This story appears in the
March 2001 issue of
Entrepreneur.
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Citing the success of his predecessor and the many areas in
which he agrees with committee ranking member Nydia Velazquez
(D-NY-), Donald Manzullo (R-IL)-new chair of the House Committee on
Small Business-has laid out his plans.
Among the issues the five-term congressman expects to revisit
are new market initiatives for inner city and rural areas, contract
bundling, immediate 100 percent deductibility of health-care
premiums, and OSHA ergonomics standards. "Areas that may not
be as bipartisan are tax cuts for business," says Manzullo,
who plans to continue advocating the elimination of the estate
tax.
One new issue the former chair of the Small Business
Subcommittee on Tax, Finance and Exports expects to throw into the
spotlight is competition between the federal prison industry and
the private sector. "Prison labor products are being sold in
competition with products manufactured in the private sector,"
he says. "How can [businesses] compete with people making 5 or
10 cents an hour?"
In a more far-reaching effort, Manzullo wants Alan Greenspan to
consider the small-business sector as an economic indicator.
"I have steel suppliers [in my district] that have gone down
80 percent, and I think what's happening in steel is a red
flag. They supply the tool- and die-makers and the raw materials
for new machines," asserts Manzullo. "When orders for
those are down, you know you're in bad shape."