[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 68 (Wednesday, May 6, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S2693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 172--HONORING THE VITAL ROLE OF SMALL BUSINESSES AND 
  THE PASSION OF ENTREPRENEURS IN THE UNITED STATES DURING ``NATIONAL 
         SMALL BUSINESS WEEK'', FROM MAY 4, THROUGH MAY 8, 2015

  Mr. VITTER (for himself, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Peters, Mr. 
Rubio, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Gardner, Ms. Ayotte, Mr. Coons, Ms. Heitkamp, 
Mr. Markey, Mr. Risch, Mr. Scott, Mrs. Fischer, and Mr. Hoeven) 
submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 172

       Whereas 2015 marks the 52nd anniversary of ``National Small 
     Business Week'', a designation that every President since 
     1963 has endorsed;
       Whereas, as of 2008, the approximately 28,400,000 small 
     businesses in the United States, the leading force of the 
     economy of United States, created 63 percent of net new 
     private sector jobs and generated close to 50 percent of the 
     private, non-farm gross domestic product of the United 
     States;
       Whereas 22,735,915 of the small businesses of the United 
     States have no employees, and 86 percent are sole 
     proprietorships;
       Whereas, as of 2007, 2,450,000 veterans were small business 
     owners, which accounted for 9.3 percent of all businesses in 
     the United States;
       Whereas, in 2013, veteran small business owners accounted 
     for 9 percent of all business owners and 9 percent of the 
     adult population in the United States;
       Whereas small businesses owned by women increased as a 
     share of total businesses in the United States from 26.4 
     percent in 1997 to 29.6 percent in 2007, and, as of 2007, 
     totaled nearly 7,800,000 businesses;
       Whereas small businesses employ about 56,100,000 million 
     people of the United States, which is approximately half of 
     the private workforce of the United States;
       Whereas small businesses account for 37 percent of 
     employment in the high-tech sector;
       Whereas high-patenting small businesses produce 16 times 
     more patents per employee than large patenting firms;
       Whereas small businesses in the United States represent 
     nearly 98 percent of all exporters and produce 33 percent of 
     the export value of the United States;
       Whereas, on July 30, 1953, Congress created the Small 
     Business Administration to aid, counsel, assist, and protect 
     the interests of small businesses in order to preserve free 
     and competitive enterprise, to ensure that a fair proportion 
     of the total sales of Federal Government property are made to 
     small businesses, and to maintain and strengthen the overall 
     economy of the United States;
       Whereas, for more than 50 years, the Small Business 
     Administration has helped more than 10,000,000 entrepreneurs 
     reach the dream of creating and maintaining a small business, 
     and has played a key role in fostering local and national 
     economic growth; and
       Whereas the President has designated the week beginning May 
     4, 2015, as ``National Small Business Week'': Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors the vital role of small businesses and 
     entrepreneurs in the United States during ``National Small 
     Business Week'';
       (2) supports the designation of ``National Small Business 
     Week'';
       (3) recognizes the important role of the Small Business 
     Administration as a valuable resource for entrepreneurs in 
     the United States;
       (4) supports and encourages young entrepreneurs to pursue 
     their passions and create more start-up businesses;
       (5) recognizes the importance of creating policies that 
     promote a business-friendly environment for small business 
     owners that is free of unnecessary and burdensome regulations 
     and red tape;
       (6) recognizes the National Small Business Person of the 
     Year and the National Lender of the Year; and
       (7) supports efforts to--
       (A) encourage consumers to shop locally; and
       (B) increase awareness of the value of locally-owned small 
     businesses and the impact of locally-owned small businesses 
     on the economy of the United States.

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