I did some more research into the debate over tax policy and small businesses, and found a number of sources (including BusinessWeek) citing a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report by Dr. Jane G. Gravelle, an economist who specializes in tax policy.
The report's title is "Small Business and the Expiration of the 2001 Tax Rate Reductions: Economic Issues," (CRS Report R41392, released Sept. 3, 2010). While another report ("Bush Tax Cuts and the Economy" by Thomas L. Hungerford) released on the same day is available on the web thanks to the Federation of American Scientists, I could not find Dr. Gravelle's report anywhere. What gives? It turns out that all Congressional Research Service reports are secret--by department policy. Can you imagine that? Taxpayers have no access to reports by Congress's main policy analysts.
While the CRS claims that this policy maintains their confidential relationship with Congress and prevents diverting resources to answering public questions, these arguments are preposterous:
Update: Success! I finally got a copy of CRS Report 41392, which is now available on OpenCRS. The trick is to keep calling your Representative/Senators' offices until they email it to you. But the real battle (for making all reports available) is still ahead...
"Congress's Secret (Research) Service"
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