[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16187]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     PROMOTING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

  (Mr. PAULSEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Speaker, last week I spent a day traveling my 
district and meeting with half a dozen women entrepreneurs.
  I started the morning spending time with children in Maple Grove, 
Minnesota, at the LilyPad Daycare that is owned by a dynamic mom and 
daughter team.
  Next I went to Plymouth, and I visited and toured the medical 
manufacturer ATEK Medical, which is owned by Christy Bieber Orris and 
Kay Phillips. Now, they've got challenges on the horizon with the FDA 
and a new medical device tax, but they are determined to move forward.
  I also visited a public relations firm that was started from scratch 
by Cindy Leines in her basement 23 years ago. Then I connected with 
Makya, who is living the dream of owning and operating her own 
educational toy store. And finally I sat down with Peg at Peg's 
Countryside Cafe.
  Mr. Speaker, Minnesota is a great State teeming with endless 
possibilities because of women like these who are entrepreneurs taking 
risks, and we need to do more to encourage women to take the leap into 
entrepreneurship.
  My hope is that last week's tour will help inspire more women to 
realize their dream of running their own business. After all, it's 
small businesses that will lead our way out of this tough economic 
situation we're in and drive ourselves to more economic growth.

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