Hagan Working to Create An Environment for NC Small Businesses to Grow and Create Jobs

Hagan Working to Create an Environment for NC Small Businesses to Grow and Create Jobs

In This Edition:

Small Business Common Application Act
Breaking Down Burdensome Regulations
NC Minority Owned Small Businesses
Small Businesses are Main Street America
Export-Import Bank NC Impact
Veteran-Owned Small Businesses

From Kay

I’ve been in the U.S. Senate for just over three years, and I’ve traveled all across the state meeting with small business owners, from Murphy to Manteo. I’ve seen your determination. I’ve seen your ingenuity. I’d match a North Carolina business owner against any business owner not only in the entire country, but in the entire world.

In North Carolina, small businesses are powerful economic engines, employing almost half of our private sector workforce. Our small businesses are the key to getting our economy back on track.

Today, more than 400,000 North Carolinians are out of work. But be assured, jobs are my number one, two and three priorities. That is why I have been taking my North Carolina Back to Work Jobs Tour all across the state – to community colleges, manufacturing plants, workforce development offices and small businesses – to gather ideas and concerns from North Carolinians, and bring them back to Washington.

I am working to support our small businesses and I am fighting to lift the hurdles that stand in their way by reducing paperwork burdens and helping them cut through government red tape. I want North Carolina’s small businesses to be able to concentrate on what they do best: growing their businesses and get North Carolinians back to work.

Last week, my North Carolina Back to Work Jobs Tour focused on small businesses. I held a Small Business Regulatory Fairness Forum in Forsyth County. I held a Small Business Walking Tour in Boone. I hosted a Minority Owned Small Business Roundtable in Cary. I even announced new legislation called the Small Business Common Application Act that will help to reduce the paperwork burdens on our small businesses.

The Common Application would function much like the one that students complete to apply to multiple colleges and universities. It would ensure that small businesses in our state can concentrate on growing and creating jobs, not wasting time filling out mountains of repetitive paperwork.

For business owners who want to grow their companies through innovation, the Small Business Common Application Act would allow them to apply for research and development grants and government contracts through multiple federal agencies with the same application. North Carolina is leading the country in innovation, and we must encourage continued investment in research and development.

For small businesses struggling after natural disasters, this bill would eliminate the need to file, and re-file, the same information in different paperwork with multiple government agencies. In the wake of deadly tornados, hurricanes and violent storms, small businesses should not have to worry about filling out forms to receive the assistance they need.

The Small Business Common Application Act will be a significant step forward in creating a more business-friendly environment.

I believe small businesses shouldn’t have to be responsive to the whims of the federal bureaucracy. The federal government needs to be responsive to the needs of our small businesses. That is why I am committed to working for the people of North Carolina by taking proactive steps such as the Small Business Common Application Act that will keep our economy moving in the right direction.

For more information about how my office can assist your North Carolina-based small business, please visit the Small Business Resource Page on my website.

Sincerely,

Small Business Common Application Act

Last week, Senator Hagan was proud to announce a bill that would reduce the paperwork burdens that challenge small businesses. The Small Business Common Application Act establishes a common application that will allow small business owners to apply for grants, seek technical assistance or bid on contracts from the federal government with a single form.

The CEO of North Carolina-based Bennett Aerospace, Inc., Julia Bennett said, "Any legislation that makes the Small Business Administration’s job more efficient and effective, such as the legislation proposed by Senator Hagan, is a positive move that will enhance the ability of US small businesses to compete in the world.” - (Hendersonville Times-News, 4/2/2012)

"Having access to this new tool would minimize small business owners' time spent on administrative duties while maximizing their opportunities to win federal grants, contracts and more," said John Arensmeyer, founder and chief executive of Small Business Majority. – (Winston-Salem Journal, 4/2/2012)

For more information about Senator Hagan’s Small Business Common Application Act, please click here.

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Breaking Down Burdensome Regulations

Last Monday, Senator Hagan co-hosted a Small Business Regulatory Fairness Forum with Esther H. Vassar, the U.S. Small Business Administration National Ombudsman, at the Piedmont Triad Research Park. Hagan and Vassar met with North Carolina small business owners to hear their concerns and discuss ways to eliminate regulatory challenges and to create a better environment for small businesses to grow and create jobs.

“We've got to create a regulatory environment that allows small businesses to thrive,” said Hagan. “Today, we want to hear your stories, and we want to know how we can work together – Congress and the SBA – to help you cut through government red tape.”

“Senator Hagan is to be commended for her outreach in North Carolina and for making sure that all sectors are included in economic recovery,” said Lenwood Long, CEO and President of the North Carolina-based Support Center. “To bring together such a wide community of lenders and businesses shows her understanding of the diverse needs of North Carolina’s business community.”

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NC Minority Owned Small Businesses

Click above to watch tv news coverage of Senator Hagan’s Minority-Owned Small business Roundtable.

Last Thursday, Senator Hagan co-hosted a North Carolina Minority-Owned Small Business Roundtable with Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Deputy Administrator Marie Johns in Cary. The discussion focused on ways to help North Carolina’s minority-owned small businesses overcome challenges to growing their businesses and creating jobs.

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Small Businesses are Main Street America

Also last week, Senator Hagan brought her North Carolina Back to Work Jobs Tour to Downtown Boone with a small business walking tour. Hagan visited Art of Oil, Appalachian Antique Mall, F.A.R.M. Café, Doe Ridge Potter, and Mast General Store to gather ideas to help put North Carolinians back to work. Hagan met with shop owners and talked to main street businesses about issues and challenges they face.

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Export-Import Bank NC Impact

In North Carolina, since 2007 the Ex-Im Bank supported over $1.8 billion in export sales by 169 companies.
116 of those North Carolina companies are small businesses.
Last year, in North Carolina, the Bank supported over 3,300 jobs and $456 million in exports.

Because of the significant impact that the Export-Import Bank has in North Carolina, Senator Hagan has held two Small Business Export-Import Forums in the state. Ex-Im President Fred Hochberg co-hosted each event, which were aimed at providing information and support for North Carolina small businesses interested in expanding their markets by exporting their products. Over 250 North Carolina small businesses turned out for the forums.

The Export-Import Bank must be reauthorized by Congress in order to continue to guarantee new loans after May 31st. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that a reauthorization will reduce the deficit by $900 million over five years. Unfortunately, unreasonable partisan politics is holding up this common-sense legislation. Senator Hagan continues to fight for the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank so that it can continue to help North Carolina businesses to grow and create jobs. The measure would support about 300,000 jobs and help American exporters continue to compete in a global economy.

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Veteran-Owned Small Businesses

Hagan is fighting to bring the National Veterans Entrepreneurial Training (VET) program to North Carolina. The National Veterans Entrepreneurial Training (VET) program was proposed in the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Fiscal Year 2013 Budget.

“I am going to do everything I can to support North Carolina’s veteran-owned small businesses and veteran entrepreneurs,” said Hagan. “Small businesses are the backbone of our North Carolina economy, accounting for nearly half of all private sector employment. The importance of veteran-owned small businesses is especially clear when you consider that one in three North Carolinians is either in the military, a veteran or a dependent of someone in the military or a veteran.”

The VET program will make entrepreneurship training available to all interested transitioning military members through the Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program, offer an online training curriculum for veterans on the fundamentals of small business ownership, and expand SBA’s successful pilot programs for veterans, including the Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) and Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (V-WISE) programs.

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Kay Hagan | U.S. Senator for North Carolina

Hagan Working to Create An Environment for NC Small Businesses to Grow and Create Jobs

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