Women's Business Centers Improvements Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. KNIGHT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership. I thank Mr. Lawson and Ranking Member Velazquez for their leadership in this very, very important measure.

Mr. Speaker, I do rise today in support of the Women's Business Centers Improvements Act of 2018.

I introduced H.R. 1680 so that the outstanding growth our country has seen within women's entrepreneurship within the last decade can continue.

Over the last 10 years, the number of women-owned small businesses has increased by 114 percent. With women-owned firms growing more than two and a half times faster than the average business, we must recognize women entrepreneurs as a driving force in the U.S. economy.

The legislation modernizes both the Small Business Administration's Office of Women's Business Ownership and the SBA's Women's Business Centers program.

The Office of Women's Business Ownership administers the grant program that funds women's business centers. H.R. 1680 would require consistent standards and application requirements for grant recipients, ensuring that those centers have the ability to provide women with small business counseling and training.

The bill also institutes commonsense oversight requirements, standards for continued funding, and conditions of participation. This will increase congressional accountability and responsibility.

H.R. 1680 will allow millions of women throughout the country continued access to reliable and effective small business resources.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1680.

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