WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate this week passed Senate Resolution 548 (S.Res.548) to designate November 29, 2014 as “Small Business Saturday.” Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Jim Risch (R-ID), the chairwoman and ranking member on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, introduced the resolution to encourage consumers during the holiday season to support local businesses that create jobs, boost the economy, and preserve neighborhoods.

Forty-four Senators cosponsored the resolution.

“In Idaho and across the United States, small businesses are the backbone of local economies,” Risch said. “I am proud to partner with Chairwoman Cantwell in designating Small Business Saturday 2014 to distinguish the independently owned and operated businesses in these local communities. I encourage consumers to support their neighborhood small businesses, the engine that keeps America’s economy running, by shopping local on Saturday, November 29th”.

“Small businesses drive job creation on Main Streets across the United States, creating two-thirds of all new private sector jobs,” Cantwell said. “I encourage Americans to buy local and support small, independent businesses on Small Business Saturday.”

Now in its fifth year, Small Business Saturday falls between Black Friday and Cyber Monday and encourages consumers to shop local and support small businesses during one of the heaviest shopping periods of the year. According to the National Retail Federation, an estimated 141 million shoppers spent $57.4 billion on consumer purchases during Thanksgiving weekend last year. Shopping at independent, locally-owned businesses puts 52 cents of every dollar spent back into the local community.

The full text of the Senate Resolution follows:

Whereas there are 28,200,000 small businesses in the United States;

Whereas small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all businesses with employees in the United States;

Whereas small businesses employ over 48 percent of the employees in the private sector in the United States;

Whereas small businesses pay over 42 percent of the total payroll of the employees in the private sector in the United States;

Whereas small businesses constitute 98 percent of firms exporting goods;

Whereas small businesses are responsible for more than 46 percent of private sector output;

Whereas small businesses generated 63 percent of net new jobs created from 1993 through 2013;

Whereas 87 percent of consumers in the United States agree that the success of small businesses is critical to the overall economic health of the United States;

Whereas 89 percent of consumers in the United States agree that small businesses contribute positively to local communities by supplying jobs and generating tax revenue;

Whereas 93 percent of consumers in the United States agree that it is important to support the small businesses in their communities; and

Whereas November 29, 2014 would be an appropriate date to designate as `Small Business Saturday': Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate—

(1) designates November 29, 2014 as `Small Business Saturday'; and 

(2) supports efforts—

(A) to encourage consumers to shop locally; and

(B) to increase awareness of the value of locally owned small businesses and the impact of locally owned small businesses on the economy of the United States. 

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