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Your chance to make big impacts for small business. Nominate someone (or yourself!) to join NSBA's Board of Trustees! NSBA is currently seeking experienced, active and committed small-business leaders for potential nomination and election to our Board of Trustees, NSBA’s governing body. Trustees serve a three-year term, with new terms beginning on January 1. Serving on NSBA’s Board of Trustees provides small-business owners access to help guide NSBA's priorities and operations, and make their voice heard when it comes to the laws and regulations that impact America’s small businesses. As current NSBA Board Member Sanjyot Dunung of Atma Global Knowledge Media in New York and one of NSBA's former Leadership Council members describes: “I started with NSBA as part of the Leadership Council—just like many of you. After being an active member on the Leadership Council, I applied to serve on the Board of Trustees, and it has been a wonderful experience. Not only does my input carry weight in driving the overall organization, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some truly amazing business leaders.” Nominees should be a member in good standing of NSBA with a commitment to pursuing NSBA’s nonpartisan agenda. The deadline for nominations is Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. Please click here to view the full Trustee responsibilities. Click here to download the nomination form.

Ensuring small business is crucial to the security of our nation for their contributions to the economy. Last week, the Senate passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – critical legislation to fund the defense agencies serving the nation, as well as the administration’s national security priorities. Among the provisions of the Senate-passed bill are a number of wins for small business, including amendments that will: Eliminate self-certification for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOBS). Introduced by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa); Speed up payment timelines for small-business subcontractors on federal contracts. Introduced by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa); Add the administrator of the Small Business Administration to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council. Introduced by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.); Modify the Defense Department’s (DOD) contract cap amounts under the Small Business Act. Introduced by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.); Repeal the bona fide office rule for 8(a) contracts with DOD. Introduced by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska); and Increase the federal contracting goal for SDVOBs. Introduced by Sen. Jon Ossof (D-Ga.). After weeks of debate, Senators passed the NDAA vehicle by a vote of 86-11, with some Members rejecting the legislation for its $886 billion price tag, including $300 million in U.S. assistance to combat Russian aggression in Ukraine. Earlier in July, the House narrowly passed its own version of the NDAA by a vote of 219-210. The legislation will now go through a reconciliation process with both chambers to achieve consensus between the versions; however, Congress is currently adjourned for its August recess until mid-September. NSBA applauds inclusion of provisions in the NDAA that support small businesses nationwide. Ensuring these small businesses thrive is crucial to the security of our nation for their contributions to the economy. Follow NSBA as we track movement of the NDAA through Congress this fall. Small-Business defense contracting represents a large sector of small-business federal contractors.

Take two minutes to urge your lawmakers to support the Main Street Tax Certainty Act! When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed in 2017, the tax cuts specific to small business were only passed on a temporary basis and are set to expire at the end of 2025. Legislation has been introduced in Congress, the Main Street Tax Certainty Act (S. 1706/H.R. 4721), which would make permanent the 20 percent Section 199A deduction. NSBA has created an Action Alert that small-business owners can use to reach out to their Senators to support this bill and their Representative to support similar or companion legislation in the House. This Action Alert will enable you to personalize a pre-drafted letter and send it directly to your Senators and Representative all in less than two minutes. The Main Street Tax Certainty Act will prevent rate hikes on America’s individually and family-owned businesses—something large corporations don’t have to worry about—and take an important step toward tax fairness for America’s small businesses. Complete the Action Alert TODAY!

The CCCA would help keep credit card processing fees in check. This week, NSBA sent a letter to key U.S. Senators urging passage of the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA), critical legislation to protect small businesses from increasingly costly credit card processing fees. Specifically, the CCCA would address credit card processing fees (“swipe fees”) and network restrictions that currently benefit the largest banks and corporations at the expense of small and local businesses that can least afford to fight back. The current market lacks meaningful competition and leaves small merchants with few choices and little negotiating power. The CCCA would decentralize processing, permitting transaction processing across multiple networks. NSBA is hopeful that Congress will consider this important legislation during this session of Congress, and it appears that Senate leadership has committed to allowing a vote later this session. Follow NSBA as we track progress of the CCCA in Congress, and read the full letter to the Senate here.

Take advantage of lawmakers extended time at home and learn how you can make the most impact. Join NSBA on Aug. 16, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. EST for a virtual meeting, “Make Your Voice Heard: How to Engage with Lawmakers.” Just because Congress is in their August recess doesn’t mean it’s time for us to take a rest on small-business policy priorities. Spend just 45 minutes with NSBA to get insider tips on how to make the most of the August recess while your lawmakers are back home. During this session, you will hear from NSBA leadership on: How to cut through the clutter and get your message in front of lawmakers Key tips for building relationships with lawmakers and staff Best practices for how to utilize social media to engage meaningfully with policymakers Free tools and resources from NSBA to make advocacy easier NSBA’s D.C. fly-in that puts you get front-and-center with lawmakers and their staff This free session will connect you with NSBA’s leadership team which boasts more than 100 years of collective Capitol Hill experience. There’s no better time than the August recess to polish up your advocacy skills. Register here to attend this important webinar, Aug. 16 at 2:00 p.m. EDT!

#CTA #NotTheWay On Tuesday, July 18, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions held a hearing examining the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), “Potential Consequences of FinCEN’s Beneficial Ownership Rulemaking.” NSBA weighed in on the hearing urging lawmakers to do everything in their power to prevent the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) from going into effect. “The CTA is a poorly thought out and heavy-handed federal mandate that will be a bureaucratic nightmare for small-business owners. The law and subsequent regulations are painfully vague and ambiguous and could ensnare even the most benign of business advisors: a retired parent with expertise in accounting who counsels her son in opening a new business,” NSBA President Todd McCracken stated. “Surely Congress didn’t intend this law to punish the smallest of businesses—however that’s exactly what this law will do.” During the hearing lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed skepticism about the workability of the regulations – some more forcefully than others. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), Chair of the Subcommittee stated, “We are less than six months away from the CTA’s effective date of January 1, 2024, and we are left with more questions than answers.” “I do not see how FinCEN can move forward with a January 1 BOI effective date without having a plan. I ask all of my colleagues to remember that if this filing system is not seamless, it is our small businesses picking up the pieces from COVID that will suffer,” Chair Luetkemeyer continued. Ranking Member Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) admitted there had been “certain flaws in FINCEN’s beneficial ownership rule-making that deviate from the intent of Congress.” Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), Chair of the House Financial Services Committee expressed his frustration over the final rule, stating, “The Treasury Department has made the final rule as complicated as possible. Altering timelines, definitions, and even failing to put together a simple filing form.” He went on to say, “It is clear if changes are not made Congress must act to delay the rule-making’s effective date.” Chair Luetkemeyer, a familiar face at past NSBA events, went a step further with his criticism of the final rule, “People’s private information, businesses private information, are going to be on a government server and the government has proved over and over again it cannot be a good steward of that information. This is nuts.” RELATED | NSBA Urges Repeal of CTA NSBA’s McCracken went on to state, “NSBA absolutely supports efforts to curtail money laundering, however the CTA is not the way. While we have filed a lawsuit against Treasury over the CTA, there is no guarantee the suit will be successful. It is not too late for Congress to help our nation’s job creators – I urge you to repeal or reform the CTA and protect small businesses from its insidious burden.” Please visit www.NSBA.biz/CTA to learn more. Click here to watch the hearing.

$163 billion in federal procurement opportunities to small businesses is a new record. This week, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Guzman announced that the federal government exceeded its small-business contracting goal of 23 percent in FY 2022. A notable 26.5 percent of federal contract dollars went to small businesses, amounting to an estimated $162.9 billion investment in the small-business economy and representing an $8.7 billion increase from FY 2021. Officials from the Biden Administration estimate this new record in federal contract awards for small businesses supported over 1 million jobs in manufacturing, construction, and research and development. Breaking down the 26.5 percent, 4.6 percent of federal contracts awarded went to service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses, and small businesses in historically underutilized business zones received $16.3 billion in federal contract awards – the highest amount ever awarded in this category. Additionally, women-owned small businesses received more than $26 billion in federal contracts, accounting for 4.6 percent of the FY 2022 total eligible dollars. Unfortunately, this category fell short of the SBA’s five percent target. It is also worth noting that $79.1 billion went to small businesses for subcontracting over the last year. NSBA supports SBA’s efforts to expand federal contracting awards for small businesses nationwide. Read the entire SBA report here.

Make a difference for small business in a big way – REGISTER FOR WP 2023 TODAY! On Sept. 13 and 14, NSBA will host its annual fly-in, where small-business owners from coast-to-coast will make their way to Capitol Hill to educate Congress on the realities of running a small business. Known as the Washington Presentation, this highly anticipated event convenes small-business leaders with lawmakers and facilitates high-powered networking with other small-business owners and policymakers, including a briefing from the White House. In addition to meeting with lawmakers and officials in the White House, NSBA will host several substantive sessions, including: a Breakfast, various high-level policy discussions with D.C. insiders, a Lobbying 101 primer, and the announcement of the winner of the 2023 Lew Shattuck Small Business Advocate of the Year Award. NSBA's stellar reputation on Capitol Hill is a testament to the engagement and activism of our members, and the Washington Presentation is a critical component of that. Wednesday, Sept. 13 The official kick-off to the event is our Lew Shattuck Small Business Advocate of the Year Award luncheon where attendees will hear from some amazing speakers and recognize the best-and-brightest small-business advocates. Following the luncheon, the NSBA delegation will talk policy in a briefing on our 2023 Priority Issues and get tips from lobbying experts to help prepare attendees and advocates for Hill visits. Also that afternoon, attendees will participate in a White House briefing, where attendees will hear from top administration experts on their key priorities for small business and engage with attendees on NSBA’s priorities. Finally, the Washington Presentation will close out day one with a relaxed reception, where attendees can network with other small-business leaders, as well as various D.C. insiders. Thursday, Sept. 14 Kicking off the day on Thursday will be NSBA’s Congressional Breakfast. Attendees will hear from leading Members of Congress on what small-business legislation is moving in Congress and what is likely ahead in the closing months of 2023 before the 2024 election season kicks into high-gear. From there, attendees will head to Capitol Hill to attend legislative meetings scheduled by NSBA staff if requested. NSBA will provide attendees with important leave-behinds, a detailed schedule, Capitol Complex protocol and directions for a day of lobbying on Capitol Hill. Register TODAY for the Washington Presentation – space is limited and the early-bird discount for hotel rooms ends on Aug. 22. Make a difference for small business in a big way – REGISTER TODAY!

Small businesses should not pay the price for the country's efforts to stem money laundering. #CTA #NotTheWay FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 18, 2023 Contact: Molly Day 202-552-2904 mday@nsba.biz NSBA Urges Lawmakers to Repeal the Corporate Transparency Act WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Small Business Association (NSBA) is urging lawmakers to do everything in their power to prevent the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) from going into effect. Today, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions is convening a hearing examining the CTA, “Potential Consequences of FinCEN’s Beneficial Ownership Rulemaking.” NSBA warns of the disastrous impact it will have on America’s smallest businesses. Below is a statement from NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken “The CTA is a poorly thought out and heavy-handed federal mandate that will be a bureaucratic nightmare for small-business owners. If implemented, small businesses will be forced to spend millions of hours and billions of dollars on lawyers, record-keeping, tracking down information unrelated to the business instead of creating jobs and helping grow our economy. “For years, this information has already been collected by banks under the Customer Due Diligence framework. The CTA is simply passing the buck from big banks—which have legions of staff that are already handling this kind of reporting requirement—to small businesses, which have limited resources to fight this kind of unfair burden. “The law and subsequent regulations are painfully vague and ambiguous and could ensnare even the most benign of business advisors: a retired parent with expertise in accounting who counsels her son in opening a new business. Surely Congress didn’t intend this law to punish the smallest of businesses—however that’s exactly what this law will do. “NSBA absolutely supports efforts to curtail money laundering, however the CTA is not the way. While we have filed a lawsuit against Treasury over the CTA, there is no guarantee the suit will be successful. It is not too late for Congress to help our nation’s job creators – I urge you to repeal or reform the CTA and protect small businesses from its insidious burden.” Please visit www.NSBA.biz/CTA 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. ####

Small Businesses Can Go Farther With a Managed Travel Program American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) is a proud sponsor of the National Small Business Association (NSBA). Together, we stand united to help small businesses get to where they need to be. By working closely with this community, we can better support small businesses and help them thrive in today’s complex world. This blog focuses on ways a travel management company (TMC) can support your organization as you move your business forward through travel. Small businesses provide jobs to 61.7 million Americans – nearly half of the country’s economic output. The people within this community are hardworking, passionate individuals who pour their hearts and souls into the business. A testament to their tenacity, they were among the first to resume business travel during the pandemic, excited to get back on the road and in front of their customers again. Our earnings report shows that travel among small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is rebounding faster than any other customer segment. During the third quarter of 2022, SME booking activity hit 80% of 2019 levels – 19 percentage points above multinational corporations. It’s a remarkable achievement considering the barriers SMEs can encounter managing their travel programs. Terri Buscemi, vice president of business development at Amex GBT, is aware of the challenges small businesses face. She owned and operated a small business – a travel management company (TMC) catering to SMEs – for about 15 years. Terri says travel expenses are a constant source of stress for SMEs, who often face higher costs when compared to larger companies. This is because SMEs typically do not have the negotiating muscle their larger counterparts have, so they’re unable to meet the spend volumes required for preferred corporate discounts with travel suppliers. The complexities surrounding the return to travel only compound this issue. “SMEs are challenged with knowing how much they’re going to spend in the new environment, asking questions like: ‘Do we need to return to the same level we did before? Are there things we can do virtually instead? Maybe we can combine meetings so we can travel less frequently?’” said Terri. “This makes it difficult for them to say, ‘Yes, I will spend this much with this specific carrier or hotel.’ It’s a lot for them to absorb.” Providing duty of care and supporting their traveling employees is another challenge for SMEs, who typically don’t have entire risk management teams performing these services, explained Terri. Teaming up with a TMC – the simple solution Working with a TMC like Amex GBT that offers solutions built around smaller businesses’ travel and spend management needs can be a painless way for SMEs to fill these gaps. By taking advantage of the preferred rates TMCs can secure with suppliers, smaller businesses can save a substantial amount on travel costs – sometimes up to 25% to 50%, depending on what rates they book. In addition, re-shopping tools that automatically search for and rebook lower like for like hotel rates and airfares can cut trip expenses without travelers needing to take action. “Rather than trying to negotiate their own programs, it’s smart for SMEs to partner with a company like Amex GBT so they can take advantage of our preferred rates and solutions right from the start,” Terri said. She added that a TMC’s risk management solution is a vital asset for SMEs so they can fulfill their duty of care obligations, enabling them to quickly locate and communicate with traveling employees in the event of an emergency. And if a flight disruption occurs, a TMC can provide stranded travelers with quick rebooking support before they have time to stress. Terri noted that small businesses could overspend on travel if they lack policies and don’t set parameters around employees’ purchasing decisions. A TMC can help implement a travel policy based on best practices, giving employees clear guidance on what type of airfares and hotels they can and cannot book – this can translate into significant cost savings for SMEs. “We put all that at their fingertips,” Terri said. “We make the customer journey much easier and support the business’s initiatives to manage their spend around travel.” Small businesses may believe a large, global TMC doesn’t understand their world, but that is far from the truth. “We have one of the largest databases of customers to draw and learn from, so when we provide SMEs with best practices, it’s not just Amex GBT pushing what we think is right. It’s from clients like them, with the same needs,” Terri said. “I understand how attractive it might be to work with a local, regional agency where you’ve known the person working there forever,” Terri said. “But with a larger TMC, you have confidence that during a downturn, it has the stability to support you through those peaks and valleys.” As a company committed to the success of SMEs, we understand they aren’t merely looking for a scaled-down version of a big-company solution. They require a suite of tools and services that can cater to their specific needs, both now and as they evolve. Discover what Amex GBT can do for you.

Proposed Timelines For Upcoming Key Rulemakings Projected Throughout The Rest Of 2023. Late last month, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit (FinCEN) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury released its 2023 Spring Rulemaking Agenda. Outlining timelines for upcoming announcements slated for 2023, FinCEN continues to focus on issuing rulemakings related to the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Act of 2020 and the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). Scheduled to go into effect January 2024 for all new businesses and January 2025 for all existing businesses, the CTA will require small businesses with fewer than 20 employees to register and list the names of all the beneficial owners of their company in a database to be maintained by FinCEN, known as the Beneficial Ownership Secure System (BOSS). According to the FinCEN rulemaking schedule, in September, the agency is due to release its final rule regarding beneficial ownership information, including its plan for accessing and safeguarding the prospective BOSS database. In theory, the CTA is aimed at limiting money laundering. While the small-business community agrees money laundering is a problem that should be addressed, the CTA targets only small businesses requiring them to provide this information and be subject to scrutiny. Additionally, this information is already being collected by other agencies—they simply need to share that information. In addition to NSBA’s lawsuit against Treasury to stop implementation of the CTA, NSBA is working with various coalitions and Members of Congress to pass legislation repealing or, at a minimum, delaying the effective date. RELATED | CTA LAWSUIT STATUS REPORT Additionally, FinCEN is expected to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) this month, implementing section 6314 of the AML Act and the Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Improvement Act regarding whistleblower incentives and protections. Under the AML, qualifying whistleblowers are entitled to awards between 10 and 30 percent of the value of “monetary sanctions” above $1 million collected through an enforcement action. To read more about the upcoming NPRMs from FinCEN, visit the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website here.

Meet Judy and AaDaya - NSBA's newest corporate partner and supporter of small business. Statistics don’t lie: Cyber criminals are shifting their focus to small businesses. As Security Magazine reports, 43 percent of cyber attacks target small businesses, and only 12 percent of small businesses rate their ability to mitigate cyber risks, vulnerabilities, and attacks as highly effective. Cyber criminals find the low-hanging fruit to be easy pickings and less work. It goes without saying that the risks for SMBs are too great not to pay attention to this issue. Have you thought about cybersecurity for your business lately? More to Lose Conventional wisdom might tell you that you have nothing to worry about—your little shop doesn’t have anything valuable to a hacker, right? You’d be surprised. With identity theft on the rise, and the sale of victims’ financial information on the dark web, small businesses are actually a prime target for hackers right now. The truth is that successful attacks on your IT systems, especially those where sensitive data is stored, can totally wipe out your business; the reputation hit and legal costs are often too much to weather. Along with increasing regulatory and compliance requirements being pushed down from the customers you serve, a good cybersecurity posture is now essential to the longevity of businesses of all sizes. Meet Judy. A proud NSBA sponsor, we designed Judy to solve the cybersecurity challenges faced by small and midsize businesses. Judy provides 24/7 protection for SMBs that lack the time, expertise, and capital to successfully implement cybersecurity solutions. Judy Essential is all-in-one cybersecurity software-as-a-service that’s easy for everyone in your organization to install and use, and provides threat protection from the inside out. Get Judy today and protect your employees, your customers and your business.