U.S. Senate Letter Voicing Support for the “Fiscal Responsibility Act”

By SBE Council at 1 June, 2023, 9:36 am

Passing the "Fiscal Responsibility Act" Will Protect U.S. Entrepreneurship, Small Businesses and Local Economies

Dear Member of the U.S. Senate:

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) strongly supports the "Fiscal Responsibility Act" and we urge all members of the U.S. Senate to vote for its passage. The bipartisan measure responsibly raises the debt ceiling and advances other key priorities that provide stability for the U.S. economy as well as support for small businesses as they navigate costly pain points and uncertainties.

As noted in SBE Council recent "Small Business Checkup Survey," 85% of small business owners are very concerned about a recession or economic slowdown in the coming months. Inflation, high interest rates, access to capital, high energy costs and labor shortages are all impacting small businesses and their ability to compete, grow and survive, according to the survey. The "Fiscal Responsibility Act" includes key policy measures that begin to chip away at resolving some of these pain points.

The spending reductions and recessions included in the legislation are necessary, and will help to bring discipline and rationality back to how Washington expends our tax dollars. This important effort should help to ease relentless inflation and the uncertainty that is putting many small businesses at risk. Moreover, Congress must do more to restore professionalism and taxpayer-friendly business practices at the IRS before giving it a green light to threaten innocent small businesses with audits. Again, a spending cutback addressing that threat - while still providing the IRS with ample new resources to more effectively focus on its core mission - will be a relief to small business owners.

The work requirements embedded in the bill are reasonable and will help to address labor shortages that are weighing down our economy and small business growth. As our recent "Small Business Checkup Survey" revealed, 55% of small business owners say the labor shortage and access to skilled workers are hampering their firm's operating and growth capacity. While much more needs to be done to address the trends and challenges that point to long-term shortages, we must start with steps that begin to increase the availability of human capital. Hopefully, this action will lead to additional bipartisan steps to ensure our labor pool matches the needs of U.S. businesses.

Permitting reform contained in the bill, again, is a necessary and reasonable step that will expedite critical energy projects and ultimately restore affordability while maintaining U.S. energy independence. Moreover, small to mid-size businesses dominate the energy industry, which means opportunity for these firms and their employees to support local economies and drive innovation in the industry.

Finally, in order for our economy to fully dig out of the COVID mess and avert a painful recession, businesses of all sizes and across industries must have access to their capital resources in order to invest, support workers, innovate and keep local economies vibrant. The threat of tax increases only drives uncertainty and less risk-taking - which means less investment and innovation - therefore taking tax increases off-the-table is not only sensible but essential to building back a strong economy and one that welcomes capital and entrepreneurship.

For these reasons and more, SBE Council urges you to vote in favor of the "Fiscal Responsibility Act." Thank you for your support of America's small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Sincerely,

Karen Kerrigan. President & CEO

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