New Senate Small Biz Chair (aka John Kerry) Sets His Agenda

[demdiva]

It's so nice to have a democratic Congress !!!!!!!!

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry may have trouble telling jokes, but he knows how to get down to serious business. Despite all the reshuffling in the halls of Congress, Kerry retained the top spot on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, where he's been a member for the past 21 years.

At the top of Kerry's agenda: a bipartisan solution that would make health care more affordable to small business owners and create more oversight of the government's contracting procedures to ensure that small business contracts actually go to small business. Kerry is partnering on his initiatives with Republican senator Olympia Snowe.

"We'll engage the committee on right away," he says. Pledging bipartisanship, the Massachusetts senator says he will work to find a compromise that allows for more affordable coverage for the 27 million uninsured Americans who work for small businesses. Kerry acknowledged that health insurance pools, where small businesses could purchase insurance policies in groups the most likely near-term solution.

-snip-

Kerry promised to disentangle the various proposals, iron out a straightforward plan and get both sides of the aisle to reach consensus. To make all that happen, Kerry says he'll work with his Massachusetts counterpart, Sen. Ted Kennedy, who will now head the Senate Health Committee. Kerry, however, wouldn't set out a timetable for getting the job done. He does have an incentive to work relatively quickly: After finally winning control of Congress, Democrats will need to show results on health insurance, particularly before presidential campaign season heats up and big ticket items like health care grow even more partisan

more at the link ...
http://www.forbes.com/2006/11/18/congress-small-business-taxes-ent-law-cx_mf_1120kerry.html?partner=daily_newsletter

[cali]

1. This looks like a great agenda

Congrats to Sen. Kerry for putting it together. Let's hope he makes progress.

[TayTay]

3. I hope he holds hearings on what happened in NOLA and the Gulf area

The federal government couldn't get any money out and a lot of people with small businesses were suffering. Another example of the Bush Administration not being able to get out of their own way when it came to helping people. Sigh!

[garthranzz]

9. correction: ARE suffering - Still n/t

[MH1]

11. It will be interesting to see how bipartisan

the republicans are interested in being, now that they're in the minority.

[Democrafty]

2. Awesome!

As a small business owner, I am realy excited about our new chair :)

[Joe Chi Minh]

4. I wouldn't be surprised if you have already sorted this out, but in the UK,

the governnment has been one of the worst culprits, if not THE worst, with regard to paying the bills of the small companies it owes.

The result, which one fears was actually intended by government, is that many of them have gone bust in the meantime, waiting for the payment of large bills (for them).

If it hasn't been dealt with, I hope JK does deal with it early. Trying to teach my gandmother to suck eggs....

[demdiva]

5. That's interesting .... I tend to hear people complain about the opposite problem in the U.S.

a lot of large government contracts are paid with little regard as to whether the scope of the work is complete, whether the level of work meets performance standards etc....

[Joe Chi Minh]

7. Aaah. But large government contracts would be different...!!! I was

only talking about "large" in terms of the norm for small companies.

[demdiva]

8. yes of course!

[wisteria]

6. Kerry must be thrilled to chair this now.Kerry has been expressing his displeasure at how the Bush

Administration is misusing funds supposedly earmarked for SBA. This will also go a long way in helping out the small business' in New Orleans.

[Telly Savalas]

10. Is he still pushing that commie crap about free healthcare for children?

If young children want better healthcare, they should get jobs and earn it!

[Toots]

12. Why should I as a small business owner be saddled with my employees health care?

IMO this is the sole purpose of Government. "Maintain the Health and Welfare of the Nation" Why should my business have to shell out five hundred dollars a month per employee? How is that fair to me. I want Nationalized Health Care not more insurance bonus'. There is a simple fairly inexpensive way to do it without changing much at all. Just open government hospitals open to all at no charge. The government would pay the doctors and nurses a salary that would be decent but not five hundred dollars an hour that most doctors today charge the insurance companies. People would be free to chose the system they have today or take that five hundred dollars the companies are paying the insurance companies every month and keep it as extra income. The rich blowhards like Rush Limbaugh will still have the very best in the world and everyone else would have the same as our military has......The USA would save billions if not trillions if they went this way. Using mass purchasing power the price of drugs and medical equipment would plummet and people would be treated before conditions deteriate to the point of massive repair and massive bucks. It is as simple as preventive maintenance.... :shrug: I guess anythinbg at all is better than now but I thought the theme was "We can do better"....

[lillilbigone]

13. That's why it's called a 'benefit'.

I agree with you that we need nationalized health care, btw. But I don't believe in making the perfect the enemy of the good.