Ranking Member Edward J. Markey highlighted on March 11 the difficulties faced by pet owners and small pet-focused businesses due to economic policies under President Trump during a Small Business Committee hearing titled “Main Street’s Top Dog: Growing the Small Business Pet Economy.” Markey, along with Rob Van Sickle, Co-Founder and CEO of Polkadog, discussed issues such as increasing health care expenses, higher business costs, and ongoing economic uncertainty.
The topic is significant as many Americans are struggling to afford pet ownership and small businesses are finding it harder to survive. The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee supports informed decision-making on national fiscal priorities, according to the official website.
“Pet owners are getting squeezed—and not in a cuddly way. Today’s ‘Pet-flation’ may mean that a trip to the vet, a visit to the pet store, or even keeping a pet at all is out of reach for many Americans, and Trump’s tariff taxes have only made small pet stores’ fight for survival that much more difficult,” said Markey. “Pet ownership should not be a privilege reserved for the wealthy. We must prevent our small pet stores—and every American small businesses—from being hounded by Trump’s destructive policy decisions.”
Van Sickle described how his company faces rising health care costs and other financial pressures. “What small businesses like ours need most is stability, predictability and peace of mind to plan investments, hire workers, grow methodically, and to know and be able to say we can support our teams and their families,” he said. “Our health care costs are increasing by 27% this year and that’s on the back of a 10 percent increase last year. We can’t attract and retain talent if we’re not providing reasonable health insurance to our employees. It’s challenging because we’re trying to balance many different things and all of them are a priority from raises for our employees to investing in new equipment to opening another retail location…It is literally one day at a time. We believe in doing things the right way, which more often than than not, is also not the easy way.”
Markey has taken several steps recently regarding these concerns. He introduced legislation with Senate Democrats aimed at protecting small business owners from further tariff-related harm under Section 122 tariff taxes. He also sent letters demanding transparency about economic impacts related to foreign policy actions and called for investigations into Wall Street practices affecting Main Street businesses.
The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee offers Congress comprehensive policy options on federal budget components according to its official website. The committee features Lindsey Graham as chairman and Jeff Merkley as ranking member according to its official website. It contributes to the congressional budget process via resolutions and reconciliation instructions according to its official website.
Established through the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 according to its official website, the committee provides nonpartisan budgetary analysis through oversight of the Congressional Budget Office according to its official website.
Markey concluded his remarks by emphasizing continued efforts: "We must prevent our small pet stores—and every American small businesses—from being hounded by Trump’s destructive policy decisions."
