• NASE Keeps Watchful Eye on Tax Relief Legislation

• NASE Works With White House Council of Economic Advisors On Health Care
• Efforts to Increase Expensing for Small Business Underway
• Bill Would Help Small Businesses Win Government Contracts
• Strengthening the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy to Work for You
   

NASE Keeps Watchful Eye on Tax Relief Legislation

Tax equality remains a top priority for the NASE and its Members. For this reason, the NASE is closely monitoring the progress of legislation intended to make the 2001 Bush tax cuts permanent.

With the House passage of H.R. 586, Americans are one step closer to realizing permanent tax relief. The House of Representatives recently approved H.R. 586, which includes the repeal of the death tax, a reduction in the marginal income tax rates and a string of other tax relief provisions. If these tax provisions are not made permanent, they will be reversed by December 31, 2010 according to the legislation passed last year.

“I commend the House for its bipartisan passage of legislation to make permanent last year's tax relief. Tax relief is right for America, and it has been right for our economy. Taxpayers need to know they can count on continued lower tax rates as they plan and invest for the future. I urge the Senate to act on this measure because failure to do so would penalize every American who pays federal income taxes,” remarked President Bush, who has been urging Congress to make the tax cuts permanent.

The outlook in the U.S. Senate, however, is not as promising. The Senate leadership has indicated that they do not plan to vote on the permanency of the tax relief package; thus, this issue will be contentious for the remainder of the legislative session. The NASE will continue to monitor the progress of this issue and encourages you to contact your senator. Visit the NASE Legislative Action Center for information about contacting your elected officials.
 

NASE Works With White House Council of Economic Advisors
On Health Care

In addition to testifying before Congress about access to affordable health care, the NASE is constantly working on your behalf to influence many of the movers and shakers regarding this important issue. Just last week the NASE formed a relationship with Mark McClellan, a member of President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors.

The NASE represented micro-businesses and the self-employed at a luncheon where Mr. McClellan outlined President Bush's comprehensive health care agenda designed to improve access to affordable health care. He emphasized that choice and competition will foster ways to further innovation plus promote new ideas for minimizing costs and providing care in a more effective way.

“In the President's vision, all Americans should have access to high quality affordable health care. That should come through Americans having choices and control over their health care decisions - patients working with doctors to make decisions,” stated Mr. McClellan.

Prior to joining the Council of Economic Advisors, Mark McClellan was associate professor of economics at Stanford University, associate professor of medicine at Stanford Medical School, a practicing internist, director of the Stanford Program on Health Outcomes Research and a Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

The NASE is looking forward to working with him regarding small-business access to affordable health care.
 

Efforts to Increase Expensing for Small Business Underway

Increasing Section 179 expensing limits for the self-employed and small businesses is a legislative priority that the NASE has been aggressively promoting. Increasing expensing for business equipment investments will free up capital that small business owners and the self-employed can reinvest into the continued growth of their businesses. Recently, two new pieces of legislation have been introduced to accomplish this goal.

House Small Business Committee Chairman Donald Manzullo (R-IL) introduced the Small Business Investment and Growth Act of 2002 (H.R. 4087). Currently, small businesses can only expense up to $24,000 of their new equipment investments. Chairman Manzullo’s bill would allow an immediate increase for business equipment expensing up to $40,000 on new investments.

“Increasing these expensing limits for small businesses will lower their costs of doing business and enable them to better compete, expand and create new jobs,” Manzullo said. “This will give our small businesses an extra tool to survive these tough times and spur America's recovery more quickly.”

H.R. 4087 is cosponsored by Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) and is a companion bill to S. 2023, introduced by Senators Sue Collins (R-ME) and Christopher Bond (R-MO) in the U.S. Senate.

Rep. Wally Herger (R-CA) introduced H.R. 4470 that also increases the expensing limit to $40,000 and the cap on equipment investments to $325,000. The Herger bill is identical to Chairman Manzullo’s bill in its Section 179 limit increases.

The NASE supports both H.R. 4087 and H.R. 4470. Please go to the NASE
Legislative Action Center to contact your members of Congress in support of increasing expensing for small businesses.
 

Bill Would Help Small Businesses Win Government Contracts

The NASE is closely following a bill that would make it easier for small businesses to get large government contracts. The House Small Business Committee approved the Small Business Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2001 (H.R. 2867) this week. The bill allows the Small Business Administration (SBA) to challenge federal agencies that award large contracts that are out of reach for small businesses.

“For many small businesses, an iron curtain hangs around federal procurement offices that reads, ‘small businesses need not apply,’” said Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY). H.R. 2867 would increase small businesses’ chances of getting large government contracts by enhancing the SBA's position to challenge unsound contract bundling procedures within federal agencies.

Currently many federal agencies bundle several small contracts together making them one large project for prospective bidders. More micro-businesses could successfully compete on one or more aspects of these projects if contracts were not bundled.

The bill would also extend the submission period for small businesses to bid on contracts, allowing them to form joint ventures with other companies to compete for the large contracts.

H.R. 2867 has broad, bipartisan support and is non-controversial. It is expected to be brought up in the House before Memorial Day.

Strengthening the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy
to Work for You

In an effort to reverse a decade-long decrease in the size of the SBA Office of Advocacy, the House Committee on Small Business voted unanimously to strengthen it as an independent voice for small businesses. The NASE believes that the Small Business Advocacy Improvement Act of 2002 (H.R. 4231) will help the SBA more effectively and independently protect small businesses from unnecessary federal regulations.

H.R. 4231 would give the Office of Advocacy a protected line item in the President's budget and create two new deputy counsels for regulation and economic research. The legislation also authorizes a larger budget for the Office of Advocacy to hire more staff, thereby increasing its vigilance in countering excessive regulations. In addition, the bill encourages the SBA Ombudsman to work more closely with the Office of Advocacy in coordinating opinions on the impact of regulations on small businesses.

“The Office of Advocacy serves a vital role in protecting the interests of small businesses within federal agencies,” said House Small Business Committee Chairman Don Manzullo (R-IL), who sponsored the bill. “This legislation gives the Office of Advocacy the tools it needs to be most effective.”

This legislation has wide, bipartisan support and is expected to be placed on the House consent calendar before Memorial Day.

For more information, please contact Maureen Petron, NASE Public Affairs Manager, at 202-466-2100 or m.fleming@nase.org.