On the morning of Nov. 23, Vice President of NFIB’s Federal Government Relations Kevin Kuhlman appeared on the Washington Journal series of C-SPAN to discuss the State of Small Businesses. Hosted by Pedro Echevarria, Kuhlman talked about the impact of the Biden Administration’s policies on small businesses and answered questions from callers. 

 “Overall, there’s a lot to digest and I think small business owners are quite frankly overwhelmed,” Kuhlman says after listing the proposals in the Build Back Better Act legislation that may impact small businesses. The Biden Administration’s assessment of the economy’s strength and being in a position to attack inflation can only come to fruition if we look at the root cause of inflation. “The American economy isn’t going to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels until the small business half of the economy has recovered,” added Kuhlman. “So, our advice to Congress and the Administration is to do no harm to these small businesses. Create an environment to help these small businesses survive and thrive.”

Topics and questions  covered included:

* Small Business Surtax

* Paid Family & Medical Leave program

* OSHA vaccine mandate and implementation

* Inflation

* COVID-19 relief programs

* Supply chain disruptions

* Labor shortages

* Build Back Better Act

NFIB has analyzed various paid leave proposals for years and implementing such an expansive program in only two years will hurt small businesses. “Half of small business owners cannot fill open positions. That requires a flexible arrangement,” Kuhlman explains. “Previously, businesses with fewer than 50 employees were not subject to the Family Medical Leave Act. So, they’re really unfamiliar with paid family and medical leave requirements and policies… It’s an unfamiliar policy that could disrupt or exacerbate their labor force challenges.”