[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2280]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     NATIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK

  (Ms. GABBARD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. GABBARD. Mr. Speaker, small-business owners make up over 90 
percent of private sector employers in my home State of Hawaii, and 
they are the backbone of our economy both in Hawaii and across the 
country.
  In our close-knit community built on generations of small-business 
owners willing to lend a hand to a neighbor in need, this is one of the 
things that makes our State so special and that helps to bring the 
aloha spirit alive both for visitors and kama`aina alike.
  Last week I had the chance to spend some time planting kale and beets 
at the Palaka Moon Farm with Waimanalo small-business owners Malia 
Smith and Kevin Vaccarello.
  I then went and helped them open their Ai Love Nalo cafe, where they 
seek to improve the health and well-being of their community around 
them by feeding them delicious, locally grown food.
  It is the hard work of people like Malia and Kevin and the love that 
they put into their business and work that are at the heart of our 
economy in communities across the country and in Hawaii.
  As we recognize National Entrepreneurship Week this week, I want to 
say thank you to all of our small-business owners and entrepreneurs for 
their dedication and for what they do to strengthen and serve our 
communities every single day.

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