[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 76 (Thursday, May 2, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S3368]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, I rise today as chair of the Committee 
on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to recognize National Small 
Business Week and honor the more than 33 million small businesses that 
drive the American economy.
  Across the Nation, small businesses contribute to about half of our 
economy's GDP and create about two-thirds of new jobs. They even 
produce 16 times more patents than large businesses. There is no 
American economy without the small business economy.
  In my home State of New Hampshire, 99 percent of our businesses are 
small businesses. They employ about 50 percent of Granite Staters and 
are led by some of the most determined and creative individuals I know.
  Take, for example, Counseling Associates, a women-owned small 
business filling the mental health services gap in the Granite State. 
Susan Borchert and Betsy Harrison, cofounders of Counseling Associates, 
received the 2024 New Hampshire Small Business Persons of the Year 
award. Congratulations, Susan and Betsy.
  After years of working together and motivated by a shared passion for 
expanding affordable healthcare, Susan and Betsy leveraged their 
combined 40 years of clinical experience and founded Counseling 
Associates in 2004.
  Thanks to support from the Small Business Administration and years of 
consultation from New Hampshire's Small Business Development Center, 
they have expanded to employ over 85 professionals in five different 
locations. Like Counseling Associates, small businesses across the 
country depend on the resources provided by the Small Business 
Administration.
  Congress must continue to extend these resources to more parts of the 
country. We must ensure entrepreneurs in every community, including 
those in rural areas, have a fair shot at starting and growing their 
small businesses, and we must continue to support an environment where 
small businesses can succeed. This means addressing the drivers of 
inflation, providing affordable housing, developing the workforce we 
need, and dealing with America's childcare crisis.
  Now more than ever, expanding small business services is critical to 
keep up with the historic rise in entrepreneurship. An unprecedented 17 
million new business applications have been filed under the Biden-
Harris administration, including substantial growth in women-owned 
small businesses.
  To all of America's small businesses, whatever your calling to 
entrepreneurship may be: Thank you for all you do, this week and every 
week.
  You make America strong. You ensure our communities stay vibrant, and 
it is because of you that we will strengthen our local economies and 
continue to move America forward.
  Mr. SCHATZ. I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed 
to, the preambles be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 652) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  (The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in the Record of April 
18, 2024, under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')
  The resolutions (S. Res. 671, S. Res. 672, and S. Res. 675) were 
agreed to.
  The preambles were agreed to.
  (The resolutions, with their preambles, are printed in today's Record 
under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')

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