III 

110TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. RES. 524 

Honoring the entrepreneurial spirit of the owners of small business concerns 

in the United States during National Small Business Week, beginning 

April 21, 2008. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 22, 2008 

Mr. KERRY (for himself, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. VITTER, Mr. 

CARDIN, Mrs. DOLE, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. THUNE, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. 

ENZI, Mr. BAYH, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. TESTER, 

and Mr. COLEMAN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

APRIL 28, 2008 

Committee discharged; considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the entrepreneurial spirit of the owners of small 

business concerns in the United States during National 

Small Business Week, beginning April 21, 2008. 

Whereas the 26,800,000 small business concerns in the 

United States are the driving force behind the Nation’s 

economy, creating more than 2⁄3 of all net new jobs and 

generating more than 50 percent of the Nation’s nonfarm 

gross domestic product; 


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SRES 524 ATS 

Whereas small business concerns represent 99.7 percent of all 

businesses and employ 50 percent of the Nation’s workforce; 

Whereas small business concerns represent 97 percent of all 

exporters and produce 28.6 percent of exported goods; 

Whereas small business concerns are the Nation’s innovators, 

advancing technology and productivity; 

Whereas the resilience, vitality, and growth of small business 

concerns are critical to the Nation’s competitiveness during a time of economic downturn; 

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 competitive enterprise, to ensure that a fair proportion of the total purchases and contracts or subcontracts 

for property and services for the Federal Government be 

placed with small business concerns, to ensure that a fair 

proportion of the total sales of Government property be 

made to such small business concerns, and to maintain 

and strengthen the overall economy of the Nation; 

Whereas for over 50 years, the Small Business Administration has provided aid and assistance to millions of entrepreneurs who have succeeded in achieving the American 

dream of owning a small business concern, and thus has 

played a key role in fostering economic growth; and 

Whereas the President has designated the week beginning 

April 21, 2008, as National Small Business Week: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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SRES 524 ATS 

1 (1) honors the entrepreneurial spirit of the own2 ers of small business concerns in the United States 

3 during National Small Business Week, beginning 

4 April 21, 2008; 

5 (2) honors the efforts and achievements of the 

6 owners and employees of small business concerns, 

7 whose hard work, commitment to excellence, and 

8 willingness to take a risk, have made them a crucial 

9 part of the Nation’s economy; 

10 (3) recognizes that small business concerns are 

11 essential to restoring the Nation’s economic health; 

12 (4) recognizes the vital role of the programs of 

13 the Small Business Administration and the work of 

14 its employees and its resource partners in providing 

15 assistance to entrepreneurs and the owners of small 

16 business concerns; 

17 (5) strongly urges the President to take steps 

18 to ensure that— 

19 (A) reasonable rules relating to the pro20 curement program for women-owned small busi21 ness concerns under section 8(m) of the Small 

22 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(m)) are expedi23 tiously implemented to give women business 

24 owners a fair opportunity to compete for Fed25 eral contracts; 


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SRES 524 ATS 

1 (B) small business concerns have access to 

2 quality affordable health insurance; 

3 (C) the needs of veterans and reservists 

4 who own their own businesses, who work for 

5 small business concerns, or want to start their 

6 own businesses, are met during deployment and 

7 upon their return from duty; 

8 (D) proper measures are enacted to pro9 vide a stimulus for business lending during this 

10 economic downturn; 

11 (E) the tax burdens of small business con12 cerns are reduced, and that there is a reduction 

13 in regulatory and bureaucratic barriers; 

14 (F) small minority owned businesses are 

15 supported in their efforts to access the Federal 

16 marketplace and gain access to capital; 

17 (G) small business concerns have the tools 

18 to become more energy efficient to survive ris19 ing costs of energy, increase profits, and reduce 

20 the Nation’s reliance on foreign oil; 

21 (H) all Federal agencies adhere to the con22 tracting goals for small business concerns, in23 cluding the goals for small business concerns 

24 owned and controlled by service-disabled vet25 erans, small business concerns owned and conVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:09 Apr 29, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR524.ATS SR524

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SRES 524 ATS 

1 trolled by women, small business concerns 

2 owned and controlled by socially and economi3 cally disadvantaged individuals, and HUBZone 

4 small business concerns; 

5 (I) venture capital and small business 

6 loans, including microloans and guaranteed 

7 loans that are delivered through private lenders, 

8 for start-up firms and growing small business 

9 concerns are available to all qualified small 

10 business concerns; and 

11 (J) the management assistance programs 

12 delivered by resource partners on behalf of the 

13 Small Business Administration, such as small 

14 business development centers, women’s business 

15 centers, and the Service Corps of Retired Ex16 ecutives, are provided with the Federal re17 sources necessary to do their jobs; and 

18 (6) urges that the Administrator of the Small 

19 Business Administration have an active role as a 

20 member of the President’s Cabinet. 

Æ 


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