As a senior member of the House Small Business Committee and a former small business owner herself, Congresswoman Sue Kelly has been pushing a five-point plan in Washington to help small businesses in the Hudson Valley.

 

Kelly noted that increased federal efforts to help small businesses are crucial to creating more new jobs in New York and throughout the country.
 
“Small businesses create 7 out of every 10 new jobs in our country, so we must continue federal efforts to eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens on small business owners and to provide more tax relief to local small businesses,” Kelly said. “They need to be able to keep more of their own money to improve their businesses and hire new workers.”  

 

Kelly has been urging other House members to support the legislative components of her five-point plan that she is continuing to push in Congress during this legislative year. 
 
Kelly developed her small business agenda by conferring directly with small business owners and employees in all areas of the Hudson Valley. She has conducted small business walks through various villages and main streets, and organized town hall forums and roundtable discussions with local chambers of commerce to get direct input from small business owners.  
 
Kelly's five-point agenda in Congress to help address the problems and challenges being faced by small businesses:
 
1) Lower health insurance costs for small businesses – In an effort to create new affordable health insurance options for small businesses, Kelly co-sponsored and the House passed the Small Business Health Fairness Act to help lower health insurance costs for local small business owners, their workers, and their families. Surveys and studies have found that the majority of small businesses do not offer health insurance because they can't afford the costs involved. The bill is pending in the Senate.
 
2) Stop excessive and redundant federal regulations on small businesses – Kelly is sponsoring the Cut Unnecessary Regulatory Burden (CURB) for Small Businesses Act that would enable Congress to better scrutinize federal laws and regulations imposed on small businesses. It would prevent federal agencies from implementing unnecessary or duplicative regulations against small businesses
 
3) Level the playing field for small businesses – In order to help give small businesses the same advantages as larger companies, Kelly is sponsoring the Business Checking Freedom Act that repeals an outdated financial law and enables small businesses to earn interest on their checking accounts. She also is sponsoring the Increased Capital Access for Growing Business Act, which would help small and medium-sized business owners gain increased access to capital, enabling them to sustain or grow their businesses. Both Kelly bills have passed the House and are pending in the Senate.
 
4) Permanently end the death tax that is a direct hit on family-owned small businesses – Prior to a temporary repeal approved by Congress in 2001, death taxes enabled the federal government to take away up to 55 percent of small businesses or family farms during ownership transition following the death of the owner. Kelly co-sponsored the Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act that passed the House by a bipartisan margin and is now pending in the Senate.
 
5) Continue tax relief for small businesses to help them grow and create new jobs – Kelly has co-introduced the Small Employer Tax Relief Act in Congress to help ease the federal tax burden on small businesses. A major portion of the tax relief bills passed by Congress during the past few years have been direct tax relief for small businesses. The House recently voted to extend increased expensing rules for small businesses, enabling them to continue using federal tax deductions of up to $100,000 for business expenses.

 

On House Floor, Kelly Pushes for More Support of Small Business Needs

---