STATEMENT
of the
Honorable Nydia M. Velázquez, Chair
House Committee on Small Business
Full Committee Hearing: “Heroes of Small Business ”
May 20, 2009, 10 a.m.

Today, we are celebrating Small Business Week, and the men and women who keep our economy running.
 
It takes a special kind of person to start a business. As most of you know, being your own boss doesn’t mean a 40-hour work week and 2-months paid vacation. Quite the opposite. It means spending more time in the office than your friends with conventional jobs. But at the end of the day, you don’t do it for the hours. You do it because you are the hardest working people in America. You are also some of the most resourceful, and the most resilient. These are the traits that have helped people like you pull us out of past recessions. And these are the traits that will lead the way back to prosperity.   

When entrepreneurs do well, America does well. Whether it’s the tech startup in Silicon Valley or the family owned restaurant down the street, small businesses are the engine driving this economy. In fact, entrepreneurs create roughly 70% of all American jobs. They also have a proven track record for stemming recessions.

Take the downturn of the mid 1990’s, for example. During that time, entrepreneurs created 3.8 million new jobs. With unemployment now at 8.9%, we could use that kind of growth again. That is why both this committee and the rest of Congress have taken steps to strengthen entrepreneurship.  

On its own, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contains $15 billion dollars in tax relief for small firms. It is also expected to generate $21 billion in loans and investment. That’s capital you guys can use to start growing again. Meanwhile, the stimulus contains important provisions for helping small firms win government contracts. In terms of infrastructure projects alone, entrepreneurs stand to gain $29.9 billion.  

But we aren’t just giving you the opportunities--we are also giving you the tools to seize those opportunities. Later today, I will be on the House floor to present HR 2352, the Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act of 2009. That bill is going to provide critical resources to help your businesses grow and adapt. Because let’s be honest, the economic landscape looks very different today than it did a year ago. HR 2352 will give you the training you need to retool your businesses, and emerge from the recession stronger than before. That is critical, because we are really counting on you guys to turn things around.

This morning, we have a very diverse cross section of the small business community. We have a finance firm. We have a heating and air conditioning business. We have the nation’s only streetcar manufacturer. And you have come from all over the country--Clackamas Oregon. Andalusia Alabama. Virginia Beach. But while it may seem like your businesses have nothing in common, you do share one critical common thread--the key to recovery.

As Americans reevaluate the old way of doing business, we are increasingly looking to small firms. Men and women like yourselves, who are the real heroes of American industry. Today, we celebrate you.

I’d like to thank all of our witnesses for being here today. I am so pleased they could join us, and look forward to hearing from them.