Recently in the Small Business Category

This morning, the Senate voted for cloture - a procedure where the Senators vote to limit debate on the Small Business Jobs Bill H.R. 5297. If cloture is achieved, the bill would have been set for a final vote. In order to achieve cloture, sixty (60) votes must be achieved.

Today, only fifty-eight (58) Senators voted for cloture. What this means is that the debate for the bill will continue.

WIPP continues to express support for this bill. This bill contains a number of provisions that stand to benefit small businesses, such as:

·         Restoring parity to the Small Business Administration's (SBA) small business contracting program

·         Addressing contract bundling and subcontracting in federal procurement

·         Increasing loan limits and available capital for small businesses

·         Providing tax incentives for small business owners

·         Repealing the 1099 reporting requirement enacted after the healthcare law

We need your help in expressing your support for this bill. Contact your Senators and tell them to support this bill!

To read WIPP's latest letter of support for this bill, please click here.

Today, WIPP and several of its partner organizations addressed its concerns directly to President Obama relative to the implementation of the National Broadband Plan. The Plan is critical for small business growth and America's overall growth and competitiveness. We are tremendously excited about its vision and scope, but have some reservations.
 
The first concerns the FCC's approach to now consider classifying broadband as a Telecommunications Service under Title II of the 1934 Telecommunications Act. At this point in time, we need to move forward with full deployment of broadband and encourage innovation and private sector investment. A heavy regulatory environment will not be conducive to moving the initiative forward, and certainly the legal and political battles will cause undue and unnecessary delays and frustrations. 
 
A second area of concern is the need for the small business voice in the process at the FCC. We believe the FCC would benefit by including small businesses, especially women-owned small businesses, into its stakeholder discussions, since women-owned firms are the fastest growing sector of the US economy.

We sincerely hope that the President will recognize our concerns. It is so important to move this initiative forward. 

Legislation affecting the Small Business Administration's (SBA) small business programs is pending in the House and Senate, and WIPP needs your help getting these bills passed! One bill addresses the issue of parity among the small business programs. The other bill makes significant changes to the proposed Women's Procurement Program.

Today AT&T announced new lower-priced wireless data plans. For quite some time now WIPP has suggested that tiered pricing and solutions are a way to make the internet more affordable, accessible, and easier to manage.   Happily, this announcement answers our requests. With tiered pricing, customers can pick a data plan that meets their needs and we will all enjoy a faster and more affordable network.  

Small businesses use their smart phones extensively for business and to keep in contact with their employees, clients, and families - and they want to be assured of reliable networks. With this announcement, they can now pick a new data plan that meets their needs and be assured of a well managed network. We've know for some time that there is no such thing as "one size fits all" - not with the internet - it just doesn't work. Choice, access and affordability is what we need and what we've repeatedly asked for, and now we have it. Everyone will have the opportunity to select the type of service that they need. 

Bravo, AT&T!