Rep. Jerry Knowles (R-Berks/Schuylkill) has been appointed to the Small Business Task Force of the Pennsylvania House Republican Policy Committee.

"Small businesses are the backbone of Pennsylvania's economy," said Knowles. "They create thousands of jobs across this Commonwealth, and as lawmakers, we should do all we can to ensure that they have the ability to prosper."The task force, which was created under Policy Committee Chairman Stan Saylor (R-York), is charged with reviewing Pennsylvania's current business climate and tax and regulatory structures which directly impact the small business community and developing new policies to make Pennsylvania more business friendly and more competitive with neighboring states."Having run a small business for more than 10 years, I recognize the significant impact government can have," Knowles added. "I am very interested in the views of the small business people I represent and I encourage them to contact me with their thoughts and ideas on how we can make Pennsylvania more business friendly.""Representative Knowles' years of experience as a small business owner and as an elected official give him a unique perspective on the issues effecting Pennsylvania's small business community," said Saylor. "I am pleased to have him working with the other members of our task force to develop solutions that will help make Pennsylvania an attractive place for small businesses to operate."In addition to the Small Business Task Force, the House Republican Policy Committee has created several task forces to examine and develop legislative solutions on the state budget and economic policy; education and job training; government reform; health care; infrastructure; and energy.