• Attention: Philadelphia Area Women Entrepreneurs!
• NASE President and Board Member Tackle Health Coverage Issues
• NASE Meets with Chair of Senate Small Business Committee
• HSBC Committee Discusses Future of Office of Advocacy

Attention: Philadelphia Women Entrepreneurs!

The NASE is proud to sponsor the Women Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century summit, April 3, 2003 in Philadelphia, PA. If you are a woman living in the Philadelphia area, are self-employed or run your own micro-business, this conference is for you. This free event offers cutting-edge insights on the most pressing concerns of women business owners today. It is packed full of networking opportunities, panel discussions, keynote speakers and break-out sessions on topics ranging from procurement to taxes on health care. Register today at www.women-21.com/conference.asp.
 

NASE Board Member David Alders participated in the symposium as a health care consumer.

NASE President and Board Member Tackle Health Coverage Issues   This week, NASE President Robert Hughes and Board Member David Alders were in Washington, D.C., to tackle the important issue of access to affordable health coverage. Over 41 million Americans do not have health insurance and 62 percent are from families in which the head of household is self-employed or working for a company with fewer than 100 employees. Mr. Hughes and Mr. Alders took this micro-business concern and joined with a diverse array of health care experts at a daylong symposium to outline specific ideas about what can be done to curb the skyrocketing cost of health coverage.

As a featured speaker during one of the panels at “Toward Affordable Health Care: Prescriptions for Today,” Mr. Hughes, a self-employed CPA, presented ways to use tax laws to your advantage, and what kind of tax reforms would promote more equitable treatment for micro-businesses. He advocated for self-employment tax relief on health insurance premiums, health care tax credits and association health plans.

“Think about what you and/or your employer pay for health insurance,” Hughes told the participants. “Now multiply that by 15.3 percent, then take out your check book and write a check for that amount, payable to U.S. Treasury Department for those self-employment taxes on your health insurance premiums. That is what the 16 million self-employed Americans do every year.”

Mr. Alders, owner of the micro-business Carrizo Creek, took part in the day’s wrap-up session. He spoke as a health care consumer, who knows first hand the effects of high cost coverage for his family and his three employees.

Also participating in the symposium were Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson; Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, Mark McClellan; Dr. Rex Cowdry, Associate Director, White House National Economic Council; Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX); Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX); and Joel White, Professional Staff Member, House Ways and Means Committee.

Read more about the legislation the NASE supports to help the self-employed and micro-businesses at the Legislative Action Center.

See the symposium’s Web cast
 

NASE Meets With Chair of Senate Small Business Committee

In a meeting with Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) this week, NASE President Robert Hughes told the chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship that the needs of the self-employed and micro-businesses should be at the forefront of the committee's agenda this year. The two discussed the importance of this segment of the small-business community, and ways to increase access to affordable health care, capital and tax equity.

While the NASE has participated in several committee roundtables and hearings, this was the first opportunity for Mr. Hughes to talk one-on-one with Sen. Snowe.
 

HSBC Committee Discusses Future of Office of Advocacy

Two subcommittees of the House Small Business Committee held a joint hearing this week to discuss granting independence to the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy. At the Regulatory Reform and Oversight and the Workforce, Empowerment and Government Programs Subcommittee, Chief Counsel for Advocacy Thomas Sullivan recommended a separate line item in the SBA budget for the Office. In his testimony, Sullivan noted that independence and flexibility are what allow the Office of Advocacy to pursue the small-business agenda in Washington and across the country.

The NASE supports an independent Office of Advocacy, with more funding for its vital programs. Read more about the NASE position at the Legislative Action Center.

 

Do any of these issues affect you? Do you want to be proactive in helping the micro-business community? Visit the NASE Legislative Action Center and be a Small Business Crusader. Members of Congress appreciate hearing from their constituents. Letting your members know how you feel on an issue puts strength behind the NASE’s legislative agenda.

For more information about any of the articles in Washington Watch, contact Maureen Petron, NASE public affairs manager, at (202) 466-2100 or mpetron@nase.org.