The results of the survey, released on the eve of President Obama's seventh State of the Union address, reveal that 79 percent of U.S. small businesses feel that Congress has not been effective in addressing issues important to small businesses - down from 87 percent last year. A majority (57 percent) of small business owners do not believe either party is effective on small business issues, with 76 percent believing that Congress should play a larger role in helping small business growth.

The survey also reveals that over half (57 percent) of small business owners plan to make financial investments this year, whether it is in product development, buying additional materials, or investing in real estate. Of those that are making financial investments, 47 percent would characterize the investments as 'significant.' And, surprisingly, 42 percent of small businesses plan to hire over the next year, a significant increase given that 93 percent of the small businesses surveyed currently have fewer than 6 employees, and 47 percent are sole proprietors.

When asked to rank key issues important to small businesses, survey respondents ranked Taxes and the Ability to Obtain Bank Financing as their top two concerns, respectively. As for issues that are most important for President Obama to address in his State of the Union address, respondents named The Economy, Education and National Defense as their top three concerns, ranking higher than Immigration and Race Relations.

"While small business owners are upbeat about their own business prospects, it is clear that they believe Washington could do more to help stimulate small business growth," said Endurance CEO and Founder, Hari Ravichandran. "Concerns about taxes and the ability to obtain bank financing remain front and center. Congress must prioritize small business issues in order to create long-term economic growth."

As for the current field of Presidential candidates, when asked about their thoughts on who would be the most effective leader on issues important to small business, small business owners selected Donald Trump the highest-ranking Republican candidate at 30 percent and Hillary Clinton the highest-ranking Democrat at 44 percent.

Endurance's 2016 State of the Union Survey provides insights and perspectives on small business owners' economic outlook, political sentiment, and the current field of Presidential candidates. The survey was conducted from December 16, 2015 to January 4, 2016 and surveyed 1,135 U.S. small business owners, all of whom use Endurance's web presence solutions. For purposes of this survey, small businesses are defined as employing 10 or less people on either a full-time or part-time basis.