[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 21 (Monday, May 29, 2000)]
[Pages 1175-1176]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7311--Small Business Week, 2000

May 19, 2000

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    The men and women who own and operate our Nation's 25 million small 
businesses have made, and continue to make, an indispensable 
contribution to America's economic strength and success. These 
entrepreneurs possess many of the characteristics that have always 
defined the American spirit: a fierce independence, an extraordinary 
work ethic, and an uncompromising commitment to building a better life. 
Taking risks to fulfill their dreams, they have made a profound and 
positive impact on the lives and futures of their fellow citizens.
    America's small business owners represent more than 99 percent of 
all employers, and they employ more than half of the private sector 
workforce. They create 80 percent of the new jobs in our economy, and 
last year they generated 51 percent of our Nation's gross national 
product--more than $16 trillion. Small business owners are leaders in 
innovation, creating a wellspring of new technology, new products, and 
more effective business processes.

[[Page 1176]]

    Recognizing the important role small businesses play in the life of 
our Nation and in the vitality of our economy, my Administration is 
committed to continuing and expanding their success so that more 
Americans have the opportunity for prosperity and a secure future for 
themselves and their families. By balancing the Federal budget, we freed 
up capital for starting and expanding small businesses. We have put in 
place policies and programs that grant tax and regulatory relief and 
expand access to capital and overseas markets for small businesses. And 
we have strengthened America's workforce through investment in 
education, training, and improved benefits.
    Through the Small Business Administration, we guaranteed more than 
$12 billion in loans to nearly 50 thousand companies last year alone; 
opened the door to $4.2 billion in venture capital investment for 2,000 
companies; and provided management and technical assistance to more than 
900,000 small businesses. Through our New Markets Initiative and our 
efforts to bridge the digital divide, my Administration is helping to 
create opportunities for small businesses by promoting public and 
private sector investment in underserved communities and expanding e-
commerce capability.
    During Small Business Week, we salute America's millions of small 
business owners; men and women of courage and initiative whose future is 
limited only by their imagination and whose success has created better 
lives for us all.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, 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 May 21 
through May 27, 2000, as Small Business Week. I call upon government 
officials and 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 encourage the development of 
new enterprises.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day 
of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence of 
the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., May 23, 2000]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on May 20, and it was published in the Federal Register on May 
24.