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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 243 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 243

  Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Small Business Development 
                     Centers of the United States.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 5, 2015

Mr. Vitter (for himself, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Enzi, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Risch, 
   Mr. Peters, Ms. Ayotte, and Mr. Gardner) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business and 
                            Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
  Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Small Business Development 
                     Centers of the United States.

Whereas America's Small Business Development Center (referred to in this 
        preamble as ``SBDC'') network will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the 
        SBDC network at a conference to be held September 8 through 11, 2015, in 
        San Francisco, California;
Whereas the conference will be held--

    (1) to continue the professional development of employees of SBDCs; and

    (2) to commemorate the educational and technical assistance offered by 
SBDCs to small businesses across the United States;

Whereas for 35 years, SBDCs have been among the preeminent organizations in the 
        United States for providing business advice, 1-on-1 counseling, and in-
        depth training to small businesses;
Whereas, during the 35 years before the date of approval of this resolution, the 
        SBDC network has grown from 9 fledgling centers to a nationwide network 
        of 63 State and regional centers with more than 4,200 business advisors 
        providing free counseling at nearly 1,000 individual locations;
Whereas the SBDC network has worked for 35 years with the Small Business 
        Administration, institutions of higher education, State governments, 
        Congress, and others, to significantly enhance the economic health and 
        strength of small businesses in the United States;
Whereas SBDCs--

    (1) have assisted more than 22,500,000 small businesses during the 35 
years before the date of approval of this resolution; and

    (2) continue to aid and support hundreds of thousands of small 
businesses annually;

Whereas 28 percent of all SBDC clients are minorities, 44 percent of SBDC 
        clients are women, and 9 percent of all SBDC clients are veterans;
Whereas SBDCs provide over 1,250,000 hours of counseling to small businesses and 
        invest over $140,000,000 annually in supporting small business;
Whereas, since 2012, SBDCs have helped small businesses create over 750,000 
        jobs, add $67,500,000,000 in sales and attract over $38,000,000,000 in 
        capital;
Whereas, since the inception of SBDCs, SBDCs have continued to redefine and 
        transform the services offered by SBDCs, including training and 
        advising, and have taken on new missions, in order to ensure that small 
        businesses have relevant and significant assistance in all economic 
        conditions; and
Whereas Congress continues to support SBDCs and the role of SBDCs in assisting 
        small businesses and building the economic success of the United States: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) celebrates the 35th anniversary of America's Small 
        Business Development Center network; and
            (2) expresses appreciation for--
                    (A) the steadfast partnership between America's 
                Small Business Development Center network and the Small 
                Business Administration; and
                    (B) the work of America's Small Business 
                Development Center network in ensuring quality 
                assistance to small business and access for all to the 
                American dream.
                                 <all>
```