Find out where important small business legislation stands and what’s next
In June, Congress concluded the debt limit deal that absorbed much of the attention during the second quarter of 2023. In July, Congress shifted to dealing with must-pass pieces of legislation that expire later this year. On July 26, NFIB’s Vice President of Federal Government Relations Kevin Kuhlman, Director of Federal Government Relations Jeff Brabant, and Manager of Federal Government Relations Josselin Castillo hosted a mid-year update webinar on small business federal legislative priorities including taxes, financial services, healthcare, and employment law.
Topics discussed in the webinar included:
- Tax issues
- Financial services issues
- Healthcare issues
- Labor issues
- An NFIB Fly-In Recap
- A legislative calendar preview
Congressional August recess began on July 31, 2023. Members of the U.S. Senate are scheduled to be back in their states for five weeks and members of the U.S. House for six weeks.
“This is the perfect period to discuss or meet with your Representatives or Senators and hear from them in the districts or states, so you don’t have to travel all the way to Washington D.C.,” said Kuhlman.
Key Dates:
September 30 – Federal government funding expiration, Federal Aviation Administration authorization expiration, and farm bill expiration
December 31 – National Defense Authorization Act “deadline”
Top NFIB Priorities
- Support 20% Small Business Deduction (Section 199A) permanency – Set to expire Dec. 31, 2025. The Main Street Tax Certainty Act (S. 1706/H.R. 4271) would make the Small Business Deduction permanent.
- Oppose Beneficial Ownership Regulation – Enacted in 2021, this regulation requires over 32 million small businesses to register their beneficial ownership information with FinCEN beginning Jan. 1, 2024.
- Support the Credit Card Competition Act (S. 1838/H.R. 3881) – Injects competition into the credit card processing market by requiring banks to allow at least two networks for each card.
- Support the Employer Reporting Improvement Act (H.R. 3801) – Streamlines reporting requirements which can be burdensome for small business owners.
- Support the CHOICE Arrangement Act (H.R. 3799) – Allows small businesses the ability to band together and purchase health insurance as a large group across state lines.
- Support the FAIR Act – Would require honest billing for services rendered in outpatient facilities and additional hospital fees when not applicable.
- Support Pharmacy Benefit Manager employer transparency.
- Oppose the PRO Act (S. 567/ H.R. 20) – Curbs the use of independent contractors and restricts the rights of franchisees.
- Oppose the Raise the Wage Act – Increases the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour.
- Oppose the Healthy Families Act (S. 1664/H.R. 3409) – Mandates seven-day paid sick leave for employers with 15 or more employees and seven-day unpaid sick leave with employers with fewer than 15 employees.
“NFIB members and small business owners themselves are the best advocates,” Kuhlman explained. “We are happy to serve as the liaison, to do the testimony, but it’s so much more powerful when NFIB members do it. You don’t have to be the expert in the policy, you just have to know how it would or would not impact your business. Sharing that story and your perspectives about how it would impact your business, your employees, and your communities is so invaluable to our advocacy efforts.”
TAKE ACTION: Now is the time to urge Senators and Representatives to co-sponsor the Main Street Tax Certainty Act by explaining how a tax hike would impact small businesses. Consider sharing how much your taxes will go up if the 20% Small Business Deduction expires (Line 13 of your Form 1040).
