James M. Talent: “Finally, Mr. Chairman, I want to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3843. It has become a truism up here that small…”

“Finally, Mr. Chairman, I want to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3843. It has become a truism up here that small business is the backbone of the economy, and it is. It is also the backbone of our communities. If you look and see who is running the school bond issue campaign or the Christmas charity, it is usually the small businesses in the community. Increasingly, Mr. Chairman, small business has become the backbone of opportunity for people in our society as well. Not everybody has the inclination or resources to get an advanced degree at a college or university, but everybody has the opportunity to dream of running a small business. There are a whole lot of people that other Members have mentioned who come off of welfare or back into the labor force after a while or work their way up in a company and learn to do something well. They want to open their own small businesses and make it succeed for themselves and their families. It happens all the time. It happens more often because of these programs.”