[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7579-7581]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT OF SMALL BUSINESS

  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 469, submitted earlier 
today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 469) honoring the entrepreneurial 
     spirit of small business concerns in the United States during 
     National Small Business Week, which begins on May 20, 2012.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. We have submitted a resolution, because it is Small 
Business Week, on behalf of myself and Senator Snowe, Senator Pryor, 
Senator Lieberman, Senator Enzi, Senator Kerry, Senator Brown, Senator 
Cantwell, Senator Ayotte, Senator Risch, Senator Cardin, and Senator 
Hagan, a very good representation of our Small Business Committee and 
others that submitted a resolution this week, again, as we have done 
every year since 1953. We have done so every year since 1953 to 
recognize this week, or 1 week in the year, as Small Business Week. So 
that is what our resolution, which was submitted earlier today, does.
  I hope Leaders McConnell and Reid will take up this resolution and 
pass it so we can honor the 28 million small businesses that exist 
today in America. We have been doing everything we can, and I am very 
proud, as the chairman of the Small Business Committee, that we have 
worked in a bipartisan fashion for the most part trying to give our 
businesses, first of all, the recognition that 9 out of 10 new jobs 
created were created by a small number, a very small number, of small 
businesses that are fast growing. They are the new job creators. These 
are the businesses that are going to be putting this recession behind 
us. These are the businesses that are innovating and adapting and 
changing and being more strategic and smarter, looking for those 
opportunities in all areas and in all geographic parts of our Nation.
  Over the past few months my committee has held three very special 
roundtables to explore strategies, tools, and methods to strengthen 
what I like to call the ecosystem of entrepreneurship. Much like a rain 
forest or desert or much like the ocean itself, that is an environment 
where many creatures or organisms have to live and interact. The same 
is true of our financial ecosystem, the political ecosystem. Society 
itself is an ecosystem where small businesses have to function.
  In order for them to be healthy, there have to be the right 
nutrients, if you will, present. So we have explored in our committee 
what--we know the United States does this well. We do it better than 
any country on Earth. That is one of the great strengths of America; we 
foster that entrepreneurship, free but fair markets, well regulated, 
not too lightly, not too heavily. Sometimes we go a little overboard 
and we need to pull back. Sometimes we do not regulate enough and we 
need to step up. But that is what we have been exploring.
  In fact, we have broken our roundtables into domains: Do our small 
businesses have enough access to capital? Do our small businesses truly 
have access to grow global markets? What did we learn this year? We 
learned that less than 12 percent of all small businesses in America 
export. With the market growing overseas and only the small percentage 
of the world market being now in the United States--we were at one time 
the biggest market, when China was closed, when communism was reigning 
in the Soviet Union, and the Arab world was in darkness. I mean the 
market was in the United States.
  But that is no longer the case, as these countries and areas have 
emerged and created markets and opportunities of their own.

[[Page 7580]]

  So one thing we learned is that the ecosystem needs to be stronger by 
helping small businesses to export. They do not have the back office or 
the expertise of 10 accountants and a Chinese specialist and a South 
American specialist. But we can, by being smart, help. Through the 
Commerce Department, the Small Business Administration, or maybe even 
through some of our research and development arms of some of our 
departments, we can be the back office for small businesses.
  We are excited about what is happening there. So access to capital, 
access to global markets, access to counseling, mentoring, technical 
assistance and education. I have had so many small businesses come 
before our committee and say: You know, Senator, getting the loan from 
the bank was the first step. But if so-and-so had not shown up in my 
office from the Score Chapter or if I could not have reached out to my 
local university or my small business center there, I would never have 
been able to make it because they told me what to do to save me from 
making a fatal mistake and got me on my way or helped me to rethink my 
market during the recession.
  How one lady put it before our committee, they helped her remarket 
her business so now it is growing faster than ever. I think also access 
to strategic partnerships is important. No man is an island. We do not 
accomplish anything by ourselves in the world. That is true of 
individuals, that is true of small businesses. So we asked ourselves: 
Who are the partners, strategic partners for small businesses? Cities 
are doing some creative things.
  Madam President, you were a county executive. You know the things you 
did as a county executive. Your reputation is well known in that 
regard.
  States can be strategic partners to their small businesses. We 
explored those opportunities. Access to government contracting--you 
know, the Federal Government, state governments, and local governments 
are some of the biggest spenders and biggest businesses--if they were 
businesses, which they are not; there are clear differences--but if we 
were a business, the Federal Government would be the largest business 
in the world. It buys more goods and services than others. We do not 
have to do all of that just with the big businesses such as IBM, GE, 
ExxonMobil. We can contract with small businesses. It takes a little 
more time, takes a little more energy, takes a little bit different 
approach, but we most certainly can buy some of the things we need from 
the small business right down the street.
  So we are shaping policies to do that. Senator Cardin from Maryland 
has been particularly aggressive when it comes to contracting with 
minority and women-owned businesses, which make up a significant and 
growing area. It is very exciting as more women enter not just the 
workforce but decide they want their flexibility. They want to set 
their own hours. They want to be their own bosses. They want to 
establish businesses that allow them to also raise children at home, to 
be there when their kids need them. So they find that small businesses 
operating out of their homes are the answer to that dilemma. We want to 
give them access to government contracting when, of course, they are 
capable and provide the right price.
  One of the big areas that we looked at is access to human capital. I 
think you probably heard, Madam President, many of our businesses 
saying: Why is it that we are bringing in some of the smartest people 
in the world, educating them at our universities, to where they are 
getting master's degrees and Ph.D.s in engineering, math, and science, 
and then we send them back to the country they came from so they can 
create businesses to compete against us? Why don't we extend visa 
privileges to these master's and Ph.D. candidates?
  That is a good question, and we have bills to answer that. We also 
want to develop a skilled workforce in America. Access to human capital 
is what small businesses need to grow and to expand.
  Finally, we need access to flexible regulation and smart tax policy. 
We are never going to live in a world where we do not pay taxes. It is 
just the nature of what we have to do to keep our government running 
and operating, with a government that serves the people--by the people, 
for the people.
  But our taxes should not be too heavy, too burdensome, and our 
regulatory regime should not be either too light or too onerous. It 
should be just right. But it is hard to get that just-right approach. 
We are working at it every day. Senator Snowe has been working on 
regulatory reform. Senator Warner has been working very hard on 
regulatory reform--and other Members of this body.
  The bottom line is that this is Small Business Week. We want to honor 
the small businesses that are helping us put this recession in the 
rearview mirror. I want to ask the leadership to pass this resolution--
a very straightforward, noncontroversial resolution by both Democrats 
and Republicans, recognizing this is Small Business Week.
  I also wanted to bring to the attention of the body the conclusion, 
basically, of the three roundtables we have held and thank the Members 
who attended. We had good attendance, and we gleaned some excellent 
ideas about the brackets I have outlined today, and have been in the 
process of filing over the last week, and throughout this week, 
individual bills that reflect what we have learned in these 
roundtables. We have taken those ideas and turned them into 
legislation.
  I am happy to say there is not going to be a big pricetag on this 
legislation. It is not just throwing money at the problem, but we do 
need additional resources. It is sharpening things, reforming some of 
our strategies, laws, rules, and regulations on the books, and 
encouraging, by granting some competitive grants, some of these 
strategic partnerships with counties, cities, and States. I look 
forward to seeing how this body responds to some of the new pieces of 
legislation we put out. I look forward to working with my colleagues 
through this week and the month of May, through the summer, and into 
the election, to keep focused on the No. 1 issue on the minds of the 
American people, which is jobs, economic hope, and economic opportunity 
for themselves and their families. Tom Friedman has been saying all 
over the world that when kids graduate from college, it is not a job 
they are looking for. They may not be able to find the job they are 
looking for. They need to create the job they want. They need to build 
a business, build a better mousetrap, think about a different way of 
delivering a product or a service or think about a business that is 
selling to a domestic market and taking it global. With technology and 
opportunities, many young people are doing just that.
  In conclusion, I had the wonderful opportunity on Friday to be 
involved and took the opportunity Saturday morning to stop in at the 
Cambridge Innovation Center, the granddaddy of all small business 
incubators. It is across the street from MIT, Microsoft, and Google. 
There were some young and exciting college students in the building. 
You could either rent a cubicle that looked like a kindergarten with 
your name on it to get in the building or you could rent a space such 
as a bullpen where you could work or rent your own cubicle or private 
office; and thousands, literally, of young people were moving into that 
building--actually people of all ages, even retired executives who 
decided, I have always wanted to try out my idea, so let's see if I can 
get my business started. Even on a Saturday--and it was very quiet--I 
could feel the energy in that building, although it was virtually 
empty.
  I have walked through incubators in New Orleans, and I hope the 
occupant of the chair did, and helped to create them in Delaware. That 
is what it is going to take, a strategic partnership between government 
and the private sector, letting the private sector do what they do 
best, but letting government do what it does best. That was a perfect 
example of what I saw in terms of taking research dollars that are 
spent at MIT, moving them out to the universities, and then on to these 
ideas, where they are literally being tested and commercialized to get 
out into the market to create wealth and opportunity for the United 
States and the world.

[[Page 7581]]

  I am happy to be chair of the Small Business Committee. For small 
business and economic growth, it is National Small Business Week. I 
thank all the groups helping us to celebrate this week and, most 
important, I thank the entrepreneurs who literally risk everything to 
create their dreams and bring economic prosperity not just to 
themselves and their family business but to a Nation that relies on 
them every day. We want to make that burden lighter. I want to help 
them in every way we can in our committee in Washington and throughout 
our States, counties, and cities, and be the partner they can rely on 
to get the job done.
  Madam President, I don't see anyone else on the floor. I urge my 
colleagues to adopt our resolution. I thank all of us who will be 
speaking today and this week on Small Business Week.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam President, it is my understanding we are 
ready to act on this resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there is no further debate, the question is 
on agreeing to the resolution.
  The resolution (S. Res. 469) was agreed to.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam President, I now ask that we act on the 
preamble.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there is no further debate, the question is 
on agreeing to the preamble.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 469

       Whereas the approximately 27,500,000 small business 
     concerns in the United States are the driving force behind 
     the Nation's economy, creating 2 out of every 3 new jobs and 
     generating more than 50 percent of the Nation's non-farm 
     gross domestic product;
       Whereas small businesses are the driving force behind the 
     economic recovery of the United States;
       Whereas small businesses represent 99.7 percent of employer 
     firms in the United States;
       Whereas small business concerns are the Nation's 
     innovators, serving to advance technology and productivity;
       Whereas small business concerns represent 97.5 percent of 
     all exporters and produce 31 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 and competitive enterprise, to ensure that a fair 
     proportion of the total Federal Government purchases, 
     contracts, and subcontracts for property and services are 
     placed with small business concerns, to ensure that a fair 
     proportion of the total sales of government property are made 
     to such small business concerns, and to maintain and 
     strengthen the overall economy of the United States;
       Whereas every year since 1963, the President has designated 
     a ``National Small Business Week'' to recognize the 
     contributions of small businesses to the economic well-being 
     of the United States;
       Whereas in 2012, National Small Business Week will honor 
     the estimated 27,200,000 small businesses in the United 
     States;
       Whereas the Small Business Administration has helped small 
     business concerns by providing access to critical lending 
     opportunities, protecting small business concerns from 
     excessive Federal regulatory enforcement, helping to ensure 
     full and open competition for government contracts, and 
     improving the economic environment in which small business 
     concerns compete;
       Whereas for more than 50 years, the Small Business 
     Administration has helped millions of entrepreneurs achieve 
     the American dream of owning a small business, and has played 
     a key role in fostering economic growth; and
       Whereas the President has designated the week beginning May 
     20, 2012, 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, which begins on May 20, 2012;
       (2) applauds the efforts and achievements of the owners and 
     employees of small business concerns, whose hard work and 
     commitment to excellence have made such small business 
     concerns a key part of the economic vitality of the United 
     States;
       (3) recognizes the work of the Small Business 
     Administration and its resource partners in providing 
     assistance to entrepreneurs and small business concerns; and
       (4) recognizes the importance of ensuring that--
       (A) 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;
       (B) 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 provide invaluable counseling services to entrepreneurs in 
     the United States;
       (C) the Small Business Administration continues to provide 
     timely and efficient disaster assistance so that small 
     businesses in areas struck by natural or manmade disasters 
     can quickly return to business to keep local economies alive 
     in the aftermath of such disasters;
       (D) affordable broadband Internet access is available to 
     all people in the United States, particularly people in rural 
     and underserved communities, so that small businesses can use 
     the Internet to make their operations more globally 
     competitive while boosting local economies;
       (E) regulatory relief is provided to small businesses 
     through the reduction of duplicative or unnecessary 
     regulatory requirements that increase costs for small 
     businesses; and
       (F) leveling the playing field for contracting 
     opportunities remains a primary focus, so that small 
     businesses, particularly minority-owned small businesses, can 
     compete for and win more of the $400,000,000,000 in contracts 
     that the Federal Government enters into each year for goods 
     and services.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements 
related to the resolution be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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