[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 86 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 86

   To express the sense of the Senate recognizing the important role 
  played by the Small Business Administration on behalf of the United 
                    States small business community.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 9, 2001

 Mr. Bond (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Burns, Mr. Levin, Mr. Bennett, 
  Mr. Harkin, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Wellstone, Mr. 
Crapo, Mr. Cleland, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Ensign, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Edwards, 
    and Ms. Cantwell) submitted the following resolution; which was 
                        considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   To express the sense of the Senate recognizing the important role 
  played by the Small Business Administration on behalf of the United 
                    States small business community.

Whereas small businesses comprise 99 percent of all firms in the United States;
Whereas small businesses offer a significant number of job opportunities, with 
        52 percent of all private sector workers employed by small businesses;
Whereas small businesses contribute to the economic well-being of the Nation by 
        providing 51 percent of the private sector output;
Whereas small businesses represent 96 percent of all exporters of goods; and
Whereas the Congress established the Small Business Administration in 1953 to 
        aid, counsel, assist, and protect the interests of small business 
        concerns in order to preserve free competitive enterprise, to ensure 
        that a fair proportion of the total purchases and contracts or 
        subcontracts for property and services for the Federal Government be 
        placed with small business enterprises, to ensure that a fair proportion 
        of the total sales of Government property be made to such enterprises, 
        and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy for the Nation: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the Small Business Administration should continue to be 
        the leading advocate in the Federal Government for small 
        business concerns;
            (2) the Senate strongly urges the President to strengthen 
        and expand assistance to small business concerns through 
        Federal Government programs to ensure that--
                    (A) a growing number of small business concerns 
                receive contracts for goods and services from the 
                Federal Government;
                    (B) the Federal Government undertakes steps to 
                increase the number of opportunities provided to women-
                owned and minority-owned small business concerns for 
                contracting with the Federal Government for the 
                provision of goods and services;
                    (C) guaranteed loans, including microloans and 
                microloan technical assistance for start-up and growing 
                small business concerns, and venture capital are made 
                available to all qualified small business concerns;
                    (D) special programs are implemented in 
                economically distressed urban and rural areas in order 
                to create new business opportunities for small business 
                concerns that will create meaningful jobs and economic 
                growth; and
                    (E) the management assistance programs delivered by 
                resource partners on behalf of the Small Business 
                Administration, such as the Service Corps of Retired 
                Executives (SCORE) and the Small Business Development 
                Center and Women's Business Center programs, are 
                provided with the Federal resources necessary to do 
                their jobs;
            (3) the Senate strongly urges the President to adopt a 
        policy to achieve the applicable procurement goals for small 
        business concerns, including the goals for women-owned small 
        business concerns, HUBZone small business concerns, socially 
        and economically disadvantaged small business concerns, and 
        small business concerns owned by service-disabled veterans;
            (4) the President should hold the head of each Federal 
        department and agency accountable to ensure that the small 
        business procurement goals are achieved during the term of his 
        Administration;
            (5) the President should direct the heads of each Federal 
        department and agency to comply fully with the requirements of 
        the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act and the 
        Regulatory Flexibility Act; and
            (6) the Administrator of the Small Business Administration 
        should have an active role as a member of the President's 
        Cabinet and the Domestic and National Economic Policy Councils.
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