[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5255-S5257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT OF SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN THE 
                             UNITED STATES

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 174.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 174) honoring the entrepreneurial 
     spirit of small business concerns in the United States during 
     National Small Business Week, beginning April 22, 2007.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I am pleased to support during National 
Small Business Week a bipartisan Senate resolution honoring the 
entrepreneurial spirit of small business owners throughout the United 
States. I am privileged to work every day with ranking member, Senator 
Snowe and other members of my committee on behalf of small businesses 
and I am gratified to introduce this legislation with them here today.
  Twenty-six million small businesses are currently operating in the 
United States. They represent 99.7 percent of all employers and account 
for two-thirds of all new jobs created each year. In addition, they 
contribute over 50 percent of the Nation's nonfarm gross domestic 
product. Small businesses are the Nation's innovators, producing 13 to 
14 more patents per employee than large businesses, and they account 
for 97 percent of all exporters.
  It is clear that small businesses are a powerful force in the 
economic vitality that makes America strong, and small businesses would 
not have this success

[[Page S5256]]

were it not for government programs which support them. The Small 
Business Administration was created to support and protect small 
business concerns, and they have worked hard to do so. Millions of 
entrepreneurs have received loans or business counseling, allowing them 
to start or expand small businesses. Staples, Intel, Nike, and America 
Online are just a few of the most well-known businesses who received 
assistance through at least one of the SBA's programs.
  Craig A. Bovaird from Princeton, MA, who I met this week when he was 
honored in Washington as the Massachusetts Small Business Person of the 
Year, is president of the Built-Rite Tool and Die, Inc. based in 
Lancaster which specializes in developing and manufacturing 
thermoplastics for the aerospace, medical, defense and high-tech 
industries. He is a pillar of his community--proud father of three 
daughters, involved in his town's finance committee, renovating the 
public library, and a leader of his church. He had an idea and he had 
the technical expertise and knowledge about the industry. Craig is 
passionate about his business. As Craig said, ``I enjoy watching an 
idea go from mind to paper through construction to a finished 
masterpiece.''
  But it was John Rainey, a counselor at Clark University's Small 
Business Development Center in Worcester, who guided Craig through the 
development of a solid business plan. Craig's business is a success 
today--against the odds--because his manufacturing business grew and 
prospered at a time when other plastics companies were on the decline. 
This is thanks to Craig's hard work, and also thanks to a key SBA 
program that got him the business counseling he needed.
  However, despite these national and local successes, there are a 
number of issues which continue to be a problem for small businesses, 
and, in order to encourage continuing economic growth, it is important 
that Congress take steps to address them. Unfortunately, this 
administration has repeatedly reduced efforts to support small 
businesses. A report from the House Small Business Committee notes that 
the fiscal year 2008 budget would cut or terminate funding for 90 of 
the 110 Federal programs that were designed to support 
entrepreneurship. In addition, since 2001, the administration has cut 
the SBA budget by more than 30 percent. When disaster loan funding is 
included, the President's fiscal year 2008 budget request is a cut of 
45 percent since taking office. The SBA needs adequate funding in order 
to meet the needs of small businesses.

  The administration has also repeatedly called for the reduction or 
elimination of important loan programs, such as the Microloan program. 
The Microloan program is a small, efficient, cost-effective program, 
which provides very small loans and counseling to small businesses. 
Supporters in Congress and advocacy groups are requesting very little 
to fund this program--$3.2 million for the Microloan program and $20 
million for technical assistance. That is minuscule when compared with 
U.S. funding for small businesses in other countries. In 2005, the 
United States spent more than $200 million on microloan programs in 
other countries. In 2006, the United States spent more than $54 million 
on microloans in Iraq, according to U.S. Ambassador Khalilzad. And, in 
the President's fiscal year 2007 emergency funding request for the war 
in Iraq, the administration as requested about $160 million in 
microcredit initiatives.
  The management assistance programs, such as the Small Business 
Development Centers, the Women's Business Centers, and the SCORE 
program, have also suffered under continuing flat or reduced funding. 
For instance, when taking account into inflation, SBDCs have 
experienced a 19 percent cut since 2001, despite the fact that this 
program returns $2.82 dollars to the Federal Government for every 
Federal dollar spent. Counseling hours and the number of clients 
counseled began declining in 2003 and 2004 and have continued to do so. 
Adequate funding for these programs is essential to prevent further 
loss of assistance to small businesses.
  I also continue to be concerned about the Federal Government's 
inability to meet the procurement goals set forth in law. The Federal 
Government has simply done an abysmal job of ensuring that small 
businesses get their fair share of Federal contracts. For instance, the 
Department of Defense's 0.5 percent procurement with service-disabled 
veteran owned firms is significantly below the 3 percent stated goal 
and is unacceptable. These shortcomings are harming small businesses, 
and I will continue to push to make sure small businesses get a fair 
chance at selling to the Federal Government.
  Nearly 2 years after Hurricane Katrina, small business owners and 
homeowners are struggling just to keep their doors open. Many of them 
were turned down or simply gave up on the SBA when they needed 
government assistance the most. The Senate Committee on Small Business 
and Entrepreneurship recently reported a bill that would 
comprehensively reform the disaster loan program, and I urge my 
colleagues to support passage of this important legislation. This 
critical legislation will help all small businesses who are faced with 
a catastrophe through no fault of their own.
  Patrick Turley, president of Turley Publications, Inc., in Palmer, 
MA, is the face of why we need an efficient disaster loan program that 
is a handup, not a handout. Patrick was also honored this week in 
Washington with the Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery. 
When his business faced massive flooding in October 2005, which caused 
$993,000 in property losses, Patrick rallied his employees and still 
printed two university newspapers on time. With the help of an SBA 
disaster loan, Patrick was able to resume running his plant at full 
capacity just 5 months after the storms.
  Patrick's perseverance, leadership and courage in the wake of a 
disaster are commendable. By keeping his plant running, he kept people 
working and showed the people of Palmer that they too could overcome 
adversity.
  I am proud of the many hardworking Americans like Craig and Patrick 
and the millions of others who face the risk and uncertainties inherent 
in opening and running a small business each day, and I applaud the 
achievements of the owners and their employees. Their hard work and 
dedication contribute tremendously to the economic well-being of this 
great Nation and deserve to be supported by the Federal Government.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to this matter be 
printed in the Record, without intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 174) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 174

       Whereas the 25,800,000 small business concerns in the 
     United States are the driving force behind the Nation's 
     economy, creating more than \2/3\ of all net new jobs and 
     generating more than 50 percent of the Nation's nonfarm gross 
     domestic product;
       Whereas small business concerns are the Nation's 
     innovators, advancing technology and productivity;
       Whereas small business concerns represent 97 percent of all 
     exporters and produce 28.6 percent of exported goods;
       Whereas Congress established the Small Business 
     Administration in 1953, to aid, counsel, assist, and protect 
     the interests of small business concerns in order to preserve 
     free competitive enterprise, to ensure that a fair proportion 
     of the total purchases and contracts or subcontracts for 
     property and services for the Federal Government be placed 
     with small business concerns, to ensure that a fair 
     proportion of the total sales of Government property be made 
     to such small business concerns, and to maintain and 
     strengthen the overall economy of the Nation;
       Whereas the Small Business Administration has helped small 
     business concerns access critical lending opportunities, 
     protected small business concerns from excessive Federal 
     regulatory enforcement, played a key role in ensuring full 
     and open competition for Government contracts, and improved 
     the economic environment in which small business concerns 
     compete;
       Whereas for over 50 years, the Small Business 
     Administration has helped millions of entrepreneurs achieve 
     the American dream of owning a small business concern, and 
     has played a key role in fostering economic growth; and
       Whereas the President has designated the week beginning 
     April 22, 2007 as ``National Small Business Week'': Now, 
     therefore, be it

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       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors the entrepreneurial spirit of small business 
     concerns in the United States during National Small Business 
     Week, beginning April 22, 2007;
       (2) applauds the efforts and achievements of the owners of 
     small business concerns and their employees, whose hard work 
     and commitment to excellence have made them a key part of the 
     Nation's economic vitality;
       (3) recognizes the work of the Small Business 
     Administration and its resource partners in providing 
     assistance to entrepreneurs and small business concerns;
       (4) strongly urges the President to take steps to ensure 
     that--
       (A) the applicable procurement goals for small business 
     concerns, including the goals for small business concerns 
     owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, small 
     business concerns owned and controlled by women, HUBZone 
     small business concerns, and small business concerns owned 
     and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged 
     individuals, are reached by all Federal agencies;
       (B) guaranteed loans, including microloans and microloan 
     technical assistance, for start-up and growing small business 
     concerns and venture capital are made available to all 
     qualified small business concerns;
       (C) the management assistance programs delivered by 
     resource partners on behalf of the Small Business 
     Administration, such as small business development centers, 
     women's business centers, and the Service Corps of Retired 
     Executives, are provided with the Federal resources necessary 
     to do their jobs; and
       (D) reforms to the disaster loan program of the Small 
     Business Administration are implemented as quickly as 
     possible; and
       (5) urges that, as was the case in the President's budget 
     for fiscal year 2008, the Small Business Administration 
     continue to be designated as a major agency in the 
     President's budget submitted pursuant to section 1105 of 
     title 31, United States Code, and that the Administrator of 
     the Small Business Administration have an active role as a 
     member of the President's Cabinet.

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