Proclamation 6793

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

At the heart of our free enterprise system are the Nation's 21.5 million small businesses. They are the engine of our economy, keeping America competitive in domestic and global markets. These businesses demonstrate by their achievements and success that the promise of the American Dream is within the grasp of every one of our citizens.

America's small business entrepreneurs are risk-takers, venturing into new and often uncertain territory. As a Nation, we are indebted to these bold men and women. With unparalleled commitment and determination, they keep us at the forefront of innovation and help fuel our economy.

During the past decade, more than 600,000 new firms have been created annually. Indeed, just last year, more small businesses were created than at any time in our country's history. Through much of this period, small businesses generated most of the Nation's new jobs. Today, they employ almost 60 percent of the country's private work force.

Growing numbers of women and minorities are empowering themselves through small business ownership, taking risks, and pursuing their entrepreneurial ambitions. New programs are teaching business ownership skills to our youth. And our Administration's Reinventing Government initiative-building a government that works better and costs less-will help sustain this entrepreneurial spirit for generations to come.

As we approach a new era of economic opportunity, our Nation's small business owners continue to inspire us by their example. On behalf of all Americans, I thank these hardworking citizens across the country for helping to keep the American Dream alive.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 30 through May 6, 1995, as "Small Business Week." I ask all Americans to join me in saluting the small business owners of our Nation during this week with appropriate events and ceremonies.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and nineteenth.

William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:15 a.m., May 1, 1995]