Why it Matters

The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, chaired by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), is scheduled to hold a hearing on March 11, 2026, titled "Hearings to Examine Main Street, Focusing on Growing the Small Business Pet Economy." The March 2026 congressional hearing will zero in on how pet-related small businesses are shaping local economies and what Congress can do to support entrepreneurship in the sector.

The hearing arrives after a year of sustained lobbying pressure from pet industry groups and veterinary associations that collectively spent an estimated $3.3 million across four quarters of 2025 trying to shape federal policy on pet food regulation, veterinary tax relief, and supply chain costs. It also comes as the committee has been active on a range of small business policy fronts — from tariff impacts to capital access to workforce development — making this hearing part of a broader effort by Ernst and Ranking Member Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) to spotlight specific sectors where small businesses are growing.

The lobbying trail tells a clear story about what's likely to come up — and who wants a seat at the table.

$3.3 Million in Lobbying Set the Stage for This Senate Small Business Hearing

The small business lobbying disclosures filed over the past year reveal a well-funded push by pet industry stakeholders to get Congress's attention. Two organizations stand out.

Pet Food Institute: The Loudest Voice in the Room

The Pet Food Institute — the trade group representing U.S. pet food manufacturers — spent approximately $830,000 across all four quarters of 2025 through both in-house lobbyists and the external firm S-3 Group. Their lobbying touched nearly every policy lever relevant to this hearing:

  • Regulatory reform: PFI pushed hard for the Pet Food Uniform Regulatory Reform (PURR) Act (H.R. 597), which would streamline what the group describes as a patchwork of state-by-state regulations burdening pet food manufacturers.
  • Consumer costs: They lobbied on the People and Animals Well-being (PAW) Act (H.R. 1842), which would allow pet veterinary expenses to be paid through Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts.
  • Supply chain pressures: PFI flagged the impact of biofuels policy on animal fats and oils — key pet food ingredients — as a cost driver for manufacturers.
  • Safety and labeling: The group also lobbied on the Paws Off Act (H.R. 237), which addresses xylitol labeling for dog safety, and the BARK Act (H.R. 3732 / S. 1939), which would create liability protections for pet food donations.
  • Tariffs: PFI raised concerns about tariff impacts on the pet food supply chain throughout the year.

Their third quarter filing specifically referenced the economic impact on 94 million pet-owning households — a data point that frames the pet economy as a kitchen-table issue, not a niche one.

American Veterinary Medical Association: The Small Business Angle

The American Veterinary Medical Association spent approximately $655,000 over the same period, with lobbying focused squarely on veterinary practices as small businesses. Their second quarter disclosure explicitly addressed "reconciliation as related to small business and veterinary practices including tax rates, pass through deduction and expensing" — language that connects veterinary care directly to the broader small business tax debate that has consumed Congress.

AVMA also lobbied on the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act (H.R. 2398), aimed at ensuring pet care access in underserved areas — a policy thread that ties the pet economy to rural economic development, a priority for Chair Ernst.

Other Industry Players

Smaller but notable lobbying efforts came from:

  • Diamond Pet Foods Inc., which spent $135,000 in the first two quarters of 2025 lobbying on pet food manufacturing ingredients, FDA consumer confidence, and biofuels impacts.
  • The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), which registered as a new lobbying client in 2025 through Husch Blackwell LLP, focused on pet food and feed regulations.
  • An individual, Tom Tomei, who registered through Shumaker Advisors LLC specifically on "regulation of pet food production."

What Committee Members Have Been Saying — and Doing

The Senate entrepreneurship committee's recent communications reveal the policy environment in which this hearing sits.

Chair Ernst has been using the committee to spotlight specific small business stories and sectors. On March 2, she named an Iowa ice cream shop as her Small Business of the Week — part of a regular series that frames the committee's work around Main Street narratives. On February 5, she followed up on a prior hearing about barriers to capital access in rural America, calling on the SBA to modernize opportunities for small local banks.

Ranking Member Markey has been focused on economic headwinds facing small businesses. On February 20, he applauded a Supreme Court decision striking down presidential tariff authority, stating: "This case was Small Businesses v. Trump, and small businesses won." He noted that small businesses reportedly paid an estimated more than $70 billion in tariffs from March to December 2025. On February 19, he introduced the SPARK Act to increase capital access for underserved entrepreneurs.

Other committee members have been active on adjacent small business policy:

  • Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced the bipartisan Small Business Workforce Pipeline Act on February 13 with Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) — who also sits on the committee — to help small businesses establish apprenticeship programs through Small Business Development Centers.
  • Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) reintroduced the Small Business Artificial Intelligence Training Act on February 17, noting that 58 percent of small businesses now use generative AI but many lack technical expertise.

The pattern: this committee has been methodically working through sector-by-sector examinations of small business challenges, and the pet economy is next.

The Broader Small Business Policy Preview

Broader small business advocacy organizations have been lobbying on the structural issues that underpin any sector-specific conversation.

The Small Business Investor Alliance spent approximately $873,000 across 2025 lobbying on SBIC program reauthorization and the Investing in All of America Act — capital access tools that pet businesses and veterinary practices could tap.

The National Small Business Association lobbied on a comprehensive agenda including SBA programs, tax relief, regulatory reform, and tariff impacts — spending $110,000 in the second and third quarters alone.

The Small Business Advocacy Council flagged tariffs, tax issues, health insurance, and association health plans as priorities in its fourth quarter 2025 filing.

These broader groups haven't lobbied specifically on pet issues, but their advocacy on tax policy, capital access, and regulatory reform creates the policy scaffolding that any pet economy discussion will inevitably touch.

The bottom line: This small business policy preview hearing reflects a committee that is methodically building a record on sector-specific small business challenges. The pet economy may sound like a niche topic, but with $3.3 million in related lobbying spend, legislation pending on everything from pet food labeling to veterinary tax relief, and 94 million pet-owning households reportedly in play, the committee appears to be responding to a well-organized constituency that has been asking for attention — and spending to get it.

Access the Legis1 platform for comprehensive political news, data, and insights.

Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article