[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 298 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 298

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                         April 1, 2009.
Whereas safe, creative, and effective on-premise signage has served as a primary 
        catalyst to successful small businesses in America since the 
        establishment of the Nation;
Whereas most of the companies that manufacture on-premise signs in the United 
        States are in and of themselves small businesses as described by the 
        Small Business Act and generate thousands of manufacturing jobs that 
        stimulate the economy and support the local, State, and Federal tax 
        bases;
Whereas the on-premise sign industry in turn sustains millions of additional 
        entities covered under the Small Business Act by providing to retail 
        businesses across the country an affordable and effective advertising 
        medium through which they can communicate to potential customers about 
        goods and services they offer, direct those customers to their small 
        business sites, and reinforce the memory of existing customers about the 
        locations and the nature of these small businesses;
Whereas the Small Business Act empowers the Small Business Administration to 
        take actions to relieve the competitive disadvantages that small 
        businesses face;
Whereas one such competitive disadvantage for small businesses is a lack of 
        marketing research and advertising budgets to attract and retain 
        customers;
Whereas the Small Business Administration has recognized the value of on-premise 
        signage as a remedy to these competitive disadvantages and has taken 
        action to remediate this disadvantage by collaborating with the sign 
        industry to collect educational information about signs and to publish 
        that information on its website that is free of charge and easily 
        accessible to all small businesses; and
Whereas the on-premise sign industry will play a critical role in supporting the 
        Nation's small businesses during the current economic downturn: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives (1) applauds the United States 
Small Business Administration for educating small business owners on the 
benefits of using well-placed, well-designed on-premise signs to overcome 
competitive disadvantages in the areas of marketing and advertising, and (2) 
encourages the on-premise sign industry to continue its efforts to produce a new 
and greater understanding of how to develop safer, more effective, and more 
affordable signage products so as to alleviate small businesses' competitive 
disadvantages in marketing and advertising.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.