N.S.B.A. Small Business Update White House Conference on Small Business

Bill Introduced for White House Conference on Small Business

Late last week bipartisan legislation was introduced to convene a White House Conference on Small Business (WHCSB) by Reps. Rod Blum (R-Iowa), Stephanie Murphy (D-Fl.), and Al Lawson (D-Fl.). A top priority for NSBA for years, a WHCSB would enable America’s small businesses to discuss, debate and develop a consensus agenda to drive small-business policy for years to come.

“It’s been more than 20 years since the last White House Conference on Small Business, and it is high time policymakers convene another one,” said NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. “The best way lawmakers can back-up stump-speeches extolling the virtues of small business is to support this legislation.”

There have been three WHCSB, occurring in 1980, 1986, and 1995 which served to develop innovative policy solutions to economic problems and strengthen relationships between the business community, Congress and the administration. The unique format of a WHCSB enables policymakers to gather input from all different types of small businesses representing all regions of the U.S., and does so on a completely nonpartisan basis with very little financial investment.

“The success of past White House Conferences on Small Business is unquestionable: of the 60 legislative and regulatory recommendations that were the product of the 1995 Conference, more than 90 percent were addressed in some way, and 20 of the 60 recommendations were enacted into law,” stated NSBA Chair Cynthia Kay of Cynthia Kay and Co.

NSBA applauds Reps. Rod Blum (R-Iowa), Stephanie Murphy (D-Fl.), and Al Lawson (D-Fl.) for their efforts on this important legislation, and looks forward to continuing our work with their offices as they shepherd this bill through Congress.

Please click here to hear from small-business owner Gary Kushner about why this bill is so important.