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Recognizing members and Members of Congress' efforts to secure reauthorization for SBIR/STTR, NSBA's Small Business Technology Council hosted its annual meeting this week in Washington. On November 14, The Small Business Technology Council (SBTC) hosted an in-person meeting for SBTC members on at our office building in Washington DC. In attendance were Hill staffers, government officials, and policymakers to speak to our members about current issues facing high-tech small businesses, particularly the recent SBIR reauthorization effort. In addition, SBTC presented SBTC’s Guidebook the changes to the law made by the SBIR/STTR Extension Act of 2022, and what small businesses need to know moving forward to be in compliance with the new law. SBTC also used the opportunity to honor some of those in government whose hard work and dedication were critical to getting SBIR reauthorization passed in Congress before SBIR authority expired. A lapse in the program would have been catastrophic for high-tech small businesses in America, and would have resulted in agencies beginning to wind down their SBIR offices. This was arguably the most difficult reauthorization in SBIR’s 40-year history, and it simply would not have gotten done were it not for the diligence and advocacy of those in government who understood how important the program is. Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) was amongst those who showed up to accept her award, and afterward offered remarks and answered a few questions from members. NSBA President Todd McCracken and SBTC Executive Director Jere Glover Present House Small Business Committee Chair Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) with a 2022 Milton Stewart Award. To see a full list of award winners, click on the link below: SBTC 2022 SBIR Reauthorization Award Winners SBTC 2022 Membership Meeting Agenda Moderated by SBTC Chair Jere Glover 2:00pm – Intros, Discussion of SBIR changes and guidebook 3:00pm – Panel #1: Administration Officials Farooq Mitha – Director, DOD Office of Small Business Programs Bob Smith – Director, Navy SBIR/STTR Programs Bailey Devries – Associate Administrator, SBA Office of Innovation Erick Page-Littleford – SBA SBIR/STTR Program Manager 4:00pm – Panel #2: Hill Staffers Kevin Wheeler, House Small Business Committee Majority Delia Barr, House Small Business Committee Majority Giulia Leganski, House Small Business Committee Minority

Any increase in IRS funding must be used for compliance assistance and not simply as a mechanism to target small businesses. On Nov. 16, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and John Thune (R-S.D.) introduced a bill requiring the IRS to specify how it plans to utilize the $80 billion awarded to the agency under the Inflation Reduction Act. Short titled the IRS Funding Accountability Act, the bill would compel the IRS to submit a plan for the $80 billion within two months of the pending legislation becoming a law; failure to submit a plan would reduce the IRS’ funding by $10 million for every day of delinquency. The legislation specifies that the plan from the IRS must include: costs and results of the agency’s efforts to date; clearly defined objectives and timelines; detailed analyses of IRS performance; and changes in income groups subject to audit. According to Biden administration and IRS Nominee Danny Werfel – the prospective IRS Commissioner who would be subject to leading the Funding Accountability Act’s report requirements if he is appointed and the bill becomes law – the $80 billion will be spent on bolstering agency staff and improving the rate of processing returns for Americans. Despite repeated verbal assurances from the White House and IRS officials that the $80 billion will not be used to unduly pursue small-business owners, the small business community continues to insist on formalized protections. With limited time remaining in the 117th session of Congress, including time-intensive priorities for must-pass legislation, like the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), as well as a continuing resolution (CR) or another funding mechanism to keep the government open through the new year. Without a pathway to include the IRS Funding Accountability Act as a germane amendment to one of these packages, it is unlikely there will be capacity for the legislation to move and pass through both the Senate and House. For more information on IRS-related concerns for small-business owners, read and respond NSBA’s Action Alert. Sharing stories about how unchecked IRS resources will affect your bottom line could make the difference for the small-business community coast to coast.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Nov. 15, 2022 Contact | Molly Day 202-552-2904 press@nsba.biz Jim Tobin 202-302-8123 jtobin@nsba.biz NSBA Files Lawsuit Challenging Burdensome Federal Small Business Mandate WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Small Business Association (NSBA) today announced the filing of a constitutional challenge to the Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 (CTA)—also known as “Beneficial Ownership” rules. Under the CTA, 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. NSBA filed suit this morning in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, alleging: the CTA infringes on the States’ inherent and sovereign powers over the formation and governance of entities; does not regulate commerce under Congress’ power to do so; infringes upon an individual’s rights to apply for, form, own, and provide for the self-governance of entities under State law; and much more. “The CTA is a poorly thought out and heavy-handed federal mandate that will be a bureaucratic nightmare for small-business owners,” said NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. “If implemented, small businesses 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. Existing rules—the Customer Due Diligence framework—currently require banks to collect information to provide ownership verification. These financial institutions also are required to monitor and report suspicious activities to FinCEN and law enforcement. “The CTA is simply passing the buck from big banks—which have legions of staff to absorb this kind of reporting requirement—to small businesses like mine,” stated NSBA Chair Mike Stanek from Berea, Ohio. “A simple mistake has the potential to land a small-business owner in jail for as long as two years.” NSBA is seeking to overturn the CTA’s unconstitutional national mandate and an immediate injunction of the implementation of FinCEN’s rule, to protect small-business owners while the litigation moves forward. Please click here to 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. #### Join us for a Todd Talk discussion on NSBA's CTA-related efforts Nov. 29 at 3:00 p.m. EST.

“We all deserve a functioning political system and there are simple steps lawmakers can take." FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Nov. 9, 2022 Contact: Molly Day 202-552-2904 press@nsba.biz NSBA Congratulates Winners of 2022 Election Washington, D.C. – The National Small Business Association (NSBA) applauds the winners of the 2022 elections and looks forward to working with the new incoming and returning Members of Congress. While a handful of key elections have not yet been formally called, leaving unclear which party will be in control of the House and Senate, one thing is clear: lawmakers need to move forward on doing the business of the American people. Below is a statement from NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken on the elections. “I’d like to congratulate all the new and returning lawmakers who won their races. This midterm election surely will prove to be a pivotal one and your efforts moving the country forward are imperative now. “NSBA is a staunchly nonpartisan organization. We work with anyone who supports pro-small-business policies, and we take our marching orders directly from our small-business members. We will work with Republicans and Democrats alike and hope every lawmaker sworn in this coming January will make that same pledge. “We all deserve a functioning political system and there are simple steps lawmakers can take. I urge leadership in both parties to seek opportunities for members to interact, especially with their counterparts across the aisle. There must be a strong committee process followed by fair and robust floor debate in both chambers. “According to a recent NSBA survey, today, 88 percent of small businesses say politics have become more partisan, up from 82 in 2016 – I urge you to become part of the solution.” WATCH our inaugural Todd Talk, where NSBA CEO and President Todd McCracken gave Elections Analysis insights after the Midterms this week. Celebrating more than 80 years in operation, NSBA is staunchly nonpartisan and uniquely member-driven. We advocate on behalf of America’s small-business owners and 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. ###

From boots to business, NSBA is ready to support opportunities for all our servicemen and women. ­­­ With midterms this week, NSBA remembers the reason for this election season and is proud to recognize all veteran-run small businesses for their unique contribution during Small Business Veterans Week and throughout the year. There are over 1.76 million veteran-owned businesses in­­ the U.S., and these businesses employ an estimated 4 million people. In an effort to help maximize resources of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), recently, SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman announced the launch of SBA’s Veteran Small Business Certification, with plans to provide a one-year extension to firms verified under the Program. Guzman said she envisions this certification to teach the “gold standard” in customer experience and provide a means of support for growing the nation’s base of veteran federal contractors, enabling better service to veteran small-business owners in their pursuit of federal procurement opportunities. For some context, NSBA Board Member and Army Veteran Bill Belknap shared the following perspective on his experience as a Veteran small-business owner: “As a Veteran of 20 years in the Army, I can vouch for the substantial benefits to being certified by the VA (and in the future, SBA) that have propelled the growth of my SDVOSB General Contracting Company. My company, AEONRG LLC started with utilizing my training and experiences I received in the military. In the last 10 years, AEONRG LLC has increased its contract award amounts 5x since first year of inception, received over 180 government contracts and facilitated the company stability recurring revenue from our prized federal government agency customers.” SBA’s Veteran Small Business Program will officially launch this January, open for new applications at that time, and the Program will become the primary vehicle for handling certification for veteran-owned small businesses (VOBs), as well as service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs). Moving away from other agencies and federal offices providing certification processes, VOSB and SDVOSB designations awarded under the SBA will be important classifications required to enable businesses to qualify for sole-source and set-aside federal contracting awards started by other federal Veterans’ programs. Specifics of the Certification Program under the SBA are listed below. The certification period will extend to four years on a one-time basis for firms verified by VA as of Jan. 1, 2023 Updates in the new program will include: Firms verified by the VA Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) as of Jan. 1, 2023, will be automatically granted certification by SBA for the remainder of the firm’s eligibility period. All firms verified by the VA as of the Jan. 1, 2023, transfer date will receive a one-year extension to their eligibility giving veterans an extra year to get recertified under the new SBA system. The extension will allow SBA to process applications from new entrants into the program and grow the base of certified firms. New applicants certified by SBA after Jan. 1, 2023, will receive the standard three-year certification period. Along with the recertification extension, the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act grants a one-year grace period for self-certified SDVOSBs until Jan. 1, 2024. During the grace period, businesses have one year to file an application for SDVOSB certification and may continue to rely on their self-certification to compete for non-VA SDVOSB set-asides. Self-certified SDVOSBs that apply before the expiration of the one-year grace period will maintain eligibility until the SBA makes a final eligibility decision. Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, both veteran and service-disabled veteran small business owners will need to be certified to compete for federal contracting set-asides, unless an application from a self-certified firm is pending an SBA decision. For the latest information on the Veteran Small Business Certification program, visit here, or email cvetransfer@sba.gov. About the Center for Verification and Evaluation Transfer This shift is a result of language in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 that officially requested that the Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Verification and Evaluation, transfer to the SBA, effective Jan. 1, 2023.

A cornucopia of opportunities to support NSBA and opportunities for small business owners across the country. November means a lot of things: National Entrepreneurship Month, celebrating those hard workers fueling our economy and capturing the essence, and of course, Small Business Saturday. National Entrepreneurship Week President Joe Biden earlier this week signed a proclamation declaring November is National Entrepreneurship Month. NSBA stands with the administration in touting the importance of entrepreneurs to the U.S. economy. Small Business Saturday With just a few weeks until the Thanksgiving holiday, NSBA is urging small-business owners and their customers to participate in the annual Small Business Saturday on Nov. 26, 2022. Building on “Black Friday,” where most retailers do a significant amount of business, Small Business Saturday is an annual campaign to urge consumers to dedicate a portion of holiday shopping to local, independently-owned small businesses. Small businesses are integral to our community, and NSBA is proud to join American Express to help promote this vital part of the nation’s community, connect with your regular customers, and reach new ones on Small Business Saturday and throughout the holiday shopping season. You can download a variety of resources, from storefront signage to ready-to-use social posts, designed to help your business prepare for the big day and continue to reach customers throughout the season. Lean more here. Together, let’s support entrepreneurs, the small businesses their vision creates, and encourage your neighbors to Shop Small on Nov. 26 – and all year long!

From boots to business, Veterans are making the difference for our economy by commitments to more than one kind of service. With Veterans Day this Friday, Nov. 11, NSBA would like to recognize the service and sacrifice given by all Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. NSBA is especially grateful to those small business owners who have or currently serve. The embodiment of Semper Fi, Leadership Council member Ferguson “Juice” Dale is just one NSBA member who knows what it takes to go from boots to business. A 19-year active duty Veteran of the Marine Corps, Mr. Dale excelled in the cockpits of warfighting aircraft, including the EA-6B Prowler and the F/A 18 Hornet. Mr. Dale enlisted in 2003, quickly rising through the Marine Corps’ ranks during his first 18 months on the job. During his time on active duty, Mr. Dale spent four deployments two on the ground and two in the sky — throughout the Middle East. From Afghanistan to Syria, Mr. Dale learned a variety of skills, enabling him to serve in a variety of navigational, cybersecurity, and signals intelligence capacities. Over time, Mr. Dale progressed into a commissioned officer and eventually being promoted to Captain. He was also named the 2006 Marine of the Year in his unit, the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Marine Regiment. After his overseas deployments, Mr. Dale transferred to the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory in Quantico, Va. There, he further pursued his work in signals intelligence and cyber security, earning a Meritorious Service Medal for his work in defense innovation before his retirement in early 2022. Looking for purpose after his service, Mr. Dale moved to the private sector where he continued to provide defense and aerospace innovation, founding Semper Sky, LLC. Mr. Dale and his team at Semper Sky are pioneering the future of sustainable fuel in aviation, including technological development around electric aircraft. Mr. Dale also manages to balance the demands of his burgeoning business with his duties as a reservist in the Marine Corps, approaching his 19th year of combined active duty and Reserve Service. Having spent a career in the military, Dale recognizes that underserved populations often add far more value to the private sector than they are given the opportunity to provide. As a minority-owned, 100 percent service-disabled Veteran-owned enterprise, Mr. Dale’s business strives to support underserved communities an opportunity to shine. Always faithful to his call to selfless service in business inspired by his work in the Marines, one of Mr. Dale’s highest priority is to reimagine the limitations of “who can do what.” To learn more about Ferguson “Juice” Dale and Semper Sky, please visit flysempersky.com.

NSBA's Politics of Small Business provides insight into how America’s small business view politics. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Oct. 26, 2022 Contact: Molly Day 202-552-2904 press@nsba.biz Washington, D.C. – Today, the National Small Business Association (NSBA) is releasing its biennial survey, The Politics of Small Business, which provides insight into how America’s small business view the political landscape, their opinions of government institutions and how their party affiliations impact their political outlook. Among the key findings: nearly one-in-four small-business owners report changing their political affiliation at some point in the last 10 years. “Small business isn’t isolated from the growing partisan divide: today, 88 percent of small businesses say politics have become more partisan, up from 82 in 2016,” stated Todd McCracken, NSBA president and CEO. “This partisanship is eroding trust in elected officials, and while locally-elected officials fared slightly better, less than one-in-ten small-business owners said they have a lot of trust in nationally-elected officials.” New to the survey this year, NSBA asked about voting security and found that just 23 percent of Republicans support voting by mail while 85 percent of Democrats do. Less than half overall believe voting security is a significant problem: broken down by party: 67 percent of Republicans believe it’s a significant problem while just 30 percent of Democrats believe the same. “Small businesses are exceptionally engaged when it comes to the political process: 95 percent say they vote regularly in national contests and three-quarters say they’ve contacted an elected official,” stated NSBA Chair Mike Stanek of Hunt Imaging, LLC in Berea, Ohio. “This is particularly impactful when you consider that small-business owners’ party affiliations are nearly split in thirds among Republicans, Democrats and Independents. Nobody owns the small-business vote.” This survey was conducted online among 650 small-business owners from Aug. 22 through Sept. 12, 2022. We hope you find the data in this report useful. Please contact the NSBA media affairs department with questions. Please click here to download the full report. Celebrating 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. ####

NSBA Midterm Elections Analysis: Decision 2022 UPDATE: Watch the discussion here! Join NSBA for 30 minutes on Nov. 9 at 1:00 p.m. EST to get insight and analysis on the outcome of the midterm elections and what lies ahead for the 118th Session of Congress. Held the day following the elections, you’ll hear from NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken, who will discuss the new make-up of the 118th Congress and how any political shifts may impact small-business priorities. McCracken also will touch on what the new priorities are likely to be for key committees with jurisdiction over small-business issues, as well as what is likely to be addressed during the lame duck session. Please click here to register for this virtual meeting. Join us for our inaugural Todd Talk: Election Editon! Nov. 9, 1:00 p.m. EST Register here!

"Get to know your fellow small-business people so you can grow & problem-solve together." Much like television’s beloved Cheers Pub, NSBA Leadership Council Member Niesha Wolfe has built a local eatery where “everybody knows your name.” In doing so, Ms. Wolfe has built a name for herself even beyond her home state. During its nine years in business, Ms. Wolfe’s Gingham Café has become a beloved community staple, serving neighbors, passers-by, and even Tennessee’s highest-powered politicians – each served good food from the heart and as if they were family. Ms. Wolfe operates what she describes as her “companion-style” café with the mantra of using food as a facilitator of fellowship. To Wolfe, her business is more than a café – it’s a bridge for people and a vehicle for community leadership. In 2021, Ms. Wolfe brought together local spots in Clarksville, Tenn., to form the Independent Restaurant Owners Association, which helped keep dozens of area restaurant doors open and hundreds of community members employed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting in April 2020, Ms. Wolfe also partnered with Clarksville’s Mayor and Community Health Foundation to deliver free meals to community members in need. Away from her restaurant, Ms. Wolfe has been a titan of local advocacy for decades. A CPA by trade, Ms. Wolfe taught business at local Austin Peay State University and volunteered at the local U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Development Center on-campus for over 16 years. Ms. Wolfe’s previous accounting business also gave her the opportunities to serve as a delegate from Tennessee at the 1995 White House Council on Small Business and to present her published position paper on the impact of woman-owned small businesses to the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee. For her efforts, Ms. Wolfe was named the woman chair of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and was a recipient of Clarksville’s Athena Award for women for who excel in their field. Recently, Ms. Wolfe has dedicated her advocacy efforts to fighting for a more prosperous small business climate with NSBA. In September, Ms. Wolfe was recognized as a finalist for NSBA’s Advocate of the Year Award, which is given annually to a small business leader who embodies success and service in and out of the office – or, in this case, kitchen. Since September, Ms. Wolfe has also hosted her member of Congress, Rep. Mark Green (TN-07), at the Gingham Café and has met with Sen. Marsha Blackburn to discuss small business issues. Aside from making Senator Blackburn’s favorite pimento cheese dish, Ms. Wolfe has one key tip for small business owners looking to be effective advocates: “Get to know your fellow small-business people so you can grow & problem-solve together.”

An unprecedented move in the agency’s history, and a possible signal of hard times on the horizon. In an unprecedented move to combat anticipated hardships of inflation, on Oct. 18, the IRS announced a number of adjustments for 2023, including adjustments to the 2023 annual limits on tax-qualified retirement plans as a means of allowing participants more savings. The IRS also announced adjustments to annual contribution and carryover limits for healthcare flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and the monthly limit for qualified transportation fringe benefits. Following release of the 2023 inflation adjustments for health savings accounts (HSAs) and high deductible health plans, the IRS did not increase the annual contribution limit for dependent care FSAs because that limit is not indexed to inflation; however, the 2023 inflation adjustments for tax-qualified retirement plans are expected to be announced soon. The HSA limit for self-only/family coverage will increase to $3,850 and $7,550, respectively for 2023. The maximum annual out-of-pocket expense limits for high deductible health plans for self-only and family coverage also will increase in 2023. Relatedly, the IRS announced 2023 cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), including adjustments to the dollar limitations for qualified retirement plans. All dollar limits – including elective deferral contribution limit for 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans, the annual compensation limit under 401(a)(17), the maximum annual contribution limit under Code Section 415(c), and the dollar limit for catch-up contributions (if age 50 or older) – will increase from 2022 limits. As small business owners prepare for tax season, including working with their employees to answer questions with these changes, NSBA encourages checking in with tax advisors to ensure maximum advantage of contribution limits in 2023. Please click here for more details from IRS.

A robust SBA team means a strong small business community. Earlier this week, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Guzman announced a new slate of appointees to fill a handful of open positions at the SBA. NSBA welcomes the new SBA staff members in SBA’s Offices of Congressional and Legislative Affairs, and Communications and Public Liaison, as well as the new Director of Public Engagement. Unfortunately, there remain three key openings that require a presidential nomination to proceed. Among NSBA’s top priorities for small business is a robust and functioning SBA – a standard only possible with a complete and effective leadership and staff. Despite NSBA repeatedly calling on the administration to nominate – and lawmakers to act on said nominations – three key positions among top SBA leadership remain open. Those include: SBA Deputy Administrator - This position is responsible for the day-to-day management of the agency. The absence of a deputy administrator is especially serious given the growth of the SBA’s operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 alone, the SBA administered $970 billion in small business aid. Efforts to confirm nominee Dilawar Syed have been stalled by Senate Republicans since November 2021. Chief Counsel for the SBA Office of Advocacy – This critical position has been vacant since 2017, with no additional attempts to advance a nominee to confirmation since March 2019. This position is one of 10 senior openings within the Office of Advocacy, which serves as the small-business watch-dog when it comes to the federal regulatory process. The Office of the National Ombudsman – This position oversees the process to provide recourse to small businesses experiencing undue regulation and has been unoccupied since August 2020 without any appointment from the SBA Administrator. While NSBA welcomes the new staff at SBA and looks forward to working with them, SBA continues to grow its portfolio absent much-needed leadership. NSBA proposes the following steps to right this wrong. Republican members of the Senate Committee on Small Business must sit for a quorum and allow the confirmation of SBA appointments to be brought to the Senate floor for a vote. The administration should move quickly to appoint a permanent Chief Counsel for Advocacy. This role is urgently needed as the federal rule-making process continues to ramp-up, potentially creating decades of unfair regulatory burden. Likewise, the SBA Administrator must act urgently to appoint a National Ombudsman through whom small businesses can respond to undue federal burdens or other regulatory issues. Please take a few moments today to urge your lawmakers to seek action on these three critical SBA vacancies. Before today’s announcement of these new SBA leaders, NSBA advanced the SBA vacancies as a top priority, which our members and leaders addressed during our most recent Small Business Congress (SBC). Read our policy brief on SBA vacancies here, and please consider joining us at our upcoming SBC this February.