FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                     Contact: Karen Kerrigan
February 11, 2009                                          703-242-5840 or kkerrigan@att.net

Small Business Group Outlines Four Measures That Must Come Out of the Stimulus Bill

Washington, D.C. -  In an Open Letter to Congress today, and sent to House and Senate congressional leaders, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) outlined four measures that cannot be included in the "economic stimulus" package as they would either burden small employers, or lock entrepreneurs out of benefitting from the possible contract work provided by the package.

In the letter, SBE Council president & CEO Karen Kerrigan reiterated her concern about the overall effectiveness of the stimulus bill in helping small businesses, and wrote that "the final measure certainly should not impose new burdens on entrepreneurs or erect barriers if they wish to bid on contracts that will be made available by the package."

SBE Council recommended the following items be removed from, or altered within, the final negotiated package in order to ensure that the stimulus is more inclusive of, and does not hurt, small firms. 

Big-COBRA:  The new mandate in the stimulus package requiring employers to extend the period of COBRA eligibility for workers with ten years of service, or anyone fifty-five years of age until they find a new job or enroll in Medicare will hurt many small to mid-size firms. Imposing long-term requirements and costs upon small to mid-size firms is not fair or practical during any period - especially during a recession.  The new COBRA mandate - extending eligibility and its general expansion -- must be removed.

E-Verify Mandate:  Requiring small firms that wish to work on projects stemming from the stimulus to use a program that has documented problems will be burdensome and costly.  The E-Verify mandate must be taken out of the stimulus bill as it erects barriers for small firms who plan to bid on contracts. Already, small firms remain at a competitive disadvantage in the federal procurement space. Establishing another costly barrier works against helping small firms during the economic downturn.

Davis-Bacon Provision: It is an established fact that Davis-Bacon makes it more difficult for small contractors to effectively bid on government contracts. It's a discriminatory measure that works against minority and women-owned firms.  Mandating that all contracts provided by the stimulus adhere to the prevailing wage framework will lock many small businesses out of the bidding process for these contracts, raise the cost of these projects and limit the number of jobs that will be created or saved.  The Davis-Bacon expansion requirement must be scaled back.

"Made in the USA" Amendment:  Small businesses dominate in trade.  Many small businesses are weathering the economic downturn due to overseas business and sales.   Including a "domestic steel only" provision in the stimulus package will be impractical and complex to implement.  It also sends a conflict-ridden message to our trading partners around the globe, which will hurt many entrepreneurs who engage in trade or plan to go global.   This protectionist measure has no place in the stimulus package.

SBE Council is a nonpartisan small business advocacy organization dedicated to protecting small business and promoting entrepreneurship. For more information, please visit: http://www.sbecouncil.org/.

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