Jon L. Christensen: “I too want to rise in support of the Velazquez-Manzullo amendment. An analysis of the Web by both private and public…”

“I too want to rise in support of the Velazquez-Manzullo amendment. An analysis of the Web by both private and public concerns has shown that Internet usage and presence has grown by an outstanding rate of 50 percent per year. E-commerce is the fastest growing sector of the Internet. According to Forrester Research, an e-commerce research company, e-commerce activity will reach $3 trillion by the year 2003. It is, therefore, clear that if small businesses are not a part, as both my colleagues have said, of this new digital economy, they will soon be out of business. Therefore, the Velazquez-Manzullo amendment is an important amendment to ensure that the needs of small businesses are met. The amendment requires that a mere 20 percent of Federal high-tech workers be placed with small businesses under this amendment, when fully 99 percent of all employers are small businesses. Surely this is the least that Congress can do to assist our small businesses in becoming technologically capable. This help from the Federal Government is especially important, Mr. Chairman, in light of the fact that in fiscal year 2000 the Federal Government met none of its small business contracting goals. This amendment has received strong support from the National Small Business United, a small business association with 65,000 members.”