III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 172 

Honoring the vital role of small businesses and the passion of entrepreneurs 

in the United States during ‘‘National Small Business Week’’, from 

May 4, through May 8, 2015. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 6, 2015 

Mr. VITTER (for himself, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. ENZI, Mr. PETERS, Mr. RUBIO, 

Ms. HIRONO, Mr. GARDNER, Ms. AYOTTE, Mr. COONS, Ms. HEITKAMP, 

Mr. MARKEY, Mr. RISCH, Mr. SCOTT, Mrs. FISCHER, and Mr. HOEVEN) 

submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the vital role of small businesses and the passion 

of entrepreneurs in the United States during ‘‘National 

Small Business Week’’, from May 4, through May 8, 

2015. 

Whereas 2015 marks the 52nd anniversary of ‘‘National 

Small Business Week’’, a designation that every President since 1963 has endorsed; 

Whereas, as of 2008, the approximately 28,400,000 small 

businesses in the United States, the leading force of the 

economy of United States, created 63 percent of net new 

private sector jobs and generated close to 50 percent of 

the private, non-farm gross domestic product of the 

United States; 


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•SRES 172 ATS 

Whereas 22,735,915 of the small businesses of the United 

States have no employees, and 86 percent are sole proprietorships; 

Whereas, as of 2007, 2,450,000 veterans were small business 

owners, which accounted for 9.3 percent of all businesses 

in the United States; 

Whereas, in 2013, veteran small business owners accounted 

for 9 percent of all business owners and 9 percent of the 

adult population in the United States; 

Whereas small businesses owned by women increased as a 

share of total businesses in the United States from 26.4 

percent in 1997 to 29.6 percent in 2007, and, as of 

2007, totaled nearly 7,800,000 businesses; 

Whereas small businesses employ about 56,100,000 million 

people of the United States, which is approximately half 

of the private workforce of the United States; 

Whereas small businesses account for 37 percent of employment in the high-tech sector; 

Whereas high-patenting small businesses produce 16 times 

more patents per employee than large patenting firms; 

Whereas small businesses in the United States represent 

nearly 98 percent of all exporters and produce 33 percent 

of the export value of the United States; 

Whereas, on July 30, 1953, Congress created the Small Business Administration to aid, counsel, assist, and protect 

the interests of small businesses in order to preserve free 

and competitive enterprise, to ensure that a fair proportion of the total sales of Federal Government property 

are made to small businesses, and to maintain and 

strengthen the overall economy of the United States; 


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Whereas, for more than 50 years, the Small Business Administration has helped more than 10,000,000 entrepreneurs 

reach the dream of creating and maintaining a small 

business, and has played a key role in fostering local and 

national economic growth; and 

Whereas the President has designated the week beginning 

May 4, 2015, as ‘‘National Small Business Week’’: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) honors the vital role of small businesses and 

3 entrepreneurs in the United States during ‘‘National 

4 Small Business Week’’; 

5 (2) supports the designation of ‘‘National Small 

6 Business Week’’; 

7 (3) recognizes the important role of the Small 

8 Business Administration as a valuable resource for 

9 entrepreneurs in the United States; 

10 (4) supports and encourages young entre11 preneurs to pursue their passions and create more 

12 start-up businesses; 

13 (5) recognizes the importance of creating poli14 cies that promote a business-friendly environment 

15 for small business owners that is free of unnecessary 

16 and burdensome regulations and red tape; 

17 (6) recognizes the National Small Business Per18 son of the Year and the National Lender of the 

19 Year; and 


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1 (7) supports efforts to— 

2 (A) encourage consumers to shop locally; 

3 and 

4 (B) increase awareness of the value of lo5 cally-owned small businesses and the impact of 

6 locally-owned small businesses on the economy 

7 of the United States. 

Æ 


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