Small Businesses Matter to American Families

After six weeks primarily devoted to legislative business in Washington, it was a welcome change to have a full week in Oklahoma devoted to meetings with constituents. When I travel across the Fourth District, I am always inspired by the spirit and can-do attitude of our small business entrepreneurs. And it serves as a reminder that Congress should do whatever it can to lift the regulatory and tax burdens that hinder the success of America’s small businesses. Because when small businesses succeed, American families succeed as well.

Our country’s ability to prosper depends heavily on Americans who work for and own small businesses. Unfortunately, as many Oklahomans know far too well, those working on Main Street are often met with excessive regulatory and tax barriers that choke innovation and discourage job creation. Too often, these regulations create a barrier to entrepreneurs from entering the marketplace in the first place. That not only shatters the American Dream for a would-be entrepreneur, it prevents the creation of jobs that would have lifted other hardworking Americans as well.

While I was meeting with Oklahomans who depend on the success of small businesses, either as the owner or hardworking employee whose salary supports a family, I was pleased to report back that the House members in the new Congress have already passed measures to help Main Street.

Passed earlier this month in the House, the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act remembers the critical role small businesses play in creating job opportunities that support millions of families across the country. Along with instructing federal agencies to look at the economic impact of regulations on small businesses, the bill requires that agencies conduct periodic reviews of current rules. The legislation also seeks to involve those employed by small businesses in consideration of new regulations through Small Business Advocacy Review panels. This valuable legislation raises the voices of those employed by small businesses by allowing them to be heard in the regulatory review and consideration process.

Along with addressing the regulatory process as it impacts small businesses, the House also passed America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act. While I believe that our federal tax code is still in need of major reform, this legislation would provide some certainty to the current system by making provisions that have expired—yet been routinely renewed—a permanent part of the tax code.

Whether as an employee or owner, Americans depend greatly on the success of small businesses. According to the United States Small Business Administration, an estimated seven out of 10 new jobs in the economy are created by small businesses. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Commerce recorded 332,998 small businesses in Oklahoma that employed 673,373 people.

It has been said that small business is the engine that drives America. When I am in Oklahoma, I am constantly reminded of the accuracy of that assertion. When government gets out of the way and allows that engine to fire on all cylinders, it drives our nation and our people toward a bright and prosperous future.