On March 5, 2010 the Office of Advocacy sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking that the agency, as part of its developing the National Broadband Plan, look into the possibility of redefining/revising, in conjunction with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the telecommunication services size standards to better reflect current market conditions.

The March 2010 edition of The Small Business Advocate features the new Advocacy report, ?An Analysis of Small Business and Jobs.? It also reports on a comment letter to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

On February 24, 2010, as part of its small business outreach, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted on its web page its semi-annual regulatory plan for small busniess. The document contains a listing of 41 regulations that are expected to impact small businesses, and 26 regulations that are expected to have an undetermined impact on small entities. The FDA is seeking input/comment from small businesses likely affected by the rulemakings listed.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) proposes the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program to help ensure a level playing field for women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) to compete for federal contracting opportunities. This Proposed Rule identifies the eligible industries under the Program as those industries in which WOSBs are underrepresented or substantially underrepresented using either the numbers or the dollars approach. Submit comments by May 3, 2010.

Over a recent 15-year period, small businesses created some 65 percent of the net new jobs in the private sector, according to conservative estimates cited in a new report, Analysis of Small Business and Jobs, from the SBA Office of Advocacy.

Over a recent 15-year period, small businesses created some 65 percent of the net new jobs in the private sector, according to conservative estimates cited in a new report, Analysis of Small Business and Jobs, from the SBA Office of Advocacy.

On February 19, 2010, the U.S. Small Business Administration?s Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) submitted comments to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on TSA?s Proposed Aircraft Repair Station Security Rule. Advocacy recommended that TSA clarify several provisions and consider alternatives that would make the proposed rule less costly to small business.

The U.S. economy rebounded in the fourth quarter of 2009, with real GDP growing by an annualized 5.7 percent. Overall economic trends for small business owners can be found in the latest version of the Quarterly Indicators.

Small businesses realized $7 billion in first-year cost savings and $745 million in annually recurring savings as a result of fiscal year (FY) 2009 efforts to help agencies comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The law requires agencies to review the economic impacts of proposed regulations on small entities and consider less burdensome alternatives. The figures are reported in the FY 2009 edition of the Office of Advocacy?s annual Report on the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

The study, Income and Wealth: How Did Households Owning Small Businesses Fare from 1998 to 2007?, updates previous reports prepared for the Office of Advocacy on the income and wealth of U.S. households that owned (or did not own) small businesses over various economic periods.