On March 8, the House Small Business Committee held a hearing on the Small Business Bill of Rights (H. Res. 22). Sponsored by Rep. Ric Keller (R-FL), the resolution expresses the sense of the House that small businesses are entitled to: 1) the right to join together to purchase affordable health insurance for small business employees, who make up a large portion of the millions of Americans without health care coverage; 2) the right to tax laws that allow family-owned small businesses to survive over several generations and offer them incentives to grow; 3) the right to be free from frivolous lawsuits that harm law-abiding small businesses and prevent them from creating new jobs; and 4) the right to be free of unnecessary, restrictive regulations and paperwork that waste the time and energy of small businesses while hurting production and preventing job creation.
Highlighting congressional efforts to improve opportunities for small businesses, Chair Donald Manzullo (R-IL) stated, “This Committee held two hearings on health care in recent weeks, and I am optimistic that we can build on the success in the previous Congress that established Health Savings Accounts to break the impasse in the Senate on Association Health Plans and medical liability reform. I am pleased that the President’s Fiscal Year 2006 budget request includes making the tax cuts we already passed into law permanent, including the all important ‘death’ tax repeal so that small businesses can be passed on to the next generation…And, finally, I am going to work very hard this Congress to see meaningful reform of the Regulatory Flexibility Act and the Equal Access to Justice Act to insure that no federal agency bypasses the concerns of small businesses in the regulatory process.”
Ranking Member Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) explained that “the number one challenge facing small businesses today is their ability to access affordable health care,” adding, “Every one out of six uninsured Americans are in families headed by the self-employed or a small business employee.” She noted that many of the challenges facing small businesses are addressed in the Small Business Bill of Rights, but expressed her concern that “questionable” priorities, such as the right to be free of frivolous lawsuits, also were included.
President and CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council Karen Kerrigan expressed her support for the Small Business Bill of Rights, stating that it would “underscore the need for Congress to continue to focus on productive legislation that will help our sector grow, innovate and create jobs.” Specifically, she noted that the council supports permanently extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, addressing “outdated and costly” regulations, and reforming the U.S. tort system. Addressing the high cost of health insurance, Ms. Kerrigan stated, “Allowing small business owners to join together and leverage their numbers to more adequately bargain for more affordable health insurance also is a practical solution to high costs. Association Health Plans (AHPs) address the issue of state mandates by allowing these small business purchasing plans to operate under one, uniform set of regulations.”
Todd McCracken, president of the National Small Business Association, expressed his opposition to AHPs because they “would be able to sell insurance across state lines, circumventing existing state rules with practically no federal oversight, no rating rules and no benefit standards,” adding, “Through benefit manipulation and rating increases, AHPs would lead to a segmented market leaving the less-healthy population in the state-regulated markets facing increasing premiums, and eventually without insurance altogether as the state markets implode. AHPs fail to address the overall problem with the small business health care market, leading to overall increased costs.”
Testifying on behalf of Women Impacting Public Policy, Barbara Kasoff highlighted the findings of a poll on issues affecting women business owners. She explained that the top priorities listed by her organization’s members were health care, energy policy, Social Security, simplification of the U.S. tax code, and tort reform. She stated that the Small Business Bill of Rights “calls for affordable health care for small business employees by pooling, which is embodied in AHPs. The bill calls for fairness in the tax code for small businesses, an end to frivolous lawsuits and reduced paperwork for small businesses. Three of the four priorities were identified by our members in the survey, so we commend Representative Keller for identifying the issues which are important to our small businesses.”
Finally, the committee heard from a woman small business owner, Sheila Brooks, who noted that women and minority small business owners have additional barriers to overcome: “Women still face intolerable obstacles including access to capital, creditworthiness, and increased procurement opportunities in the federal government. For too long, women-owned businesses have not received their fair share of federal contracts. Most women entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs of color, still have trouble maintaining business profitability, managing cash flow, maintaining growth and attracting and retaining qualified employees.” Ms. Brooks encouraged the committee to include women in its efforts to improve opportunities for small businesses, stating, “Building an alliance with leaders in the women’s business community, particularly among women of color…will help build a healthier economy and stronger communities for all Americans and for our children to come. Doing business with women…doing business with women of color…is the right thing to do. Let’s not just pay ‘lip service’ to the issue. Let’s be part of putting a plan into action. Together…we can succeed.”
