• House Small Business Committee GOP and Dems Spar Over SBA Reauthorization
• House Panel Approves Health Information Technology Legislation
• New Tax Reconciliation Package Could Lead to Repercussions for Independent Contractors
• Immigration Reform on the Horizon?
• Member Poll: Immigration Reform

House Small Business Committee GOP and Dems Spar Over SBA Reauthorization

Last week House Small Business Committee Democrats sent a letter to Chairman Donald Manzullo, R-Ill., calling for a longer review process and hearing on the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Reauthorization. H.R. 5253, the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 2006, was introduced by Manzullo on May 11, 2006. Less than a week later, he called for a markup of the legislation, where the committee can offer amendments and agrees to a final version of the bill to bring to the floor for a vote. Democrats submitted over 40 amendments to the bill just before the markup to change much of the legislation. Manzullo said he was forced to postpone the markup because of the flood of amendments. Democrats criticized Manzullo for not giving enough time for input on the bill and pointed at the hasty markup as sign of this. “The reality is that our small businesses are facing challenges everywhere they turn today,” Ranking Member Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., said. “That is why this reauthorization is more important now than ever. The last thing Congress should be doing is passing a bill that promises a lot but delivers little to entrepreneurs." It is unlikely that a hearing will be held regarding this legislation but Manzullo has vowed to meet with every member who has offered an amendment but a rescheduled date has not been set. The NASE will continue to follow the SBA Reauthorization process closely. For more information on the NASE’s legislative priorities, http://advocacy.NASE.org. House Panel Approves Health Information Technology Legislation The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee approved H.R. 4157, a bill that would advance the use of health information technology (IT) by legislating the position of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology and a government-sponsored board to suggest national data storage and interoperability standards. It was an 8-5 party-line vote with Democrats claiming that this bill does not go far enough to protect patient privacy. One proposed amendment, requiring patients to consent to the sharing of information, was voted down 5-8. The NASE supports a secure national electronic patient record system as an efficient and cost effective step forward. Contact your members of Congress and tell them to support health IT legislation this session of Congress by visiting the online Legislative Action Center at http://advocacy.NASE.org. New Tax Reconciliation Package Could Lead to Repercussions for Independent Contractors One provision in the tax reconciliation package recently signed into law could have long-term effects on independent contractors and micro-business owners. The provision requires the government to withhold taxes from government contractors. Proponents of the provision say that this tax withholding is a solution to the $345 billion tax gap (for the year 2001), or the difference between taxes owed and taxes collected. Some fear that this will lead to further provisions forcing all independent contractors to have taxes withheld. This would be a major paperwork burden both to the contractors and those who hire them. Micro-business owners often depend on the work of independent contractors to run their businesses. “The NASE feels that rather than adding to the burden of compliance faced by micro-business taxpayers through increased regulations, the goal should be to simplify the tax regulations surrounding independent contractors,” NASE National Tax Advisor Keith Hall testified to Congress in April. The tax process is burdensome and time-consuming. The NASE has long stood with other small-business organizations in advocating for simplification of the tax code to address confusion as the root cause of reporting and filing errors. It is the systemic and well-chronicled problem of code complexity for sole proprietors that policy makers should be looking to rather than concluding deliberate under-reporting on the part of these tax payers. Senator Larry Craig, R- Idaho, has introduced S. 2821, the Withholding Tax Relief Act, which would repeal that provision. “Proponents of the withholding provision describe it as closing a tax loophole,” Craig said. “That is nonsense. Reporting requirements are already in place for government contractors. All this does is buck the IRS’s collection responsibilities to the taxpayers.” The NASE continues to follow this issue closely. Tell your legislators to support the Withholding Tax Relief Act by visiting the NASE’s Legislative Action Center at http://advocacy.NASE.org. Immigration Reform on the Horizon? Just before the Memorial Day recess, the Senate voted to approve S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, with a 62-36 bipartisan vote. This legislation would allow most illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S., work, and eventually earn citizenship The House passed immigration reform legislation in December that was more limited including measures against those helping illegal immigrants and considering those caught without visas felons. Now the two versions will go into conference, where negotiators from the House and Senate will attempt to agree on common language from two very different sounding bills. The House bill focuses on enforcement while the Senate bill focuses on legalization and the guest worker program. The House version has no guest worker program. The NASE will monitor the conference process closely and report on the final version agreed to by the House and the Senate. Tell your legislators how you feel about immigration reform by participating in this month’s online member poll or using the NASE’s Legislative Action Center at http://advocacy.NASE.org. Member Poll: Immigration Reform The issue of immigration has been front page news over the past few weeks. Both the Bush Administration and Congress have been working on proposals to reform our current immigration policy and address the issue of undocumented immigrants within our nation. Immigration has a large impact on our economy and small businesses in various industries. Let the NASE know your opinions on current immigration policy and suggested reforms by visiting the MyNASE Web site at http://my.NASE.org/. Log in to your free MyNASE Web account. If you have not set up an account, you can do so at http://my.NASE.org/ with your member number.