Kerrigan in Daily Caller: Republicans Must Move Forward on Their Commitment to Small Business

By SBE Council at 7 March, 2023, 2:03 pm

In a March 5 Daily Caller Op-ed, SBE Council president & CEO Karen Kerrigan writes that the Republican’s policy agenda, called the “Commitment to America,” includes an array of reforms and accountability measures that meet the needs and priorities of small businesses:

“The plan works to address the current pain points of small business owners — including overregulation, regulatory threats, and uncertainty with regard to important tax relief and incentives — while curbing the rampant government spending that’s been fueling inflation.”

She reviews some of the specific measures, many of which stand in direct contrast to President Biden’s policies (which are also reflected in his proposed Budget), and given his proposal to expand “negotiation” – ie: price controls – on drugs, it is important that Republicans push back against these efforts, as they would dramatically undermine small business innovation and access to new life-saving drugs for patients. She notes:

“House Republicans are also working to support the U.S. life-science industry, where small-to-medium-sized entities employ over 70% of the more than 1.8 million workers. As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats pushed through drug price controls for Medicare. If allowed to stand, these market distortions will undermine critical research and development at biotech firms, and put some of them out of business.”

“While it will be difficult for House Republicans to completely reverse these price controls given Democrats control the Senate and the presidency, they can lay the groundwork to repeal this misguided law. Moreover, they can provide robust oversight to make sure America’s small- and medium-sized biotech companies can continue their vital work discovering needed cures and treatments.”

Kerrigan concludes that the “Commitment to America” marks a welcome return to more small business-friendly policies, and House Republicans are off to a good start in 2023. She adds that “entrepreneurs are counting on their success to see these commitments through to pave the way for a more stable economic environment in the months and years ahead.”

Read the full piece here.