[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 30, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S8375]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      NATIONAL WOMEN'S BUSINESS COUNCIL AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES

 Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, I want to speak today about the 
work the National Women's Business Council [NWBC] is doing in my State 
and the work they do for the country in the interest of women-owned 
businesses. I want to make special note of the efforts of one of 
Georgia's shining examples of entrepreneurship. Mr. President, Carolyn 
Stradley started out filling in potholes with asphalt and from that has 
grown a small business that is now responsible for work done in both 
the Olympic Stadium and the Georgia Dome. In addition to successfully 
competing in a male dominated business world, she is literally paving 
the way for other women to find opportunities into the work force 
through the creation of small businesses.
  Yesterday morning Carolyn moderated a workshop that provided a forum 
to discuss, develop, and find consensus on policy recommendations which 
enhance women business owners access to capital and credit at every 
stage of business growth. This forum was part of 10 workshops being 
held at Federal Reserve Banks and branches across the nation. The top 
10 recommendations from each of the 10 workshops will be compiled into 
a report and presented to Congress and the President by the NWBC. The 
participants of these workshops include women business owners, bankers 
and other lenders, government representatives and other experts who 
work daily to develop financial strategies that are so essential in 
getting small businesses off the ground.
  Mr. President, I want to commend the NWBC for their work and their 
continued efforts as an independent source of advice and counsel to the 
Congress, the President and the Small Business Administration. Their 
mission is to promote bold initiatives, policies and programs designed 
to foster women's business enterprise as well as an economic 
environment conducive to business growth and development for women-
owned businesses. The council has focused on four key areas: (1) 
expanding public and private market opportunities for women-owned 
businesses; (2) promoting the development of a research agenda and data 
collection on the women's business sector and public awareness of its 
contributions; (3) strengthening the networking capabilities of women 
entrepreneurs and the technical assistance and training infrastructure; 
and (4) expanding the financial resources available to women business 
owners and ensuring their access to them.
  I believe that it is particularly fitting that the NWBC does have 
this focus and I would point to a few important figures, just in 
Georgia alone, that would support this. Mr. President, as of 1996 there 
are nearly 204,000 women-owned businesses in Georgia employing over 
622,000 people and generating over $87 billion in sales. During the 
period of time from 1987 and 1992, the National Foundation for Women 
Business Owners estimates that the number of women-owned firms in 
Georgia has increased by 112 percent, employment has grown by 334 
percent and sales have risen 508 percent. In 1996, women-owned firms 
accounted for 36 percent of all Georgia firms, and provided employment 
for 34 percent of Georgia workers, and generated 24 percent of the 
State's business sales. Finally, I am proud to point out that Georgia 
ranks fifth in growth in the number of minority women-owned firms as of 
1996--a 227 percent increase between 1987 and 1996.
  Mr. President, I encourage my colleagues to support and fund 
organizations like the National Women's Business Council. Small 
Businesses are the foundation of our Nation's economic engine and small 
businesses are the future continued economic growth and 
success.

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