On April 8, the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the U.S. House Committee on Small Business held a joint hearing titled, “Prosperity on Main Street: Keeping Taxes Low for Small Businesses.” Ahead of the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the committees in support of key provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that provided important tax relief for contractors. Specifically, ABC called on House and Senate members to support critical tax policies, such as:

• Maintaining Parity for Pass-Through Entities through the permanence of the TCJA’s Section 199A
• Revived Expensing of Research and Development Costs
• Restoration of 100% Bonus Depreciation

The scheduled expiration of many of these policies would have grave effects, not only for our contractor members, but for the construction market more broadly, specifically harming small businesses around the country. On Jan. 17, ABC sent a letter to the House Ways & Means Committee emphasizing the significance of making permanent the provisions of the TCJA for America’s working families.

On March 11, the U.S. House Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations held a hearing titled, “Restoring the SBA: Putting Main Street America First.” Ahead of the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the Committee calling on Congress to empower the SBA and small businesses around the country to keep federal agencies in check when implementing new regulations. The letter specifically supports the ABC-supported Prove It Act which strengthens the Regulatory Flexibility Act (H.R. 1163) by allowing Main Street businesses, and groups like ABC, to petition the SBA to examine whether a federal regulation would have significant economic effects on a large number of small businesses.

In the hearing, Prove It Act sponsor Rep. Brad Finstad, R-Minn., touted the bill, noting that it helps small business navigate the regulatory environment. Alfredo Ortiz, CEO of Job Creators Network, added that the bill, “is a game changer… for too long, agencies have been given a pass from showing the impact of regulations on small businesses. Having the opportunity to have a seat at the table at the beginning of thew process rather than at the end of the process is critical.” You can watch their exchange here.

On Feb. 5, the U.S. House Committee on Small Business held a hearing titled, “Hope on the Horizon: Prioritizing Small Business Growth in the 119th Congress.” Ahead of the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the committee calling for deregulation and sound legislation in the 119th Congress to help small businesses succeed.

During the hearing, Rep. Brad Finstad, R-Minn., touted the Prove It Act of 2024, which he introduced in the 118th Congress. ABC key voted the bill, which strengthens the Regulatory Flexibility Act by allowing industry groups, like ABC, to petition the Small Business Administration to examine whether a federal regulation would have significant economic effects on a large number of small businesses, among other things. You can view Rep. Finstad’s remarks from the hearing here.

In addition, Rep. Brian Jack, R-Ga., highlighted the need for deregulation for the small business community. When Rep. Jack asked witness Bill New of New Industries, Inc., a steel fabrication company, about the benefits of deregulation could be, New responded, “I think like a lot of small businesses – I’m not looking for a handout, I’m just looking for a level playing field. Then get out of my way.” You can view New’s comment here.

You can view the full committee hearing here.

On Dec. 5, in a 208-196 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 7198, the Prove It Act of 2024. Ahead of the vote, ABC sent a key vote letter to members of the House urging them to support the bill. The Prove It Act strengthens the Regulatory Flexibility Act by allowing industry groups, like ABC, to petition the Small Business Administration to examine whether a federal regulation would have significant economic effects on a large number of small businesses. Agencies are not required to perform a regulatory flexibility analysis if they certify that a proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Prove It Act would allow groups like ABC to petition the SBA to challenge an agency’s claim and request an analysis if they see fit. In addition, there is a provision in the bill that would allow the SBA’s Office of Advocacy to throw out rules if the issuing agency doesn’t reevaluate them at least once a decade to assess their continued need, complexity, and economic effects on small businesses.

ABC supported this legislation along with other Regulatory Flexibility Act related bills during the September House Small Business Committee markup.

On Sept. 19, the U.S. House Committee on Small Business held a hearing titled, “Holding the SBA Accountable: Testimony from Small Business Administrator Guzman.” Ahead of the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the committee urging Administrator Guzman to consider the SBA’s Office of Advocacy as the Biden-Harris administration continues to implement harmful regulations that effect small businesses. In 2023, the National Federation for Independent Business produced a study of rules and found 28 instances where they cited agencies for a lack of compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which was specifically designed to protect small businesses from the disproportionate effects regulations can have on their work.

You can view the full committee hearing here.

On Sept. 10, the House Committee on Small Business held a full committee markup on several pieces of legislation that strengthen the Regulatory Flexibility Act and protect small businesses from harmful regulations. Ahead of the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the committee expressing support for the below bills and advocated for small business input throughout the rulemaking process.

• H.R. 9085, the Regulatory Review Improvement Act of 2024, makes modifications to how agencies conduct periodic reviews of agency rules.
• H.R. 7198, the Prove It Act of 2024, increases small business input in the regulatory process and ensures agencies are fully accounting for the impact of regulations on small businesses.
• H.R. 9031, the Assurance for Small Business Act of 2024, requires federal agency heads to submit a report on the implementation of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
• H.R. 9032, the Enhanced Regulatory Flexibility Assessment Act, makes it mandatory for agencies to conduct studies and issue reports on the effects of new rules on small businesses.
• H.R. 9030, the Regulatory Agenda Clarity Act, requires federal agencies to fully disclose how their regulations would impact small businesses and entrepreneurs.
• H.R. 8033, the Regulatory Transparency for Small Business Act, forces federal agencies to identify an approximate number of small entities that will be affected by new regulations, the cost per small entity and the data used to make that determination.
• H.R. 9033, the LABOR Act of 2024, requires regulatory flexibility analysis from the U.S. Department of Labor.

In defense of H.R. 7198, and small businesses in general, Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., said the legislation was “vital to reducing regulatory burdens and ensuring agencies consider the needs of small businesses when implementing new rules.” He went on to note that, “not one small business has said they need more regulations and this administration has put our over 700 regulations, punishing America’s small businesses.”

The aforementioned bills were all reported favorably by the committee and now await a full House vote.

On July 10, the U.S. House Committee on Small Business held a hearing titled, “"Main Street Realities: Examining the Current Economic Landscape in America.” Ahead of the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the committee expressing concerns with the numerous regulations that generate substantial burdens for America’s small businesses and loopholes in the Regulatory Flexibility Act that federal agencies use to implement these regulations at the expense of America’s small business community.

Specifically, ABC noted the impact of the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule on Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as the final rule changing overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Leading up to the hearing, ABC’s Chief Economist Anirban Basu spoke with committee staff to discuss the challenges facing small business contractors.

On May 22, the U.S. House Committee on Small Business held a hearing titled, “Burdensome Regulations: Examining the Biden Administration’s Failure to Consider Small Businesses.” Prior to the hearing, ABC sent a letter detailing concerns with the Biden administration’s rulemakings that disregard small businesses, diminish their ability to compete and undermine their integral role in building America’s infrastructure. The letter specifically highlighted the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rules on overtime and Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s final rule on the Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects.

You can watch the full hearing on the committee’s YouTube channel.

On May 8, the U.S. House Committee on Small Business held a hearing titled, “Stifling Innovation: Examining the Impacts of Regulatory Burdens on Small Businesses in Healthcare.” Prior to the hearing, ABC sent a letter calling on Congress to provide compliance relief for employers by streamlining reporting requirements brought on by the Affordable Care Act.

ABC also highlighted its work with the Partnership for Employer-Sponsored Coverage that has laid out principles and priorities that are critical to ensuring employment-based health insurance thrives.

You can watch the full committee meeting here.

On Feb. 15, the U.S. House Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure held a hearing titled “Leveling the Playing Field: Challenges Facing Small Business Contracting.” ABC sent a letter detailing the significant hurdles small businesses face while competing for federal construction projects, specifically through the Biden administration’s implementation of government mandated project labor agreements and a new Independent Contractor Classification standard. Cited in the letter was ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator that declined to 8.4 months in January, according to an ABC member survey conducted from Jan. 22 to Feb. In addition, the National Federation of Independent Business’ recent study showed that owners who expect higher real sales volumes fell 12% last month and a larger share of small business owners reported lower earnings over the last three months.

You can view the full hearing here.