APRIL 28, 2004
Local Congressional
Roundtables Seek Small Business
Perspective
 Last
week micro-business owners had the chance to
express their opinion about the
affordability and access of health coverage
in the small group market when several
Members of Congress held local roundtables
on the issue. The NASE sent out an e-mail to
association Members in those areas,
encouraging them to attend.
Later, when the Members returned to
Washington, the House of Representative
leadership held a press conference detailing
what their constituents had told them, and
calling for the passage of association
health plans, medical liability reform, and
the elimination of the self-employment tax
on health insurance premiums. An NASE Member
from Fairfax, Virginia, participated in the
event, detailing her struggle to cover
health care costs for herself and her three
children while running her home-based
graphics design business.
The NASE works hard to get the
micro-business perspective heard when it
comes to the national debate on access to
quality, affordable health coverage. Your
association will continue to alert Members
when opportunities such as these arise.
Small Biz Committee
Breakfast Brings Together Advocates
 The NASE
hosted members of the
House Small Business Committee and other
small business advocates for a working
breakfast last week. The group discussed
many of the most pressing issues facing
micro-business, including health coverage
and the economy. NASE President Robert
Hughes, who traveled to Washington for the
meeting, and Chairman Don Manzullo (R-IL)
strategized on the progress of the
Self-Employed Health Care Affordability Act,
H.R. 1873, which would eliminate the payment
of self-employment tax on health insurance
premiums. To date, 55 Members of Congress
have cosponsored the legislation, which
Chairman Manzullo and Ranking Member Nydia
Velázquez (D-NY) introduced last April.
NASE Participates in
SBA Roundtable on Home-Based Businesses
With more than 10 million home-based
businesses in the United States, U.S. Small
Business Administration’s Office of
Entrepreneurial Development convened a
roundtable of experts in Washington, D.C.,
last week to discuss this important, and
rapidly growing segment of the small
business economy. The primary goal of the
roundtable was to discuss the obstacles
faced by home-based businesses and suggest
ways the SBA may better support this vital
sector.
“A consensus was made among the group that
key obstacles home-based entrepreneurs face
are access to capital to start, grow, and
sustain their business as well as access to
affordable health coverage,” remarked
Kristie Darien, NASE government affairs
director and participant at the SBA
Roundtable. Currently, home-based businesses
comprise fifty percent of the NASE
membership.
The NASE is pleased to see the SBA focusing
on the challenges faced by home-based
businesses. If you are a home-based business
owner,
Tell Your Story about obstacles you have
faced in running your business. Let the NASE
know what the Small Business Administration
can do to be more helpful to you and your
business.
Tell Your Small Business Development
Center Story
With over 1,100
service locations in the United States,
Small
Business Development Centers (SBDCs)
provide one-on-one local training and advice
to entrepreneurs and micro-business owners.
You or someone you know may have used an
SBDC when you were starting your
micro-business. If so, the NASE wants to
hear from you.
The U.S.
Small Business Administration oversees
the Small Business Development Center
Program to provide management assistance to
current and prospective small business
owners. SBDCs offer one-stop assistance to
individuals and small businesses by
providing a wide variety of information and
guidance in central and easily accessible
branch locations. Centers are located at
colleges, universities, community colleges,
vocational schools, chambers of commerce and
economic development corporations.
The NASE has long supported the services
SBDCs offer to micro-businesses. In an
effort to help the Small Business
Development Centers acquire more funding so
that they can assist more micro-business
owners and expand their programs, the NASE
asks those who have visited and utilized the
services of an SBDC to Tell Your Story. Help
support SBDCs by telling us about a positive
experience with one of the centers or
counselors.
Did an SBDC help you write your business
plan, find funding opportunities or grow
your business? Did you attend a seminar or
class offered at an SBDC that was helpful to
you and your business?
We want to hear about it.
Minimum Wage Increase Considered
The minimum
wage debate may come up again soon in
Congress, as Senate Republicans attempt to
preempt a Democratic plan and set the terms
of an increase themselves. The pending
Democratic proposal would increase the
minimum wage by $1.85 to a total of $6.55
per hour. A Republican-backed bill would
probably raise the minimum wage by about one
dollar per hour, and include incentives to
small businesses, such as limited tax
breaks, exemptions for small businesses, and
comp time provisions.
The
House Small Business Committee Subcommittee
on Workforce, Empowerment and Government
Programs will also take up this issue
later this week. The subcommittee will hold
a hearing titled, “Would an Increase in the
Minimum Federal Wage Help or Hinder Small
Business?”
The NASE wants to know your opinion on the
subject. Do you pay employees the minimum
wage? Do you support or oppose raising the
wage amount? Would a raise impact your
business, and how?
Tell Your Story about minimum wage
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