Senate Honors Small Businesses

On April 25, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a resolution (S. Res. 120) honoring small businesses during National Small Business Week, which the Small Business Administration (SBA) will celebrate during the week of April 24, 2005.

Sponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the resolution contains a number of findings, including:

• America’s 25 million small businesses have fueled the nation’s economy, creating more than three-quarters of all new jobs and accounting for more than 50 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product;
• The SBA has been a critical partner in the success of the nation’s small businesses and these businesses’ continued growth;
• The mission of the SBA is to maintain and strengthen the nation’s economy by aiding, counseling, assisting, and protecting the interests of small businesses and by helping families and small businesses to recover from natural disasters; and
• For over 50 years, the SBA has helped approximately 22 million Americans to start, grow, and expand their businesses and has placed almost $250 billion in loans and venture capital financing into the hands of entrepreneurs.