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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Washington,  DC 20036
(202)  785-0238
www.sbsc.org
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