[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 10548-10549]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 174--HONORING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT OF SMALL 
 BUSINESS CONCERNS IN THE UNITED STATES DURING NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS 
                     WEEK BEGINNING APRIL 22, 2007

  Mr. KERRY (for himself, Ms. Snowe, Ms. Landrieu, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. 
Lieberman, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Coleman, and Mr. Cardin) submitted 
the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              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
       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.

[[Page 10549]]



                          ____________________