Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-ID) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, announced Senate passage of a bipartisan resolution to recognize November 24, 2018, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, as “Small Business Saturday.” 

“America’s 30 million small business owners are the backbone of our economy, and Small Business Saturday provides an opportunity for us to celebrate those entrepreneurs and thank them,” said Chairman Risch. “This year on Small Business Saturday, I encourage every Idahoan to shop locally and rally around the small businesses that spur innovation and job creation in our local communities.”

“Every day, the owners and workers of America’s small businesses wake up and serve millions of Marylanders and people across the country. They are our nation’s innovators, job creators, and the lifeblood of our main streets,” said Ranking Member Cardin. “Small Business Saturday is a special day to recognize our local small businesses and their contributions to our communities. I encourage everyone to ‘shop local’ and ‘shop small’ on November 24 this year, in support of America’s diverse small businesses.”

The bipartisan Risch/Cardin “Small Business Saturday” resolution recognizes the invaluable contributions small businesses make to our nation’s economy. Small businesses create nearly two out of three new jobs in the United States, and employ nearly 48 percent of private sector employees in the United States. With over 30 million small businesses in the United States, they represent 99.9 percent of all businesses in the United States and constitute 97.6 percent of firms that export goods. The “Small Business Saturday” resolution joins the Small Business Administration in:

  • Supporting the designation of November 24, 2018, as ‘‘Small Business Saturday’’;
  • Celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit of small business owners in the United States;
  • Recognizing the importance of creating policies that promote a business-friendly environment for small business owners that is free of unnecessary and burdensome regulations and red tape;
  • Supporting and encouraging young entrepreneurs to pursue passions and create more startup businesses; and
  • Celebrating the invaluable contribution that small businesses make to the United States as the backbone of the economy.

Other sponsors of the resolution were U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Christopher Coons (D-DE), John Barrasso (R-WY), Ed Markey (D-MA), John Boozman (R-AR), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Steve Daines (R-MT), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), John Hoeven (R-ND), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Kennedy (R-LA), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Ron Wyden (D-OR), David Perdue (R-GA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Rob Portman (R-OH), Tom Udall (D-NM), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Angus King (I-ME), Tim Scott (R-SC), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), John Thune (R-SD), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Patty Murray (D-WA).

Click here to read the resolution.