Expressing Sense of the House that American Small Businesses Are Entitiled to A Small Business Bill of Rights
EXPRESSING SENSE OF THE HOUSE THAT AMERICAN SMALL BUSINESSES ARE ENTITLED TO A SMALL BUSINESS BILL OF RIGHTS -- (House of Representatives - April 27, 2005)
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Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I will not repeat the many cogent remarks that my colleagues have made, but I would like to address some of the things that the gentleman from Florida has said.
First of all, minority- and women-owned businesses are very, very proud to have contributed to this economy. The 3 million businesses with close to 5 million workers have generated close to $600 billion in revenue. My concern is that there will be a serious attrition because, in fact, the programs that have helped to create these businesses are being gutted and have not been improved in 17 years. As a result of our not modernizing these programs, there has been a loss of $10 billion in Federal contracting opportunities.
I would also like to address the gentleman's remarks about no one having a complaint about things in this bill. I suppose, Mr. Speaker, that the welcome for me, a new Member of Congress, is that I was not even allowed to debate my amendment, something that I regret, because I feel that I am a great contributor.
Mr. Speaker, I would just like to share a few of the staggering economic statistics in my district of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the past 5 years, the city of Milwaukee has lost 33,000 manufacturing jobs. We have had an 80 percent unemployment increase among residents in the city of Milwaukee. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 59 percent, 59 percent of African American males are unemployed, and 92 percent of them live in the city of Milwaukee.
The late great Ronald Reagan once said anecdotally, the best way to address minority business unemployment is to create minority businesses. I could not have said it better.
Mr. Speaker, small businesses create nearly 75 percent of all new jobs, account for 99 percent of all employers, and make up half of our nation's Gross Domestic Product, GDP. Many people of color have embraced the idea of the American dream through business ownership, as minorities own more than 3 million businesses with close to 5 million workers and generate close to $600 billion in revenue.
However, despite the fact that minorities make up one-third of the population, minority-owned businesses account for only 15 percent of all U.S. companies. It seems that an ownership divide exists in this country and more of an effort should be made to encourage minority entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, H. Res. 22 does not adequately reflect the challenges facing many of today's minority entrepreneurs.
Let me briefly run down a few staggering statistics in terms of my district:
Since 1999, the number of unemployed residents in Milwaukee has increased by close to 80 percent.
According to the 2000 census, 59 percent of African American working age males in Milwaukee are either unemployed or out of the workforce.
In the past 5 years, the city of Milwaukee has lost 33,000 manufacturing jobs.
Ninety-two percent of the Metropolitan Milwaukee area's African American labor force lives in the city of Milwaukee.
I know the creation of a handful of new small businesses in my district would be a step in the right direction towards addressing some of the eye-opening figures I mentioned a moment ago. But the resources have to be made available in order to make this happen. Sadly, the actions of the federal government indicate the opposite.
It concerns me that programs established by Congress to promote minority business development, such as the SBA's 8(a) program, have been ignored and allowed to fall behind the times-with no action taken during the past 17 years to ensure that these vital services are able to meet the demands of today's small business marketplace. This is unacceptable.
In the meantime, numerous reforms occurred in the federal procurement process that made it quicker and easier to participate in contract practices. Regrettably, minority-owned firms were unable to capitalize on these improvements due to the outdated procurement initiatives offered through minority business development programs. As a result, these companies lost out on nearly $10 billion in Federal contracting opportunities.
In addition, there are significant racial disparities in Small Business Administration's lending practices. The average loan size for 7(a) loans is $170,000. However, the average 7(a) loan for African American-owned companies is $86,000, and the average 7(a) loan for Hispanic-owned businesses is $128,000.
The Federal Government has also added to the barriers to success already facing minority small business owners though the shutdown of the Small Business Investment Company's, SBIC, Participating Securities program. In 2003, 14 percent of all SBIC's program financings in 2003 went to minority-owned businesses. Entrepreneurs now have one less avenue for capital.
Furthermore, the administration also recommended eliminating the SBA's MicroLoan and PRIME programs, which provide financing and technical assistance to budding minority entrepreneurs. Given the importance of small businesses to the American economy and the serious problems facing urban communities, Congress should take proper action to accommodate the needs of small business owners.
Mr. Speaker, along with my colleague from Georgia, Representative BARROW, I made a good faith effort to introduce an amendment during the Small Business Committee Markup of H. Res. 22 which would have added the concerns of minority small business owners. Unfortunately, we were never granted the opportunity to offer our amendment.
To paraphrase former President Reagan, "the best way to increase employment in minority communities is to increase the number of minority-owned businesses." I couldn't have said it better myself.
This Small Business Bill of Rights does not accurately reflect the concerns of all small businesses in my district. Therefore, I cannot support the resolution. I urge my colleagues to vote "no" on H. Res. 22.
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