United States Congress Senate Committee

United States Congress Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurs

Responsibilities of Advocacy

The Senate Small Business Committee is directed under U.S. Senate rules, to review all legislation that pertains to small businesses and entrepreneurship. It has jurisdiction over the Small Business Administration. The Committee functions as a body within a body, and helps to both advocate for, and to further develop positive connections between legislators and small businesses (USG Business Homepage, 2009). The Committee helps to advocate for simple, fair, and equitable legislative actions in that bolster and magnify the positive economic growth engine that are small businesses in the U.S.

The Committee is also responsible for oversight of all small business legislation, ensuring that programs are properly administered and carried out according to Congressional direction. The Committee's homepage (2009) also states that, "In addition, the Committee oversees all issues of concern to small businesses across the country, including access to capital, affordable health care, rising gas and energy prices, fair contracting, taxes, regulations, and business training, among other issues." With this in mind, the Committee has been extremely busy lately overseeing many of the Obama Administration's goals of healthcare and energy reform (NFIB, 2009).

The Senate Committee also participates in investigations of problems that are faced by American small businesses and entrepreneurs, and part of its primary function is as a watchdog and advocate for small business growth and health (NFIB, 2009). The group is required to report to the Senate regarding the major hurdles faced by small businesses and how the Senate can work to pass legislation that would help small businesses overcome these obstacles. It gives other groups advice on how legislation can be shaped to positively impact small businesses in America through hearings, open forums, and discussion. Committee hearings are conducted in accordance with the demand for Congressional oversight and the amount of proposed legislation that will likely affect American small businesses (Committee Homepage, 2009). Without this oversight, the possibility exists of laws being passed that would be detrimental and unfair to small businesses, or that would possibly give them certain legal advantages over the rest of the economic landscape

The Past and the Future

Currently, the committee is chaired by Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat. The Ranking Minority Member is Republican Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine (Committee Homepage, 2009) Having both a Republican and a Democrat in positions of power in the committee is important in that it creates dialogue between all the members, regardless of their party affiliation, and also helps to promote the idea that the committee is bi-partisan. The Committee consists of a total of 19 U.S. Senators, each from a different state (Committee Homepage, 2009). The bi-partisan group is made up of members of Congress members from all different backgrounds representing many different perspectives. In February 1950, under House Resolution 58, The Senate Committee on Small Business was established. The name of the committee was changed to The Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship in 1981, but still functions in much the same way it has since its inception in the early 1950's (Committee Homepage, 2009). To its credit, the group has held hearings on a multitude of different small business related issues, including recent ones on the barriers to job creation (PR Newswire, 2009). Notably, it was a major proponent of the Paperwork Reduction Act as well as for major business tax reform that took place in the 1970's and early 1980's under Presidents Carter and Reagan. The Reagan Administration used this committee extensively in their efforts to severely reduce taxes on small businesses and corporations (NFIB, 2009).