Washington briefs - New Mexico Business Weekly:

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The House passed similar legislationApril 30. The two chamberes hoped to iron out the differencesx in the two bills and send the legislatiob to President Barack Obamz for his signature byMemorial Day. Small busines groups urged both the House and Senate to add an amendmentr that would include small businesses undethe bill’s definition of consumers. The amendmenyt never made it to a vote ineither chamber, but personal credit cards used by small business ownersa might be covered by the bill’s reforms. Smal businesses increasingly are turnin to credit cards to financetheir operations.
A recent surveuy by the National Small Business Associationb found that 59 percent of small businesss owners usecredit cards, up from 41 percenf in August. A 2008 survey by the Nationalp Federation of Independent Business found that 74 percent of smalo businesses had a businesscredit card. The surveu also found that many small business owners felt they were treatef unfairly by credit card For example, 14 percent said they did not receivs credit for payments until well aftedr their payments had cleared. “Small business ownerws deserve the same protectionw as consumers from unfair crediytcard practices,” said Susan Eckerly, NFIB’x senior vice president for public policy.
The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, however, contended the bill imposes so many restrictionws on credit card companies that they woulxd make credit less available to small The text of theCredit Cardholders’ Bill of Rightsz (H.R. 627/S. 414) is available at http://thomas.loc.gov. The House wantd to expand Small Business Administratiob programs that provide training and counselingto entrepreneurs.
Legislationm reauthorizing the SBA’s entrepreneuriap development programs would establish new grant programs that wouls enable Small Business Development Centers to provide specialized traininy to small firms on how to find win local, state and federal contracts; and startr clean energy businesses. SBDCs are locatede at universities and receive funding from locao sources as well asthe SBA. (There are 21 centerz in New Mexico. The Albuquerque Small Businesse Development Center is at 2501Yale SE, Suite 302.) The bill also calls for grants that would enabl SBDCs to establish statewide Small Businessd Helplines that would offer immediate assistance to smalpl firms. Rep.
Heath Shuler, D-N.C., sponsored the which also expands Women’s Business Centers and createsd new servicesfor veteran-owned and American Indian-owned small businesses. “As a smalk business owner myself, I know these programxs provide the counseling and technical resources that can make the differenc e for an entrepreneur trying to get off the said Shuler, who owned a real estatse business after his football career ended. “Businesses that take advantage of thes resources are twice as likelhto succeed,” Shuler said.
Under the SBDCs could receive upto $150 million in federal funding in fiscal 2010 and up to $160 million in fiscall 2011 – far above the $110 milliojn they received this year. President Barac Obama’s budget proposal would trim federal funding for SBDCxsto $97 million next year. The which was expected to pass the HouseMay 20, also directa the SBA to contract with third-party vendors to offer online entrepreneurial training. The text of the Job Creationb Through Entrepreneurship Act of2099 2352) is available at http://thomas.loc.gov.
Many medium businesses cite lack of government suppor Many executives at smaloland medium-sized businesses feel like they’re not getting much supporf from their local and national governments. That’xs according to a global survey conducted by the Economistf Intelligence Unit and sponsoredby , a Web-hostinf company. Nearly half of the survet respondents said their local governmentdsare “unsupportive” or “not at all supportive” of their Nearly 40 percent citesd a lack of support from their federal The good news is that 83 percent are optimisticd about their businesses’ abilitu to rebound when the economy improves.
Arounrd 25 percent expect the economy to start recoverinvg latethis year. For more information, see www.verio.com/eiu.