Strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act of 2019--Motion

Floor Speech

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Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss legislation that Senator Cardin and I introduced last year and successfully worked to move through the legislative process, with lots of help from many others.

The Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act was passed by the House and Senate near the end of the 115th Congress and was signed into law in January of this year. We are thankful that our colleagues in both Chambers joined us in supporting this meaningful legislation focused on improving the lives of women and families around the world.

Because women make up the majority of the world's poor and are often held back by gender-specific constraints to economic empowerment, such as lack of access to financial services and credit, it was important to recognize that it is within our power to help elevate and enable them to achieve their economic dreams and aspirations.

In many corners of the world, cultural and historical barriers that make it difficult for women to start businesses, build savings, and make meaningful economic contributions to their communities are long established and serve to prevent many women from attaining greater stability in their everyday lives--to the detriment of their own societies as well as the global economy.

Building on our own past and experiences in the United States, we can help women in the world overcome obstacles that impede their ability to substantially contribute to economic activity and industry at home and, more broadly, within the world economy.

The Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act provides an avenue to address this inequality by tapping into the proven abilities of existing U.S. Agencies for international development programs.

USAID, which uses strategic investments to promote growth and development while advancing U.S. interests and influence, is perfectly situated to implement this initiative because it understands how to effectively deploy resources to--as its mission states--``lift lives, build communities, and establish self-sufficiency.'' The WEEE Act will help the more than 1 billion women who are left out of the world's formal financial system by working to close the nearly $300 billion credit gap that exists for women-owned small and medium-sized businesses.

Expanding USAID's microenterprise development assistance authority to include small and medium-sized enterprises with an emphasis on supporting those owned, managed, and controlled by women is critical because if these promising, industrious entrepreneurs and innovators are given the opportunity to succeed, the benefits will undoubtedly reach far and wide.

The WEEE Act will also modernize USAID's development assistance toolkit to include innovative credit scoring models, financial technology, financial literacy, insurance, and more to improve property and inheritance rights--all of which are vital in helping to overcome deep-rooted cultural and institutional hurdles that preclude women from accessing the resources necessary for economic success.

Finally, the law directs USAID to include efforts that promote equality and female empowerment throughout its programs. This may seem like a small step, but in reality, it can help transform the way international aid is implemented to the benefit of many women across the globe, poised to succeed when provided the same tools and resources as their peers in nations where those hurdles are absent.

USAID, especially under the leadership of Mark Green, the Administrator, does an exceptional job of stretching a finite amount of resources to achieve meaningful results in some of the world's most impoverished nations.

I have complete confidence that Administrator Green and his team will implement the Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act in a way that will simultaneously, and even necessarily, work to the benefit of our international aid mission, while also helping to uplift and empower women in countries all over the world to succeed in a way that has been just beyond their reach until now.

Research shows investing in women has a high rate of return, and that is exactly what the WEEE Act recognizes and seeks to capitalize on.

As Senator Cardin, senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted when we introduced the bill: ``Investment in women creates a positive cycle of change that can lift women, families, communities, and entire countries out of poverty, and this legislation will help us make inroads toward that important goal.''

I would like to thank former Chairman Ed Royce and Congresswoman Frankel, as well as their staffs, for their leadership on this bill in the House.

I would also like to thank Senator Cardin for joining me in sponsoring the bill here in the Senate, as well as our former colleague and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, for his work to move this bill through the committee process.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the support and assistance provided by the White House, particularly from Presidential Advisor Ivanka Trump, who worked tirelessly to advocate for this bill, garner support from NGOs, and ultimately helped us see it across the finish line.

All of those who worked on this bill share an understanding that because women in some parts of the world are pushed so far to the margins that they are denied access to even the most basic financial services, much less business loans, leveling the playing field is the right thing to do. If we can achieve this goal, the world economy stands to grow significantly.

Now that the WEEE Act has become law, we have taken one significant step forward to realizing this laudable aim, and women in developing nations stand to benefit from USAID's upcoming efforts to help them find and secure their place in our global economy.

The Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act advances U.S. values and stimulates real, lasting economic opportunities around the globe for women. It will change lives and communities, promote equality, and help entrepreneurs and innovators thrive--all of which will benefit the global economy and the pursuit of prosperity.

Once again, I extend my thanks and gratitude to all who have worked so hard and helped this bill become law, and I look forward to following its implementation and results.

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