Small Business Week, 2000

Proclamation 7311 of May 19, 2000

Small Business Week, 2000

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

The men and women who own and operate our Nation's 25
million small businesses have made, and continue to
make, an indispensable contribution to America's
economic strength and success. These entrepreneurs
possess many of the characteristics that have always
defined the American spirit: a fierce independence, an
extraordinary work ethic, and an uncompromising
commitment to building a better life. Taking risks to
fulfill their dreams, they have made a profound and
positive impact on the lives and futures of their
fellow citizens.

America's small business owners represent more than 99
percent of all employers, and they employ more than
half of the private sector workforce. They create 80
percent of the new jobs in our economy, and last year
they generated 51 percent of our Nation's gross
national product--more than $16 trillion. Small
business owners are leaders in innovation, creating a
wellspring of new technology, new products, and more
effective business processes.

Recognizing the important role small businesses play in
the life of our Nation and in the vitality of our
economy, my Administration is committed to continuing
and expanding their success so that more Americans have
the opportunity for prosperity and a secure future for
themselves and their families. By balancing the Federal
budget, we freed up capital for starting and expanding
small businesses. We have put in place policies and
programs that grant tax and regulatory relief and
expand access to capital and overseas markets for small
businesses. And we have strengthened America's
workforce through investment in education, training,
and improved benefits.

Through the Small Business Administration, we
guaranteed more than $12 billion in loans to nearly 50
thousand companies last year alone; opened the door to
$4.2 billion in venture capital investment for 2,000
companies; and provided management and technical
assistance to more than 900,000 small businesses.
Through our New Markets Initiative and our efforts to
bridge the digital divide, my Administration is helping
to create opportunities for small businesses by
promoting public and private sector investment in
underserved communities and expanding e-commerce
capability.

During Small Business Week, we salute America's
millions of small business owners; men and women of
courage and initiative whose future is limited only by
their imagination and whose success has created better
lives for us all.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim May 21 through May 27, 2000,
as Small Business Week. I call upon government
officials and all the people of the United States to
observe this week with appropriate ceremonies,
activities, and programs that celebrate the
achievements of small business owners and encourage the
development of new enterprises.

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