On the Hill This Week -- SBA and Procurement

The Regulatory Reform and Oversight subcommittee of the House Small Business Committee held a hearing this week on SBA procurment programs. Catherine Giordano was there to testify on behalf of WIPP and its coalition partners including NAWBO.

Giordano's testimony was comprehensive pointing out problems with the administration of the 8(a) certification program as applied to wbo's, failure of the government to reach the 5% procurement goal, and issues raised by contract bundling, strategic sourcing and other inefficient or unfair contracting practices.

Many of the points that Giordano made are reflected in the report just issued by the NAWBO Procurement Task Force which will soon be available on the advocacy page of the NAWBO website.

Read the full text of Giordano's testimony.

NAWBO Takes Public Policy on the Road -- Update

In a previous post, I called your attention to a program that NAWBO is sponsoring at this year's Southern Women in Public Service in Nashville on Sunday, May 7th titled: Advocacy and the Bottom Line: State Capitol Issues and Strategies for Women Business Owners. Mary Macrae and I are going to talk about state level issue advocacy and best practices, and we hope that you'll think about joining us.

The conference should be fun and informative. Dolly Parton has been named the winner of the 2006 Lindy Boggs Award which Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen will present on Tuesday, May 9, at the closing session of the conference.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao is confirmed to speak at lunch on Monday, May 8, 2006. Karenna Gore Schiff will speak on Monday morning, May 8, about her new book, Lighting the Way: Nine Women Who Changed Modern America. U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schulz (D-FL), U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Vice Admiral Ann Rondeau are confirmed for the opening day on Sunday, May 7, 2006.

If you live and do business in the South and you want to get to know key women leaders in your region, don't miss this incredible bipartisan gathering of powerful political women!

You can find out more online at http://www.stennis.gov/swips.htm

NAWBO has negotiated a special conference registration day rate of $120.00 for Sunday for NAWBO members who want to drive in just for the day. Just note that on your registration form if that's your choice.

Hope to see you in Nashville.

Making the Case that Advocacy Affects the Bottom Line

Want to help persuade fellow women business owners that public policy affects the bottom line?

Read this story from Fortune Small Business about factors affecting revenue growth for women business owners.

Headlined (very unfortunately) "Which Women Get Big," the article summarizes the data about wbo's and the policies that limit growth (only 22% of SBA loans go to wbo's; only 3% of government contracts, for example).

For a completely different and provocative take on this article, check out Chicago NAWBO Board member Kirsten Osolind's blog, re:invention marketing. Kirsten's blog is chock full of commentary on marketing for women entrepreneurs; if you visit you'll learn something new.

Read up, then use the info to persuade other women business owners to get involved in advocacy efforts at the local, state and federal level.

And, don't forget to check in on the Make Mine a $Million Business project ... you, too, can be a million dollar business owner.

Encouraging the Growth of Women Owned Businesses

Writing in the Pittsburgh Gazette this week, Chatham College Professor Mary Riebe, who also directs the College's Center for Women's Entrepreneurship, highlights the relatively lower growth of women owned businesses in Pennsylvania and suggests some ways higher growth might be encouraged:

R... the ways women business owners think and talk about their businesses, view their leadership roles, and operate their businesses is markedly different than those of their male counterparts. These differences argue strongly for providing women with educational opportunities and support services that fit their particular needs.

We also know that while a greater number of younger rather than older women would like to start their own businesses, older women are more likely than younger women to actually do so. Providing young women with encouragement, training opportunities and role models during their degree-seeking education can help give younger women the confidence they need and to shorten the learning curve necessary to launch their own businesses.

Most importantly, like similar programs around the country, centers for women's entrepreneurship provide women business owners with opportunities for their own professional development and to serve as role models and mentors to others. Such centers can offer students innovative and women-centered educational experiences, such as certification and mentoring programs, and can connect them with successful women role models, experts and sponsors from the business community, faculty from across the institution, and governmental and non-profit support programs and networks.

Riebe also gives reasons why it is important for policy makers to pay attention to WBO growth rates:

As opportunities for women entrepreneurs increase, so, too, does the health and vibrancy of the community at large. With Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh lagging behind the national average for growth in women-owned firms, now is the time to support women business owners, and for Pennsylvania's women to take the next step forward in contributing to our state's economic success.

Can you apply these lessons to your state? Perhaps you can help spur policy makers to focus on these issues by writing a similar oped for publication in your local newspaper? Or, maybe Reibe's ideas for change suggest programs/approaches you could advocate for in your state.

Here's what the Opponents of SBHP's and S1955 Are Saying

Not everyone is happy with the revised AHP bill now moving through the Senate.

The National Partnership for Women and families (formerly the Women's Legal Defense Fund) continues to express concern that S1955 and other SBHP legislation will "erase years of work by states to give consumers adequate health coverage and preempt laws that guarantee coverage for cancer screenings, diabetes supplies and more." The Partnership and 36 "of the nation's top health and medical, women's, labor and advocacy groups" called on Congress to reject S1955. Here's their press release.

National Partnership for Women & Families President Debra L.Ness writes that S. 1955 would cost women and families direct access to obstetricians/gynecologists, coverage for contraception, and osteoporosis, breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening. The bill has a "broad and perilous reach" and could "wipe away consumer protection in the individual, small group and large group health insurance markets. As healthcare costs continue to increase, women are often the ones making difficult choices about how to make ends meet. S. 1955 is not a solution. Please reject this proposal."

The American Nurses Association is one of the other groups opposed. Read their take on the legislation here.

Here's what the National Association of Realtors is Telling its Members about SBHP's

SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH PLANS

ISSUE: Many of America's 45 million uninsured citizens are self-employed or work for small employers that cannot afford to offer health insurance benefits. Small businesses are generally unable to achieve the efficiencies that allow large group rates comparable to those available through a union or large employer plan. A broad coalition of small business organizations, including NAR, has advanced proposals for a new market tool for small businesses. This new concept would permit associations to provide health insurance coverage to their members through small business health plans (SBHPs), also known as association health plans (AHPs). SBHPs would be subject to the same federally-prescribed rules (ERISA) and the same state regulations that govern large corporate and union health plans, making SBHPs exempt from complying with multiple state-mandated coverage requirements. This exemption would allow SBHPs to uniform plans regardless of where subscribers reside. Small businesses could band together, thus increasing their power to bargain with health insurance providers and lower overhead costs by as much as 30 percent.

NAR POSITION: NAR supports efforts to allow bona fide associations to offer uniform health insurance coverage plans exempt from costly state-mandated coverage provisions.

OPPOSING VIEWS: Insurers that currently dominate the small business and individual insurance markets have traditionally opposes SBHPs. State insurance commissioners believe SBHPs would limit their oversight. Others charge that SBHPs will create "second-class" of health insurance, "cherry pick" the best risks from the pool of individuals currently insured by individual policies and leave the individual market with only the worst risks.

IMPACT ON REALTORS®: Access to affordable health insurance has increasingly become an issue for NAR's members. In 1996, 13% of Realtors were uninsured; by 2004, 28% had no health insurance. SBHPs could enable real estate associations and real estate companies to make health insurance available.

STATUS/OUTLOOK: On Wednesday, March 15, 2006, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved S.1955, the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act of 2006. Cosponsored by Senators Enzi (R-WY) and Ben Nelson (D-NE), the bill authorizes the creation of fully-insured small business health plans (SBHPs) by trade associations. The bill passed the Committee on a party-line vote of 11-9.

The Committee began consideration of the bill on March 8th but failed to finish due the need to deal with sixty-eight amendments offered by the Democrats. This was the first time in the 11 year history of small business/association health plan legislation that the Committee has voted on a SBHP bill.

In preparation for the Committee vote, NAR conducted a fly-in of Federal Political Coordinators for Senators serving on the HELP Committee and issued a targeted Call for Action to REALTOR® members in those states represented by Senators on the HELP Committee the week of February 27th. In addition, state association leaders visiting Senate offices in DC this month were also asked to solicit their Senators' support for the amended bill. State associations in those states with insurance commissioners opposed to S. 1955 are being asked to contact their commissioners and urge them to reconsider their opposition.

In anticipation of Senate floor consideration, NAR staff has begun to roll out the next phase of a multifaceted advocacy program. Given the number of amendments offered and the strict party-line vote, it is very clear that a successful floor vote will be very difficult. NAR is committed to using the resources necessary to wage this battle in the Senate.

Once approved by the full Senate, a House-Senate conference will be necessary to resolve the differences between S. 1955 and the House SBHP measure, HR 525, approved on July 26, 2005 on a bipartisan vote of 263-165.

S. 1955 is the result of HELP Chairman Enzi's belief that Republican and Democratic opposition to S. 406, the Small Business Health Fairness Act, previously introduced by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Robert Byrd (D-WV), is sufficiently strong to prevent S. 406 from moving successfully through the Senate. Building on S. 406's basic small business health plan (SBHP) concept, S. 1955 does not allow S. 406's self-insured SBHPs, authorizes the creation of only fully-insured SBHPs, requires SBHP insurers to be licensed in every state in which they operate and places the regulatory authority over SBHPs with the state insurance commissioners. In addition, the bill established a process for harmonizing state regulations dealing with the administrative processes of regulating insurers, i.e. rules governing form filing, rate filing, etc.

Prior to and following the introduction of S. 1955 in November, Senate Majority HELP staff held weekly meetings with the major stakeholder interest groups to develop mutually agreeable compromises to provisions of the bill identified by each group as problematic. The four stakeholder groups included the SBHP Coalition, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and America's Health Insurance Plans association. At these meetings, the SBHP Coalition was represented by NAR, the National Federation of Independent Business, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Associated Builders and Contractors. These talks proved productive and a much-amended version of S. 1955 as introduced was approved by the HELP Committee.

For more information on SBHPs and NAR's position please Click Here

CONTACT: Marcia Salkin 202-383-1092

Kerry Backs Small Business Health Plan legislation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 15, 2006Contact: Kathryn Seck, 202-224-9431Kerry Backs Democratic Small Business Health Care BillWASHINGTON – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), Ranking Democrat on the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, is a lead sponsor of legislation that will make health coverage more affordable for small businesses. The Small Employers Health Benefits Program Act (S. 2382), introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), is modeled after ideas Kerry put forward in 2004 to provide Americans the same affordable health care coverage members of Congress have. That system, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, provides health insurance to more than eight million federal employees, retirees, families, including members of Congress. “If members of Congress have access to affordable health care, so should all Americans, including those who work in our small businesses -- our entrepreneurs. When I talk with small business owners, one of their top concerns is always health care, but Washington’s been silent until now,” said Kerry. “I believe the Democratic alternative to the Enzi bill is a better approach to solving the issues small businesses face in providing health care for their employees. We must not wait any longer while skyrocketing health care costs stand in the way of economic growth or prevent employers from providing coverage to hardworking people.”The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed legislation this morning on a party-line vote sponsored by Chairman Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) that would allow trade associations to sell group health plans to small businesses. The Enzi bill is controversial because it targets its assistance only to members of Associations and preempts important state benefit mandates without giving states the choice of opting out, among other provisions.The number of small firms with less than 200 employees offering health coverage has declined from 68 percent in 2005 to 59 percent in 2005, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey. In addition, only 59 percent of small businesses offer their employees health insurance, compared to 98 percent of large firms, according to the same study.The Small Employers Health Benefits Program Act:Allows small businesses to pool their purchasing clout to negotiate lower rates and reduce administrative costsRecognizes that shared responsibility is the best way to make health coverage affordable with employers, employees, and government all contributing to costs. Employers who pay at least 60 percent of each employee’s health insurance premium would be eligible for a tax credit. Gives small business employees a wider array of affordable health care plan options, including the same kinds of health plans available to members of Congress. Sets reasonable rules on what insurers can charge, giving insurers some flexibility for premium charges, but prevents extreme variations that would make coverage unaffordable for those who need it most. Maintains state consumer protections. The bill requires participating health plans to be licensed in every state in which they operate and to abide by state consumer protection laws. State insurance commissioners would continue to regulate solvency, reviews, and other state requirements. ###Kathryn SeckDemocratic Press SecretaryU.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and EntrepreneurshipJohn F. Kerry, Ranking Member428A Russell Senate Office BuildingWashington, DC 20510Office: (202) 224-9431Mobile: (202) 380-6508Fax: (202) 228-1814kathryn_seck@small-bus.senate.gov

Health care tax equity legislation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Rich Carter or Mike ArlinskyMarch 16, 2006 (202) 225-5821Manzullo, Hart Introduce Legislation to LowerHealth Insurance Costs for Self-Employed(WASHINGTON) House Small Business Committee Chairman Don Manzullo (R-IL) joined Congresswoman Melissa Hart (R-PA) today in introducing legislation to help America's 25 million small business owners better afford health insurance for their families and their employees.The Equity for Our Nation's Self-Employed Act (H.R. 4961) would allow small business owners to deduct health care costs from their payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare). The average self-employed individual pays $10,880 annually for health care coverage and would save $1,664 through this tax deduction.Current law allows small business owners to deduct health insurance costs from their individual federal income taxes. Self-employed workers pay a 15.3 percent payroll tax on top of their individual income tax. Allowing them to deduct their health insurance costs from their payroll taxes would effectively reduce those costs by more than 15 percent."Surging health care costs are drowning our small business owners, especially the self-employed who have to pay extra tax on their premiums," Manzullo said. "This is a wonderful bill that would provide our small employers - the job creators of our economy -- tremendous relief at a small cost."The Hart-Manzullo bill also makes tax policy more fair for the self-employed. Corporations are already able to deduct their health care expenses from all their taxes. The legislation is strongly supported by a coalition of small business groups, including the National Association for the Self-Employed and the National Small Business Association.(END)

Tax Incentives and AHP's as Paths to More Health Coverage

Charlotte DiLeonardo,CEO of Zebra Print Solutions, which has 20 employees, and president of the Greater Raleigh Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, writing in today's Charlotte News Observer:

Employer-provided health insurance coverage in North Carolina has dropped to alarming lows. We now hold the unfortunate distinction of being the state with the second-worst percentage-point decline in health care coverage in the nation. As a result, 559,000 of our fellow citizens, primarily in small businesses, have lost their employer-sponsored health insurance coverage, and that number does not include the many thousands more who were never insured to begin with.
The high cost of health insurance is the biggest impediment for small-business owners who want to provide health insurance to their employees.

Tax incentive proposals before the General Assembly are aimed at easing the burden for small business owners. As proposed, an $800 business credit per employee will be allowed for employers who pay at least 50 percent of their workers' health insurance.

This is certainly welcome health care relief and a step in the right direction, but it is a step that will be easily eradicated unless small business owners are able to contain costs at the source. Small business owners should be allowed to band together and shop across state lines for the most affordable and appropriate health insurance plans for our workers. If this does not happen, then even with tax credits North Carolina's small businesses will face the same tough choices of today in the not-too distant future.

Charlotte goes on to argue for approval by Congress of small business health plans (as association health plans are now called). Read the whole oped.

NAWBO Takes Public Policy Programming on the Road

In response to member suggestions, NAWBO is taking its public policy programming on the road.

This year NAWBO is sponsoring a concurrent session, titled “Advocacy and the Bottom Line: State Capitol Issues and Strategies for Women Business Owners,” at the 16th Annual Southern Women in Public Service (SWIPS) Conference to be held in Nashville, TN on May 7-9, 2006. Mary MacRae and I will be presenting.

This new collaboration that will bring NAWBO's programming out of DC and into the states and serve its mission of propelling women entrepreneurs into spheres of political influence. Founded in 1991, the SWIPS conference is a bipartisan event that brings together women from the local, state and federal levels and women from the executive, legislative and judicial branches. The conference offers unparalleled networking opportunities, cutting edge skill-building workshops and nationally recognized speakers. Best of all, its focus is on the South, where women are on the rise politically but still have far to go.

Registration and schedule information for the conference is available on the Stennis Center website.

Among the speakers confirmed to speak at the conference is the US Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. Concurrent workshops topics in addition to the NAWBO session include: winning campaign strategies for women, ethical choices in public service, leadership styles and using technology and the internet to advance your message.

The NAWBO sponsored session will be on Sunday, May 7th from 3:45pm to 5:15pm. NAWBO has negotiated a special conference registration day rate of $120.00 for Sunday for NAWBO members who want to drive in just for the day. Just note that on your registration form if that’s your choice.

Hope to see you in Nashville!
Claire

Make Mine a Million

Check out this story in the Chicago Tribune about the "Make Mine a Million" campaign put together by Count Me In, the Women's Leadership Exchange and NAWBO corporate partner, American Express Open.

Announced by Nell Merlino at NAWBO's 2006 Public Policy Days, the Make Mine a $Million Business campaign is seeking to help 1,000,000 women business owners crack the $1,000,000 revenue ceiling by the year 2010.

The Chicago story features NAWBO president-elect Carol Kuc whose business hopes to reach the million dollar goal this year.

Congratulations, Carol!

March is Women in Business and Women's History Month

Here's an idea for an article that you can pitch to your home town newspaper during March which is women in business month and women's history month, and NAWBO's membership drive month.

The Appleton PostCrescent in Appleton Fox Cities Wisconsin just ran this great article featuring women business owners titled More Women Take Lead in Business.

The "hook" for the article was the recently released Census report documenting the growth of women owned businesses between 1997 and 2002.

The question posed by the paper was whether the playing field in their local community was level.

The only thing "missing" from this piece was a reference to NAWBO.

Virginia Legislature Passes Certification Streamlining Bill

The Virginia legislature, which is scheduled to adjourn the 2006 Session tomorrow, passed two identical bills this session (SB662 and HB122) that will improve the operations of the state's supplier diversity program agency. Both bills include language, discussed at a workshop at this year's Public Policy Days, that will streamline certification of small, women and minority owned businesses in Virginia.

The primary objective of the provisions of the bill regarding certification is to eliminate the need for small, women or minority-owned businesses to be certified by more than one qualifying certifying agency in order to do business with the Commonwealth and its localities.

Under this legislation, the Virginia Department of Minority Business Enterprise would certify the certifiers, establishing and applying criteria to judge whether existing state, federal, local and private certifying agencies offer certification standards and procedures that assure businesses meet credible certification criteria.

Once a certifier’s program is okayed by the Department, a business certified by one of the qualifying certifiers would not have to seek additional certification to meet vendor requirements at the state or local level.

This means that, if WBENC or the SBA 8(a) programs are "certified" certifiers and you have one of those certifications, you would automatically be certified by the state to do business with the Commonwealth of Virginia and its localities. If you don't have a certification from a certified certifier, you will still be able to choose to obtain your certification from the state or a locality that offers such a program.

The benefits of this change in Virginia law, which the administration supported and the Governor is expected to sign, are: i)Virginia businesses will spend less time on paperwork and more on generating taxable profits; and ii) the Department of Minority Business Enterprise will spend more time working on supplier development and procurement advocacy and less time on shuffling papers.

If you'd like to see certification streamlined in your state, send me an email at nawbopp at cg2consulting dot com, and I'll send you a memo that includes model language and suggested talking points.

NAWBO members identified the paperwork burdens of certification as a barrier to getting certified.

With your help, we can take this project national and save NAWBO members in every state both time and money!

Claire Guthrie Gastanaga