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Policy changes expected to be few

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published December 24, 2006

Small-business groups anticipate few substantive changes in government policy toward the nation's smaller companies despite the power shift in Congress brought about by the midterm election.

"The issues haven't changed - a lot of the new people elected certainly campaigned on and understand the issues important to small business," said Dan Danner, senior vice president for public policy with the National Federation of Independent Business, a Washington, D.C., advocacy group.

"Fortunately, the issues that affect small business don't have party labels, so we're very hopeful that the new Congress will care about the things that our small-business owners do - available and affordable health care, less lawsuits and fewer burdensome regulations," he said.

Small business expects gridlock between a Democratic Congress and a Republican White House to help maintain the status quo - something business owners want.

"This would stagnate some of the changes and therefore this would be good for the economy," said Carol Kuc, president of the National Association of Women Business Owners.

Still, the advocacy groups predict some changes in the way the government deals with small-business issues.

Kristie Darien, executive director of the National Association for the Self-Employed's legislative office, predicted Congress will undo some of the actions taken by the Republican-led Congress in recent years.

"We think they'll expand SBA (Small Business Administration) loan programs - they've gotten considerable cuts over the years," Darien said. "They'll find ways to strengthen those programs."

Kuc is hoping the new Congress will pass a law allowing small-business owners full tax deductions for their meals and entertainment expenses.

A business can deduct 50 percent of these expenses, but Kuc noted small-business owners "do their advertising primarily through entertainment and meals," meeting one on one with clients and customers.

Health care costs are among the most vexing problems facing small-business owners, but owners say there's been little help from Washington to get them affordable insurance to provide for their employees.

It is all but certain that moves to create federally approved association health plans, which would allow small businesses to band together across state lines to buy insurance, will have little future; they have Republican, not Democratic, support and they also made little headway under a GOP-led Congress.

Still, Darien expects some health care changes. For example, while health savings accounts have been a Republican-sponsored approach to limiting health care costs, the Democrats are more likely to seek tax credits to help small businesses, she said.

While business owners certainly want less government regulation, the advocacy groups don't expect the new Congress to make wholesale changes. As McCracken noted, "Most of the regulations come out of the agencies."

[Last modified December 23, 2006, 20:32:12]