A Proclamation on National Small Business Week, 2024

 Small businesses are the engine of our economy and the heart and soul of our communities.  They employ nearly half of all private sector workers and contribute to every industry.  Getting them what they need to grow is one of the best investments our country can make.  During National Small Business Week, we celebrate the grit and strength of every entrepreneur who has chased a dream and put in the hard work each day to see their business and our Nation thrive.

     When I took office, the pandemic was raging, and our economy was reeling.  Hundreds of thousands of small businesses had closed forever, and millions more hung on by a thread.  Too many families faced the possibility of losing not only their life’s work but also their hopes of leaving something behind for their kids.  But we turned that around.  My Administration reformed the landmark Paycheck Protection Program, which got quick help to thousands of small businesses so they could keep paying their workers.  We delivered $450 billion in relief to help 6 million small businesses cover their bills and stay afloat.  I signed the American Rescue Plan, which provided additional support to 100,000 restaurants and to 225,000 child care centers, which so many parents rely on to be able to work themselves. 

     Three years later, America is in the midst of a historic small business boom.  Americans have filed a record 17 million new business applications — and every one of them is an act of hope.  The share of Black-owned businesses has more than doubled between 2019 and 2022, and Latino business ownership is growing at the fastest pace in at least a decade, generating new jobs and new wealth in local communities.  In all, our economy has added 15 million new jobs since I took office.  Growth is strong, wages are rising, and inflation is down.  We are witnessing a small business boom.  Across the country, we are experiencing a great comeback story — and small businesses are playing a key part. 

     From day one, they have been at the heart of my plan to grow our economy from the middle out and bottom up.  That is why — as my Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes the biggest investment in our Nation’s infrastructure in generations, rebuilding roads, bridges, ports, public transit, and more — we are relying on America’s Main Street entrepreneurs to help us rebuild.  We set a goal of awarding $37 billion in these investments to small businesses so they can benefit from these projects and create good-paying jobs.  We are making sure every home and business in America has access to affordable, high-speed internet by the end of the decade so entrepreneurs everywhere can access more customers and have a fair shot.  We passed the CHIPS and Science Act to expand semiconductor manufacturing and ensure industries of the future are Made in America, creating tens of thousands of jobs, strengthening supply chains, and supporting small suppliers and businesses across the country.  As our Inflation Reduction Act makes the most significant investment in fighting climate change ever in the world, it is creating new markets for small clean-energy companies.  Altogether, my Investing in America Agenda has attracted $688 billion in private-sector investments from companies that are bringing jobs back to America where they belong, helping to rebuild our economy, our supply chains, and our small businesses. 

     To help small businesses grow, we are also expanding access to capital and to markets by using the power of the Federal Government as both a lender and customer.  Mom and pop businesses with only a handful of employees often need small loans of $100,000 or less, but not all banks offer them.  That is why the Small Business Administration (SBA) is expanding access to low-cost small-dollar loans and increasing the number of lenders that offer affordable guaranteed loans.  The SBA finalized rules that will provide rural and minority-, women-, and veteran-owned small businesses with more affordable loan options by authorizing more non-traditional lenders, like Community Development Financial Institutions, to offer guaranteed loans.  Because the Federal Government buys more goods and services than any entity in the world, we set a goal of increasing the share of Federal contracting dollars that must go to small disadvantaged businesses from less than 10 percent before I took office to 15 percent.  Last year, we awarded a record-setting $76 billion to these businesses, helping level the playing field and close the racial wealth gap.

     Meanwhile, we invested $10 billion in State-level small-business programs, which will catalyze tens of billions in private investments to expand access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs.  Further, my Administration has invested nearly $70 million in the Women’s Business Centers network, which is designed to promote and support women-owned businesses and can now be found in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. 

     Small businesses may only employ a few people instead of thousands, but together they make up 40 percent of our economy and 99.9 percent of all American businesses.  They are the glue that helps hold our Nation together.  In their dedication to their communities and in their courage, hope, sweat, and drive, small business owners embody the spirit of America and our boundless possibilities.  This week, we recommit to making that future real and leaving no one behind. 

     NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 28 through May 4, 2024, as National Small Business Week.  I call upon all Americans to recognize the contributions of small businesses to the American economy, continue supporting them, and honor the occasion with programs and activities that highlight these important businesses.

    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.

  JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

 

2024년 전국 중소기업 주간 선언문

 

중소기업은 우리 경제의 원동력이자 우리 지역사회의 심장이자 영혼입니다. 그들은 전체 민간 부문 근로자의 거의 절반을 고용하고 모든 산업에 기여합니다. 그들이 성장하는 데 필요한 것을 제공하는 것은 우리나라가 할 수 있는 최고의 투자 중 하나입니다. 전국 중소기업 주간(National Small Business Week) 동안 우리는 자신의 사업과 국가가 번영하는 것을 보기 위해 꿈을 쫓고 매일 열심히 일하는 모든 기업가의 투지와 힘을 축하합니다.

제가 취임했을 때 전염병이 창궐했고 우리 경제는 휘청거리고 있었습니다. 수십만 개의 중소기업이 영원히 문을 닫았고, 수백만 개의 기업이 가까스로 매달려 있었습니다. 너무 많은 가족이 평생의 일뿐만 아니라 자녀에게 무언가를 남겨줄 희망도 잃을 가능성에 직면했습니다. 하지만 우리는 그것을 뒤집었습니다. 우리 정부는 획기적인 급여 보호 프로그램을 개혁하여 수천 개의 중소기업이 근로자에게 계속 급여를 지급할 수 있도록 신속한 지원을 제공했습니다. 우리는 600만 개의 중소기업이 비용을 지불하고 생존할 수 있도록 돕기 위해 4,500억 달러의 구호금을 전달했습니다. 저는 많은 부모들이 스스로 일할 수 있도록 의존하고 있는 100,000개의 레스토랑과 225,000개의 보육 센터에 추가 지원을 제공하는 미국 구조 계획(American Rescue Plan)에 서명했습니다.

3년 후, 미국은 역사적인 중소기업 붐의 한가운데에 있습니다. 미국인들은 기록적인 1,700만 건의 신규 사업 신청을 접수했으며, 그 모두는 희망의 행위입니다. 흑인 소유 기업의 비율은 2019년에서 2022년 사이에 두 배 이상 증가했으며 라틴계 기업 소유는 최소 10년 만에 가장 빠른 속도로 증가하여 지역 사회에 새로운 일자리와 새로운 부를 창출했습니다. 제가 취임한 이후 우리 경제는 전체적으로 1,500만 개의 새로운 일자리를 추가했습니다. 성장은 강력하고 임금은 상승하며 인플레이션은 하락합니다. 우리는 중소기업 붐을 목격하고 있습니다. 전국적으로 우리는 멋진 복귀 스토리를 경험하고 있으며 중소기업이 핵심적인 역할을 하고 있습니다.

첫날부터 그들은 우리 경제를 중앙에서 상향식으로 성장시키려는 제 계획의 핵심이었습니다. 이것이 바로 저의 초당적 인프라 법이 도로, 교량, 항구, 대중 교통 등을 재건하는 등 국가 인프라에 여러 세대에 걸쳐 가장 큰 투자를 하기 때문에 우리가 재건을 돕기 위해 미국의 메인 스트리트 기업가들에게 의존하고 있는 이유입니다. 우리는 중소기업에 370억 달러의 투자를 제공하여 중소기업이 이러한 프로젝트로부터 혜택을 받고 좋은 급여를 받는 일자리를 창출할 수 있도록 목표를 세웠습니다.

우리는 미국의 모든 가정과 기업들이 10년 말까지 저렴한 초고속 인터넷에 접속할 수 있도록 하여. 그래서 모든 기업가들이 더 많은 고객들에게 접근할 수 있도록 할 것입니다. 우리는 칩스 및 과학법(CHIPS and Science Act)을 통과시켜 반도체 제조를 확대하고 미래의 산업이 Made in America가 되도록 보장하여 수만 개의 일자리를 창출하고 공급망을 강화하며 전국의 소규모 공급업체와 기업을 지원합니다. 인플레이션 감소법은 기후 변화에 대처하는 데 전 세계에서 가장 중요한 투자를 함으로써 소규모 청정 에너지 기업을 위한 새로운 시장을 창출하고 있습니다. 저의 미국 투자 어젠다(Investing in America Agenda)는 일자리를 미국으로 다시 가져오고 경제, 공급망 및 중소기업을 재건하는 데 도움을 주는 기업으로부터 민간 부문 투자로 6,880억 달러를 유치했습니다.

중소기업의 성장을 돕기 위해 우리는 대출 기관이자 고객인 연방 정부의 권한을 활용하여 자본과 시장에 대한 접근성을 확대하고 있습니다. 소수의 직원이 있는 소규모 사업체에서는 $100,000 이하의 소액 대출이 필요한 경우가 많지만 모든 은행이 이를 제공하는 것은 아닙니다. 이것이 바로 중소기업청(SBA)이 저비용 소액 대출에 대한 접근성을 확대하고 저렴한 보증 대출을 제공하는 대출 기관의 수를 늘리는 이유입니다. SBA는 지역사회 개발 금융 기관과 같은 더 많은 비전통적 대출 기관에 보증 대출을 제공하도록 권한을 부여하여 농촌 및 소수 민족, 여성 및 퇴역군인 소유의 중소기업에 보다 저렴한 대출 옵션을 제공하는 규칙을 확정했습니다. 연방 정부는 전 세계 어떤 기관보다 더 많은 상품과 서비스를 구매하기 때문에 우리는 제가 취임하기 전 10% 미만에서 소외 계층 기업에 전달되어야 하는 연방 계약 자금의 비율을 15%로 늘리는 목표를 세웠습니다. 작년에 우리는 이러한 기업에 기록적인 760억 달러를 지원하여 공평한 경쟁의 장을 만들고 인종적 부의 격차를 줄이는 데 도움을 주었습니다.

한편, 우리는 주 차원의 중소기업 프로그램에 100억 달러를 투자했습니다. 이는 중소기업과 기업가의 자본 접근성을 확대하기 위해 수백억 달러의 민간 투자를 촉진할 것입니다. 또한, 우리 행정부는 여성 소유 기업을 장려하고 지원하기 위해 고안되었으며 현재 50개 주 전체, 컬럼비아 특별구 및 푸에르토리코에서 찾아볼 수 있는 여성 비즈니스 센터 네트워크에 거의 7천만 달러를 투자했습니다.

      중소기업은 수천 명이 아닌 소수의 직원만 고용할 수 있지만 이들을 합치면 우리 경제의 40%, 미국 전체 기업의 99.9%를 차지합니다. 그들은 우리 나라를 하나로 묶는 데 도움이 되는 접착제입니다. 지역 사회에 대한 헌신과 용기, 희망, 땀, 추진력을 통해 중소기업 소유자는 미국의 정신과 우리의 무한한 가능성을 구현합니다. 이번 주에 우리는 그 미래를 현실로 만들고 누구도 소외되지 않도록 다시 다짐합니다.

      그러므로 이제 나 조셉 R. 바이든 주니어(JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.) 미국 대통령은 미국 헌법과 법률이 나에게 부여한 권한에 따라 2024년 4월 28일부터 5월 4일까지를 선언합니다. , 전국 중소기업 주간으로. 저는 모든 미국인들이 미국 경제에 대한 중소기업의 기여를 인식하고, 이를 계속 지원하며, 이러한 중요한 사업을 강조하는 프로그램과 활동을 통해 이 행사를 기념할 것을 촉구합니다.

     이에 대한 증거로 나는 이에 손을 댔습니다.
우리 주의 해 이천이십사년, 미합중국이 독립한 해 이백사십팔년, 사월 이십육일.

조셉 R. 바이든 JR