STATEMENT
of the
Honorable Nydia M. Velázquez, Chair
House Committee on Small Business
Markup of Legislative Initiatives to Modernize Entrepreneurial Development Programs
May 13, 2009, 2 p.m.

We are here today to mark up HR 2352, the Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act of 2009, which reauthorizes and modernizes the SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs.  This bill expands the resources available to small businesses. In doing so, it will help spur job creation and economic growth.

In their day-to-day operations, small firms are encountering many challenges – from declining revenue to difficulty securing a loan.  Given these uncertain times, access to technical assistance is especially critical. In some cases, it can mean the difference between a business’s success, and its failure.   

Today, small business growth is especially important. With unemployment at a 26-year high, we need entrepreneurs now more than ever.  They are the ones who are going to reverse this trend, and produce the jobs our country needs. 

Small businesses have a proven track record for job creation. After the recession of the early 1990s, small firms created approximately 3.8 million new positions. That number outdid large firms by half a million.  During that time, it was often the laid-off factory worker or the downsized corporate executive who decided to start a business. In fact, nearly 25 percent of downsized managers over the age of 40 started their own firms. 

The connection between economic growth and entrepreneurial development is clear.  By helping firms increase the efficiency of their businesses, HR2352 will enable them to not only maintain, but hopefully expand their operations.