[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 66 (Tuesday, May 15, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4936-S4937]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IMPORTANCE OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I speak today in strong support of the 
sense-of-the Senate resolution introduced by Chairman Bond and myself, 
recognizing the important role played by the Small Business 
Administration on behalf of the United States small business community. 
I am pleased to say that nearly every Senator on the Small Business 
Committee has cosponsored this important Resolution. I would like to 
thank Senators Burns, Levin, Bennett, Harkin, Snowe, Lieberman, Enzi, 
Wellstone, Crapo, Cleland, Ensign, Landrieu, Edwards, and Cantwell for 
showing their support for America's small businesses by cosponsoring 
this Resolution.
  Mr. President, small businesses keep the U.S. economy moving. They 
are responsible for employing more than 52 percent of the private 
workforce; for generating more than 51 percent of the nation's gross 
domestic product; and are the principal source of new jobs. They were 
also responsible for helping to end the recession of the early 1990's, 
and with the right programs and assistance, will be a major factor in 
sustaining our current economy.
  To help them achieve success, small businesses rely on a range of 
programs administered and monitored by the Small Business 
Administration (SBA), such as the Small Business Innovation Research 
Program (SBIR), the 7(a) Guaranteed Loan Program, the 8(a) Business 
Development Program, the Small Business Development Center and Women's 
Business Center Programs, and the New Markets Venture Capital Program. 
And these are just a few of the many initiatives that continue to 
receive widespread support from the Senate and House Committees on 
Small Business, as well as the Congress as a whole. Our resolution 
commends the SBA for their activities, and calls on the President to 
make every effort to strengthen and expand assistance to small business 
concerns through Federal programs.
  SBA programs are relied upon to help restore economically depressed 
communities, spur technological innovation, provide access to capital, 
train entrepreneurs, monitor the procurement practices of Federal 
agencies, and ensure small businesses are heard when new regulations 
are being developed. Unfortunately, the SBA has received increasing 
responsibilities without the necessary increase in resources to do the 
job as effectively as possible.
  To make the situation worse, the Bush administration's budget request 
for fiscal year 2002 is woefully inadequate and goes in the wrong 
direction. President Bush has consistently stated that the economy is 
in a period of economic decline, yet he has proposed limiting the 
resources available to our small businesses by cutting funding and 
charging additional fees for programs that create businesses and jobs, 
and help generate revenue for the American people.

[[Page S4937]]

  Mr. President, I would like to commend Chairman Bond for working with 
me to pass an amendment to the budget resolution restoring many of the 
cuts initiated by the Bush administration. I am hopeful that our joint 
effort will be retained in the final budget. I also hope that by 
continuing to work in a bipartisan fashion on this critical issue, we 
can further increase SBA resources for the next fiscal year. The SBA 
deserves our continued support for its important work, and I urge my 
colleagues to support this resolution as well as sufficient resources 
for the SBA and America's small businesses.

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