Access to Capital
NAWBO believes that access to capital is a key tool for women entrepreneurs to start-up new businesses and successfully expand existing enterprises. 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. In addition, NAWBO believes that Congress and the Administration should strive to remove unnecessary obstacles to capital formation and resist legislation and regulations that hinder the ability of women business owners to raise capital, mitigate risk and manage liquidity.
Education and Workforce
NAWBO understands that an educated, prepared workforce is 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 STEM.
Government Contracting
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. In this vein, NAWBO opposes efforts by Congress or the Administration to encourage in sourcing of functions currently contracted to the private sector.
Health Care
As health care continues to be a hot topic on Capitol Hill, NAWBO will explore supporting efforts to reduce both the billions of dollars in taxes and other costs and the onerous and costly burdens of the employer mandate imposed by the Affordable Care Act. NAWBO also supports strengthening the employer-sponsored system and allowing small businesses to pool risk and purchase coverage at an affordable price. In addition, NAWBO will track and weigh in on health care legislation affecting breast cancer, Alzheimer’s and other health issues that disproportionately impact women.
International Trade
NAWBO believes this is an issue in which there can be bi-partisan agreement reached in Washington, D.C. and encourages the Administration to negotiate and Congress to approve trade agreements with other significant to open new markets, level the playing field and improve 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.
Regulatory Reform
The massive increase in Federal regulations impacting 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 out by Congress. NAWBO also supports legislation to require Congress to approve and the President to sign any new major rule projected to have a $100 million or more economic impact.
Science and Technology
The need for more qualified women within the STEM fields is well documented. NAWBO will work to support legislation that addresses the challenges specific to these industries in both the short and the long term.
Taxes
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 and easy to comprehend tax rules to reduce the cost of administration. Since a significant number of NAWBO members have businesses that are structured as pass-through entities for tax purposes and; therefore, file their taxes through their individual filings, we oppose any legislative effort to increase the marginal income tax rates as this would impact a substantial number of small, women-owned businesses.