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Before its wheels up, Congress is getting down to business to address federal spending through next September. UPDATE: The House passed the omnibus spending package Thursday afternoon, largely along party lines 225-201. The legislation will fund the government through fall next year, signed into effect by President Biden on Jan. 31, 2022, from his vacation dwelling in St. Croix over the holiday. Up next in Congress: debates on the debt ceiling. Following passage of a one-week continuing resolution (CR) spending bill last week, yesterday afternoon, the Senate passed its version of a longer-term $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package to fund the government through Sept. 30, 2023. The bill includes funding for more than 7,500 special interest projects across Members of Congress’ Districts and home States, some $2 billion in aid for Ukraine, $850 billion for the military, and $773 billion for American domestic programs. The House is set to vote on the legislation as soon as today. Among the standard rhetorical complaints from Congress, several Members from both parties in the House said they would not support the spending package out of principle, standing firm in their beliefs of the importance of returning to regular order for approving and authorizing the 12 standalone appropriations bills. The omnibus in its current form includes provisions from expanding Medicaid benefits, to enacting policies meant to help Americans save for retirement, including provisions intended to: 1) boost savers’ credit by creating a type of government match program for low-income retirement savers, and 2) expand automatic enrollment in retirement plans. The bill also includes a few small-business wins: Inclusion of the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022 and the Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act, two bipartisan bills that will make it easier and fairer for small-business owners and their employees to save for retirement; Incentives for small businesses to start pension plans; An increase in minimum distribution age of savers from 72 to 75 and increase the amount of so-called “catch-up” contributions; and The ability for employers to treat payments of student loans as retirement contributions for matching purposes. Despite the known “no” votes and more than 150 proxy waivers filed for House Members to vote absentee, the Democrats have the numbers necessary to secure passage of the omnibus, and such action is expected to be Congress’ final act of the 117th Session. Few changes from the Senate version of the omnibus are anticipated. Follow NSBA, and check back here for all the latest from Capitol Hill.

The greatest gift is your commitment to small business! Cheers to another great year and year to come! Seasons Greetings from NSBA! As we reach the end of 2022 and look forward to an exciting and productive new year, I want to thank you for being a part of the big steps NSBA took for small business this year. NSBA spent 2022 working hard to ensure a seat for small business at the policymaking table every chance we got. Our staff and volunteer leadership have worked on the issues that matter most to small businesses everywhere. Despite 2022’s strong partisan headwinds, NSBA is proud of the work we’ve done for small business and stands ready to take on a refreshed slate of priorities in the coming year. Thanks to our longstanding legacy of nonpartisan work as America’s oldest advocate for small business, NSBA was able to call on its extensive network of lawmakers, regulators, elected officials, and, of course, our membership, to achieve a number of extraordinary wins, including: A 3-year reauthorization of Small Business Research Innovation (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. These critical programs create opportunities for small-businesses—the most innovative sector of our economy—to participate in our most important federal research and development programs. SBIR has been enormously successful in delivering necessary federal research while bolstering the small business community. Following a highly contentious process in the Senate, lawmakers’ last-minute efforts to extend the program finally came to fruition just days prior to the Sept. 30 expiration deadline. NSBA and its Small Business Technology Council (SBTC) Executive Chairman Jere Glover particularly applaud Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Reps. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) and Blaine Leutkemeyer (R-Mo.) for their leadership and willingness to compromise to ensure the stability and long-term success of this program, and we look forward to continuing to push for permanency of this important program. Standing up against the Corporate Transparency Act. The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was signed into law Dec. 2020 and is set to go into effect in a matter of months. This law will require ONLY small businesses with fewer than 20 employees to disclose detailed, personal information of beneficial owners to the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). While we support the goal of stemming money laundering, this law is not just bad policy, it is unconstitutional, which is why we’ve filed suit in federal court to challenge big banks’ efforts to pass their responsibility to small business. With nearly five dozen influential organizations publicly supporting the suit, some of the best constitutional lawyers in the country on our team, and an arsenal of information on why this law is bad policy, we are confident the federal judiciary, Congress, and entire country will see that the CTA in its current form is not the way. A return to in-person engagement on Capitol Hill and beyond. These crucial interactions help build the relationships between small-business owners and elected officials, elevating critical small-business policy. After more than two years of virtual work, NSBA was thrilled to be able to come together face-to-face for our annual Washington Presentation fly in, where nearly 200 small-business owners came to Washington, D.C., to meet with colleagues and Congress. The countless conversations had between NSBA members and their Members of Congress were invaluable to advancing our priorities in Congress and beyond. Recognizing outstanding small-business leaders. In conjunction with the Washington Presentation, NSBA honored five small-business leaders as finalists for the 2022 Lewis Shattuck Small Business Advocate of the Year Award, naming ML Mackey of Beacon Interactive Systems in Waltham, Mass., our overall all winner. We are looking forward to continuing our in-person programming early next year with the Small Business Congress Feb. 7-8 and improving our virtual interactions in the meantime! Strengthening the NSBA network. NSBA had a record year for partnership and member growth. By linking up with companies like Dell, GoTo, and Stax--to name just a few--NSBA was able to expand its outreach and offerings to members and potential new small-business owners to join our cause. NSBA proudly welcomed more than 200 new advocates to our NSBA Leadership Council, which continues to engage dynamic small business leaders from across the nation. Looking ahead, NSBA is tracking several regulatory changes expected to take effect beginning in 2023, including pending changes to the Department of Labor’s independent contractor standard, as well as the National Labor Relations Board’s prospective changes to the joint-employer standard. We submitted strong comments on these agencies’ respective proposed rule changes underscoring how their effects will impose undue costs on small businesses. Have you joined an NSBA issue committee yet? For more information on how you can get into the nitty gritty of the policies that dictate how your small business operates, reach out to Ian Elsenbach any time at ielsenbach@nsba.biz. NSBA is not only making a stand with policymakers inside the D.C. Beltway, our message is being heard far-and-wide. NSBA’s achievements and expertise have been cited by high profile media outlets across the country, including Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press, USA Today, Bloomberg, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and the CBS Evening News. Thanks to the extraordinary commitments of our membership and entire small-business community, NSBA is making news of the day everywhere you turn. We also continue to produce highly-cited reports and surveys including: the Business Planning & Digital Utilization Survey, taking an accounting of small-business owners’ anticipation of the future; our Economic Report – providing insights into the state of small business; our Exporting Survey - illuminating the challenges of exporting in today’s world; and our Politics of Small Business Survey - generating a glimpse into small-business owners’ positioning on policy and party dynamics. Data shared by our members participating in these surveys is an essential part of NSBA’s value and place among the advocacy landscape in Washington. We also rolled out a new website for NSBA.biz. It’s streamlined, sleek and will make it much easier to find the information you’re looking for. We will continue to up our game where content is concerned – our goal is to get you the information you need as quickly and easily as possible. NSBA has had some internal changes this year, too. As sad as we were to see Jody Milanese retire from our ranks after nearly two decades of work supporting our government affairs and lobbying, NSBA was thrilled to be able to welcome Ian, our new manager of membership services, and Chana Elgin, manager of digital and legislative content, as we ramp up our means of engagement with Congress, NSBA members, and more. We’d love to have you jump in on the action! First up in 2023, is NSBA’s biennial Small Business Congress, hosted this coming Feb. 7-8 in the heart of downtown D.C. at the Hotel Washington, mere steps from the White House. If you haven’t attended before, now is your chance to register to raise your hand and voice for the small-business policies affecting and most important to you. SBC is not only an excellent networking and educational opportunity, but it’s where we form our highly anticipated and sought-after issue briefs, used by everyone from Congress to local community leaders. Busy as we are, and busy as we know you are as a small-business owner, there is still much to do, but we’re looking forward to tackling these issues together – the best gift we could ever hope for! If you haven’t seen us online, refresh your browser, and join our initiative to raise our profiles across social platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. As we wrap-up 2022, I would like to send best wishes to you and your family, and your employees and their families, for a safe and happy holiday season from NSBA staff and leadership. Happy Holidays, Todd McCracken President

#CTA #NOTtheWAY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Dec. 12, 2022 Contact: Molly Day 202-552-2904 press@nsba.biz Jim Tobin 202-302-8123 jtobin@nsba.biz WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Main Street business community has voiced its support for the National Small Business Association’s (NSBA) lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The letter was signed by more than 41 trade associations, including the International Franchise Association, National Roofing Contractors Association and the Real Estate Roundtable. Together with NSBA, this broad, wide-ranging coalition represents businesses from every state and every sector of the economy. “The CTA is nothing more than big banks trying to shirk their responsibility onto small business,” said NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. “Rules already exist that require banks to monitor and report suspicious activities to FinCEN, they simply don’t want to do it anymore.” NSBA has filed a constitutional challenge to the CTA, alleging that that it infringes on the States’ sovereign powers over the formation of entities, exceeds Congress’s power to regulate commerce, is unconstitutionally vague, and infringes upon an individual’s rights to apply for, form, own, and provide for the self-governance of entities under State law. The CTA is a poorly thought out and heavy-handed federal mandate that will be a bureaucratic nightmare for small-business owners who will be forced to spend millions of hours and billions of dollars on paperwork instead of creating jobs and helping grow our economy. Under the CTA, the federal government is creating a national registry that would require small-businesses owners to submit detailed personal information to the Treasury Department’s financial intelligence unit-- FinCEN. “The stated goal of the CTA is to crack down on criminals who use shell companies to launder money, however it relies entirely on bad actors self-reporting their crimes,” stated Brian Reardon of the S Corporation Association. “Not only will the CTA be a massive burden on small companies, it will be wholly ineffective at stemming money laundering.” Please click here to read the letter and learn more. Celebrating more than 85 years in operation, NSBA is a staunchly nonpartisan organization advocating on behalf of America’s entrepreneurs. NSBA's 65,000 members represent every state and every industry in the U.S., and we are proud to be the nation’s first small-business advocacy organization. Please visit www.nsba.biz or @NSBAAdvocate.

SBA is working with a number of federal agencies to coordinate a response and proactively implement safeguards to prevent future abuse of similar programs that were so critical to small businesses in need. A new ­report from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis shows the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) revealed third-party and fin-tech companies were the ones with the most occurrences of facilitating fraud for the PPP. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) weighed in on the House report, pointing to the seriousness of the problems of fraud, particularly for programs designed to help small-business owners across the country. Among these extra efforts to address PPP crime, the SBA said it would be launching an investigation into a number of lenders, as well as individuals and other related entities, named in the report. Looking ahead, the SBA and House Select Subcommittee said they will both continue taking corrective action to address the fraud and weak controls exposed at the onset of COVID and the PPP. SBA and House leaders are already committed to working with several federal partner agencies, including: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve and its Board, as well as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The coalition’s objective is simple: “…to ensure all federal financial regulators are coordinated in their efforts and responses to wrongdoing by lenders and PPP beneficiaries.” Read the full House Select Subcommittee report here, and read SBA’s response statement here.

Under the Corporate Transparency Act, the federal government is mandating small business owners to undergo a duplicative and burdensome paperwork process - punishing small businesses at a time when every dollar, employee and lost hour counts. Watch and learn more from NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken on NSBA's efforts to protect small business from the harmful effects of this ill-equipped policy.

Looming questions about federal funding are growing more ominous ahead of Congress’ year-end recess. UPDATE: The House and Senate passed a one-week stopgap spending bill this week intended to avert a government shutdown through Dec. 23. On an upswing of productivity after overwhelming passage of the NDAA - now headed to the President's desk for signature - lawmakers are optimistic they will arrive at a consensus for a plan to fund the government at least through the spring. D.C. is well on its way to checking out for the holidays, but Congress’ to do list looms large with as the outlook on federal funding grows more ominous. The first sign of stormy weather in Washington this week started when the House stalled on introduction of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – a piece of legislation vital to securing and ensuring national security priorities, including defense contracting opportunities for small business. While NDAA has passed steadfastly for more than 80 years, due to back and forth on final amendments to be included in the must-pass legislation, its fate remains uncertain in the final days of the 117th Congress. In addition to the NDAA, Congress must pass spending legislation by Dec. 16 which when the current continuing resolution (CR) funding the federal government runs out. Despite the dark forecast, Senate Appropriations Vice Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said he believes it is still possible to organize and pass an omnibus funding mechanism by the end of the year. Sitting down over a difference of about $25 billion in party spending priorities, Sens. Shelby and Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) met with President Biden over a bipartisan lunch this week to discuss government funding. While Sen. Shelby’s optimism and belief in regular order fiscal practices are laudable, passing the 12 standalone bills of an omnibus – one for each of the 12 congressional committees – is virtually impossible to do given ample time and certainly not a likelihood with just over a week to accomplish such a major task. As such, lawmakers are floating possibilities for short-term stopgap funding measures, like another CR. Digging in heels, House Republicans are already pushing back on the idea of an omnibus spending bill, citing concerns over unchecked lame duck spending numbers and the downside of a failed omnibus package. A third major concern is taking shape around the harsh reality of the House likely failing to rise to the occasion and pass a substantial spending package as the Republicans’ first task in Jan. following a switch in lower chamber leadership over the midterms. NSBA will continue to closely follow the spending stalemate. Follow us, and check back here for updates this week and all December long.

UPDATE: NSBA submitted comments on the DOL's poorly proposed standard. On Oct. 11, 2022, The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new proposed rule to be used for determining whether a worker is an employee or a contractor. The proposal would largely roll-back a similar rulemaking that occurred during the last administration. When determining a worker’s status, the Labor Department is proposing using a multi-factor economic realities test that considers factors of the working relationship to determine whether the worker is truly in business for themselves. The proposed changes would be a “totality-of-the-circumstances” analysis, according to the proposal, evaluating all of the factors involved in the working relationship equally. The rulemaking would rescind a Trump-era rule that outlined a similar multi-factor test, but which gave greater weight to how much control workers have over their job duties and their opportunities for profit or loss when determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The current rule is more readily understood and clear than the proposed rule. The current test includes five factors, but two were given far greater weight: the nature and degree of the worker’s control over the work, and the worker’s opportunity for profit or loss based on personal initiative or investment. The new proposal would consider those two factors and four others: investments by the worker and the employer, the degree of permanence of the working relationship, the extent to which the work performed is an integral part of the employer’s business, and the degree of skill and initiative exhibited by the worker. The DOL may also consider “additional factors” beyond those six, according to the proposal. However, the proposal gives no guidance on how these factors interplay and how businesses should make decisions if these factors point in different directions. NSBA believes that these new rules should be withdrawn and the current rules should be given a chance to work. We have crafted draft comments you can personalize and submit through the NSBA Action Center in less than two minutes – please act soon! Comments are due before Dec. 14.

Comments are due Dec. 7. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has proposed a new set of regulations that could have a significant impact on millions of small businesses and the tens of millions of workers they employ. NSBA believes that these rules--should they be enacted--would have a chilling effect on smaller businesses’ ability win contracts with larger firms for a range of services. The rule also would significantly impact the ability of franchise owners to operate effectively. Essentially, the NLRB proposal would make larger companies and franchisors responsible and liable for the employment practices of their franchisees, suppliers, vendors, contractors, and subcontractors. Currently, businesses are only deemed to be “joint employers” if they exercise “direct and immediate control” over the essential terms and conditions of employment for the same group of employees. The NLRB, however, wants to greatly expand that definition so that even the potential for such control will flip the joint-employer switch. The changes proposed by NLRB would cause many larger companies to scale back their work with small businesses. Under this proposed rule, businesses will be forced to protect themselves against significantly more liability and obligations under the law. These proposed rules would cause larger companies to bring much small-business work “in-house” rather than work with individually owned small companies. Ultimately, there will be fewer start-ups, lost innovation, higher costs, and a less vibrant entrepreneurial economy. We need your help. Please help us send the message that this new joint-employer standard would devastate the small-business economy. Tell the NLRB to reverse course and protect small businesses. Comments are due Dec. 7!

DOL Independent Contractor Rule Update The comment period is coming to a close for a proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that would adjust how employers determine whether a worker is an employee or a contractor. The proposal would largely roll-back a similar rule-making that occurred during Trump Administration. As background, the proposal requires a multi-factor economic realities test that considers factors of the working relationship to determine whether the worker is truly in business for themselves. The proposed changes would be a return to a “totality-of-the-circumstances” analysis, according to the proposal, evaluating all of the factors involved in the working relationship equally. The rulemaking also would rescind a Trump-era rule that outlined a similar multi-factor test, but that gave greater weight to how much control workers have over their job duties and their opportunities for profit or loss when determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. Click here for more details. The proposed regulation was officially published in the Federal Register on Oct. 13, and comments are due Dec. 13. NSBA is drafting comments which will be shared with members to help facilitate broader comment submissions. Stay tuned. Please click here to read the proposal.

New funds will be distributed from SBA to those hardest-hit by COVID in the restaurant industry. Last week, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced plans to distribute additional funds---approximately $83 million from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). As of the announcement, a reported 169 restaurant operators were waiting for distributions from the RRF – a program established as a means of supporting service industry establishments during the uncertainty and mandated closures at the height of COVID. Associations and groups, like and including NSBA, worked with the SBA to secure dedicated federal pandemic relief dollars for a variety of small businesses and these additional RRF distributions will provide much-needed relief for many restaurants still struggling to return to pre-COVID profit levels. According to an independent audit done over the summer, SBA had more than $180 million of unobligated RRF money without an immediate plan for distribution to the needy applicants. SBA has since said it would work with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to distribute the remaining RRF dollars, later updating its plans to clarify that no further applications would be needed for the funds now to be paid out on a “first-applied, first-serve basis.” The independent summer audit’s findings have also since been revised to the $83 million amount the SBA spoke to ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. According to the SBA, RRF grants will be distributed beginning this week, which restaurant operators must spend before March 2023. For more information on the RRF program, visit SBA.gov and read its revised guide here.

Raise your hand for Small Business! Join NSBA for our 2023 Small Business Congress, this February 7-8 at the Hotel Washington in the heart of downtown D.C. During the SBC sessions, you will hear directly from lawmakers on their small-business priorities, where we’ll discuss and debate key issues affecting small business, talk with policy experts and political insiders on what to expect in the coming months, and all participants will vote on NSBA’s priorities for the coming two years. Leading up to this year’s SBC – returning in-person for the first time since the 116th session of Congress – NSBA’s Leadership Council and Board of trustees will begin the process of gathering insight synthesizing input on the biggest issues facing small business today. Small business may get knocked down, but, after more than two long years of COVID chokepoints, some bad policy making its way from the congressional floor to the factory floor, we’re making our way back. Getting organized and developing a consensus small-business agenda is critically important—if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. The event kicks off at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7 with a welcome ceremony and then the delegation will hear from policy experts on the biggest issues facing small business in our four issue categories: Economic Development, Environment and Regulatory Affairs, Health and Human Resources, and Taxation. You’ll hear from thought leaders on the biggest issues likely to be making their way through Congress in the 118th Session and will also get a briefing on the state of small business in the U.S. today. Small Business Congress will close just before noon on Wednesday, Feb. 8 after the delegation votes on NSBA’s priority issues. NSBA’s 85+ years of improving the small-business climate would be nothing without its members. Our work together to shape small-business policy priorities, and our effort to educate and connect with Congress on the realities of running a small business is critically important, especially in today’s politically divided world. Read more about 2023’s SBC here.

Thanks to our membership and leadership, NSBA’s efforts for small business are stronger than ever. This week, NSBA Trustees came together in Washington for our November Board and Annual Member Meetings. Among the several agenda items discussed, Trustees and NSBA staff are continuing to prioritize a number of initiatives, including efforts to combat the cumbersome effects of the Corporate Transparency Act, as well as means of better serving our members and growing our reach through strategic relationships, initiatives, and programming. Additionally, the Board nominated and voted on the organization’s leadership for the coming year. For more information on our Trustees, visit our website, and follow NSBA for updates on new Board leaders and insights for our current and growing membership.