Small Business Rising coalition partners are calling on the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to withdraw its latest misguided proposal overhauling the small business size standards. It’s a give away for big business. The rule would expand the definition of "small business" so far that firms with $1 billion in annual revenue, banks with $5 billion in assets, and companies with thousands of employees could qualify.
Two dozen small business associations — representing a broad swath of Main Street — released a joint letter in support of Senator Chris Murphy’s new bill, the Fair Prices for Local Businesses Act, aimed to strengthen and modernize a crucial law on the books to ensure a level playing field for small businesses, the Robinson-Patman Act.
Price discrimination is a top problem impeding the ability for independent businesses to fairly compete with dominant large corporations, calling on federal agencies, Congress, and the states to prioritize enforcement.
More than two dozen small business associations, members of the Small Business Rising coalition, endorsed the Fair Competition for Small Business Act, which was introduced in the Congress by Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Maxine Waters. The bill will invigorate state level antitrust enforcement to ensure fair supplier pricing for small and independent businesses. The coalition endorsed the bill as a “... simple and effective remedy to foster fair competition and enforce existing antitrust law” and urges Congress to pass the bill this legislative session.
Small Business Rising – a coalition of small business associations — is urging the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prioritize reviving enforcement against monopoly harms to small businesses, instead of focusing efforts toward eliminating regulatory barriers. “The most significant threats to fair markets today stem not from regulation, but from the unchecked dominance of powerful corporations,” the coalition states in a letter submitted to the Commission signed by more than 20 small business associations.
We sat down with SBR partner Michael Tucker, Executive Director of Workplace Solutions Association, or WSA (formerly the Independent Office Products & Furniture Dealers Association), which represents 500 independent office and furniture supply companies across the United States. Michael shared why they advocate with the coalition and what policy solutions would help to level the playing field for the small businesses they represent.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a public inquiry into merger guidelines aimed at strengthening enforcement against legal matters. Small Business Rising submitted a comment letter that “urges the FTC and DOJ to write and publish new guidance that adheres to Congressional intent and promotes fair and robust competition in deconcentrated industries.”
On April 11th, Small Business Rising members sent a letter to House and Senate leadership urging them to pass the Big Tech bills.
Concentrated market power is the single biggest threat facing independent businesses, and the status quo in our digital markets is untenable. The bipartisan package of bills is proof there is momentum on both sides of the aisle and represent an unprecedented opportunity to level the playfield for our small, independent businesses.
New York has a monopoly problem. Across the state, independent businesses are being harmed by the outsized political and economic power amassed by a few large corporations.
In Crain’s New York Business, Katy Milani and Sue Warfield explain that the proposed 21st Century Antitrust Act would level the playing field for small businesses.
Today, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Mondaire Jones (NY-17) introduced the Prohibiting Anticompetitive Mergers Act of 2022. This legislation would prohibit mega-mergers in the United States, and allow the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to review and undo past mergers if they do not meet the new standard.
Teresa Dickinson, Small Business Rising member, speaks at the Federal Trade Commission Open Meeting about how unfair business practices from pharmacy benefit managers (PBM's) have impacted her independent pharmacy. Watch the video below, or here.
Gina Schaefer, Small Business Rising Member, speaks at a conference series hosted by The Open Markets Institute on Busting the Big Myths of Antimonopoly Reform. She discusses how Amazon has increasingly controlled the supply chain, how the giant tracks people's data to use to their advantage, and how a more competitive market would allow small businesses to thrive.
The following statement was issued today by Small Business Rising, a coalition of nearly thirty national and local associations representing over 150,000 small and independent businesses, in response to a letter from Members of the House Judiciary Committee urging the U.S. Justice Department to investigate potentially criminal conduct by Amazon and its senior executives.
"We applaud the House Judiciary Committee Members for their leadership and commitment to addressing Amazon’s growing monopoly power and commend the Committee for its letter urging the U.S. Justice Department to investigate potentially criminal conduct by Amazon and its senior executives.
Natasha Amott, member of Small Business Rising and owner of Whisk, a kitchen store in Brooklyn, wrote the following op-ed in the New York Daily News. Amott calls on New York state legislators to support the 21st Century Antitrust Act, which would strengthen the state’s antimonopoly enforcement and help create a level playing field for small businesses.
Last year, Liberation in a Generation released a report titled “Antimonopoly Activism: Reclaiming Power through Racial Justice”, focusing on how corporate concentration impacts people of color and how racial justice is a key component in antitrust reform. Small Business Rising founding member ILSR highlighted a conversation with LibGen co-founders and co-executive directors , Jeremie Greer and Solana Rice, on working to dismantle the current oppression economy.
Jeremie Greer states that “The way to address all of this is that we have to put more political power in the hands of people of color so they can influence the governmental structures.”
Listen to the Building Local Power Miniseries Episode below:
