On November 20, Small Business Majority network member Shirley Modlin, co-owner of 3D Design and Manufacturing in Powhatan, VA, testified at a House Committee on Small Business hearing to discuss issues impacting her business and small manufacturers nationwide, including tariffs, workforce shortages and rising healthcare costs.
For 20 years, Small Business Majority has shown that meaningful change for entrepreneurs often starts in the states. From helping implement the Affordable Care Act in California to advancing paid leave, retirement programs, Medicaid expansion and more across 13 states and D.C., our Outreach Team members have driven policy innovation and empowered small business voices in local decision-making. Read this blog to learn how our state-focused advocacy model took shape and how it continues to spark progress for small businesses nationwide.
Small Business Majority submitted a statement for the record in response to a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing titled “The Rising Cost of Health Care: Considering Meaningful Solutions for all Americans.” The statement urges Congress to immediately extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits (EPTCs) to prevent millions of small business owners and employees from seeing their healthcare premium payments skyrocket next year.
All too often, lawmakers fail to recognize the relationship between policy decisions and the impact they have on small businesses. Small Business Majority helps people in power make that connection in a variety of ways, including by conducting our own original research. Since our earliest days, we’ve utilized scientific opinion polling on the national and state levels to determine small business owners’ views on a range of topics like access to capital, healthcare and workforce issues, and also to learn about how various issues and challenges are actually impacting their businesses. We then use these findings to drive our advocacy work.
On November 13, 2025, Small Business Majority released a research report examining the challenges small businesses face from rising healthcare premiums and increased immigration enforcement. The survey found that two-thirds of small business owners view higher healthcare costs as a significant financial burden and strongly support extending the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits. Entrepreneurs also reported negative effects from immigration enforcement and expressed strong support for modernizing the legal immigration system and creating pathways to citizenship for qualifying undocumented immigrants.
On November 6, Small Business Majority submitted a statement for the record in response to a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing titled "Assessing the Damage Done by Obamacare.” The statement highlights the vital role the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace has played in expanding access to affordable health coverage for a record number of small business owners and employees since 2014.
On November 5, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Learning Resources v. Trump, the case challenging the administration’s authority to impose broad global tariffs under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA). On the morning of the oral arguments, Small Business Majority National Small Business Council member Mike Brey attended a press conference to urge the Supreme Court to stand up for small businesses by striking down the tariffs implemented under IEEPA.
Watch Mike's remarks.
On October 22, Small Business Majority submitted a statement for the record in response to a U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing titled “Modernizing Health Care: How Shoppable Services Improve Outcomes and Lower Costs.” The statement underscores the importance of extending the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits which help lower healthcare premium costs for more than 4.4 million small business owners and entrepreneurs enrolled in the ACA Marketplace.
For many justice-impacted individuals, small business ownership isn’t just a dream—it’s often the only path forward. Entrepreneurs like Ruben Mauricio are proving that with determination and the right support, second chances can lead to thriving businesses and stronger communities. Learn how they’re overcoming systemic barriers to build better futures.
On October 21 and 22, Small Business Majority hosted 20 small business owners for an advocacy opportunity in Washington, D.C. The fly-in brought small business owners from our network to Capitol Hill to discuss key issues facing entrepreneurs today, including protecting affordable healthcare, extending the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits and advancing tariff relief.
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