MLMIA: HR 2488
PRESIDENTS VETO LEAVES
SMALL BUSINESS IN THE DUST
By Marcie Cook
As expected, the president has vetoed Congress $792 billion tax cut legislation. I was on the Hill September 23rd , 1999 when the veto took place and it was most anti-climactic. Republican leaders in Congress had already given up on their legislation-even before it was presented to the president. Compromise between the two sides was never a consideration.
The tax cut legislation, passed by congress in August 1999 would have lowered all individual income rates by one percent, phased out the "marriage penalty," eliminated the estate tax and reduced some capital gains tax. The legislation also included billions of dollars in tax breaks for multinational corporations and a variety of particular industries.
The presidentâs veto is not likely to help Republican leaders unify the party on the tax cut issue, according to the Congressional Quarterly. Both House and Senate seem to think it is too late to do any thing more this year.
ACHIEVE 5% PROCUREMENT GOAL
The federal government purchases approximately $250 billion in goods and services from the private sector each year. Roughly 19% is awarded directly to small business, and just over 22% is awarded to small businesses as subcontractors.
Women-0wned businesses typically receive about 2% of all federal procurement dollars. Women continue to go into entrepreneurship at a rate twice that as men. The 9.1 women entrepreneurs in the US, employ 1 out of 4 U.S. company workers and generate over $3.6 trillion in annual sales. It is reasonable to expect that an increasing number of women-owned businesses will become federal contractors.
Goals are about competitiveness, productivity and fairness. Increase the federal procurement goal for small business in general and, in particular, for those businesses owned by women, minorities and the disadvantaged to 5% or more.
Dietra L. Ford Associate Administrator, U.S. General Services Administration, stated at a White House briefing on September 21st that the goal of 5% to 7% would be a reality by the end of 2000.
HOUSE BILL 458 DIRECT CHALLENGE TO DSHEA and the dietary supplement industry.
HB 458 will:
Take away the safety standard consumers won in DSHEA, thereby making it easy to take safe supplements off the market in Ohio.
Require peer review of scientific literature for every dietary supplement product label.
Force manufactures to put claims on the label even if they don't want to.
Force Ohio manufactures to report confidential sales information for every product.
Force every manufacturer who wants to sell a dietary supplement in Ohio to redesign their labels to contain:
A statement that warns "keep out of reach of children" even if it is for children.
A statement that says "ask a doctor about side effects or interactions with other substances that may occur when using this product" A statement that alerts consumers to the specific tamper-resistant features which must now be incorporated into the package.
An expiration date, after which the product could not be sold; and the telephone number of the manufacturer.
These requirements are out of line with current federal guidelines for the labeling of dietary supplements. Besides being bad for business, these types of warnings imply that every dietary supplement is unquestionably unsafe. This is simply untrue as they are actually among the safest of all consumer products.
You donât have to live in Ohio to be against this bill. If passed, it will set a precedent that will affect all of us. Write your congressman. Say NO to HR 458.
TEXAS TO COMPLY NOVEMBER 1, 1999
Effected November 1, 1999 Texas will require all dietary supplements containing ephedrine group alkaloids sold in that state to bear warning labels. Manufacturers and retailers who sell dietary supplement products in Texas should be aware that state enforcement authorities indicate they intend to strictly enforce new labeling requirements against Ephedra / Ma Huang products sold in health food stores.
National Nutritional Foods Association NNFA believes there has been inadequate time to comply with this new rule. NNFA General Counsel will be meeting with the Texas Department of Health in an effort to inject reason into this process. I will report outcome next month.
BEWARE OF SLOTTING FEES
What: A payment or a fee paid by a manufacturer to ensure placement of its products on store shelves.
Cost: Up to $25,000.00 per item for a few stores, to several million dollars for a nationwide product introduction.
Impact: Small manufacturers say theyâre being squeezed off the shelves.
Government action: Senate Small Business Committee has asked the Federal Trade Commission to more aggressively prosecute anticompetitive tactics.
Senator Christopher Bond, R-MO., says committee staff members interviewed more than 70 small manufacturers about slotting, and "all expressed considerable fear of retribution from chain retailers and dominant manufacturers."
"That's the strength and power of this practice in the marketplace," says Senator John Kerry, D-Mass., who initiated the committees investigation of slotting. I will keep you posted.
Marcie Cook is the CEO of America's MLM Consultants (http://www.mlmconsultant.com), one of the Premier Network Marketing consulting companies worldwide. She is also chairperson of the 1999/December 2002 Legislative Council.
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