So you think Washington is infested with blood-sucking parasites?

Robert Dold can take care of that problem. Dold, an Illinois Republican who was just elected to represent a suburban Chicago district in the House, runs Rose Pest Solutions, a family-owned business founded in 1860 that boasts of being "the oldest pest-management company in the United States."

Or maybe you think Washington is full of crooks. In that case, Michael Grimm is your man. The new Republican congressman representing Staten Island, N.Y., and southwest Brooklyn is a former FBI undercover agent who posed as a Mafia "made man" and a hedge fund trader in investigations that targeted corrupt New Jersey politicians and Wall Street con artists. Grimm then went on to found a health food restaurant in New York and serve as a principal in a biofuel company in Austin, Texas.

Dold and Grimm are among 20 small-business owners who won House seats Nov. 2. A record 109 small-business owners were on congressional ballots across the country.

Many other newcomers to Congress have close ties to small business, said Dan Danner, president and CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business.

"There will be a lot more people in Congress who understand that the best way to create jobs is to get out of the way of, and off the backs of, small businesses," Danner said.

More than 240 candidates endorsed by NFIB - the vast majority of them Republicans - won House elections this year.

Most of the small-business owners who ran for office this year were Republicans, but 25 were Democrats. None of these Democratic candidates, however, won their races.

For more information, see www.nfib.com.

CFOs: Election results will improve business

More than half of financial executives at large corporations think business conditions will improve as a result of the Nov. 2 elections.

That's according to a survey conducted Nov. 7 by the Association for Financial Professionals at its annual conference in San Antonio, Texas.

It found that 54 percent of chief financial officers, treasurers and other financial executives said the Republican takeover of the House would have a positive impact on the business climate. More than half also said their own companies would benefit from the election results. Anti-business sentiment in Washington was cited as a drag on companies by 22 percent of financial executives.

Only 42 percent expected that the Federal Reserve's moves to increase the money supply would improve their companies' prospects.

Weak consumer demand and aversion to risk were the main reasons why companies have delayed investing in growth, according to the survey.

One-third of the financial executives cited uncertainty over the extent of future regulations, and 20 percent cited uncertainty over tax policy.

More than 40 percent said their companies' access to credit had improved over the past six months.

For more information, see www.afponline.org.

Small-biz indicators up as expectations improve

A monthly index of small-business indicators jumped 2.7 points in October, although its 91.7 score remained at a recession-like level.

The biggest gains in the survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business came in small-business owners' expectations about the economy. A net 8 percent now think the economy will get better over the next six months. That's an 11-point increase from September, when most small-business owners thought the economy would get worse.

The survey also found that small-business owners may be through cutting the size of their work force.

Average employment growth per firm was zero in October - nothing to brag about, but one of the best readings in years, according to NFIB. A seasonally adjusted net 1 percent of small-business owners plan to add jobs in the coming months.

Nearly half of small-business owners made capital outlays over the past six months, but only 18 percent plan to invest in new equipment, vehicles or facilities.

Profits continue to fall at most small businesses.

About 30 percent of small-business owners reported weak sales as their top business problem, followed by taxes and government regulations/red tape. Only 3 percent said credit was their biggest problem.

For more information, see www.nfib.com.

Kent Hoover is Washington bureau chief for American City Business Journals.