Friday, April 24, 2009

News from Ranking Member Sam Graves and Committee Republicans:
• Ranking Member Graves in Congress Daily: “House Committee Starts Working On SBIR Reauthorization”
• Ranking Member Graves Letter to the Editor in the Washington Post: “Small Businesses and the Estate Tax”

• The House Small Business Committee Republicans have a Twitter page up and running!  Follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/SmallBizRepub or just click here. 

Administration and the SBA:
• On April 15, 2009 SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills announced recent appointments to her team.
o Meaghan Burdick is the White House liaison.  
o Christopher Chan will serve as special assistant to the Administrator and scheduler.
o Darryl K. Hairston will serve as associate administrator of the Office of Management and Administration.
o Subash S. Iyer is special assistant to the Administrator.
o Joseph G. Jordan is associate administrator to Government Contracting and Business Development.
o Ginger E. Lew is the counselor to the Administrator and liaison to the National Economic Council.
o Sara D. Lipscomb is SBA’s general counsel.
o Ana M. Ma is the Administrator’s chief of staff.
o Toby J.G. McGrath is associate administrator for the Office of Field Operations.
o Kimberly A. Peyser is the confidential assistant to the Administrator.
o Penny K. Pickett is senior adviser to the Administrator, and acting associate administrator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development.
o Jonathan L. Swain is assistant administrator for communications and public liaison.
o Eric R. Zarnikow is associate administrator for capital access.

• Last week, the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed troublesome regulations to require businesses that emit over 250 tons of CO2 per year to obtain permits.  This action is seen to many as the Administration’s way to speed up talks in Congress on climate change legislation.  Serious concerns remain on how much new regulations will cost the economy in increased energy expenses and jobs.       

Legislation and Letters Circulating Around the House:

(If you would like to publicize your small business effort in Congress, please email Paul J. Sass at Paul.Sass@mail.house.gov)

• Rep. Poe Seeks Cosponsors for Resolution Condemning China’s Unacceptable Business Practices (H.RES.44)--Rep. Ted Poe is seeking cosponsors for H.Res.44, a resolution condemning the People’s Republic of China for its socially unacceptable business practices—including the manufacturing and exporting of unsafe products, casual disregard for the environment, and employment practices which exploit workers.  In 2007, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 17.6 million toys from China, all due to excessive levels of lead. In all, 80% of the recalls issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission last year involved Chinese products.  Rep. Poe strongly believes that this kind of disregard for the wellbeing of American consumers is NOT acceptable and should not be tolerated.  If the People’s Republic of China expects to be a major player in world trade and to gain the respect of the global community, let’s remind them that they must act as responsible citizens and that requires reforming their socially unacceptable business practices.  To become a cosponsor, please contact Nicole Hunt at: 5-6565 or by email at nicole.hunt@mail.house.gov   

• Rep. Thompson Seeks Cosponsors for the Educating Entrepreneurs Through Today’s Technology Act of 2009 (H.R. 1807)--Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and while our rural communities are experiencing high unemployment rates, the entrepreneurial spirit remains alive and well. What is lacking are resources that will foster additional economic development and provide prospective entrepreneurs with the same access afforded to their suburban and urban counterparts. H.R. 1807 will allow third parties the opportunity to provide high-quality tele-distance training through a completive grants process administered by the Small Business Administration. To cosponsor this legislation or for more information, please email Matthew Brennan or call 5-5121.  

House Small Business Committee hearing summary this week:
• On April 22, the House Committee on Small Business held a hearing titled “The Importance of Technology in an Economic Recovery.”  Witnesses on Panel One included Mr. Edsel Brown, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Technology at the Small Business Administration (SBA); Mr. Michael Caccuitto, Assistant Director of the Office of Small Business Programs and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs at the Department of Defense; Ms. Jo Anne Goodnight, National Institutes of Health SBIR/STTR Program Coordinator; Mr. Larry James, Acting SBIR/STTR Program Manager at the Department of Energy; and Dr. Kesh S. Narayanan, Division Director for Industrial Innovation and Partnerships and Directorate for Engineering at the National Science Foundation.  Panel Two witnesses included Mr. Josh Green, General Partner of MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures, testifying on behalf of the National Venture Capital Association; Ms. Rachel King, Chief Executive Officer of GlycoMimetics, Inc. testifying on behalf of the Biotechnology Industry Organization; Mr. John Stocker, Senior Vice President of Federal Solutions for Lynntech, Inc.; and Mr. Will Rosellini, President and Chief Executive Officer of MicroTransponder, testifying on behalf of the Advanced Medical Technology Association.

Witnesses on the first panel explained in detail how each of their agencies administers their respective SBIR and STTR programs. While citing several examples of success stories, each of the government panelists praised the flexibility afforded to them by the current statute.  Additionally, several of the witnesses expressed concerns regarding the administrative costs associated with managing the program.  Ms. Goodnight, while detailing her agency’s 40 percent drop in SBIR applications over the past 5 years, mentioned it was possible that the SBA ruling in 2003 that effectively limited SBIR participation by small companies with significant backing by venture capital companies could be a major factor in the decline.

Several of the witnesses on the second panel echoed Ms. Goodnight’s concerns regarding the issue of venture backed firms and their participation in the SBIR program.  Mr. Green attempted to explain common misconceptions regarding the role of venture capital in small businesses, including the fact that no particular venture capital company typically owns more than 50 percent of a single company and that usually, several venture capital companies invest in the same business.  Mr. Rosellini stressed the importance of additional streams of funding (in addition to SBIR funding) that are necessary in order to bring new technologies to the marketplace and stated it is nearly impossible to bring those technologies to market without outside, specifically venture capital, funding.

This was the first hearing in a series that will lay the groundwork for legislation to reauthorize the SBIR and STTR programs.  For more information on this hearing, please contact Joe Hartz, Professional Staff with the House Committee on Small Business Republican office, at (202) 225-5821.

    
Other Small Business off the Hill:
• The National Small Business Association released a survey showing small business have an interest in “going green” but cash flow is the biggest obstacle.