|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help Craft NAWBO’s 2026 Advocacy Agenda Carve out 15 minutes on your calendar to advocate before 2025 comes to a close. Ready to take the survey now? Click on your chapter link below to get started:
Remember, one chapter from each NAWBO chapter size category with the most participants will be able to ask a question to members of Congress at NAWBO National’s Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., on June 2, 2026.
Hill Update As of mid-December, the House passed the defense bill, advanced partisan healthcare measures, and continues to resist extending ACA subsidies, while the upper chamber rejected both major healthcare subsidy proposals; they’re still gridlocked on budget and healthcare issues and just passed the defense bill.
Now, we are all but certain that subsidies will expire at year’s end, which could continue to drive up insurance premiums for millions of Americans.
Looking ahead, we’ll need to keep hearing from all of you, so NAWBO’s CEO Jen Earle can share your updates when she returns to the Hill in January. Resources for NAWBO Chapters
We’re excited to share a new set of one-pagers from our partners at PPSI. These one-pagers break down the major caregiving-related tax credits and programs that were expanded or made permanent under the One Big Beautiful Bill (also known as OBBB), the bill signed into law in July 2025 that contains the tax and spending policies of the second Trump Administration. These resources are designed to help small businesses, partners, and working families understand what’s changing in 2026 and how to take advantage of the available benefits.
The one-pagers cover updates to the following tax credits and programs:
Each document includes eligibility criteria, what changed under the OBBB, and how employers or families can access the credits.
NAWBO Sacramento Valley Chapter is one step closer to revising a microbusiness definition in California. Here, you’ll find NAWBO Sacramento Valley Chapter’s draft Fact Sheet on their proposed revisions to amend the definition of Microbusiness in California. Assemblymember Laurie Davies (AD 74 – Orange County/Oceanside) has agreed to author this bill on behalf of their chapter. Kudos to NAWBO Sacramento for their advocacy work!
Press Releases From the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee
Please see the readout from this month’s hearing on the 8(a) program put together by our partners at PPS. Click here to view.
**These releases are from the Committee Members, not NAWBO.**
POTUS
On December 15, 2025, the Trump Administration reported the following:
Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the White House Office of Science Technology and Policy (OSTP) established the United States Tech Force (USTF) – a new, cross-government program to recruit and deploy top technologists to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and solidify the United States as the global leader in government AI adoption.
Tech Force will tackle the most complex and large-scale civic and defense challenges of our era—from administering critical financial infrastructure at the Treasury Department to advancing cutting-edge programs at the Department of War—and everything in between.
Tech Force will be an elite group of ~1,000 technology specialists hired by agencies to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) implementation and solve the federal government's most critical technological challenges. Tech Force will primarily recruit early-career technologists from traditional recruiting channels, along with experienced engineering managers from private sector partners, to serve two-year employment terms in the federal government. Tech Force will include centralized organization and programming and serve as a recruiting platform post-employment.
On December 11, 2025, earlier in the month, President Trump issued Executive Orders on AI and Proxy Advisors. An email from the Office of the Public Liaison stated that the executive orders:
Small Business Administration
SBA Launches Deregulation Strike Force to Support President Trump’s Affordability Agenda On December 15, 2025, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) launched a new Deregulation Strike Force, dedicating a full team to the mission of identifying and eliminating excessive Biden-era regulations that have disproportionately increased costs for America’s small businesses and consumers. The strike force, led by the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, is working across all federal agencies to cut regulations that have needlessly driven up prices in key industries such as housing, healthcare, agriculture, and energy.
SBA Office of Advocacy Advocacy Releases 2025 Small Business Profiles for Major Metropolitan Areas
Where Do I Get Advocacy Information Beyond This Email? NO CALL IN DECEMBER. Our next monthly Advocacy call will be on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at 9 a.m. PT/11 a.m. CT/12 p.m. ET. Please email Elle Patout at epatout@nawbo.org with the subject: “Advocacy Call Attendee” if you wish to attend the call. The next call will be part of the NAWBO Regional Updates, including updates from Greater DC, Philadelphia, Buffalo Niagara, Richmond, South Jersey, New York City, and North & Central Jersey.
Mark your calendars for June 2, 2026, for NAWBO’s Advocacy Days in Washington, D.C.! This event is part of 2026 NAWBO Days. |
|
|