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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON WOMEN'S BUSINESS ENTERPRISE ACT OF 2019
______
HON. GRACE MENG
of new york
in the house of representatives
Friday, September 27, 2019
Ms. MENG. Madam Speaker, I rise to bring attention to the critical
need to support women-owned businesses. Women-owned businesses are
driving economic growth in our nation.
Since 1972, the number of women-owned businesses increased nearly
3,000 percent. Between 2018 and 2019, U.S. women of all backgrounds
started an average of 1,817 new businesses per day, representing 42
percent of all businesses. These businesses generate $1.9 trillion and
employs 9.4 million workers. As of 2019, women of color account for 50
percent of all women-owned businesses, and these businesses in
particular are growing at a significantly faster rate than women in
general and all businesses. The social and economic benefits of
encouraging and supporting women entrepreneurs are undeniable and
enormous.
Despite the incredible ingenuity of women entrepreneurs, women still
face significant barriers to business ownership due to unmanageable
expectations for work-life balance, implicit biases against women in
STEM, and limited access to capital.
That is why I am introducing the Interagency Committee on Women's
Business Enterprise Act of 2019--a bill to reauthorize a federal agency
(of the same name) that would help coordinate federal resources and
grow women-owned businesses. Better coordination is critical to making
sure women business owners and entrepreneurs receive the assistance
they need to help start, grow, and sustain their business enterprises.
The Interagency Committee's responsibility will be to look at the
behavior of the federal agencies in how they support, expand, and
strengthen resources and programs for women-owned businesses--
ultimately making sure our federal government is doing all that it must
to support women entrepreneurs.
First established in 1979, the ICWBE led several federal agencies in
the development of policies to assist women business owners. While the
Interagency Committee was initially maintained through both Democratic
and Republican administrations, it has been inactive since 2000 with no
chairperson at the helm. My bill would amend Title IV of the Women's
Business Ownership Act to reauthorize the Interagency Committee by
making sure a Chairperson is at the helm. Getting the Interagency
Committee back to functioning status would help increase the ability of
the federal government to provide targeted assistance to women
entrepreneurs so they can achieve their business goals, while ensuring
this entity carries out its mission to support and reinvigorate women-
owned businesses.
Madam Speaker, women entrepreneurs are the key to engineering new
and better innovations in today's global economy--and I urge my
colleagues to support this legislation.
____________________
