From the Office of Senator Kerry

Monday, July 2, 2001

Washington, D.C. - Senator John F. Kerry, expanding the focus of the Committee he chairs to include the unique needs of start-up and high-wage, high growth businesses, today announced he has changed the name of the Senate Committee on Small Business to the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. "There is enormous diversity among small businesses in this country," said Chairman John F. Kerry. "This name-change sends the message that we are going to represent the interests of the broadest imaginable small business community -- including entrepreneurs in the small business world and the tech community who are the driving force behind high growth businesses with high wage jobs." "Chairman Kerry (D-MA) deserves a lot of credit in making this a reality," said Patrick Von Bargen, Executive Director of the National Commission on Entrepreneurship. "Kerry is doing more than renaming the small business panel the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. He's certifying the vital contribution growth-oriented entrepreneurs, along with traditional small businesses, make to the nation's economy." The name change comes in the wake of the new Democratic control of the Senate, which propelled Senator Kerry forward from Ranking Member of the Committee to Chairman. Senator Kerry has long been a champion of small businesses during his sixteen year tenure in the Senate, and will continue to build upon that record as Chairman. A former small business owner, Kerry will expand the scope of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee to focus on a wider range of issues facing small business owners -- from energy, environmental regulation and technology, to workforce and retirement issues.

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