[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 7, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E733-E734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK AUSTIN'S SMALL TECHNOLOGY BUSINESSES

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                          HON. LAMAR S. SMITH

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 7, 2002

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this week is National Small Business 
Week.

[[Page E734]]

  It is a time to celebrate the contributions that America's small 
businesses make to our economy. Small business is the engine that 
drives this nation, producing 75 percent of new jobs, accounting for 
almost 98 percent of all employers and 53 percent of the private work 
force. It is our small businesses that will continue to lead us to 
economic recovery. In particular, small tech businesses are on the 
front lines of the digital revolution. They have led the way in 
advances from broadband deployment to software development.
  My State of Texas ranks second nationally in high tech workers, 
employing more than 411,000 with an annual payroll of about $25 
billion. Many of those employees are working for small businesses. And 
my new congressional district contains thousands of small, innovative 
high tech centered businesses.
  One such company is Advent Networks in Austin. Advent was founded in 
1999 and has already 87 employees. Advent Networks has created a new 
technology for cable operators. They are able to deliver Internet 
connections to small businesses over existing cable networks. This will 
allow cable operators the ability to offer fiber-optic speeds to small 
businesses.
  With this new technology, affordable broadband access to small 
businesses will be delivered 1,000 times faster than with dial-up 
connections. Advent is just one of the thousands of small technology 
businesses around the country connecting rural America, developing next 
generation hardware and software, and keeping America in the forefront 
of technological advances.

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