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As we wrote about in a previous post, small business owners cite healthcare costs as a major hurdle faced by their business.

In a National Small Business Association press release, the President of the organization has stated that "The number of small-business owners who are able to provide health insurance to their employees has dropped from 67 percent in 1995 to 38 percent in 2008. NSBA members voted health care reform their number one priority for 111th Congress--addressing the failures of our health care system simply can not wait yet another year."

Since healthcare reform is such a hot topic for small business owners, here are some key points of each of the proposed bills being discussed in Congress right now.

The key points (which are discussed in Forbes) will help you gain a deeper understanding of what each of the bills holds for you as a small business owner.

A statement released today by the American Small Business League criticizes the President's first year policies for small business.

The statement details how Obama made key promises for small business, but failed to live up to those promises. The statement does bring up valid points that every small business owner should be aware of.

Here are the key needs listed in the League's press release:

As you have read in our previous posts in Small Business Social Media 101, 102, and 103, Facebook plays a pretty vital role in growing your small business.

However, it can also bring about some issues of oversharing from you, your employees, and even your customers. 

Using Facebook to vet job applicants is becoming more common too. In fact, 30% of today's employers are using the social media site to do just that.

This can be seen as harsh, but when the economy is tough it can seem like a necessary measure. You may do it in order to protect your business from job applicants who have illegal recreational activities, may potentially embarass you and your business, or just have a poor work ethic.

Here are five tips that you can learn for yourself and pass along to your employees in order to put your business' best face forward on Facebook.

The New York Times does a great job of outlining these tips.

As we wrote about in previous post called Small Business Social Media 101, keeping an eye online about what people are saying about your business is crucial.

Two of the main social media sites right now are Twitter and Facebook. However, a lot of small business just don't have the resources, skills or patience to tap into the large potential in those sites.

According to the Wall Street Journal, "While business owners across the country have glommed onto social networking as a marketing tool, there are thousands of entrepreneurs who can't seem to "get" social networking.

Small business toymakers are having a hard time with new safety legislation that requires extensive testing of toys.

Congress passed the laws after a rash of tainted toys manufactured by large toy companies in China forced recalls of over 45 million toys.

The law passed is called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. It was passed in August 2008 and sets out mandatory safety standards for products used by children under the age of 12, such as levels of lead in toys. It also requires toy manufacturers to test their toys in order to ensure that they are safe.

Small toymakers argue that the laws are simply not feasible for them. The New York Times reports that the legislation is made with big toymakers in mind and that big toymakers have more money to stay compliant.

CIT Group entered bankruptcy this past Sunday. The group provides lending to a large number of mid sized and small businesses.

According to the New York Times: "On Sunday, CIT entered what it called a different kind of bankruptcy, one that will let it reemerge from court protection by the end of the year under the ownership of its creditors, who widely supported the reorganization plan."

CIT argued against bankruptcy this past summer by stating that being forced into Chapter 11 protection would be disastrous to the small business sector.

The Small Business Administration has proposed to revise its size standards for small businesses.

If the revisions are put into place, more than 120,000 additional companies would be counted as small businesses. These businesses would become eligible for SBA loans and government incentives granted to small businesses.

The Washington Bureau reports that: "The SBA is reviewing size standards for all industries in order to accommodate changes in industry structure, market conditions and business models. The agency's last comprehensive review of size standards occurred more than 25 years ago.

Small business owners may have to rethink their wellness rewards programs because of new rules and regulations under the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act; which is known as GINA.

GINA was introduced as a safeguard to protect against employers and health insurers collecting genetic information from individuals and using it to make decisions about health coverage, hiring and firing and promotions.

However, lawmakers have made it very clear that GINA will influence the way employers conduct their wellness rewards programs.

In this economic downturn, charities have increasingly attempted to find alternative ways to help fund themselves. Sometimes these charities have thought outside the box. They have spun off into for-profit organizations that help fund their charitable ventures. But what is so special about these small businesses? They are small businesses that are embracing green initiatives.

As we mentioned in our previous post in Social Media 101, it is crucial to monitor your small business' online presence. But what can you do about what is being said about your business? What can you do to boost online reputation and traffic?

Well we have your primer on exactly what to do: