A 14-page report to be released today by Democratic members of the House Small Business Committee blasts the Bush administration and congressional leaders for giving short shrift to small-business issues during the most recent congressional session.
"The new administration and congressional leadership ... proved to be the best friend big business ever had," says the report, to be released by Nydia M. Velazquez of New York, the ranking Democrat on the committee. Meanwhile, the report says, "the needs of small business, with its great potential to spur economic recovery, were left unaddressed."
The report cites administration and congressional inactivity on nearly a dozen bills and proposals on a range of issues from federal contracting to worker training.
The report pushes for passage of the Small Employer Tax Relief Act, which would provide for accelerated depreciation and more favorable tax treatment for investments. The bipartisan Small Business Contract Equity Act would increase the number of contracts awarded to small businesses.
