Washington, May 18, 2012 -

Next week, May 20-26th, will mark the 49th annual National Small Business Week, a recognized time to celebrate the contributions of small businesses to the economic well-being of America.  Republican Members of the House Small Business Committee will celebrate small firms by holding small business forums and listening sessions in their Congressional districts across America. 

“National Small Business Week is an appropriate time to take a moment to assess the health of our nation’s small companies, as well as evaluate the state of entrepreneurship,” said Chairman Graves. “Our nation is recovering from a tough recession to the point where many debate whether their local economy is truly out of a recession. The unemployment rate has stayed above 8 percent for more than 3 years. The labor force participation rate is at historic lows. The only way to improve our economic situation is by getting people back to work, and that’s primarily through small business job creation.”

Chairman Graves will host his 4th Annual Sixth Congressional District Small Business Expo on Monday, May 21st at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center in Kansas City. The event will include panel discussions on issues like access to capital, starting a business, and compliance with the health care law. Representatives from Google, the Department of Agriculture, and the Small Business Administration will participate in the Expo.

In addition to hosting small business forums and listening sessions, Republican Members of the Committee will write special columns about the “state of small business” throughout the week. To keep up-to-date on the activities of the Committee, visit: http://smallbusiness.house.gov/About/NSBW2012.htm. The Committee held similar events last year.

To set up media interviews during National Small Business Week with any of the Republican Members of the Small Business Committee, please contact the Small Business Committee Majority Communications staff at 202-225-5821.                                                   

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