Kerry Named Small Business Champion by Massachusetts-Based Staples

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This week Framingham-based
Staples honored Sen. John Kerry with their Small Business Champion of the Year
award for his 23 years of service in the U.S. Senate on behalf of America's 27
million small business owners and Massachusetts' 650,000 small businesses.
Kerry is the Chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

"I'm deeply honored to receive this award from Staples. I'm working everyday
in Washington to do just what we ought to do - level the playing field for
small businesses and foster innovation and entrepreneurship from Brighton to
Boston and from Salem to Springfield," said Kerry. "Staples is a tremendous
small business success story, demonstrating the power of a public-private
partnership that uses a federal small business financing program to bolster
the good idea and hard work of an entrepreneur."

Staples, which began as a start-up in Brighton, Massachusetts in 1986 with 42
employees, used the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program managed
by the Small Business Administration to fund its initial expansion. That
investment helped spur Staples' growth to become one of the largest office
products suppliers in the world.

Kerry was recognized for his leadership efforts to get several small business
initiatives signed into law last year, including legislation to increase
funding for core small business programs, expand energy efficiency resources,
secure permanent funding for successful Women's Business Centers like the
Center for Women and Enterprise in Boston and Worcester, increase funding for
small firms to develop military projects, and restore transparency to the
Transportation Security Administration's contracting process. Presenting the
award on behalf of Staples was Mike Miles, company President & Chief Operating
Officer.

This year, Kerry will continue to work on behalf of Massachusetts small
businesses and entrepreneurs around the country by fighting to reduce health
care costs, increase access to capital, foster green technologies and boost
energy efficiency, and expand access to federal contracts - especially for
underserved communities including women, minorities and veterans.

SOURCE U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship

Laurel Brown of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business &
Entrepreneurship, +1-202-224-0216