[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 116 (Thursday, September 9, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   MICROENTERPRISES AROUND THE WORLD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 8, 1999

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to laud the success of Microenterprises 
Around the World and in the United States as incorporated in H.R. 413, 
The PRIME ACT
  In the last decade, microenterprise development has changed the way 
that we think about the alleviation of poverty. Before our encounter 
with microenterprise, far too many of us were mired in the belief of 
the intractability of poverty and the similar impression that the poor 
are little able to help themselves. With respect to small business and 
financial services especially, some allowed themselves to fall prey to 
the misconception that, with so many other concerns to which to tend, 
it certainly would not be possible for the poor to save or to 
appropriately access financial services, much less to start and run 
their own businesses.
  Thanks to the stunning successes of microenterprise around the world, 
these myths have been exploded. Today, millions of low-income people 
around the globe have taken a little bit of capital and used it as a 
springboard to transform their lives and those of their families. Women 
especially have used microenterprise to change their lives for the 
better.
  The lesson of all of this is that the poor, like everyone, have the 
desire to build and to grow, but that their access to the same services 
and advantages that many of us take for granted is extremely limited. 
Again, it is not a lack of desire, but a lack of access that has 
damaged the lives of low-income people around the world. When given the 
opportunity and similar access, the results are clear. Microenterprise 
has been a stunning success indeed.
  Armed with numerous success stories from around the world, we now 
have an opportunity to apply them at home as well. This spring the 
Banking Committee heard testimony from microentrepreneurs, from 
researchers, and from those working in the field. The message was 
simple and clear. Microenterprise can, and does, work in the United 
States as well.
  However, we also heard a clarion call for different services and 
support. Foremost among them was the deep conviction among those in the 
field of business training and providing technical assistance. 
Particularly for very low-income entrepreneurs, this training and 
technical assistance is the vital ingredient that can mean the 
difference between success and failure, between economic security and a 
fear of what the next day might bring, between food on the table for 
the children and another night of hunger.
  But the field of microenterprise needs our support. We also learned 
in the hearings that this money for critical business training and 
financial technical assistance is very difficult to come by. H.R. 413, 
the Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs, would appropriate 
money to provide this assistance to those hard-working individuals who 
are most in need of it. This Congress is in a position to give the 
field a much-needed boost. And all indications are that there are many 
here in the House of Representatives who want very much to do this. But 
H.R. 413 is a modest bill and with so much work to do over the next 
month, I worry that it will get lost in the fray of all that remains to 
be done.
  And so I implore my colleagues today. Let us not allow modest, but 
absolutely important legislation like H.R. 413 be forgotten as we 
proceed in this Congress. Let us work together to pass H.R. 413 this 
year, and to provide immediate funding for it. This is an investment 
with returns, but only if we take the time to capitalize on it.

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