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Washington Watch
June 4, 2003
Snowe Proposes Streamline of
Government Women Entrepreneurship Programs
Senate Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship Chair Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
introduced a bill last week that would dramatically
streamline and integrate women entrepreneurship
assistance programs that are often over-looked in
funding or overlap initiatives. The Women’s Small
Business Programs Improvement Act of 2003 (S.
1154) is designed to improve programs and services
for women..
“This bill will help make sure that women
entrepreneurs get the assistance they need so that
success through business growth and entrepreneurial
endeavors is more easily obtained,” said Snowe. “The
glass ceiling in corporate America that led many women
to start a small business has been transformed into a
another obstacle – a glass doorway – between women who
want to start and grow businesses and the lending and
federal contracting markets they seek to enter.”
S. 1154 would expand programs and services offered by
the SBA
Office of Women’s Business Ownership; make the
Women’s Business Center program permanent;
identify clear missions and directives for the
National Women’s Business Council and Interagency
Committee on Women’s Business Enterprise; and provide
full funding for the National Women’s Business Council
for programs and reorganization.
“It is absolutely essential that Congress ensure that
the full range of business assistance programs
targeted to women work at peak efficiency to sustain
this vital growth segment of the economy,” Snowe said.
“By strengthening and streamlining existing programs,
I believe we can help women business owners and
entrepreneurs achieve their true goals.”
IRS Offers Tips on Small Business Retirement
The
Internal Revenue
Service offers advice to micro-business owners planning for
and providing retirement benefits for themselves and their
employees. This information is available on the IRS Small
Business/ Self-Employed Web site. Special attention is paid to
choosing the right plan for your business. Tips on establishing,
operating and terminating a retirement plan are in the works.
The
2003 Small Business Resource Guide CD walks you through the
types of plans best suited to small businesses and how each plan
works. You can order a free CD-Rom or view the information
directly on the IRS Web site. The retirement topics covered in
the Resource Guide include (1) reasons for having a retirement
plan, (2) things to consider before establishing a retirement
plan, (3) what kind of retirement plan is right for you, (4)
advantages of a pre-approved plan, and (5) thumbnail sketches of
different retirement plan designs. Also featured is an
easy-to-use chart that highlights important aspects of each
featured type of plan and issues that business owners should
consider when selecting the type of retirement program best
fitted to their needs. Lastly, additional resources provide more
help for those business owners who may require further
assistance.
SBA Office of Advocacy Names “Small Business Advocates
Of The Year”
The U.S.
Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy awarded ten
small-business owners national honors for outstanding advocacy
and entrepreneurial activities on behalf of small businesses.
Seven were named “Advocates of the Year” and three were given
special awards for “Small Business Exporter,” “SBA Young
Entrepreneur,” and “Entrepreneurial Success.”
NASE Director of Government Affairs, Kristie Darien, was part of
the panel that chose the Entrepreneurial Success winner. “Mrs.
Himanshu ‘Sue’ Bhatia really exemplified what this award was all
about,” Darien said. “She took her company Rose International
from a small technology information staffing firm, and with the
help of the SBA, grew it into a national company with 300
employees.”
The National Advocate award winners will be honored during the
National Entrepreneurship Conference & Expo, held September
15-20, 2003 in Washington, D.C.
View Biographical sketches on each of the Advocacy winners.
SBA Offers Disaster Loans in
Aftermath of Tornadoes
In the aftermath of the deadly tornadoes that recently tore
through the Midwest and parts of the South, the
U.S. Small Business
Administration has far approved more than $15 million in
low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters and
businesses in the region.
The SBA has employees from the
Office of
Disaster Assistance working in recovery centers in Kansas,
Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Illinois and
Tennessee.
SBA low-interest disaster recovery loans are available to
homeowners, renters and non-farm businesses of all sizes.
Homeowners may borrow up to $200,000 to repair or replace
damaged real estate. Individuals may borrow up to $40,000 to
cover losses to personal property. The interest rate for home
loans is 2.8 percent and 2.9 percent for businesses and
non-profit organizations.
Non-farm businesses and non-profit organizations of any size may
apply for up to $1.5 million to repair or replace business
assets. Small businesses that suffered economic losses may apply
for a working capital loan of up to $1.5 million, even if the
property was not physically damaged.
To find out more about the SBA’s disaster assistance program,
visit the
Web site.
Do any of these issues
affect you? Visit the NASE
Legislative Action Center and “Tell Your Small
Business Story.” This will help the NASE understand -
on a personal level - how key legislative issues are
affecting your business and your bottom line.
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.
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