Committee Field Hearing on OBBB Delivering for Small Business, Manufacturing, and Working Families

The Ways and Means Committee Republicans held a field hearing on October 7, 2026, titled “Committee Field Hearing on OBBB Delivering for Small Business, Manufacturing, and Working Families.” The hearing focused on how the recently enacted tax law’s permanent pass-through deduction, 100% bonus depreciation, immediate research-expensing provisions, and expanded employer child-care credit were affecting small businesses, manufacturers, workers, and families. Witnesses described using or planning to use the tax benefits for equipment, facilities, research, employee benefits, and hiring. Orgill reported about $25 million in 2025 tax benefits; I2M described a planned 130,000-square-foot expansion and $63 million in new investment; and Thompson’s businesses reported more than $6 million in equipment, facility, and research investments and about 50 hires since January 2025. A restaurant owner discussed funding employee 401(k) matching and estimated roughly $55,000 in annual tax savings for tipped staff.

Members and witnesses also discussed child-care support as a way to recruit and retain manufacturing workers, and the value of predictable tax rules for long-term business investment. One witness urged Congress to advance highway legislation and strengthen the Highway Trust Fund. No procurement awards, bids, contracts, or spending motions were considered, and no votes were recorded; the discussion concerned tax policy and private-sector investment rather than government purchasing.