    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 117, 108th Congress, 1st Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Proclamation 7704 of September 12, 2003

    Small Business Week, 2003

    By the President of the United States of America
    A Proclamation

    The success of small businesses in America reflects the innovation,
    determination, and hard work of the American people. During Small
    Business Week, we celebrate the entrepreneurs and business people who
    create goods, services, and jobs, and bring opportunity and economic
    prosperity to communities throughout our country. We also reaffirm our
    commitment to helping more small business owners and their employees
    realize the American Dream.
    Small businesses create the majority of new jobs in our Nation and
    account for more than half of the output of our economy. They lead the
    way in generating new ideas and creating new technologies, goods, and
    services for our country and for the world.
    Small businesses also reflect the diversity of America. Nearly 40
    percent of small companies in the United States are owned by women.
    There are also more than 3 million minority-owned small businesses
    across the country.
    Because small businesses are vital to our Nation's prosperity and
    reflect the hard work of the American people, my Administration has
    taken important steps to assist small businesses and the people they
    employ. We have reduced taxes, encouraged investment, and removed
    obstacles to growth. The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act
    of 2003 I signed into law will provide 23 million small business owners
    with tax cuts averaging more than $2,200 each. The Act also quadrupled
    the amount that small businesses can expense for new capital
    investments, encouraging new investment in technology, machinery, and
    other equipment. This new technology and equipment will increase
    productivity and create new jobs, thereby contributing to the overall
    strength of our economy.
    We are also seeking to permanently eliminate the death tax. With the
    repeal of this tax, small business men and women will be able to pass
    their life's work to the next generation without having to pay a
    punitive tax that in many cases forces the sale of the business or many
    of its assets. And I support legislation that would make it easier for
    small businesses to offer health coverage options to their employees.
    Through Association Health Plans, small businesses could pool together
    to offer group plans to all of their employees, like those available to
    large businesses. In addition, we are working to streamline small
    business regulations and paperwork. To this end, I issued an Ex

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    ecutive Order that requires all Federal regulatory agencies to minimize
    these burdens on our Nation's small businesses.
    The Small Business Administration (SBA), which helps American innovators
    and risk-takers launch and build their businesses, celebrates its 50th
    anniversary this year. By helping small businesses succeed, the SBA
    continues to strengthen America.
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of
    America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
    laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 14 through
    September 20, 2003, as Small Business Week. I call upon all the people
    of the United States to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies,
    activities, and programs that celebrate the achievements of small
    business owners and their employees and encourage and foster the
    development of new small businesses.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of
    September, in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the
    Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
    eighth.
    GEORGE W. BUSH