[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 1, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 34945-34947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09551]


 
 
                         Presidential Documents 
 
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 1, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents  

 ___________________________________________________________________

 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 34945]]

                Proclamation 10733 of April 26, 2024

                
National Small Business Week, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Small businesses are the engine of our economy and the 
                heart and soul of our communities. They employ nearly 
                half of all private sector workers and contribute to 
                every industry. Getting them what they need to grow is 
                one of the best investments our country can make. 
                During National Small Business Week, we celebrate the 
                grit and strength of every entrepreneur who has chased 
                a dream and put in the hard work each day to see their 
                business and our Nation thrive.

                When I took office, the pandemic was raging, and our 
                economy was reeling. Hundreds of thousands of small 
                businesses had closed forever, and millions more hung 
                on by a thread. Too many families faced the possibility 
                of losing not only their life's work but also their 
                hopes of leaving something behind for their kids. But 
                we turned that around. My Administration reformed the 
                landmark Paycheck Protection Program, which got quick 
                help to thousands of small businesses so they could 
                keep paying their workers. We delivered $450 billion in 
                relief to help 6 million small businesses cover their 
                bills and stay afloat. I signed the American Rescue 
                Plan, which provided additional support to 100,000 
                restaurants and to 225,000 child care centers, which so 
                many parents rely on to be able to work themselves.

                Three years later, America is in the midst of a 
                historic small business boom. Americans have filed a 
                record 17 million new business applications--and every 
                one of them is an act of hope. The share of Black-owned 
                businesses has more than doubled between 2019 and 2022, 
                and Latino business ownership is growing at the fastest 
                pace in at least a decade, generating new jobs and new 
                wealth in local communities. In all, our economy has 
                added 15 million new jobs since I took office. Growth 
                is strong, wages are rising, and inflation is down. We 
                are witnessing a small business boom. Across the 
                country, we are experiencing a great comeback story--
                and small businesses are playing a key part.

                From day one, they have been at the heart of my plan to 
                grow our economy from the middle out and bottom up. 
                That is why--as my Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes 
                the biggest investment in our Nation's infrastructure 
                in generations, rebuilding roads, bridges, ports, 
                public transit, and more--we are relying on America's 
                Main Street entrepreneurs to help us rebuild. We set a 
                goal of awarding $37 billion in these investments to 
                small businesses so they can benefit from these 
                projects and create good-paying jobs. We are making 
                sure every home and business in America has access to 
                affordable, high-speed internet by the end of the 
                decade so entrepreneurs everywhere can access more 
                customers and have a fair shot. We passed the CHIPS and 
                Science Act to expand semiconductor manufacturing and 
                ensure industries of the future are Made in America, 
                creating tens of thousands of jobs, strengthening 
                supply chains, and supporting small suppliers and 
                businesses across the country. As our Inflation 
                Reduction Act makes the most significant investment in 
                fighting climate change ever in the world, it is 
                creating new markets for small clean-energy companies. 
                Altogether, my Investing in America Agenda has 
                attracted $688 billion in private-sector investments 
                from companies that are bringing jobs back to America 
                where they

[[Page 34946]]

                belong, helping to rebuild our economy, our supply 
                chains, and our small businesses.

                To help small businesses grow, we are also expanding 
                access to capital and to markets by using the power of 
                the Federal Government as both a lender and customer. 
                Mom and pop businesses with only a handful of employees 
                often need small loans of $100,000 or less, but not all 
                banks offer them. That is why the Small Business 
                Administration (SBA) is expanding access to low-cost 
                small-dollar loans and increasing the number of lenders 
                that offer affordable guaranteed loans. The SBA 
                finalized rules that will provide rural and minority-, 
                women-, and veteran-owned small businesses with more 
                affordable loan options by authorizing more non-
                traditional lenders, like Community Development 
                Financial Institutions, to offer guaranteed loans. 
                Because the Federal Government buys more goods and 
                services than any entity in the world, we set a goal of 
                increasing the share of Federal contracting dollars 
                that must go to small disadvantaged businesses from 
                less than 10 percent before I took office to 15 
                percent. Last year, we awarded a record-setting $76 
                billion to these businesses, helping level the playing 
                field and close the racial wealth gap.

                Meanwhile, we invested $10 billion in State-level 
                small-business programs, which will catalyze tens of 
                billions in private investments to expand access to 
                capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs. 
                Further, my Administration has invested nearly $70 
                million in the Women's Business Centers network, which 
                is designed to promote and support women-owned 
                businesses and can now be found in all 50 States, the 
                District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

                Small businesses may only employ a few people instead 
                of thousands, but together they make up 40 percent of 
                our economy and 99.9 percent of all American 
                businesses. They are the glue that helps hold our 
                Nation together. In their dedication to their 
                communities and in their courage, hope, sweat, and 
                drive, small business owners embody the spirit of 
                America and our boundless possibilities. This week, we 
                recommit to making that future real and leaving no one 
                behind.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 28 
                through May 4, 2024, as National Small Business Week. I 
                call upon all Americans to recognize the contributions 
                of small businesses to the American economy, continue 
                supporting them, and honor the occasion with programs 
                and activities that highlight these important 
                businesses.

[[Page 34947]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                eighth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-09551
Filed 4-30-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P