Proclamation 6131—Small Business Week, 1990

We often think of pioneers as those hardy settlers who tamed the American frontier, or as those heroic individuals who have made extraordinary advances in scientific research and space exploration. However, small business people also stand among our Nation's greatest pioneers. They, too, are men and women of vision. They, too, have the courage to take risks and the willingness to make their ideas work. Industrious and self-reliant, small business men and women continually lead the way in the development of new technology and products and in the creation of economic opportunity for all Americans.

Indeed, small business is the lifeblood of America's free enterprise system. It is within this vital sector of our economy that most workers find their first jobs and training. Small businesses account for two out of every three new jobs created in the United States. The creative, hardworking men and women who own and operate small businesses have demonsrated clearly how private initiative and free-market principles hold the key to success for individuals and nations.

Through the work of small business people, the spirit of freedom and enterepreneurship is renewed every day of the year. Small business owners take advantage of the liberty and opportunity our Nation offers and achieve success through determined effort, self-confidence, and an abiding faith in the American dream. They show us that, while the risks and challenges faced by America's entrepreneurs are great, so are the rewards of creating jobs, meeting a payroll, and contributing to the development of one's community.

Because individual initiative and private enterprise are the foundation of our Nation's technological progress and economic prosperity, and because small business reaffirms the value of our freedom, we must be committed to maintaining an environment in which they can thrive. This means an emvironment that is free from excessive government regulation and taxation -- one that encourages savings, investment, and innovation. As a Nation, we owe our wholehearted support to those who are helping the United States to become ever more productive and competitive in a rapidly changing world.

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, 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 the week of May 6 through May 12, 1990, Small Business Week. I urge all Americans to join me in saluting this special breed of pioneers, our Nation's small business men and women, by observing that week with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 8 day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fourteenth.

GEORGE BUSH