A lot of Americans supported Small Business Saturday recently (November 29th). It was the day after Black Friday, which was the day after Thanksgiving (hope you got plenty of turkey, football, and family time.)
Black Friday focuses most of its attention on shopping at malls and so-called big-box stores (Best Buy, etc.) And of course there’s Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving), with the purpose of encouraging people to shop online.
But to me, Small Business Saturday is particularly important, because small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. After all, 70% of the new jobs created nowadays are created in the small business sector of our economy.
I’m going to be focusing more and more of my time and effort as your Representative in Congress on issues related to the revitalizing of small businesses in this country over the next few years. That’s because I’ve just been named the Chairman of the House Small Business Committee.
This is the first time I’ll be chairing a full committee. I was the Ranking Member of the Small Business Committee (the lead Republican on the committee) in 2007 and 2008, but the Democrats were in control then, so the chairman was a Democrat, and they ran all the committees. I’ve also been chairman of SUBcommittees in the past: the Judiciary’s Constitution Subcommittee, the Foreign Affairs’ Middle East Subcommittee, and I currently chair the Foreign Affairs Asia and Pacific Subcommittee, but never before a full committee.
Not to get too technical, (or boring) here, but the 435 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are divided into 21 full committees. Among them are: Agriculture, Ways and Means, Judiciary, Rules, Foreign Affairs, Small Business, etc.
The purpose of the House Small Business Committee is to assess and investigate challenges and problems faced by small businesses across America, and advocate for better government policies towards small business (small businesses by definition are any business with fewer than 500 employees, which covers 99% of American businesses.)
The committee also has jurisdiction and oversight over the U.S. Small Business Administration, which among other things, loans money to small businesses, and oversees economic recovery in disaster zones, whether following a hurricane, flood, fire, or economic disaster.
As Chairman of the Small Business Committee, it is my goal to promote an economic environment in which small businesses across America can grow, thrive, and create more jobs for more people. And it is my belief that the best thing the federal government can do to help small businesses, is to get the heck off their backs and out of the way.
The federal government overregulates (Obamacare and Dodd-Frank for example), and it overtaxes. I intend to hold hearings in Washington, and field hearings across the country, focusing on what works, and what doesn’t. What government policies and programs need to be modified, or eliminated, in order to unburden small businesses, so they can be successful, profitable, and generate more employment opportunities.
I’m anxious to get started. I welcome your input. Let’s get moving.
