WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) presided over her final hearing as Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Senator Snowe, who has been a member of the Committee since her arrival in the Senate in 1995, served as Chair from 2003-2006 and Ranking Member from 2007 to the present.  Furthermore, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, then-Representative Snowe served on House Small Business Committee from 1979-1983. 

Excerpts of Senator Snowe’s opening statement, as prepared for delivery, are below:

“As my final term draws to a close, I want to begin by saying how proud I am of the work we have accomplished over the years.  Looking back, my own service on the Small Business Committee dates to my very first days in the House in 1979.  And for the past ten years, it has been my privilege to serve this Committee as either the Chair or Ranking Member – because I can’t think of any higher priority than being a megaphone for small businesses in Maine and across America.

“The fact is that entrepreneurship will play a momentous role in our nation’s recovery.  Small business owners endeavor everyday to find solutions to problems, to improve their balance sheets, and to do right by their employees.  Public service should be about problem solving – and we owe it to our small businesses to do our part, by working together across party lines, to prevent issues like the fiscal cliff, and to solve the other major problems of our time.  We owe it to the entrepreneurs who are creating jobs and leading us towards a real economic recovery to get out of their way, and put a halt to regulatory and tax policies that impeded expansion and growth. 

“As I leave the Senate in a few short weeks, I want to urge my colleagues to continue our work together to protect small businesses from regulatory overreach and ensure federal bureaucracy does not stifle the ability of America’s entrepreneurs to innovate, create jobs. We must finally meet the statutory goal we established to guarantee that small firms receive their fair share of federal contracts, open doors for entrepreneurs in markets abroad, expand opportunities for women and minorities to realize the dream of owning their own business, and make certain that small businesses have access to affordable capital to grow their businesses and create desperately needed jobs.

“As you all have heard me say before, and will continue to hear me discuss after I leave the Senate in January, none of these goals can be reached without compromise – without bipartisanship.  We must strive to find common ground, and to reach consensus on the issues that matter most to our fellow Americans. As I close for the last time as Ranking Member of this Committee, it is my hope that the legacy of bipartisanship and problem solving that has defined the Committee will continue.  America’s small businesses deserve no less, and our country requires these entrepreneurs now more than ever.”

BACKGROUND: Throughout her tenure in Congress, Senator Snowe has been a strong and tireless champion for small businesses, working collaboratively across the aisle to ensure that they are effectively served by the Federal government.  In that effort, Senator Snowe secured or significantly contributed to several victories on behalf of small businesses, including:

• A reformation of the Small Business Administration’s Disaster programs following the government’s colossal failure to properly respond to the damage reaped by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
   
• Enactment of measures in response to the credit crisis of 2008 and beyond that have been credited with aiding the Small Business Administration’s support of over $30 billion in lending during Fiscal Year 2011 – the agency’s highest mark ever.

• Co-developing the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which included vital tax relief to small firms, comprehensive export provisions to assist small businesses in reaching foreign customers, and crucial limitations on contract bundling to assist small businesses in accessing Federal contracts.

• Reauthorization of the Small Business Reauthorization Program (SBIR) in late 2011, which grants valuable researching funding to small businesses.  Senator Snowe was an original cosponsor of the legislation creating the SBIR program in 1983, and has supported it’s reauthorization and improvement at each stage.

• The implementation of signature programs including the women’s business center program, the HUBZone program, and women’s contracting program.

• The re-elevation of the SBA Administrator to a Cabinet-level position under President Barack Obama. Senator Snowe has long led the charge to re-elevate the SBA Administrator to a Cabinet-level position, as was the case during the Clinton Administration. In December 2008, she wrote to President-Elect Obama advocating for the change, and has consistently argued since that such action would help promote the resources of the Federal government available to small businesses, and would ensure that the voice of small business is heard loud and clear within our Federal government.