Olympia Snowe: “our country has forever prided itself on providing individuals the opportunity to pursue a fair and prosperous…”

“our country has forever prided itself on providing individuals the opportunity to pursue a fair and prosperous existence. Our Nation's free markets enable small business owners to grow their enterprise and realize their dreams. Yet, small business owners and entrepreneurs are not blind to the costs of maintaining a free and open society. These same small business owners and entrepreneurs play a vital role in protecting freedom, at home and abroad, as members of the U.S. National Guard and Reserve Forces. In recent years, however, the Department of Defense, DOD, has placed greater reliance on our nation's Guard and Reserve forces. In fact, since Septeber 2001, over 550,000 Guard and Reserve members have been called up in support of current operations, at the same time, making up nearly one-third of deployed service members in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, Guard and Reserve members have been charged in assisting with recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast, following some of the most devastating natural disasters in our country's history. As these brave men and women are called to serve our Nation, the small businesses they temporarily leave behind often suffer. Many affected small buinesses experience slowing production and lost sales or incur additional expenses to compensate for an employee's absence.…”