Administrator Karen Mills on a conference call. "We looked through to see if there are programs that are… Read more »
Carroll County Times Local News
A mandate in the federal health-care reform law could cause a significant burden on small businesses like his own, a Hampstead jeweler told a House committee.
A mandate in the federal health-care reform law could cause a significant burden on small businesses like his own, a Hampstead jeweler told a House committee.A mandate in the federal health-care… Read more »
New York Times Business
Republicans on Capitol Hill have made no secret of their desire to cut deeply and broadly across discretionary spending by the federal government. But a letter sent in late January from leaders of the Senate Small Business Committee must have come as something of a surprise to its recipient, Karen Mills, the head of the Small Business Administration. The letter,… Read more »
Washington Post Politics
House Republicans are scrutinizing a wide array of existing and proposed Obama administration regulations in areas as diverse as the environment and Wall Street, and they are taking guidance from industry groups that say the rules threaten jobs.
House Republicans are scrutinizing a wide array of existing and proposed Obama administration regulations in areas… Read more »
Wall Street Journal Opinions
Democrats now claim that the infamous 1099 business reporting mandate that the Senate repealed this week was an accident, as if they were as surprised as everyone else to learn that this destructive provision had crept by itself into law. The truth is that the 1099 rule emerged from the same core ideology as ObamaCare, and its overwhelming repudiation by… Read more »
By Jennifer Haberkorn, Politico
The Senate voted Wednesday for the first time to repeal a piece of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, rolling back a new tax reporting requirement that’s been universally panned by business owners.
The amendment to repeal the 1099 reporting requirement passed 81-17 with broad bipartisan support.
The provision was one that Obama identified… Read more »
By Angus Loten, Wall Street Journal
As part of a broader effort to spur homegrown innovation, the Commerce Department this week announced a move to fast-track the patent process by allowing entrepreneurs to expedite U.S. reviews by paying a hefty fee.
Yet some in the patent industry fear the initiative might do more harm than good by giving money-rich companies an edge over start-ups… Read more »
By Dan Danner, The Washington Post
There are a lot of new faces in town.
Ninety-four, to be exact.
While these faces may be new in the halls of Congress, they are familiar in their hometowns -- and not from rope lines or television ads. No, they are familiar faces because they've been seen behind shop counters and in restaurant kitchens, driving pickups and tractors, because a good… Read more »
By Emily Maltby, Wall Street Journal
Reactions to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address on Tuesday night were mixed in the small-business community.
Mr. Obama highlighted the important role small businesses play in the economy, singling out several small firms in particular, but didn't announce many proposals that are specific to them.
Broadly, Mr. Obama asked for a… Read more »
