[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 22 (Tuesday, March 5, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1548-S1549]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING MILTON D. STEWART

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate

[[Page S1549]]

proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 216 submitted earlier today by 
Senators Kerry and Bond.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 216) to honor Milton D. Stewart for 
     his years of service in the Office of Advocacy of the Small 
     Business Administration.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. KERRY. Madam President, I speak in support of a sense of the 
Senate Resolution honoring the work and dedication of Milton D. 
Stewart, the first Chief Counsel for the Office of Advocacy at the U.S. 
Small Business Administration. Today, March 5, 2002 Milt turns 80 
years-old and it is only fitting that we pass this Resolution in honor 
of his commitment to America's small businesses. I am pleased to say 
that this bi-partisan Resolution has been sponsored by myself and 
Ranking Member Bond, along with a great majority of the members of the 
Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. I am also 
pleased that this Resolution has been cleared for passage and I thank 
the floor staff for their quick work in facilitating passage of this 
Resolution.
  One of the most highly successful innovations of the House and Senate 
Small Business Committees came twenty-six years ago with the creation 
of the Office of Advocacy within the Small Business Administration. 
This Office was established to represent and advance small business 
interests before other Federal agencies and even with Congress. 
Congress recognized the importance of small business to the 
competitiveness of the American economy and understood that government 
sometimes can get in the way of small businesses doing what they do 
best--creating jobs.
  Advocacy has done a commendable job looking out for the interests of 
small business. It is, ironically, a government agency that has the 
task of making sure that other government agencies take into account 
the special problems and needs of small businesses as those agencies go 
about their rule-making activities. Over the years, Advocacy has had a 
great deal of success and its hand has been strengthened by further 
Congressional action, such as the Regulatory Flexibility Act in 1980 
and the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act in 1996.
  This success is due in no small part to the solid beginnings of the 
Office of Advocacy under the leadership of the very first Chief Counsel 
for Advocacy, Milton D. Stewart. Milt, in his tenure as Chief Counsel, 
laid the groundwork for the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the first White 
House Conference on Small Business, the Small Business Innovation 
Development Act, and many other programs that are now considered part 
of the core small business policy within this country.
  He came by his small business roots honestly. He spent his youth in a 
family-owned small business begun and managed by his father and mother. 
Early on, he acquired great respect for the skill and courage of small 
business entrepreneurs. Later in his life, Milt served at one time or 
another as President of the National Association of Small Business 
Investment Companies, President of the National Small Business 
Association, and as President of the Small Business High Technology 
Institute.
  Milt also had significant government service beginning with the 
Office of War Information during World War II. He was even a staff 
member of the original Senate Committee on Small Business. He served as 
special counsel to Governor Harriman of New York and to the New York 
State Thruway Authority. All of this preceded his tenure as the first 
Chief Counsel for Advocacy.
  While he was Chief Counsel, his charisma and vision inspired many of 
those who worked with him to catch the ``small business bug'' and to 
direct their energies toward helping develop sound small business 
policy for our Nation. They, and we, owe Milt a deep debt of gratitude.
  The Office of Advocacy is fortunate to have had such a sound 
beginning. Those of us who care deeply for small business policy 
recognized how crucial Advocacy has become to sound regulatory debate 
within our country. The Office is a sterling example of an experiment 
that worked and continues to work to this day.
  Milt, who deserves all the best on his birthday, can certainly take 
pride in the legacy that he has left by setting all the precedents that 
made the Office of Advocacy what it is today--an effective voice 
promoting the best interests of small business within our government.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the resolution and 
preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to reconsider be laid on the 
table, and any statements relating to the resolution be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 216) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  (The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in today's Record 
under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')

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