U.S. Reps. Pat Tiberi (R-OH) and Barbara Comstock (R-VA) announced the founding on Tuesday of the bipartisan Congressional Microbusiness Caucus, which will give voice to small business owners and help them overcome regulatory barriers.
Defined by the Small Business Administration as any company with fewer than nine employees, microbusinesses total approximately 3.7 million across the United States. Those businesses make up 75.3 percent of all private-sector employers and provide 10.8 percent of all private-sector jobs.
Comstock and Tiberi launched the Congressional Microbusiness Caucus with U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA).
“Microbusinesses are today’s mom and pop shops with an even greater potential for success thanks to advancements in technology,” Tiberi said. “It is remarkable that with a click of a mouse or on a smartphone, a one-person business can potentially reach millions of customers across the country and globe. We must ensure that burdensome government regulations and other barriers to growth aren’t holding them back.”
The caucus aims to strengthen the competitiveness of microbusinesses, foster economic growth, and promote entrepreneurship by facilitating discussions on relevant business issues.
With women comprising about one-third of all business owners, the new caucus is also a way to expand opportunities for women business owners, Comstock said.
“I am pleased to join with my colleagues in the formation of the Congressional Microbusiness Caucus where we will work together on common sense policies that provide small start-ups and innovative initiatives the opportunity to begin, thrive and grow,” Comstock said.
“It is critical that we forge policies where small business owners can develop and boost our economy and create new jobs to provide opportunity throughout all of our communities. We can be a hub for initiatives to allow our entrepreneurs to have a voice for common sense policies for microbusinesses,” she said.