Executive Calendar

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleagues and celebrate National Small Business Week. I love this poster that they have prepared today because Tennessee is right at the heart of this.

For over five decades, National Small Business Week has been an opportunity to recognize the tremendous contribution of small businesses and entrepreneurs to the American economy.

We know and we hear it said so often that there is nothing small about small business because of the economic impact it has. I tell you, the statistics really do bear that out.

According to the most recent report from the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy for my home State of Tennessee, there are over 603,000 small businesses located in our State. Now, 99.4 percent of all the businesses in our State are small businesses. That speaks to the health and vitality of our economy.

Collectively, these small businesses employ over 1.1 million people, and that accounts for 42.3 percent of the entire workforce in the State. So small business has an enormous footprint in the State of Tennessee.

Now, we have heard a lot about the booming economy in recent weeks, and as we celebrate Mother's Day this week--and I do hope it is a happy Mother's Day for everyone. We know this economy that is booming, that is growing, with record-low unemployment numbers, with economic vitality, wage growth that we have not seen--we know this is an economy that makes the lives of millions of working women and those families' lives better, and we celebrate what this economy is doing for the Nation as a whole.

Specific to Tennessee, as we celebrate Mother's Day, we celebrate these women-owned businesses. What we do know from the research that is out is that Tennessee is the fifth best State in the country for female-owned small businesses and that they are seeing dynamic growth in both revenue and employment.

Now, the economic gains that have come about because of the tax cuts and the regulatory reforms that have been enacted by President Trump, voted on, pushed through by congressional Republicans, have changed the economic landscape of millions of Americans.

Since tax reform was signed into law, 3.2 million new jobs were created, 90 percent of the taxpayers have received a bigger paycheck, and jobless claims are at the lowest they have been in 50 years.

Here is the connective tissue between these encouraging stats and what I hear back in Tennessee. Because the economy is strong, now is a great time to grow or to expand or to start a new business. Entrepreneurs feel confident so they are betting on themselves and making decisions that they need to make in order to succeed: They are hiring that new employee, adding a new store or a new location, and daring to turn their dreams into a reality.

Small businesses are the key driver of our turbocharged economy, and we will continue to do all we can to help them thrive.

I will tell you also, as a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, that I want to thank those entrepreneurs who are veterans, who are stepping up at record rates in our State and are starting their small businesses.

Some of these deal with services that are needed and products that are needed by our military post or used by our National Guard. These veterans make great small business owners, and they also make great employees. The skills they learn defending our Nation while they are in uniform are uniquely well suited to succeed in business: the discipline, the focus, the resilience, the ability to plan, to adapt, to work collaboratively with others in order to get a job done.

Indeed, for themselves and their families, they are getting the job done. These are the hallmarks of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, but they are also the qualities of successful entrepreneurs. We are thrilled they choose to call Tennessee home.

The importance of the American small business is gauged not only by facts and figures. The true value of our small businesses comes not just from their contribution to the American economy but also their contribution to another American Dream fulfilled.

Entrepreneurship is the embodiment of the American dream. It is about men and women pursuing their passions. They work hard, save their money, make a plan, and put that plan into action. Oftentimes, they struggle, sometimes they will end up failing, but they pick themselves up, preserve their right to move forward, push forward, and they never stop trying. Our economy and our Nation are stronger and better for their efforts.

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