III 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 595 

Supporting the goals and ideals of National Veterans Small Business Week. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. VITTER, Mr. MARKEY, Mrs. FISCHER, Ms. 

HIRONO, Ms. AYOTTE, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. COONS, Mrs. 

ERNST, Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. PETERS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of National Veterans Small 

Business Week. 

Whereas the Armed Forces of the United States train individuals with the skills, discipline, and leadership necessary to establish and operate a successful business; 

Whereas there are approximately 2,500,000 veteran-owned 

small businesses in the United States, employing nearly 

6,000,000 individuals; 

Whereas veteran-owned businesses make up nearly 10 percent of all businesses in the United States; 

Whereas veterans account for more than $1,200,000,000,000 

in business receipts every year; 


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•SRES 595 IS 

Whereas veterans are 45 percent more likely to be self-employed than non-veterans; 

Whereas, from 2007 to 2012, veteran-owned small businesses 

grew at nearly twice the rate of non-veteran-owned small 

businesses; 

Whereas women veterans’ business ownership has increased 

significantly, from 97,114 in 2007 to 384,549 in 2012; 

Whereas the Office of Veterans Business Development of the 

Small Business Administration is dedicated to maximizing the availability and usability of small business 

programs for veterans, members of a reserve component 

of the Armed Forces of the United States, members of 

the Armed Forces of the United States serving on activeduty, transitioning service members, and the spouses, dependents, or survivors of those members and veterans; 

Whereas the Small Business Administration serves more than 

200,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans, women veterans, and military spouses annually; 

Whereas, in 2014, the Small Business Administration increased loans to veterans by more than 100 percent, 

guaranteeing more than $1,000,000,000 in small business loans; 

Whereas the entrepreneurship training program of the Small 

Business Administration, Boots to Business, has trained 

more than 30,000 service members, veterans, and 

spouses of service members and veterans since launching 

in 2013; 

Whereas the Small Business Administration will be hosting 

events honoring National Veterans Small Business Week 

from October 31 through November 4, 2016; 


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•SRES 595 IS 

Whereas the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate will be commemorating National 

Veterans Small Business Week during the week of October 31 through November 4, 2016; and 

Whereas the week of October 31 through November 4, 2016, 

would be an appropriate time to celebrate National Veterans Small Business Week: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate joins with the Small Busi2 ness Administration in— 

3 (1) supporting the goals and ideals of National 

4 Veterans Small Business Week; 

5 (2) celebrating the millions of people in the 

6 United States, especially the veterans of the United 

7 States and the spouses of those veterans, who ben8 efit from the programs of the Small Business Ad9 ministration; and 

10 (3) expressing appreciation for the continued 

11 service to the United States by the veterans of the 

12 United States through small business ownership and 

13 entrepreneurship. 

Æ 


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