By Tim Reynolds

Perhaps more than ever before, government action is having a substantial impact on the operations and profitability of small business. Whether threats or opportunities, legislation such as the health care reform act, credit card reform, and SBA funding are changing how we do business. As citizens, we all have the responsibility to at least vote.

As small business owners and employees, we have a greater responsibility to understand the impact of legislation, and manage our companies accordingly. I believe that we also have the responsibility to be engaged in the legislative process. I do that, personally, through my involvement with the National Small Business Association, NSBA. This organization is non partisan and serves as a resource to legislators who need to understand the impact of their proposals on small businesses. We work on both sides of the aisle to ensure that our voices are heard.

Virtually ALL net new jobs in the United States are created by small businesses. So you can bet that legislators are keenly interested in what we have to say!

I encourage you to consider joining the NSBA, which is dedicated to the promotion and success of small business in America. Join today and you can take part in the NSBA Small Business Congress, which will be held in Washington, D.C. Feb. 23 – 25. NSBA members will discuss pertinent issues for small business and vote on those deemed top priority for the upcoming session of Congress. With slight glimmers of economic recovery, new leadership in Congress and the ever-present 2012 presidential elections, never before has your voice been so important—or influential. You can learn more about the NSBA here: http://www.NSBA.biz

We’re making good progress

Recently, the NSBA unveiled a new report detailing various small-business successes over the past two years with which NSBA has played a key role. The report, NSBA Victories: A Progress Report, offers small-business advocates a comprehensive list of the wins for the small-business community despite the still-lagging U.S. economy.

America’s small businesses have faced unprecedented challenges in recent years. As the nation looks forward to the hopes of a better 2011, NSBA hopes its Progress Report will provide small businesses the impetus to reflect on the past two years which have ushered in some key small-business successes, in spite of the myriad challenges the small-business community has faced.

Regardless of party affiliation, there are many key priorities all small-business owners share. Top among those is the responsibility of our government to ensure entrepreneurship continues to be a viable and desirable opportunity in the U.S. NSBA and its membership has been instrumental in the passage of many key pieces of legislation over the past two years which take important steps forward in promoting a thriving small-business community for the months and years to come.

Many of these wins were long standing priorities upon which NSBA has lobbied for years. Among those successes:

• The recently-passed tax deal which extends the 2001 and 2003 income tax cuts for two years, enacts a two-year estate tax compromise, and extends various other tax credits for small businesses;
• The sweeping Small Business Jobs and Credit Act which allowed self-employed individuals to fully deduct the cost of their health insurance, establishes the Small Business Lending Fund, creates independence for the SBA Office of Advocacy, and many other pro-small-business provisions;
• Credit-card reform that prohibits or severely limits many of the most unfair and deceptive practices of the credit-card industry;
• Reform of the interchange system, or so-called “swipe fees” which sets limits on what credit card companies can charge small businesses for processing credit card payments;
• Enactment of the Plain Writing Act of 2009 which mandates the use of plain language in all federally-written letters, forms, notices, or instructions; and
• Enhanced SBA lending to make loan programs more affordable.

In addition to these positive steps forward, there are various other initiatives which NSBA was successful in preventing action on, including card-check legislation and mandated wages and benefits initiatives. NSBA’s members are extremely dedicated, hard-working small-business owners who take the additional time to support an important cause through their contributions, their time and their leadership. NSBA’s Progress Report represents many hard-fought wins and exemplifies the outstanding efforts of our membership. Please click here to view the Progress Report.

Tim Reynolds is the President of Tribute, Inc. and on the exeutive board of NSBA.