Thursday, August 07, 2008

Monday, April 21, marked the beginning of Small Business Week, honoring small business owners and their employees for their dedication and hard work which has helped make America stronger.

Since 1963 every President has declared national Small Business Week to formally recognize the important role of America’s small business community to our neighborhoods, communities, cities and our nation. 

Small businesses define our communities.  They host charity events, sponsor Little League teams, and shape the character of our streets. The operators of these businesses work tirelessly, and operate on razor thing margins just to make a living.

Our economy relies on small businesses to create the jobs which will sustain an economic recovery. Small businesses create most of the nation’s net new jobs, and they are the source of tomorrow’s new ideas, innovations, and new products for the marketplace. 

Small businesses comprise well over 90 percent of all businesses in the United States, employ more than half of the total private sector workforce, and are responsible for the creation of more than two-thirds of all new jobs each year.

In Nebraska, small businesses are just as important to our economy. 

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, in 2006 Nebraska had an estimated total of 161,800 small businesses, employing over 50 percent of our state’s non-farm private labor force. These businesses accounted for 97 percent of the state’s employer businesses and added a total of 9,700 net new jobs between 2003 and 2004.

It is essential Congress supports small businesses efforts to grow and do what they do best – create new jobs.  I kept this in mind as Congress took up the reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBTT) programs. 

The SBIR and SBTT programs were established with the intention of attracting more small business to participate in federally funded research and development.

These programs have been successful examples of public/private partnerships which have met congressional mandates of promoting the growth of cutting-edge, high-tech small business in this country.   

As this bill moved through the Science Committee, I successfully offered an amendment encouraging federal agencies to give priority to applications from rural areas.

Right now, firms located in a relatively small number of states have been successful in obtaining awards through these programs. 

In fact, about 70 percent of all dollars went to firms in 10 states.  This leaves many qualified firms in rural areas, such as those in the Third District, at a disadvantage when it comes to funding for innovative research and development.

In order to assist states experiencing difficulty in obtaining these awards, the 2001 reauthorization of SBIR encouraged agencies to do a better job of partnering with states via the creation of the Rural Outreach Program. 

This program’s primary purpose was to provide federal assistance to support statewide outreach to small high-tech businesses located in states which are underrepresented in SBIR awards.  This outreach program has expired and rural areas are once again at a disadvantage in funding for developing technologies.

Nebraska and other rural states have seen a ‘brain drain’ in recent years.  As the depletion occurs, we lose our most vital economic asset to more populated areas.  My amendment would help create an environment to slow this drain. 

Responsible policy is needed to retain and grow our workforce to make our rural communities more competitive in the modern economy.

Small businesses and the entrepreneurs behind them drive our economic growth.  They are vital parts of our communities and rural areas.  Without them, our economy would not survive – it is that simple.  Congress must do everything we can to build a sensible, pro-small business environment to make sure these businesses survive for years to come.