SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESS

Small business brought the American economy to what it is today and continues to serve as the backbone of the most successful economy in the world. My thirty years as the owner and operator of a small enterprise taught me the importance of small business in the American economy. I have introduced, co-sponsored, and supported a variety of pieces of legislation aimed at protecting small businesses from overregulation and taxation by the Federal Government.

I introduced the Innocent Suppliers Fairness Act (H.R. 4296) to protect small businesses from certain bankruptcy litigation. This act protects suppliers from being sued by a bankrupt firm for payments made on outstanding invoices within 90 days of filing for bankruptcy. I maintain small businesses should not be held responsible for the actions of other companies and forced to expend their limited resources on fees and costs associated with unnecessary litigation.

I am also a co-sponsor of the Small Employer Tax Relief Act of 2005, which sets out to repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax.

The estate tax or "death tax" is a detriment to many small businesses because it ceases the continuation of businesses from on generation to the next. I truly believe this tax is immoral and unnecessary. Continuation of the companies affected by this tax is more important to the economy than receipt of a one time penalty from the IRS. For these reasons I supported H.R. 8, which phased out the "Death Tax" by 2011 and co-sponsored a bill (H.R. 64) to repeal this penalty permanently.