Today, Small Business Majority submitted a letter of support to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform on the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (FAMILY Act). Many employers want to provide their employees with adequate leave time; however, not all can afford to do so. The FAMILY Act would enable employers to provide employees with much needed time away from work without bearing the full cost of their leave.
Policy Statements
Small Business Majority submitted a letter of support to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on S. 2563, the ILLICIT CASH Act, which would protect small businesses from the myriad ways in which anonymous companies undermine legitimate small business owners. Currently, shell companies with hidden owners put small businesses at a disadvantage by unfairly competing for contracts, undermining supply chains, creating difficulties in finding responsible subcontractors and providing cover for fraudsters.
Small Business Majority submitted a letter of support for H.R. 5065 and H.R. 5078, which would direct the U.S. Small Business Administration to provide mentoring and training to federal inmates, both in-prison and post-release, to prepare incarcerated individuals and returning citizens for entrepreneurship.
The Responsible Business Lending Coalition submitted a letter of support to the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services on H.R.3490, the Small Business Lending Fairness Act, which would address one of the most egregious predatory practices in small business financing. Small business borrowers can fall prey to confessions of judgement with little recourse, forcing some to close their business when they're unable to keep up with their payments. Banning confessions of judgement would remove arcane legal language meant to mislead business owners into signing away rights.
Small Business Majority submitted a letter of support to the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on Ushering Progress by Leveraging Innovation and Future Technology (UPLIFT) Act of 2019, which seeks to amend the Small Business Act to spur entrepreneurial ecosystems in underserved communities.
Small Business Majority submitted comments to the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance in response to a request for information (RFI) regarding the opportunity for the state to request 1332 state innovation waivers through the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The comments discussed the current landscape for small business healthcare and how state waivers must be structured in a way that do not increase costs for some consumers or create parallel marketplaces.
On October 3, Small Business Majority's Midwest Outreach Manager and Women's Entrepreneurship Manager Geri Aglipay testified in Chicago at Senator Duckworth's field hearing for the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship titled, "Barriers to Entry in the Tech Industry for Diverse Entrepreneurs." She advocated for an expansion of SBA lending programs for underserved entrepreneurs and extending Truth in Lending Act disclosures to protect small business borrowers.
Small Business Majority, as part of the Responsible Business Lending Coalition, submitted comments to the Department of Business Oversight regarding implementation of California's SB 1235, the nation's first truth in lending law for small business financing. We urged the Department to implement strong standards that will ensure small business owners have the opportunity to understand the financing they are being offered in a clear, concise manner that enables informed comparison across all their financing options.
On July 24, 2019, Virginia small business owner Muneer Baig testified before the U.S. House Committee on Small Business to explain why the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) hasn't helped his small business.
On July 22, Small Business Majority filed an amicus in New York vs. Department of Labor, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to uphold a previous decision to strike down a U.S. Department of Labor Rule that makes it easier for groups to form association health plans (AHPs). Small Buinsess Majorirty believes rejecting this final rule is essential to protecting the ACA's gains for small businesses, their employees and the self-employed.