Political Quotes

“Madam President, I thank my friend from Arizona for his courtesy. I will try not to use the entire 5 minutes. There are other areas where we have also moved forward to help our small businesses, including credits for their health insurance so they can cover their employees. In my own State of Maryland, we have set up an African Trade Office which has provided opportunities in international trade--an area where we think we can still make progress. I could talk about many of the success stories of Maryland small businesses that have used the SBIR Program, including one to develop new treatment for smallpox vaccines to make them more efficient. We have had examples of where we are now developing a vaccine to deal with the common cold. I was at an SBA event where we honored the leading entrepreneurs in our State, and I can cite an example of a small businessperson, Janet Amirault, who was the small businessperson of the year--the CEO of a software development company. She has had some personal issues with her health, but despite that, for the last 3 years she has had 90 percent growth in her revenues. This is the innovation we have in Maryland that comes out of the small business community. Taylor Made Transportation Services, which first qualified under the 8(a) program, has now graduated from that. They started with a small transportation company that provided transportation for people with special needs and is now providing for diverse transportation needs in our communities.…”