Sen. Ernst Participates in Gov. Reynolds’ Small Business Roundtable with Sen. Grassley and SBA Administrator McMahon

DES MOINES, IOWA –  Senator Joni Ernst joined Senator Chuck Grassley and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Linda McMahon today for a women’s small business roundtable hosted by Governor Kim Reynolds. The event, which focused on how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has benefited small businesses was hosted at Saxton, Inc., a commercial interior design company in Des Moines.

“Over the past year, we have taken significant steps to help our small businesses succeed. The repeal of burdensome regulations, coupled with tax reform, has helped fuel economic growth and has contributed to high levels of consumer and business confidence. But, we still have a lot of work to do: we need to continue to cut red tape for our job creators, make the tax cuts permanent, and work with Iowa’s small businesses on paid family leave,” said Senator Joni Ernst.  

Small businesses are the backbone of Iowa’s economy, making up 99 percent of businesses. Saxton, where the women’s small business roundtable was hosted, is owned and operated by President Kim Augspurger.

Additional Background on Small Businesses and Iowa:

• Tax Reform: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act included a number of provisions to provide relief for small businesses, including lower individual tax rates and a new deduction on pass-through business income.

• Regulations: Senator Ernst introduced the Prove It Act to improve transparency and strengthen the voices of small businesses in the rulemaking process by giving the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy (the small business watchdog for federal rules and regulations) an opportunity to ask agencies to prove their regulatory analysis when proposing a rule that may be economically harmful to small businesses.

• Paid Family Leave: Senator Ernst is working on a proposal that would create a voluntary, budget-neutral paid leave program, an issue that is imperative to millions of mothers, fathers and families across the country.

• Access to Capital: Small banks are essential to small businesses. Despite only accounting for 14 percent of banking assets in the United States, banks of approximately $1 trillion or less provide 48 percent of small business lending. Unfortunately, the regulatory burden that Dodd-Frank placed on community banks and credit unions has stifled their lending. Senator Ernst supported the recently enacted Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, which will help small business lending by easing regulations on small financial institutions.