National

As members of Congress return to their home states and districts for the August recess, now is a key moment to engage with your elected officials and make your voice heard as a local small business owner. From tariffs and taxes to access to capital, healthcare, and workforce challenges, your representatives need to hear directly from you to better understand how Congress can support the success and resilience of small businesses across the country.

On July 16, Small Business Majority sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) in opposition to the Association Health Plans Act (S. 1847), which would destabilize small business health insurance markets by broadening access to Association Health Plans (AHPs) for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The expansion of AHPs, which are not subject to many Affordable Care Act (ACA) regulations, would result in higher premium costs for small group markets and leave small business owners and employees with inadequate coverage.

On July 18, Small Business Majority submitted a statement for the record in response to a U.S. House Committee on Financial Services hearing titled “Dodd-Frank Turns 15: Lessons Learned and the Road Ahead.” The statement outlines the existing financing gaps that disproportionately impact women- and minority-owned businesses and how the implementation of Section 1071, which requires banks to collect and report data on small business loan applicants to the CFPB, would address these disparities by increasing transparency in the small business lending market. 

On July 8, the Small Business Tax Reform Coalition (SBTRC), a joint initiative of Small Business Majority and Main Street Alliance, sent a letter to the House and Senate Financial Services and General Government Subcommittees, urging them to preserve robust funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the FY 2026 appropriations bill.

On July 2, Small Business Majority submitted comments in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) interim final rule to further extend compliance dates set forth in the small business lending data collection rule required under Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Under the interim final rule, the collection of critical small business lending data by financial institutions will be further delayed until July 1, 2026.

On June 12, Small Business Majority and the Small Business Tax Reform Coalition sent a letter to the U.S. Senate, signed by nearly 200 small business owners from across the country, urging Congress to pass legislation similar to the Mom and Pop Tax Relief Act (H.R. 3249). The bill would replace the existing 20% passthrough deduction under Section 199A with a simplified deduction of up to $25,000. The letter highlights how H.R.

On June 10, Small Business Majority and over 25 national and state organizations sent a letter urging the U.S. Senate to reject the nearly $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid outlined in the House-passed reconciliation bill which would strip coverage away from 7.8 million individuals. The letter emphasizes Medicaid's importance to the small business community and urges Congress to pursue alternative reforms, such as site-neutral payments, that would generate revenue without cutting individual coverage.