On April 15, Danny Shaw, CEO of Kato Roofing in Mankato, Minnesota, joined Rep. Brad Finstad, R-Minn., for a press conference introducing the White House Conference on Small Business Act. The bill would give small business owners a stronger voice in shaping the policies that affect them by reestablishing the conference for the first time since 1995. 

 

Speaking on behalf of ABC, Shaw described small business contractors as the backbone of local communities and the economy, while also pointing to the challenges they face, including rising costs, workforce shortages and burdensome regulations. He said reauthorizing the conference would help ensure that concerns from Main Street are heard at the state, regional and national levels and turned into recommendations for the president and Congress.

 

Shaw added that the bill would create a more meaningful pathway for small business owners and operators to weigh in on new mandates and existing laws, helping policymakers better understand the realities of running a small business.

 

“It’s important to bring this conference back so we have a voice,” Shaw said. “Small contractors and businesses like ours need a seat at the table when decisions are made that impact our ability to meet our standards of quality and safety and our ability to get our projects finished on time.”

Watch the video of Shaw's comments, beginning at 3:15. 

 

Background:

 

The White House Conference on Small Business Act of 2025 (H.R. 6855) is a bipartisan bill introduced by Reps. Brad Finstad, R-Minn., and Don Davis, D-N.C., to revive and modernize the White House Conference on Small Business process. The bill is designed to gather input from small business owners nationwide, elevate their priorities and create a structured path for recommendations to reach Congress and the president.

 

The WHCSB Act:

 

• Reauthorizes and updates prior law: The bill renews and amends the original White House Conference on Small Business Authorization Act, Public Law 101-409, from the early 1990s.

 

• Creates a national small business input process: It requires state, regional and national conferences to take place between Dec. 31, 2025, and Dec. 1, 2026, giving small businesses multiple opportunities to shape priorities.

 

• Expands delegate participation: The National Conference would include delegates appointed by governors, every U.S. senator, every U.S. representative, additional delegates from state conferences and 100 presidential appointees, building on the 1,904 delegates who attended the last conference in 1995.

 

• Establishes a formal management structure: The Small Business Administration would support operations, while an 11-member White House Conference on Small Business Commission, appointed by the president and chaired by the SBA chief counsel for advocacy, would oversee logistics.

 

• Preserves accountability and follow-through: As with the 1995 process, the commission would submit a final report with findings and recommendations to the president and Congress, and the SBA would report annually to Congress for three years on implementation progress.