Help for Small Businesses

As a former small business owner and current member of the House Small Business Committee, I understand that small businesses are America's economic backbone. I am dedicated to helping Oregon's small businesses cut through the bureaucratic red tape of the federal government and provide them with the economic certainty they need to confidently invest, expand and create good, lasting jobs for Oregonians.

• Need help with your small business? Click here to find an Oregon Small Business Development  Center near you.

• Click here for information on how to apply for a SBA loan.

• There are several small business loan providers located in Oregon. Click here to view a list of  participating lenders that may be able to help you and your business.

SMALL BUSINESS LEGISLATION

1. Click here to view small business provisions implemented in HR 1, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

2. HR 3854, The Small Business Financing and Reinvestment  Act of 2009: Introduced by Congressman Schrader in the 111th Congress, HR 3854 was a conglomerate of bills introduced by other members of the Small Business Committee, which emphasized increasing access to capital, cutting through red-tape bureaucracy and incentivizing lending by reauthorizing major Small Busniess Administration (SBA) programs. HR 3854 has not been reintroduced in the 112th Congress.

• Click here to read the full bill text
• Click here to read a section-by-section summary
• Click here to read the key provisionsHR 3854

3. HR 3615, The Home Office Deduction Simplification Act: Introduced by Congressman Schrader in the 112th Congress, HR 3615 amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a taxpayer who uses a residence to conduct a trade or business a standard tax deduction equal to the lesser of $1,500 or the taxpayer's gross trade or business income derived from the business use of such residence.

HR 3615 has garnered support from:

US Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), Small Business Legislative Council (SBLC), National Small Business Association (NSBA), Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Alliance of Visual Artists, American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance, Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC), Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO), Professional Photographers of America, Women Impacting Public Policy, Women Entrepreneurs, Inc.

4. HR 4121, Early Stage Small Business Contracting Act of 2012: HR 4121 establishes a program to provide improved access to Federal contract opportunities for early stage small business concerns. It disallows any contracts awarded under this program if its value is less than $3,000 or greater than $75,000.  For the purposes of this program, an “early stage small business concern” means a small business concern that has not more than 15 employees and has average annual receipts that total not more than $1,000,000. This bill passed out of the House Committee on Small Business by unanimous voice vote.

5. HR 3980, The Small Business Lending Act: Jointly introduced by Reps. Schrader and Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), tHR 3980 helps streamline and simplify procurement processes by replacing the position of breakout procurement representative with the position of procurement center representative. It further requires them to review barriers to small business participation in federal contracting, as well as any bundled or consolidated solicitation or contract. Also requires officer: (1) have electronic access to any acquisition plan developed or in development with respect to a procurement activity, (2) be an advocate for the maximum practicable utilization of small businesses in federal contracting, and (3) be notified of and included in all applicable acquisition planning processes. This bill passed out of the House Committee on Small Business by unanimous voice vote.

6. HR 4191, The Credit Union Small Business Lending Act: HR 4191 increases SBA 7(a) loan guarantees to 85 percent for loans up to $250,000 made by credit unions to member small businesses in underserved areas. It also directs the National Credit Union Administration to educate credit unions on the availability of the program and establish a special process for approval of qualified applications under the program. HR 4191 was introduced in March 2012.

7. HR 4293, The Restore Main Street's Credit Act: HR 4293 would open lines of credit to qualified small businesses in need of credit. To start the flow of credit it would exempt Main Street businesses from the credit union business lending cap. A Main Street Business is defined as a business with 500 or fewer full-time employees. It does not change a credit unions capitalization standards or loan standards. It simply makes it easier for credit unions to make sound small business loans part of their portfolio in accordance with NCUA guidelines. HR 4293 was introduced in March 2012.