Will the Build Back Better Plan Help Small Businesses or Hurt Them?

Biden’s Build Back Better Plan has been on the back burner.

Before his inauguration, Biden laid out the agenda for a long-term Build Back Better Plan. The Build Back Better Plan had three parts – The American Rescue Plan, the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan.

The American Rescue Plan was launched in March 2021. The American Rescue Plan provided short-term relief to the Covid-19 crisis with programs and funding for businesses and citizens.

Will Build Back Better Benefit Small Business?

The country’s  2022 Budget Resolution, presented to Congress last week, incorporates the Build Back Better Plan. The budget resolution calls for $3.5 trillion in spending. The resolution will be reviewed by committees, 13 in the House and 12 in the Senate.

It includes an option for Congress to pass it using a “reconciliation” measure. That means that the 2022 Budget Resolution can pass by a simple majority in the Senate.

The 13 House Committees must return a report by September 15.

Will the 2022 Budget Inclusions Help Small Businesses?

Let’s go through the 2022 Budget Resolution summing up by category:

Child Care – Supports improvements to child care facilities.

Education – Includes funding for school building upgrades and two years of free community college education.

Health Care – Expands Medicare by added dental, vision and hearing coverages.

Paid Leave – Calls for creation of a national, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program.

Climate Crisis – Investments in clean energy will be made through grants, consumer rebates and Federal procurement of clean power.

Affordable Housing – Increase housing vouchers and increase funding for tribal housing.

Tax Cuts for Families and Workers – Calls for an extension of the already-expanded Child Tax Credit.

Research, Development and Innovation Infrastructure – Calls for revitalizing laboratory and research facilities, and modernizing the supply chain.

Immigration – A goal of providing a pathway to lawful permanent resident status for those from immigrant communities.

Prescription Drug Costs – Will allow Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.

Will the Build Back Better Plan, as incorporated into the 2022 Budget Resolution, help small businesses?

You and your employees presumably would benefit from improvements to child care facilities and a national paid family and medical leave program. You may also begin to consider investments in clean energy, if grants and rebates provide incentive.

It’s important to realize that although actual numbers have been allocated by category, the specifics have not yet been stated. That task is up to the 13 House committees.

Image: Depositphotos

This article, "Will the Build Back Better Plan Help Small Businesses or Hurt Them?" was first published on Small Business Trends