Clinton administration officials fretted during the run-up to
the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business. "There was
a fear that the NFIB [National Federation of Independent Business]
would take over, and that they would use it as a forum to embarrass
the administration," says Mark Schultz, the conference's
executive director.
At the same time, Schultz was fielding concerns from the NFIB.
The organization that represents more than 600,000 small businesses
was worried that the Clinton administration was trying to influence
the nonpartisan, Congressionally authorized event.
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Schultz negotiated past each side's neuroses. The conference
proceeded, distilling the needs of small businesses. Its findings
were widely supported. Congress and regulatory agencies have acted
on 90 percent of the 1995 agenda, according to an August 2000
report by the SBA. Actions have included the passage of the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 and increased
access to capital. Capitol Hill staffers note that the legislation
usually was supported by large majorities among both Republicans
and Democrats, often passing with no opposition.
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Seven years later, Schultz's vignette neatly summarizes the
current state of Washington's small-business lobby. The groups
that support the cause of small business--including, among others,
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Small Business United
(NSBU)-generally face a receptive audience on Capitol Hill.
"One of the first things the Senate told me [during
confirmation hearings] is that small business is not a partisan
issue," says Hector Barreto, the SBA's current
administrator. "There's not a Republican or Democratic
solution to small-business problems."
And yet, in the midst of this love fest, there is a mini-war
going on. To read some of the press releases and speeches of
certain Washington small-business groups (cough, NFIB, cough), the
Capitol is in the grips of a life-and-death struggle. You, the
small-business owner, must act now to stop them (cough, Democrats,
cough).
As in 1995, Democrats still remain wary of the NFIB, the single
most powerful group claiming to speak for small businesses in DC.
Even Republicans, who received 96 percent of the NFIB's
political contributions in 2000, acknowledge it as the 800-pound
gorilla that throws its weight around and dominates the
small-business debate through its aggressiveness.
Even so, other groups are frequently much more effective at
initiating change in Washington and in working both sides of the
aisle. Understanding why that's the case helps explain
who's speaking on your behalf in the corridors of power.
But first, you need to know something about Washington.
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