[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 124 (Friday, October 6, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN RECOGNITION OF BENNIE L. THAYER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. NYDIA M. VELAZQUEZ

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 5, 2000

  Ms. VALAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay a sad farewell to 
Bennie Thayer, the long-time President and Chief Executive of the 
National Association for the Self-Employed, who died October 2.
  As a retailer and manufacturer himself, Mr. Thayer knew small 
business issues from the inside out. On the first day that I became the 
Democratic leader of the House Small Business Committee, he came to my 
office to advocate the need to accelerate the 100 percent deduction of 
health insurance for the self-employed.
  He was a regular fixture in the Halls of Congress, where he 
frequently testified about the importance of simplifying government 
regulations for small businesses, clarifying the home-office deduction 
and promoting tax fairness.
  When Mr. Thayer talked, I listened, because I knew he spoke straight 
from the heart of the small business community.
  He has such an impressive history of accomplishments on behalf of 
small businesses that it is impossible to list them all adequately. He 
chaired and served on the boards of numerous local and national 
business associations concerned with economic development, credit 
development, small business enhancement and general business growth. In 
this capacity, he advised three Presidents on small business issues.
  He authored a book that examined health care issues from the 
standpoint of small business owners. It was called, ``We, the People: 
An American Solution to Health Care Reform.''
  But his accomplishments don't stop there. He served as the State 
Chair of the Maryland delegation to the 1995 White House Conference on 
Small Business and as the Regional Implementation Chairman. He was also 
on the Microsoft Small Business Technology Board to promote computer 
and information technology to small businesses nationwide. And he 
served as the Co-Chairman of the Maryland Delegation to the 1986 White 
House Conference on Small Business.
  He was a renowned public speaker, appearing on various radio and 
television shows to increase awareness of the opportunities and 
challenges of the self-employed.
  I will remember Bennie Thayer as a passionate champion of small 
businesses, a man of principle and someone who cared deeply about his 
community.
  While the nation's small businesses have lost a great advocate, Mr. 
Thayer's legacy will live on in Congress and in the hearts of the self-
employed.
  I salute Bennie Thayer and extend my sympathies to his family.