Sen. Ben Cardin Hosted by City of Laurel and Members of Business Community BWCC President Makes Presentation on the Corridor

Shown in front of BWCC Member Rainbow Florist & Delectable’s, Inc. are (l-r): Maryland Delegate Barbara Frush; CMRT Chair and former Anne Arundel County Executive, Janet Owens; Sen. Cardin; City of Laurel Mayor Craig Moe; City of Greenbelt Mayor, Judith Davis; Laurel City Councilmember Ed Ricks and Laurel City Councilmember Fred Smalls.

Laurel, MD -- U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, visited Main Street in Laurel, Maryland, BWCC Member Rainbow Florist & Delectables for a firsthand account of how the economy is doing. Senator Cardin also received a briefing on Laurel’s economic development progress from Mayor Craig Moe and other local elected and city officials, as well as community and business leaders, including BWCC President & CEO, Walt Townshend.

“My message to all Marylanders is to ‘Buy Local.’ Small businesses are the driving force behind job creation in America, but they need our support to drive our economic recovery. We can all play a part in growing America’s economy by giving small businesses on every Main Street a helping hand,” said Senator Cardin.  “Laurel is a city doing great things to bring jobs to our state. I continue to be impressed at the level of investment and opportunity generated by Mayor Moe and local officials. Our national and regional economies are moving forward in the right direction but the recovery is still fragile. I am committed to do all I can at the federal level to ensure the recovery reaches all our local businesses. We need to help our entrepreneurs not just survive, but thrive.”

“We are very appreciative of the opportunity to host Senator Cardin. He has always made himself available to hear our concerns and assist the City of Laurel when needed. Today’s visit reaffirmed Senator Cardin’s commitment to small businesses and economic development in our city. As mayor, I have seen firsthand how Senator Cardin takes the federal government’s impact on local communities into consideration,” Mayor Moe said. “We applaud his efforts to encourage Marylanders to ‘buy local’ and support our small business community.”

Maryland is home to almost 517,000 small businesses. Employing 1.1 million workers, they represent 97.6 percent of all employers and 52.1 percent of the entire private-sector workforce.