I have the great pleasure this afternoon to open America’s Small Business Summit 2008, the Chamber’s premier small business event.  As our President and CEO Tom Donohue says:

The Summit is a celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit, jobs, and prosperity that small businesses contribute to our society. It’s also an opportunity for small businesses to learn about and mobilize around key legislative, regulatory, and operational issues that are critical to their success.

This is the Chamber’s fourth Small Business Summit, and each one gets better. The highlight of our event this year will be remarks from President Bush on Friday morning. We're very pleased to be able to offer this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Our two-day program will cover the economy, politics and policy, hiring, marketing, and other topics that impact small business.  The program was designed to give access to the Chamber’s policy experts and top managers; political pundits; and lawmakers on Capital Hill.

We hope the attendees will take full advantage of this opportunity to tell us and the top decision-makers in this town about the obstacles and opportunities they face as a business owner.  Their participation in the political process is the single biggest factor in the Chamber’s success as a small business advocate in Washington.