Small Business and SBA Advocacy Congressional Tour

Purpose

The American Sustainable Business Network (ASBN) submitted a comment for the record regarding the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy’s hearing on April 6, 2022.  As a result, members of ASBN’s staff including President and Cofounder, David Levine and Executive Vice President of Policy, Advocacy, and Government Affairs, Maritza T. Adonis, Senior Manager of policy and Advocacy, Colton Fagundes, CEO South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce & ASBN Director of Policy and Advocacy for the Business for Democracy Working Group, Frank Knapp, and Associate of Policy and Advocacy, Devika Rao are conducting a series of meetings with members of the House and Senate Small Business Committees. 

The purpose of the meetings is to review the outcome of the SBA Advocacy 4/6 hearing, discuss ASBN’s letter for the record on the functions of the SBA Office of Advocacy, and inquire about opportunities to partner with the respective office on SBA oversight and related matters affecting small businesses. 

About the Small Business Office of Advocacy Hearing 

The SBA Office of Advocacy Hearing took place on April 6, 2022, at 10am ET. It was hosted by the House Small Business Committee, specifically under the Subcommittee on Underserved, Agricultural, and Rural Business Development. 

Witness

Mr. Major Clark 
Deputy Chief Counsel for Advocacy 
(Performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Chief Counsel for Advocacy) 
Office of Advocacy 
United States Small Business Administration 

Main Interviewers:

Honorable Jared Golden; Congresswoman Claudia Tenney

Main Takeaways: 

The hearing was mostly designed to provide Mr. Major Clark an opportunity to describe the existing functions of the office, respond to committee member concerns regarding the vacancy of the Chief Counsel role, review the office’s response to the WOTUS regulations, and define the office’s power to ‘overturn’ regulations that negatively impact businesses. A particular issue of interest to ASBN was raised regarding compliance hours and how tip credit rules hurt small business productivity. Lastly, Major Clark and the SBA Office of Advocacy renewed their support in  H.R.6454 – Small Business Advocacy Improvements Act of 2022, which passed the Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Underserved, Agricultural, and Rural Business Development. HR 6454 expands the primary functions and additional duties of the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration to include (1) examining the role of small businesses in the international economy, and (2) representing the views and interests of small businesses before foreign governments and international entities to contribute to regulatory and trade initiatives that may affect small businesses.  ASBN is submitting a letter to the record in response to this hearing. 

Offices Visited

April 26, 2022 (Maritza Adonis, David Levine, and Colton Fagundes) 

• Office of Senator Ben Cardin 
• Office of Senator John Kennedy 
• Office of Senator Marco Rubio 
• Office of Senator Jacky Rosen 
• Representative Antonio Delgado 
• Representative Scott Fitzgerald 

May, 12, 2022, (Maritza Adonis, Frank Knapp, Devika Rao)

• Office of Representative Sharice Davids 
• Office of Representative Claudia Tenney 
• Office of Representative Dean Phillips 
• Office of Senator Inhofe 
• Office of Senator Risch 
• Office of Senator Lindsey Graham 
• Office of Senator Jeanne Shaheen 

May 13, 2022 (Maritza Adonis, Frank Knapp, Devika Rao) 

• Office of Senator Tim Scott 
• Office of Senator John Hickenlooper 
• Office of Senator Josh Hawley