NEW YORK – Congressmen Charles B. Rangel released the following statement commemorating the Small Business Administration's designation of April 24 - April 30 as New York City Small Business Week:

"Small businesses are our city's most valuable job creators and employ over half of all private sector employees in New York City. There are nearly 200,000 small businesses in the five boroughs, and almost 765,000 sole proprietors in our great city. Many of those small businesses are in the construction industry, which was especially hard-hit during the recession. It is critically important we support the ventures of small businesses and entrepreneurs so that they can thrive, support economic growth in our city, and put New Yorkers back to work.

As our economy recovers, we cannot solely cut our way to prosperity. While we must balance budgets and eliminate waste, we must also continue to spur job creation, expand access to capital, help new start-ups, jumpstart hiring, and make healthcare affordable.

Our nation's small businesses and entrepreneurs are the innovators that our economy needs to become more globally competitive. They are an economically and ethnically diverse group, and together we can out-compete, out-build, and out-innovate to win the future.

Democrats led by President Barack Obama continue to fight to make permanent middle class tax cuts which would benefit 98 percent of American families and at least 97 percent of small businesses. By providing them with the support they need, our future generations can enjoy the seeds that they are planting today."