After Election, Small Businesses Looking for Administration and Congress to Focus on Economy, Jobs

Tuesday's election is finally behind us, and we now look forward to continuing to work with the Obama Administration and Congress to find solutions to small businesses' biggest needs. The economy is on its way toward recovery, and small businesses are seeing light at the end of the recession's tunnel. Scientific polling we released last month found most of the country's smallest businesses are optimistic about the future of their business and the economy, and recent jobs reports show small businesses created more than half of all new jobs.

With that said, there's still a lot to do. Now that the campaign is over, it's time to get down to the important work of addressing looming issues such as the immediate fiscal cliff, and the related need for rational long-term fiscal policies that continue to offer targeted support for small businesses and the growing economy, while addressing the need to bring down our deficit. Polling we released on Oct. 25 found the majority of small businesses recognize this need and believe allowing the current tax cuts for the top 2 percent of earners to expire at the end of the year is the right thing to do given the current budget crisis.

Additionally, the administration must continue its work to implement our new healthcare law in order to help lower small businesses' healthcare costs. Our polling has found small business support for the principal elements of the new law, particularly the healthcare exchanges and the tax credits. And, we must continue to promote a clean energy economy that provides small businesses with the ability and opportunity to create the jobs of the future. Indeed, our polling shows the vast majority of entrepreneurs believe it's important that government continue to invest in clean energy because it can help bolster the economy and create jobs.

Last but not least, we must address the urgent need for additional small business capital, coupled with a financial system that ensures appropriate transparency. The vast majority of small business owners agree the availability of credit is still a problem. Our polling found six in 10 small business owners say it's harder to get a loan now than it was four years ago and another 60 percent have faced difficulty themselves when trying to access loans so they could grow and hire. What's more, 52 percent of those surveyed have turned to credit cards to finance their business. We need policies that reverse this trend.

The frenzy of the election is over, but the important job of continuing to help our small businesses thrive lies ahead. We look forward to working with policymakers on both sides of the aisle to ensure the success of America's hardworking entrepreneurs.