WASHINGTON (Dec. 29, 2016) — The National Small Business Association (NSBA) is urging President-elect Donald Trump to put issues affecting small business in the U.S. on the front burner, including giving the Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator cabinet-level status.
Among the issues the NSBA is urging Mr. Trump to address are health care reform, tax reform, regulatory relief, debt/debt reduction, credit and capital access.
The NSBA — which describes itself as America's oldest, nonpartisan small-business advocacy organization — also is urging Congress to approve legislation authorizing a White House Conference on Small Business (WHCSB), something that's not happened since 1995.
In a letter to Mr. Trump posted on the NSBA's website, the association urged the president-elect to pursue policies "that create a generally fertile economic environment while addressing the specific realities and needs of small, growing and start-up firms…." Doing so, the NSBA continued, "will be the key to creating the jobs-centered future that you discussed during your campaign."
In its letter, the NSBA elaborated on the issues it sees as "key to keeping the small-business community a vital part" of the nation's economic growth.
Health Care Reform:
The small-business community needs "substantial relief" from the Affordable Care Act and overall health care costs, relief that can be achieved only through a broad reform of the current health care system with a goal of reducing the cost of coverage and achieving universal coverage.
Tax Reform:
The NSBA believes it is imperative that the U.S. move toward a simpler, fairer tax regime that incorporates the following principles: designed to tax only once; stable and predictable; visible to the taxpayer; simple in its administration and compliance; promoting economic growth and fairness between large and small businesses; using commonly understood finance/accounting concepts; grounded in reality-based revenue estimates; Fair in its treatment of all citizens; and transparent
Regulatory Relief:
The NSBA urges the adoption of a national regulatory budget, which would impose strict, enforceable constraints on the ability of federal agencies to impose regulatory costs on the public.
Deficit and Debt Reduction:
The NSBA supports a two-pronged approach — which includes broad, pro-growth tax reform and much-needed entitlement reform — to reduce annual budget deficits and lower the national debt. This could include simplifying the tax code and reforming Social Security and Medicare.
Credit and Capital Access:
Stressing that small businesses historically have faced significant problems finding adequate access to growth-oriented credit and capital, the NSBA urges the administration to consider multiple approaches to reversing this bias.
Among the opportunities cited: Crowdfunding approaches and platforms; reforming the myriad regulations that that inhibit investment in smaller firms; blocking "overzealous and ill-informed regulation" of alternative lending platforms; and leveraging the SBA's guaranteed lending programs.
U.S. Small Business Administration:
The NSBA stresses that the SBA — the only federal agency exclusively focused on the needs and priorities of small business — be maintained as a separate focused agency. Folding the SBA into another agency or department would blur the focus on small business and diminish its voice.
White House Conference on Small Business:
The NSBA is calling on Congress to authorize and appropriate funds for a small business conference within the next two years, saying it is "long past time to convene a gathering to develop a cohesive small-business agenda to ensure the government is taking an active, appropriate role in fostering entrepreneurial development."