Congressman Roger Williams outlines small-business agenda and says SBA bill to raise manufacturing threshold heads to president
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Summary
Rep. Roger Williams, chair of the House Small Business Committee, told host Stacy Washington he is advancing measures he says will boost access to capital and cut regulatory burdens for small firms, including an SBA-related bill that he said would raise a manufacturing-size threshold from $5 million to $10 million.
Congressman Roger Williams, who chairs the House Small Business Committee, told host Stacy Washington that his panel’s priorities for the quarter center on boosting small-business access to capital and cutting regulatory burdens. Williams said he expects the party he supports to do well in the midterms and framed several concrete policy achievements and proposals as central to that agenda.
Williams said recent reforms he credited with improving conditions for small businesses include making certain tax cuts permanent, allowing 100% depreciation on fixed assets and easing regulations on community banks so they can lend more to small firms. “We raised the threshold from $15,000,000 to $30,000,000 on the inheritance tax,” he said, adding that these changes, together with regulatory relief, will help small businesses expand.
On specific legislation, Williams told Washington an SBA bill was ‘‘hitting the president’s desk after he gets out of the house’’ that would raise a manufacturing-related threshold from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 to help manufacturers grow and hire more workers. “We’ve got a bill that raises manufacturing dollars from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 which will allow big companies to grow their company, hire more people, put more people to work,” he said.
Williams emphasized the centrality of Main Street business to the economy, saying small businesses account for roughly 99% of firms and about 75% of payroll, and argued that a combination of tax relief and regulatory rollback is key to improving credit access through community banks.
The congressman also cited measures he said would directly reduce costs for certain industries: ‘‘we’ve passed a bill that allows to write off your car note industry on new cars made in America’’ and the removal of CAFE standards, which he said would lower car prices. He presented the package of changes as a reason for optimism about the year ahead for small businesses.
The bill Williams referenced was described in the interview as reaching the president’s desk; no bill number or legislative text was provided in the interview.