Conservative Con: Bush Pretends to Care about Small Business

To make our economy stronger and more competitive, America must reward, not punish, the efforts and dreams of entrepreneurs. Small business is the path of advancement, especially for women and minorities, so we must free small businesses from needless regulation and protect honest job-creators from junk lawsuits. Justice is distorted, and our economy is held back by irresponsible class actions and frivolous asbestos claims, and I urge Congress to pass legal reforms this year.

However, the class-action bill Bush signed on Feb. 18, 2005 isn't for small business, but big business.

The so-called "Class Action Fairness Act" keeps lawsuits with plaintiffs in multiple states out of state courts.

It's certain big corporations which hurt people in multiple states at once.

As for Bush's goal to ban asbestos lawsuits (or "frivolous asbestos claims" as he calls them above) this hasn't passed Congress yet.

But that isn't for small business either.

It's to protect Halliburton, a company which had Dick Cheney for CEO from 1995-2000.

Under Cheney in 1998, Halliburton bought a company which came with liability from people injured by asbestos ("For Cheney, Tarnish From Halliburton: Firm's Fall Raises Questions About Vice President's Leadership There" by Dana Milbank, Washington Post, July 16, 2002).

Bush's actual policy towards small businesses is to hurt them by cutting loans.

Bush's proposed cuts to the Small Business Administration are described in a Feb. 17, 2005 press release which seems associated with Senator John Kerry (D-MA):

Since 2001, the SBA's budget has been cut from $900 million to this year's request of $593 million. The President's fiscal year 2006 budget proposal for SBA is an $85 million decrease from the fiscal year 2005 budget proposal. This year's budget proposal for the SBA:

-- eliminates the Small Business Investment Company Participating Securities program

-- eliminates the Microloan program

-- eliminates the Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME)

-- eliminates grants for about 50 percent of Women's Business Centers (WBCs)

-- cuts $1 million from the Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs)

-- cuts 20 percent from SBA! 5/8s Native American outreach assistance

--provides no funding for the 7(a) loan program, instead increases fees for lenders

-- again provides zero funding for Business Information Centers (BICs), the New Market Venture Capital (NMVC) program, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Rural Outreach Program (ROP) and Federal and State Technology (FAST) program, and the BusinessLINC program.

In addition, the President's budget targets programs that help small manufacturers by cutting $62 million (57 percent) from the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and eliminating the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) at the Department of Commerce.

Senator John Kerry is the Ranking Member of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.