Small businesses are the engine of job creation and economic growth in America, having created two-thirds of the new jobs over the last decade and a half. Helping Southwest Georgia’s small businesses to grow and succeed is a top priority of mine. In Congress, I have voted again and again for legislation that ensures small business owners have the opportunity to compete for contracts from the federal government. I have also supported tax relief for small businesses, voting for legislation that helps them grow by providing tax credits and incentives for expanding and purchasing new equipment.

In the years ahead, southwest Georgia – as well as many other areas of the country – will look to small business to lead our economy into a new future of greater growth and prosperity. I pledge to continue working in Congress to support our small businesses and to vote for legislation that puts them on an even playing field with larger corporations. Supporting small businesses should not be a partisan issue, it should be something we all agree on and work together to achieve.

Priorities:

• Improve access to affordable credit, so that small businesses can either get their new venture off the ground or expand their operations.
• Ensure that small businesses are afforded sufficient opportunity to produce innovative products and services for the private market sector and compete for federal acquisition.
• Establish additional entrepreneurial development programs and provide greater assistance to women and veterans seeking to start small businesses.

Accomplishments:

• Passed the historic Stimulus bill in February of 2009, which provided small businesses with interest-free loans of $35,000, made it easier for small business owners to get Small Business Administration (SBA)-backed loans, reduced the costs of loans for small business borrowers, allowed the SBA to unfreeze the credit market, and helped small firms raise equity capital.
• Voted for H.R. 2965, the Small Business Research and Innovation Act, which modernizes and reauthorizes the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, ensuring that a portion of federal research dollars go to small businesses. This bill more than doubled the amount of the grants small businesses can apply for, helping them engage in cutting-edge research.
• Voted for H.R. 3854, the Small Business Financing and Investment Act, legislation to reform small business lending programs and meet the needs of American small business from fledgling start-ups to those going public, from veteran-owned businesses to rural businesses to businesses in urban communities.
• Voted for H.R. 2352, the Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act, which provides for the continuation of Small Business Administration (SBA) entrepreneurial development programs. In addition, this legislation establishes a new small business assistance program for veterans and administers comprehensive assistance and guidance to economically or socially disadvantaged entrepreneurial women.

Small Business Resources:

Find your local Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Office
SBA Frequently Asked Questions
Doing Business with the Federal Government
Federal Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Guide for African-American Entrepreneurs

• House Passes Permanent Estate Tax Relief For Families, Farmers And Small Business