[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 16369-16370]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             SAS INSTITUTE INC. CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY

 Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. President, I am proud to honor SAS Institute 
Inc. as it celebrates 25 years as a leading technology company. SAS is 
the world's largest privately held software company. The roots of SAS' 
software stem from a United States Department of Agriculture grant to a 
group of universities in need of a way to analyze their vast amounts of 
agriculture data. The group developed the ``Statistical Analysis 
System'', giving SAS both its name and its corporate beginnings.
  Headquartered in Cary, NC, SAS has made significant contributions to 
communities throughout North Carolina. Fortunately, as it has grown 
over the last 25 years, SAS has extended its community involvement to 
include areas around the United States and the world. The company and 
its founders believe very strongly that education and technology are 
vitally important for our local communities, state, and country.
  SAS' customer list have grown significantly over the past 25 years. 
SAS customers now include 98 of the ``Fortune 100'' companies. In 
addition, all fourteen major Federal Government departments currently 
use SAS software. SAS customers continually praise its software, as 
demonstrated by a 98-percent annual renewal rate.
  For the past quarter century, SAS has annually reinvested at least 30 
percent of its income into Research & Development, far exceeding the 
industry average. As a result of its commitment

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to R&D, SAS is positioned to continue to develop important solutions 
for its customers.
  SAS co-owners and co-founders, Dr. James H. Goodnight and John P. 
Sall, have a built a company that is committed to providing not only 
valuable software solutions for its customers, but also providing a 
worker friendly environment for their employees. SAS' treatment of its 
employees is a model for other companies around the world to follow. 
For example, SAS was a corporate pioneer by providing on-site daycare 
for its employees' children as early as 1981. In 1986, SAS began 
offering onsite healthcare for its employees. Last year, the company's 
Health Care Center had more than 33,000 patient visits. SAS also 
provides onsite employee cafeterias, an employee fitness center, 
massage therapy and hair care services. SAS has created a family 
atmosphere that inspires employee loyalty and bottom line success.
  As a result of the many employee benefits and the positive employee-
friendly atmosphere created by its co-founders, SAS' employee turnover 
rate is just 5 percent as compared with a 20-percent industry average. 
Based on its workplace environment, SAS has received corporate 
leadership awards from numerous publications, including Working Mother, 
Fortune, and Business Week magazines.
  Based on its past performance, I have no doubt that SAS will continue 
to provide an exciting work environment for its employees and remain 
committed to supporting community causes. SAS and its employees most 
certainly must be excited about the next 25 years, and as a U.S. 
Senator from North Carolina, I am proud that SAS was born in my 
State.

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