In 2017, NAWBO will continue to pursue a public policy agenda that positions NAWBO at the forefront of issues that impact our members while continuing to increase our visibility and credibility with elected officials, agency personnel, peer organizations and members of the media. We will also continue to build and strengthen partnerships and coalitions and credibility to ensure our members are represented and seen as thought leaders on issues of importance to business owners.
Moving into 2017 we are hopeful that our call for a White House Conference on Small Business will materialize. In addition, we will continue to work with the SBA and other agencies on issues relating to and impacting women business owners, as well as look ahead to the upcoming census to ensure women business owners are accounted for accurately.
NAWBO believes access to capital is integral for women entrepreneurs to be able to start new businesses and successfully grow existing ones. For our nation’s economy to continue to improve, it is critical for Congress to focus on supporting established programs with a proven track record of success that help financial institutions through added incentives for providing capital to small and women-owned businesses.
NAWBO understands that an educated, prepared workforce is the key to growing businesses. We will look to support legislation that encourages and increases opportunities to fill and accelerate the pipelines between the workforce and employers with a specific interest in legislation impacting Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education.
NAWBO strongly supports efforts by Congress to increase the allocation of federal contracts to be performed and/or fulfilled by small businesses, particularly women-owned businesses, and also believes federal agencies should be held accountable to achieve their small business contracting requirements. NAWBO believes that functions and services that are widely available in the private sector should not be performed by federal agencies. NAWBO also supports efforts to ensure authentication of small and women owned businesses in federal contracts.
In addition, NAWBO will engage as appropriate on state and local disparity studies to ensure that contracting dollars are being well spent and accounted for.
NAWBO encourages the negotiation and approval of trade agreements with other significant open new markets, leveling the playing field and improving the competitiveness for U.S. women business owners. NAWBO also supports improving and strengthening trade promotion programs to assist small women-owned businesses in exporting their goods and services.
The massive increase in Federal regulations impacting the business and the accompanying uncertainty this generates has a harmful effect on the U.S. economy by dampening business investment, growth and job creation. NAWBO supports legislative efforts to require federal agencies that tailor new regulations to impose the least cost necessary to achieve policy goals set by Congress. Overall NAWBO would like to see a regulatory environment that operates as effectively and efficiently as possible and includes feedback and engagement from business owners at all points during the reform process.
NAWBO supports comprehensive tax reform designed to lower the corporate and marginal tax rates while broadening the tax base to provide greater certainty and increase competitiveness for women-owned businesses. Such reform should enact simple, predictable, easy-to-comprehend tax rules to reduce the cost of administration. Additionally, allowing business owners to write off costs incurred for technology or equipment purchases will free up resources to allow and encourage businesses to grow.
NAWBO supports policies that will encourage more start-ups and enable more of them to grow and expand. We believe that investments in the technology infrastructure could increase international competitiveness and that the modernization of laws, regulations and rules regarding data could help create investment opportunities and spur job creation.
For more information or to request to speak on the topic of Public Policy, please contact the current Board member in charge of Public Policy.