SBSC WEEKLY UPDATE**

The Latest News and Activities from the Small Business Survival Committee

 
October 2001
 
CONTENTS:
 
1.     SBSC President Testifies Before Congress on Best Policies for Economy and Small Business
2.     SBSC Addresses Media on Small Business and Economic Issues 
3.     Free Trade for Small Business, Trade Promotion Authority for the President
4.     SBSC and Other Groups Urge Congress to Grant TPA to President Bush
5.     SBSC Chairman Maps Out Road to Recovery
6.     Capital Gains Tax Cut-Good for the Economy, Good for the Stock Market
7.     MSAs and the Uninsured
8.     SBSC Organizes Allies to Oppose "One-Watt" Mandates in Senate Energy Legislation
9.     Old-Time Baseball
 
1.   SBSC PRESIDENT TESTIFIES BEFORE CONGRESS ON BEST POLICIES FOR ECONOMY AND SMALL BUSINESS
 
SBSC President Darrell McKigney testified before the House Small Business Committee on October 10.  McKigney explained the important role that small business plays in the economy, and laid out a pro-small business policy agenda that featured speeding up and making permanent the tax cuts passed earlier this year; cutting or eliminating the capital gains tax; granting the President trade promotion authority; and enacting an energy plan that frees up domestic energy producers.
 
To read the full testimony, go to:
 
<http://www.sbsc.org/CongressionalTestimony.asp?FormMode=CongressionalTestimony&ID=40>
 
2.  SBSC ADDRESSES MEDIA ON SMALL BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC ISSUES
 
On October 11, SBSC Chairman Karen Kerrigan, President Darrell McKigney, and Chief Economist Raymond J. Keating discussed the state of small business and the economy in a tele-conference call with reporters from Newsweek, Business Week, Newsday, Human Events, CNSNews.com, Baltimore Sun, Arizona Republic and the Orange County Register.
 
 
2.   FREE TRADE FOR SMALL BUSINESS, TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY FOR THE PRESIDENT
 
SBSC chief economist Raymond J. Keating wrote a new report--"International Trade: The Business of Small Business"-that explains the importance of free and open trade for our economy and for the small business community.  Keating lays out a pro-free trade agenda, featuring passage of trade promotion authority for the President.
 
SBSC's report "International Trade: The Business of Small Business" can be downloaded from the front page at <http://www.sbsc.org/> under the "21st Century Small Business Policy Series."
 
3.   SBSC AND OTHER GROUPS URGE CONGRESS TO GRANT TPA TO PRESIDENT BUSH
 
SBSC Chairman Karen Kerrigan signed an October 9 letter to Congress urging passage of trade promotion authority (TPA) for the President.  In part, the letter said: "World trade is increasingly important to small business.  Nearly one-third of all U.S. merchandise export sales -- the stuff whose labels read, "Made in America"-- are produced by companies with less than 500 people on their payrolls.  Two-thirds of the firms participating in the export economy actually have less than 20 employees. What's more, the overall value of small-business exports has increased by 300 percent since the mid-1990s, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.  Between 1987 and 1997, the number of U.S. small business exporters tripled from 65,900 to 202,185, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.  That number will grow substantially if President Bush were given Trade Promotion Authority."
 
To read the full letter to Congress, go to:
 
<http://www.sbsc.org/LettersToCongress.asp?FormMode=LettersToCongress&ID=113>
 
5. SBSC CHAIRMAN MAPS OUT ROAD TO RECOVERY
 
In a recent article written for The Washington Times, SBSC Chairman Karen Kerrigan spelled out the policies needed to put the economy and the entrepreneurial sector of the U.S. economy back on a path of growth.
 
To read the full Washington Times op-ed by Kerrigan, go to:
 
<http://www.sbsc.org/LatestNews_Action.asp?FormMode=SmallBusBriefs&ID=113>
 
6. CAPITAL GAINS TAX CUT-GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY, GOOD FOR THE STOCK MARKET
 
In his latest SBSC Cybercolumn, SBSC chief economist Raymond J. Keating explains why cutting the capital gains tax is good for both the economy and the stock market, and provides the historical evidence to back up his claims.
 
To read the SBSC Cybercolumn, go to:
 
<http://www.sbsc.org/LatestNews_Action.asp?FormMode=CyberColumn&ID=178>
 
7.  MSAs AND THE UNINSURED
 
In the SBSC Fact of the Week, the latest numbers show that tax-free medical savings accounts help to reduce the number of uninsured individuals.
 
<http://www.sbsc.org/FactOfWeek.asp?FormMode=Call&LinkType=Text&ID=162>
 
8. SBSC ORGANIZES ALLIES TO OPPOSE "ONE-WATT" MANDATES IN SENATE ENERGY LEGISLATION 
 
In an October 5 letter to Congress, SBSC Chairman Karen Kerrigan and representatives from other groups wrote: "While it is still uncertain whether the Senate will consider comprehensive energy legislation, we are writing to alert you to our concern about a specific provision that could undermine the current work of the Congress to bring stability and growth to our nation's economy.  As this important legislation is being debated, we urge you to proceed with caution in imposing new burdens on businesses and consumers through mandates and regulations.  Specifically, we are asking that you reject the onerous "one-watt" provisions similar to those slipped into the House Energy bill, H.R. 4.  If enacted, these one-watt restrictions will cost consumers money and convenience, place undue burdens on businesses, while creating a new layer of government bureaucracy."
 
To read the rest of this letter, go to:
 
<http://www.sbsc.org/LettersToCongress.asp?FormMode=LettersToCongress&ID=112>
 
 
 9.  OLD-TIME BASEBALL
 
In their latest "Carolan & Keating" Newsday column, SBSC chief economist Raymond J. Keating and his partner, Matt Carolan, appreciate that baseball has helped the nation get through disasters and wars for more than a century-and-a-half.
 
To read "Carolan & Keating," go to:
 
<http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/columnists/ny-vpcar092404727oct09.column?coll=ny%2Dopinion%2Dcolumnists>
 
 
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Small Business Survival Committee

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(202) 785-0238
www.sbsc.org <outbind://16/www.sbsc.org>
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