National Small Business Week, 2012

Proclamation 8826 of May 21, 2012

National Small Business Week, 2012

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

For centuries, America's progress has been driven by
pioneers who think big, take risks, and work hard.
Where their ideas take root, we find inventions that
can change the way we live. And when their businesses
take off, they fuel an engine of economic growth and
job creation that moves America forward. During
National Small Business Week, we celebrate the
generations of entrepreneurs who have given their all
to realize a dream, and we renew our promise to help
their businesses grow, hire, and succeed.

Because small businesses are the backbone of our
economy, we must ensure our country recovers and
rebuilds not only from the top down, but also from the
bottom up and the middle out. That is how we will forge
an America built to last, and that is why my
Administration continues to widen the circle of
opportunity for our workers and our businesses. Since I
took office, we have repeatedly cut taxes for small
businesses and expanded access to the capital they need
to thrive. We launched the Startup America initiative,
which has connected entrepreneurs to mentorship
opportunities, cut red tape that would limit their
success, and accelerated innovation in critical
industries like health care, clean energy, and
education. I was proud to sign the America Invents Act,
which is helping entrepreneurs and businesses bring
their inventions to market as quickly as possible.
Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and
the Small Business Jobs Act, the Small Business
Administration has supported over $70 billion in
lending to small businesses nationwide, and agencies
across my Administration have taken action to make
Government a more effective resource for entrepreneurs.

Yet, when Americans who want to work cannot find a job,
we know we must do more. Last month, I was proud to
sign the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, a
bipartisan bill that enables ordinary Americans to
invest in entrepreneurs they believe in. I was also
proud to announce the Small Business Network of the
Americas and the Women's Entrepreneurship in the
Americas initiative, which--coupled with new Free Trade
Agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama--will help
unlock new markets for companies of all sizes, expand
small business exports, and support the broad-based
economic growth that is essential to our prosperity.
And earlier this year, we launched Business USA--a new
online platform to give businesses full access to the
resources they need at every stage of development.
Moving forward, we will continue to promote tax reform
to ease burdens on small businesses and entrepreneurs.
And we will seek out new ways to help our companies
grow by opening up the global marketplace, leveling the
playing field, and forging strong partnerships between
government and private enterprise.

Our Nation has always believed that anyone with a solid
plan and a willingness to work hard can turn even an
improbable idea into a successful business. For
generations, that powerful notion has been at the heart
of the American promise, forging a legacy of bold
entrepreneurship that lives on today and lights the
path to a brighter tomorrow. During National Small

Business Week, let us reflect on that proud history and
resolve to carry it forward in the years to come.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim May 20 through May
26, 2012, as National Small Business Week. I call upon
all Americans to recognize the contributions of small
businesses to the competitiveness of the American
economy with appropriate programs and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.