Women's Business Centers Improvement Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1838, the Women's Business Centers Improvements Act. In America today, the face of business is changing. A big part of that change is the growing role of women business owners. Female entrepreneurs are bringing new thought processes and ingenuity into our economy. The Small Business Administration's women's business centers enable women to take these great ideas and put them into practice. Not only do these centers provide the technical training and advice that are available at other SBA centers, but they offer guidance that is specifically tailored to female business owners.

H.R. 1838 will supply these organizations with needed stability. Through technical assistance and counseling, the bill would also renew the program's original mission, bolstering low-income communities. More women than ever before are going into business for themselves. For minorities and socially disadvantaged women, launching your own enterprise is an especially important option. We have heard time and again stories of women lifting themselves out of poverty by starting their own enterprise.

Mr. Speaker, women-owned businesses are increasingly important to our national economy. They generate $3 trillion in economic activity and are responsible for 16 percent of the U.S. jobs. By strengthening and improving the SBA's network of women's business centers, H.R. 1838 will expand this success, offering greater economic opportunity to women everywhere.

I will take this opportunity to thank and congratulate the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Ms. Fallin) for the work that she put into this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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