The congressional spending bill battle had a not-so-great message for small businesses

The U.S. Capitol is seen at sunset on the eve of the first anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attack on the building, on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 5, 2022.

A majority of small business owners on Main Street say they support more financial relief from the federal government, but the resolution of the battle in Congress last week over the spending bill for the federal government shows that it may not be coming.

This shouldn’t be a surprise. With fiscal hawks reluctant to provide more funds related to the pandemic even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine became a key spending issue on Capitol Hill, odds have been long that Congress is going to provide another significant round of financial support for small business owners.

That’s even though the need is clearly there. Two-thirds of small business owners support more financial relief from the federal government, according to the latest CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey for Q1 2022, as inflation continues to hit Main Street hard.

“Following action on the spending bill, the legislative docket will be crammed with other things that leave little room for small business priorities. And given Putin’s aggression and what he does next to savage Ukraine and threaten Europe, the attention of Congress and the White House may move increasingly to international matters and away from domestic legislative plans or wish lists,” said Karen Kerrigan, president and CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.”

 

 

continue….