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Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
U.S. Secretary of
Labor Elaine L. Chao
DOL/SBA Strategic Alliance Memorandum Signing
Ceremony
U.S. Department of Labor Great Hall
Thursday, December 11,
2003
Good afternoon, and thank you, Roy [Grizzard, Assistant Secretary of
Labor for Disability Employment Policy], for that kind introduction.
I am delighted to join Administrator Barreto at this very special
ceremony. We are here to celebrate our joint commitment to help Americans with
disabilities reach their full potential in our economy.
So many people made this day possible. Here at the Department of Labor,
I want to thank Roy Grizzard, our Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment
Policy, Joe Lira, Director of the Office of Small Business Programs, and Fred
Juarbe, Assistant Secretary at the Veterans Employment and Training
Service.
And of course, I want to thank our partners at the SBA, Administrator
Barreto and his staff.
Let me also acknowledge Chris Kuczynski of the White House Domestic
Policy Council and Steve Lineberry of the White House Office of Public Liaison
for their hard work as well.
Thanks to all of you for a job well done.
As you know, last October was National Disability Employment Awareness
Month, and it was a very busy time in our own Office of Disability Employment
Policy. ODEP hosted two great events: Disability Mentoring Day and the second
annual Secretary’s New Freedom Initiative Awards, which I was proud to
present to the deserving winners.
The New Freedom Awards recognize employers, organizations and
individuals who embrace the letter and the spirit of President George W.
Bush’s New Freedom Initiative. Next year, we hope to see small business
employers and employees on this stage accepting one of those awards.
Today, we celebrate another milestone that builds on the
President’s New Freedom Initiative. This strategic alliance
memorandum creates a new partnership that will benefit small business
employers and employees, people with disabilities and, ultimately, our country
as a whole.
This partnership will help small business employers access the pool of
talented job applicants with disabilities and will help the disabled start or
grow their own small businesses.
I am especially pleased to support the entrepreneurship part of this
program. It offers entrepreneurs with disabilities a chance to fulfill their
dreams of owning a small business. The program offers training on how to
operate a small business, how to access financial resources, and how to deal
with other business issues including those unique to the disabled
community.
The timing for this initiative is so important. More Americans than ever
before, especially women, are launching themselves on the road to
entrepreneurship. We want to ensure that the disabled community has full access
to this path to financial independence, which has proven so rewarding for so
many Americans.
The resources to support this program are now in place. With this
agreement, the Labor Department and the Small Business Administration
officially launch our effort to:
- Encourage small business employers to hire people with
disabilities;
- Expand small business opportunities for the disabled;
- Leverage federal, state and private programs in support of
entrepreneurship by people with disabilities;
- Help people with disabilities pursue small business ownership as a
career choice; and
- Develop best practices that we can distribute to others.
I am delighted to sign this agreement, which truly embodies the spirit
and the letter of the New Freedom Initiative. I know that it’s going to
make a real difference for people with disabilities and also in the lives of
our employers as well.
All of us at the Department of Labor understand that people with
disabilities are an untapped pool of talent for America’s workforce. We
are committed to helping them access every opportunity, so that they can take
their rightful place in the mainstream of America’s 21st
century workforce.
Thank you once again for being part of this special event.
* * *
It is now my pleasure to introduce our next speaker, Hector Barreto, the
Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
Administrator Barreto is unique because he understands the special needs
of small business. He helped run his family’s businesses, created his own
firm and most recently served as Vice Chairman of the Board for the U.S.
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, where he was a tireless and passionate advocate
for small business.
I am delighted to partner with him once more as our two agencies work
together to make this strategic alliance memorandum a reality.
Please join me in welcoming Hector Barreto, Administrator of the U.S.
Small Business Administration.
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