• NASE Emphasizes Affordable Health Care to Prominent Officials

• NASE Takes Your Issues Straight to the White House
• NASE Legislative Priorities Backed by President Bush

Donald Manzullo, Chairman of the House Small Business Committee, addresses the need for affordable health care at a Congressional Breakfast sponsored by the NASE.

NASE Emphasizes Affordable Health Care to Prominent Officials The NASE is continuing efforts to increase its circle of influence in Washington, D.C. and make the NASE platform a top priority among legislators. Last week the NASE sponsored a breakfast for the House Small Business Committee to gain further support and recognition of the need for affordable health care coverage. More than 70 distinguished guests attended.

NASE President Robert Hughes and Board Member Shonda Parker spoke with top government officialsincluding House Small Business Committee Chair Don Manzullo, and Tom Sullivan, the Chief Counsel of the SBA Office of Advocacy. Hughes addressed attendees and emphasized the need for Association Health Plans and health care tax incentives. Chairman Manzullo thanked Robert Hughes and expressed appreciation for the NASE and Hughes’ work on behalf of micro-businesses across the nation.
 

NASE Takes Your Issues Straight to the White House

When it comes to issues affecting your micro-business, the NASE is making sure the most powerful people in Washington, D.C., including President Bush, hear your voice.

The NASE is a frontrunner in shaping President Bush’s aggressive, new small-business agenda. NASE President Robert Hughes and Board Member Shonda Parker were present when Bush announced his agenda last week at the Women Entrepreneurs in the 21st Century Conference, which the NASE co-sponsored. The NASE is now in a powerful position to make a dramatic difference for micro-business owners across the U.S. The NASE will continue its diligent advocacy efforts on your behalf and encourages you to also get involved. Let us know your concerns through our program, “Tell Us Your Small Business Story.” You can also send an e-mail or letter to elected officials via the Legislative Advocacy Center.

Micro-business issues now have the attention of the most powerful person in Washington, D.C. The NASE intends to take full advantage of this important relationship. Look for further updates in upcoming issues of “Washington Watch.”
 

NASE Legislative Priorities Backed by President Bush

The National Association for the Self-Employed has been diligently working on your behalf to influence lawmakers in Washington, D.C. The good news is that work has not gone unnoticed. Even the president of the United States has demonstrated his support for micro-businesses by proposing a far reaching $7 billion tax cut.

“The Bush small-business agenda addresses the chief concerns of the micro-business community and if passed, would provide a powerful boost to this important sector of the economy,” said Robert Hughes, NASE President.

Bush outlined the following measures to ease the tax burdens placed on micro-businesses and the self-employed:

Increased Deduction for Business Equipment
Under the current law, companies that annually invest up to $200,000 in new equipment may deduct the first $25,000 immediately and depreciate the remaining $175,000 over a 10-year period. Bush proposes an immediate $40,000 deduction for companies investing up to $325,000.

Simplified Accounting Procedures
The Treasury Department will soon announce final rules that allow service businesses with less than $10 million in business every year to simplify their accounting procedures and defer all tax payments until their income is actually received.

Affordable Association Health Plans
NASE President Robert Hughes and Board Member Shonda Parker met President Bush at the Women Entrepreneurs in the 21st Century Conference where Bush announced his support of association health plans, which allow members of organizations the opportunity to purchase affordable insurance. Association health plans would provide the same kind of price breaks from insurance companies that larger companies routinely receive and would cost the government nothing.

The NASE is the nation’s leading resource for the self-employed and micro-businesses, bringing a broad range of benefits to help entrepreneurs succeed and to drive the continued growth of this vital segment of the American economy. One of the most important benefits of NASE Membership is the strategic legislative advocacy program. The advocacy program has identified these three issues as major legislative priorities for the NASE this year. The NASE will continue its aggressive advocacy program to ensure these and other issues remain at the forefront of discussions in Washington, D.C. As the debate on Capitol Hill continues, rest assured, the NASE will be meeting with lawmakers, representing your views.
 

For more information, please contact Kristie L. Darien, NASE Director of Government Affairs, at 202-466-2100 or kdarien@nase.org.