(R-Maine)
This past week, House Congressional leaders announced that they had reached an agreement with the White House on an estimated $150 billion economic stimulus package that includes rebates for most tax filers. Much of the attention given to the stimulus package has been on these rebates, and while increasing the amount of money people receive is important to boosting consumer confidence, it is equally important to acknowledge the role that small businesses will play in an economic recovery. Simply put, the burden of re-energizing our economy cannot fall on the shoulders of working-class Americans alone. The economic engine that drives our economy is small businesses and any economic recovery effort must meet the unique needs of America’s small businesses.
There are many encouraging signs that Congress will be able to advance a stimulus plan that will inject new life into the economy. The new bi-partisan tone that has swept through Washington is nothing short of refreshing as Congressional leaders appear to be putting people before politics. The gravity of our economic situation required swift and decisive action by the Congress, and to this point, Congress has responded very deliberately and expeditiously.
With the foundation for an economic stimulus plan taking shape, the task to iron out the finite details of the package will fall into the hands of the United States Senate. As a senior member of the Senate Committee on Finance and as the Ranking Member of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I will continue to play a central role in advocating for what I believe is the essential component to a swift economic recovery – our nation’s small businesses. That’s why I introduced legislation the other day that will help our small businesses by utilizing targeted tax incentives and expanding small business expensing. I am happy to have the support of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee’s Chairman, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who has signed on as a co-sponsor of this measure as well as committee members Sens. Coleman and Landrieu.
When you consider that America’s small businesses constitute 99.7 percent of all employing firms and employ nearly half of the private-sector workforce, it is only appropriate that a significant portion of stimulus legislation focus on small enterprises. Working together, we can implement targeted, timely, and fiscally responsible proposals that will improve access to capital, expand small business expensing and increase small business investment.
The legislation I authored would increase the amount of investment small businesses are able to write off immediately each year to $200,000 freeing up capital to be used for creating jobs. It would lengthen the carryback period of net operating losses to five years to provide small businesses a longer period over which to offset current losses and obtain immediate tax refunds. Finally, my bill would extend the R&D Tax Credit, which expired at the end of 2007, to spur innovation in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing and health care, so that the economy will have cutting-edge technology to lead a recovery.
The importance of producing an economic stimulus package that would immediately bolster consumer confidence and spur business investment cannot be overstated. Both parties are working expeditiously and diligently to address the downturn in our economy. As congressional leaders search for a middle-ground to build consensus, we must make certain that the stimulus package we pass provides a tangible boost for working families who are living paycheck-to-paycheck. The only way we can do this is to incorporate measures that will have an immediate effect on our economy. America’s small businesses can be the driving force behind our economic recovery as long as we’re willing to invest in them.
