National

Last week, the president directed the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation to move forward with the next round of fuel efficiency standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks by March 2016. This is great news for small business owners who, according to our polling, overwhelmingly support greater fuel efficiency standards because they will help save on fuel costs and boost entrepreneurs’ bottom lines.

It’s disappointing the U.S. House of Representatives has yet to move forward on the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform bill.

Small businesses have voiced their strong support for immigration reform because they believe it will be good for our country and for small businesses, while providing major economic benefits. The failure to address this issue doesn’t do our primary job creators or our still-struggling economy any favors.

Every year around this time, we think about what the year ahead might bring and how we can make it better than the last. To make 2014 a success, we must find ways to bolster our still-recovering economy. Supporting the middle class is one way to do that. A recent study indicates income inequality is at the highest it’s been in 100 years, with the top 10 percent of earners taking more than half the country’s total income in 2012.

Today’s announcement that Kurt DelBene is taking over the helm of Healthcare.gov is welcome news for small businesses and consumers who are looking forward to using the website to shop for health coverage. DelBene has shown expertise in managing teams and solving complex technology projects during his time as president of the Microsoft Office Division.

With full implementation of healthcare reform just a few weeks away, our team is working harder than ever to educate small business owners across the nation about the new health insurance marketplaces. In fact, last month alone we held nearly 100 outreach events for small business owners. We also recently launched a series of websites that walk small business owners through the small business marketplaces and provide resources that will help them begin the enrollment process.

Holiday sales are vital to a business’s bottom line. In fact, the holiday season can generate as much as 20 to 40 percent of annual sales for many small and mid-sized retailers.

Health insurance marketplaces, being set up under the new healthcare law, will be implemented on Oct. 1. Despite the law being more than 3 years old, anything surrounding it, including these insurance marketplaces–the most important provision for small business owners–remains a hotbed of controversy and confusion for many small business owners. Enter Small Business Majority – the leading organization in the nation in terms of educating small business owners about the Affordable Care Act and these new health exchanges.

Statement by John Arensmeyer, Founder & CEO of Small Business Majority, on the announcement today that online enrollment for small business exchanges in some states will be delayed a month

The announcement today that the ability for small businesses to enroll online in some small business health insurance marketplaces is delayed for a month is disappointing, but doesn’t change the fact that these exchanges will still be open for business on October 1 and coverage will begin as scheduled on Jan. 1, 2014.