Having just returned from a weeklong trip to Washington, DC, I want to provide an update on some of the important issues being debated there that affect small business. July is going to be a busy month, with the debate continuing on health care and new proposals to further regulate our financial services industry.

What do small-business owners want? I was asked this question several times while meeting with the media, congressional aides and members of academia. I told them that most small-business owners I speak to want to be left alone to build their businesses, innovate and create new jobs.

Their response: Then why aren't they using their voices more on the critical issues that Congress is discussing, which will have a profound effect on their businesses? I have always believed that change can happen if 24 million small-business owners come together with one voice. Admittedly, that's a tough coalition to organize. But the truth is, if you run a business and you're not involved in public policy, then public policy will run your business. There are a lot of issues being pushed right now. Small-business owners need to weigh in on these issues and voice their opinion. They have enough clout to make a difference!

Health Care Reform
Efforts to reform our health-care system hit a speed bump recently when the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office announced that the president's plan would cost from $1 trillion to $1.6 trillion over the next 10 years. Discussions on how best to reform our health-care system will center on how to cover the roughly 46 million uninsured in America. Many in Congress are pushing for universal coverage through a government-run program, which would mandate that employers pay for health-care coverage for their employees--and fine them if they don't. Others are working to preserve the system we enjoy now, which includes competition and choice.

How the government will pay for a massive new spending bill is uncertain. Some ideas being discussed include reducing the growth of Medicare and Medicaid, taxing employee health benefits, increasing taxes on soda pop and even implementing a value-added tax that would tax products at various stages of production.

Small-business owners need to make their voices heard in the debate. We need a reform package that will reduce costs for small businesses, one that will enable us to create more jobs, pay better wages and invest more in our companies. We can't saddle employers with a program that will cost $1 trillion.

We are in a health-care crisis because doctors, patients, employers and employees are trapped in a wasteful, broken system. The new website freeourhealthcarenow.com features a petition designed to free the doctor, the patient, the employee, the employer, the workplace, the uninsured, the kids, the parents, the chronically ill and the retiree and keep the government out of the health-care system. If you agree with these principles, send this petition to everyone you know. The signatures will be presented to Congress and the administration in July.

The Senate is considering a bill this month, and the House of Representatives continues to work on its proposal. The president has indicated he wants to sign a health-care reform bill by mid-October. What will be in that legislation? You decide.

Mandating Paid Sick Leave
The Healthy Families Act, introduced in June, would require employers to give workers seven paid sick days a year. The bill has more than 100 co-sponsors. Last week the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on the legislation, the first step to legislation becoming law. There are rumors that this bill may be folded into the health-care reform package the president wants to sign this year.

The proposal is the wrong solution. Increasing costs and mandates on our small businesses won't help grow our economy. Instead, we need to give employers the flexibility to offer the benefits their employees need. Congressman Tom Price, R-GA, was right when he said at the hearing, "It represents the intrusion of the federal government into employee-benefit policies of millions of companies, large and small." What will happen? You decide.

The CHOICE Act
The Democratic and Republican leaders of the U.S. House Small Business Committee recently introduced the CHOICE Act. This legislation would provide help to small employers struggling with the high cost of providing comprehensive health insurance. The goal of the act is to give small businesses more options to provide affordable health insurance to their employees by encouraging the formation of voluntary small-business health insurance purchasing pools and mitigating the risk of high-cost insurance claims that drive up small employers' premiums.

The act offers refundable tax credits to small businesses (fewer than 100 employees) that choose to join a health insurance cooperative. The employer must provide a small business wellness program in order to receive the tax credit.

The CHOICE Act would make health care more affordable to our small businesses--but there's no indication these ideas will be part of the final health-care reform package the president wants to sign later this year. What will happen? You decide.

Financial Services Regulatory Reform
Our financial system is a critical part of providing access to capital for entrepreneurs. Changes in the regulatory structure will certainly have an impact on how we fund and invest in our businesses.

The president has begun a major push to reform the way our financial services sector is regulated, including proposals for new regulatory bodies to oversee our markets along with a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. There are few specifics on how this will impact lending rates and access to capital. We don't know, either, whether venture capitalists would be swept in under these new reforms, which would affect their ability to invest in new and growing companies.

The time line for moving this reform package through Congress is unclear. The House will begin hearings and potentially mark up legislation in July, with the goal of having a bill to the president by fall.

You can make a difference in whether these important pieces of legislation move forward or not. Your voice is one of the most important ones in this dialogue. If no one hears from you, you don't exist. Or, as my grandmother and my mom used to say, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease!"