[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 68 (Monday, April 28, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S3452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS DURING NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Small 
Business Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 
524, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 524) honoring the entrepreneurial 
     spirit of the owners of small business concerns in the United 
     States during National Small Business Week, beginning April 
     21, 2008.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, 
the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, and any statements be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 524) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 524

       Whereas the 26,800,000 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 represent 99.7 percent of 
     all businesses and employ 50 percent of the Nation's 
     workforce;
       Whereas small business concerns represent 97 percent of all 
     exporters and produce 28.6 percent of exported goods;
       Whereas small business concerns are the Nation's 
     innovators, advancing technology and productivity;
       Whereas the resilience, vitality, and growth of small 
     business concerns are critical to the Nation's 
     competitiveness during a time of economic downturn;
       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 for over 50 years, the Small Business 
     Administration has provided aid and assistance to millions of 
     entrepreneurs who have succeeded in achieving the American 
     dream of owning a small business concern, and thus has played 
     a key role in fostering economic growth; and
       Whereas the President has designated the week beginning 
     April 21, 2008, as National Small Business Week: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors the entrepreneurial spirit of the owners of 
     small business concerns in the United States during National 
     Small Business Week, beginning April 21, 2008;
       (2) honors the efforts and achievements of the owners and 
     employees of small business concerns, whose hard work, 
     commitment to excellence, and willingness to take a risk, 
     have made them a crucial part of the Nation's economy;
       (3) recognizes that small business concerns are essential 
     to restoring the Nation's economic health;
       (4) recognizes the vital role of the programs of the Small 
     Business Administration and the work of its employees and its 
     resource partners in providing assistance to entrepreneurs 
     and the owners of small business concerns;
       (5) strongly urges the President to take steps to ensure 
     that--
       (A) reasonable rules relating to the procurement program 
     for women-owned small business concerns under section 8(m) of 
     the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(m)) are expeditiously 
     implemented to give women business owners a fair opportunity 
     to compete for Federal contracts;
       (B) small business concerns have access to quality 
     affordable health insurance;
       (C) the needs of veterans and reservists who own their own 
     businesses, who work for small business concerns, or want to 
     start their own businesses, are met during deployment and 
     upon their return from duty;
       (D) proper measures are enacted to provide a stimulus for 
     business lending during this economic downturn;
       (E) the tax burdens of small business concerns are reduced, 
     and that there is a reduction in regulatory and bureaucratic 
     barriers;
       (F) small minority owned businesses are supported in their 
     efforts to access the Federal marketplace and gain access to 
     capital;
       (G) small business concerns have the tools to become more 
     energy efficient to survive rising costs of energy, increase 
     profits, and reduce the Nation's reliance on foreign oil;
       (H) all Federal agencies adhere to the contracting 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, small business concerns owned and controlled by 
     socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and 
     HUBZone small business concerns;
       (I) venture capital and small business loans, including 
     microloans and guaranteed loans that are delivered through 
     private lenders, for start-up firms and growing small 
     business concerns are available to all qualified small 
     business concerns; and
       (J) 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
       (6) urges that the Administrator of the Small Business 
     Administration have an active role as a member of the 
     President's Cabinet.

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