Congresswoman Barbara Lee Celebrates National Small Business Week
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 12, 2014
Contact: Katherine Jolly (510) 763-0370
Oakland, CA — Congresswoman Barbara Lee released the following statement recognizing National Small Business Week:
“During Small Business Week, please join me in celebrating East Bay small businesses and the hardworking individuals who make them possible. Small businesses are truly the engine that drives our local economy, and they are an integral part of our region’s continued economic recovery.
“The entrepreneurial spirit found in the East Bay is driving innovation in diverse business sectors, from clean energy to advanced manufacturing and biotechnology. Additionally, the East Bay is home to hundreds of arts and food service businesses that contribute the cultural fabric of the East Bay and are a testament to the area’s vibrant diversity.
“Nationally, the impact of small businesses on our economy and economic growth is undeniable. The 28,000,000 small businesses in the US represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms and pay 44 percent of the total US payroll. They’re also fueling the ongoing economic recovery –last year alone, small businesses created nearly 1.1 million jobs, accounting for 77 percent of all employment gains in the United States.
“I’m pleased to join with my Democratic colleagues in placing small businesses and small business owners at the front of our plan for economic growth and sustainable job creation. For example, the ‘Make It In America’ agenda will provide small businesses with incentives to expand and hire, make it more cost-effective to invest in plants and equipment, and facilitate transitions to clean energy and high-tech manufacturing.
“Additionally, we must continue to ensure that small businesses, as well as minority, veteran and women-owned businesses, are granted real access to thousands of federal contract opportunities. As a former small business owner, I know that the federal government can play a vital role in supporting our local economies through fair and equitable contracting.
“I commend the small business owners who devote their lives to their enterprises for the good of their families, employees, and the greater economy. They deserve every effort from this Congress to ensure they have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream.”
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Follow Barbara Lee on Facebook and Twitter at @RepBarbaraLee. To learn more, visit lee.house.gov.
Congresswoman Lee is a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committees, the Steering and Policy Committee, is a Senior Democratic Whip, as well as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), where she serves as the Co-Chair of the CPC Peace and Security Task Force.