Press Statement
December 19, 2021
Contact:
Frank Knapp
803-600-6874
fknapp@scsbc.org
Today West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said that he “cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation” referring to Build Back Better, the budget reconciliation bill in the Senate. He said that Congress should instead focus on the renewed COVID threat, inflation, and the federal debt.
Below is a statement from the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce by its president and CEO Frank Knapp Jr. Mr. Knapp is also co-chair of Small Business for America’s Future and Board member of the American Sustainable Network.
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Small businesses need Senator Joe Manchin to continue negotiating to find a path forward on the Senate reconciliation bill, Build Back Better. There are too many benefits for our small businesses in the bill that will be permanently lost without passage.
While a new COVID variant is spreading, Congress is powerless to stop it without people being willing to be vaccinated. Inflation is already coming down because the supply chain is getting better and gas prices are dropping. And the reconciliation bill has enough revenue enhancers on big corporations and the very wealthy to fully pay for the programs.
If the Senator fails to help get the reconciliation bill to pass, he will need to explain to his small business constituents in West Virginia why he rejected:
-Addressing West Virginia’s labor shortage by encouraging mothers to return to the workforce by making childcare more affordable and helping to create universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds.
-Promoting entrepreneurship in West Virginia’s underserved and rural communities by enabling the Small Business Administration to make small loans that banks refuse to make.
-Making health insurance through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace more affordable to West Virginia small business owners and their employees.
-Lowering the cost of many prescription drugs to reduce health insurance costs to West Virginia small businesses.
-Reducing the competitive hiring disadvantage West Virginia small businesses face against big businesses by creating a federal family and medical leave program.
West Virginia and the nation’s 30+ million small businesses need these programs, Senator Manchin. Don’t be the one vote responsible for failing our small businesses.
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About:
The South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce was founded in 2000 and represents over 5,000 small businesses and supporters. It has provided leadership at the state and national level on making government more small business friendly.