Throughout this Congress, Democrats have fought for small businesses and job creation. Critical to our economic prosperity, small businesses employ over half of all private sector employees and have created 64% of net new jobs over the past 15 years. Despite that fact, Republicans have opposed our efforts to help small businesses, standing instead with corporate interests over middle-class Americans. Senate Republicans continue to block consideration of a key measure to increase lending to small businesses which would help them create new jobs.
Legislation is just one part of the equation. By bringing together universities like Columbia with community organizations, our Chambers of Commerce, we can create the level of outreach needed to provide our people with the information they need to create and support their business. As I told the roomful of aspiring entrepreneurs at Columbia earlier this month, 'education is the key. Sometimes help is around the corner and you don't even know it.'
That's why we can't stop working at getting the word out. So many people out there may not have businesses but they have dreams. And dreams are what really create the entrepreneurship, and what create the jobs.
So far during the 111th Congress, the House has advanced the following legislation to help small businesses access credit and save and create jobs:
Small Business Jobs and Credit Act – Passed House 06/17/10
Originally proposed by President Obama, this bill is designed to boost lending to small businesses struggling to gain access to credit due to the financial crisis. This bill would boost lending to small businesses in order to hire new workers and expand their operations by investing capital in community and smaller banks under terms that become more favorable to participating banks as they increase their total loans to small businesses. This measure also includes the provisions of the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act, which will help small businesses grow and create new jobs through: 1) 100% exclusion of small business capital gains; 2) small business penalty relief; and 3) an increased deduction for start-up expenditures.
Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act – Passed House 03/24/10
· Allows a 100% exclusion from gross income of gain from the sale of qualified small business stock acquired after March 15, 2010, and before January 1, 2012.
· Increases the tax deduction for business start-up expenditures in 2010 and 2011.
(Note: These provisions have been incorporated into the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act.)
Disaster Relief and Summer Jobs Act – Passed House 03/24/10
· Extends the Recovery Act small business lending program, which has already helped save or create over 560,000 jobs.
Health Insurance Reform – Enacted 3/23/10
· Offers immediate and long term tax credits to small businesses to make employee coverage more affordable.
· Creates a Health Insurance Exchange where small business employees will have group purchasing power.
Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act – Enacted 3/18/10
· Exempts employers from paying the employer share of Social Security employment taxes for wages paid in 2010 for any new employee that was previously unemployed and does not replace another employee.
· Provides employers a $1,000 income tax credit for every new employee they employ for 52 weeks.
· Extends through 2010 the Recovery Act provision that would allow small businesses to write-off capital expenditures up to $250,000.
FY 2010 Appropriations – Enacted 12/16/09
· Includes increased funding to revitalize the SBA after eight years of Bush-era budget cuts, so that it may better protect the interests of small businesses.
· Provides $28 billion in new SBA lending.
Worker, Homeownership & Business Assistance Act – Enacted 11/06/09
· Extends the Recovery Act small business provision allowing small businesses to use the extended carryback period for a net operating loss incurred in 2008 or 2009.
Small Business Financing and Investment Act – Passed House 10/29/09
· Helps small businesses find affordable financing by updating and improving the SBA’s capital access programs.
Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act – Passed House 5/20/09
· For the first time in ten years, strengthens the SBA’s Entrepreneurial Development programs, which are responsible for:
o Providing technical and managerial training to small businesses.
o Yielding strong returns in terms of economic growth: In 2008, these programs helped generate 73,000 new jobs and infused $7.2 billion into the economy.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – Enacted 2/17/09
· Allows small businesses to extend the carryback period for up to five years for net operating losses incurred in 2008.
· Enables small businesses to expense up to $250,000 for capital expenditures in 2009.
· Provides work opportunity tax credits to employers who hire unemployed veterans and disconnected youth.
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