Partisan Bill Passed in Divided House Small Biz Committee

The Build Rural Areas Back (BRB) bill was passed last night in the House Small Businesses Committee, with all Democrats voting in opposition.

Co-author Wesley Hunt (TX-38) states that to differentiate them from other bills that focused on broadband, this bill focused on helping these small businesses grow. The goal is to reduce taxes for small businesses with over 30% of their employees from rural areas. Representative Hunt said that the “values I had carried into it were respecting older generations.” He also said that online shopping will harm these small businesses which is the direct opposite of the goals of the broadbanding bills.

The Democrats were highly against this bill as they believed tax cuts wouldn’t solve the pressing issue. Instead, they focused on broadbanding to help give these businesses access to the internet to sell their products online. This created a distinct divide between the two political parties as their views crashed.

The bill was passed at the end of the day around 8:30 with all Republicans voting for the bill and all Democrats voting against the bill.

This article was written by Arya Khanna.