Rep Van Duyne Celebrates Small Business Week September 13 – 17, 2021

I will celebrate Small Business Week by visiting small businesses around #TX24, testifying with a local small business in front of the Small Business Committee, and spotlighting small business in our community every day this week. Small businesses are the backbone of our community and they need our assistance and support, as have seen great challenges over the course of the pandemic. 

In order to aid small businesses as they recover from the pandemic, I recently introduced the Restaurant Recovery Fairness Act to provide necessary oversight to ensure Restaurant Revitalization funds are faithfully distributed to the restaurants that serve as the center of our communities.

In August, I also introduced the Bringing Back Main Street Act in an effort to better understand the allocation of small business assistance funds going to businesses based outside of the U.S. This act will help ensure money set aside by Congress for our small businesses is going into their pockets, not those of foreign businesses. Another piece of legislation introduced requires a study of how a $15 minimum wage would affect our economy. With so many businesses struggling to hire, a $15 minimum wage would only exacerbate their difficulty, ultimately forcing mom and pop shops to close. 

As we turn our attention to small businesses this week, it is also important to look at our workforce. In August, 50% of all small business owners reported job openings they could not fill, which is a record high reading according to NFIB’s monthly jobs report. Americans need to get back to work and small businesses need our continued support to survive. 

I will continue to fight for small businesses in North Texas and across the country, as I see their value and positive impact they make on our community. It is my commitment to our community to not stop until we enact policies that will help, not hinder their success.