Women's Business Centers Improvement Act of 2022

Floor Speech

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Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Women's Business Centers Improvement Act, and I thank Representatives Davids and Tenney for their work on this very important and bipartisan piece of legislation.

As our small business owners continue to recover from the pandemic, Congress must do everything it can to ensure access to quality entrepreneurial development resources.

Underscoring the need for this bill, a recent study in partnership with the Association of Women's Business Centers found that profits for female business owners dropped by 26 percent from 2020 to 2021, with average profits of about $47,000 less than male-owned firms.

The economic pressures of the pandemic have hit women-owned businesses particularly hard, including increasing operating expenses due to supply chain disruptions and rising costs.

As an entrepreneur myself, I recognize the challenges women business leaders face every day and especially in this moment. It is why I stand before you to talk about the importance of passing the Women's Business Centers Improvement Act.

This legislation will make needed improvements to the Small Business Administration's successful Women's Business Center program. The bill will also strengthen the Office of Women's Business Ownership and will improve coordination between the Association of Women's Business Centers and the SBA.

Furthermore, this legislation allows Congress to increase funding for Women's Business Center programs, which I have been proud to advocate for with my colleague, Representative Marie Newman.

With these additional resources, the SBA will be able to advise and train more women entrepreneurs. I have seen the demand for such programs right in my community of Chester and Berks Counties.

In fact, this bipartisan effort is especially impactful for our Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which has one of the highest numbers of women-owned businesses in the Nation. The time is now to build on that success.

I thank Small Business Committee Chair Velazquez and Ranking Member Luetkemeyer again for helping to bring this important bill to a vote before the House today. I urge my colleagues to join me and vote ``yes'' today on this bipartisan bill to support our small business owners.

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