Cummings Reintroduces the "Minority Entrepreneurship Development Act"

Press Release

Cummings Reintroduces the "Minority Entrepreneurship Development Act"

U.S. Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, a Member of the Joint Economic Committee, today reintroduced the Minority Entrepreneurship Development Act of 2007 (H.R. 1985), which would foster business development and entrepreneurship in minority communities. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) has introduced companion legislation to this bill, S. 98, in the Senate.

The legislation would set up a $15 million, three-year pilot program to promote small business development in colleges and universities that serve African American, Native American and Latino American communities. Through grants of up to $1 million, the respective institutions would provide students who are not business majors with the tools necessary to use their area of expertise as entrepreneurs. The bill would also allow institutions to set up Small Business Development Centers to conduct research and provide training, counseling, capacity building and niche market development services to start-up entrepreneurs.

"The numbers explain why this legislation is necessary. Strikingly, the average income for African Americans is only equal to 62 percent of that earned by Whites. More than 40 years after the last Jim Crow laws were repealed by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the economic value of Blacks is still about three-fifths that of Whites. The average incomes of Native Americans and Latino Americans are similarly unbalanced, with the income in those communities respectively equaling 65 and 74 percent. This race-based 'wealth gap' is simply unacceptable." Congressman Cummings said. "All Americans deserve the right to share in the American Dream, regardless of their race or ethnicity. We know that small business development has provided great opportunities for minority communities. Minority-owned businesses promote personal economic growth, provide employment opportunities, and support local economies. Everyone wins when minority-owned businesses thrive."

In the previous Congress, the legislation garnered the support of 42 House Members. In addition, it had the support of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.

"I again look forward to the support of these groups and hope to work with them to implement this important piece of legislation during the 110th Congress," Congressman Cummings said. "A great legacy of the American Dream has been the opportunity for ordinary citizens to improve their livelihoods by starting their own businesses, and minority communities deserve a chance to share in that dream."

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