[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 43 (Thursday, April 6, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3236-S3237]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KERRY:
  S. 2586. A bill to establish a 2-year pilot program to develop a 
curriculum at historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal 
Colleges, and Hispanic serving institutions to foster entrepreneurship 
and business development in underserved minority communities; to the 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Minority 
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Pilot Program, legislation aimed at 
addressing this Nation's growing economic disparities through 
entrepreneurship and business development. It is the spirit of 
entrepreneurship that has made America's economy the best in the world. 
And it is through the energy and vitality of the small business sector 
that we will help all sectors of American society benefit from our 
robust economy.
  Exactly one year ago, the National Urban League released a report on 
the State of Black America, which discussed the growing economic gap 
between African Americans and their white counterparts. The report 
states that the median net worth of an African American family is 
$6,100 compared with $67,000 for a white family. The report makes clear 
that closing the racial wealth gap needs to be at the forefront of the 
civil rights agenda moving into the twenty-first century.
  Disproportionate unemployment figures for minorities versus their 
white counterparts have also been a persistent problem. Even as the 
administration has been touting the current low nationwide unemployment 
rate, the African American unemployment rate was 9.5 percent, the 
Hispanic unemployment rate was 6 percent, while the unemployment rate 
for whites averaged 4.1 percent.
  As the Ranking Member on the Senate Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship, I have received firsthand testimony and countless 
reports documenting the positive economic impact that occurs when we 
foster entrepreneurship in underserved communities. There are signs of 
significant economic returns when minority businesses are created and 
are able to grow in size and capacity. Between 1987 and 1997, revenue 
from minority owned firms rose by 22.5 percent, an increase equivalent 
to an annual growth rate of 10 percent and employment opportunities 
within minority owned firms increased by 23 percent during that same 
period. There is a clear correlation between the growth of minority 
owned firms and the economic viability of the minority community.
  We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go if this 
country is going to keep the promise made to all its citizens of the 
American dream. In 2005, African Americans accounted for 12.3 percent 
of the population and only 4 percent of all U.S. businesses. Hispanics 
Americans represent 12.5 percent of the U.S. population and 
approximately 6 percent of all U.S. businesses. Native Americans 
account for approximately 1 percent of the population and .9 percent of 
all U.S. businesses. We can, and should do something to address what is 
essentially an inequality of opportunity.
  I have long argued that there is a compelling interest for the 
Federal Government to create opportunities for business and economic 
development in all communities--throughout this Nation. It is 
appropriate for the Federal Government to lead the efforts and find 
innovative solutions to the racial disparities that exist in this 
country, whether they are in healthcare, education, or economics.
  Economic disparities in this country are a very complex issue, 
particularly when racial demographics are involved. I am well aware 
that there is no one-size-fits-all solution and there is no single 
piece of legislation that will level the playing field. However, I 
strongly believe that education and entrepreneurship can help to close 
the gap in business ownership and the wealth gap that exists in this 
country. Many minorities are already turning to entrepreneurship as a 
means of realizing the American dream. According to U.S. Census data, 
Hispanics are opening businesses 3 times faster than the national 
average. Business development and entrepreneurship have played a 
significant role in the expansion of the black middle class in this 
country for over a century.
  The Minority Entrepreneurship and Innovation Pilot Program offers a 
competitive grant to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 
Tribal Colleges, and HispanicServing Institutions to create an 
entrepreneurship curriculum at these institutions and to open Small 
Business Development Centers on campus to serve local businesses. The 
colleges and universities that participate in this program will foster 
entrepreneurship among their students, the best and brightest of the 
minority community, and develop a pool of talented entrepreneurs that 
are essential to innovation, job creation, and closing the wealth gap. 
The bill would make 24 grants, for $1 million each, available to 
institutions that include entrepreneurship and innovation as a part of 
their organizational mission and open a business-counseling center for 
those graduates that start their own businesses as well as the 
surrounding community of existing business owners.
  The goal of this program is to target students who have skills in 
highly skilled fields such as engineering, manufacturing, science and 
technology, and guide them towards entrepreneurship as a career option. 
Minority-owned businesses already participate in a wide variety of 
industries, but are

[[Page S3237]]

disproportionately represented in traditionally lowgrowth and low-
opportunity service sectors. Promoting entrepreneurial education to 
undergraduate students at colleges and universities expands the pool of 
potential business owners to technology, financial services, legal 
services, and other non-traditional areas in which the overall 
development of minority firms has been slow. Growing the size and 
capacity of existing minority firms and promoting entrepreneurship 
among minority students already committed to higher education will have 
a direct relationship on the employment rate, income levels and wealth 
creation of minorities throughout the nation.
  The funds are also to be used to open a Small Business Development 
Center (SBDC) on the campus of the institution to assist in capacity 
building, innovation and market niche development, and to offer 
traditional business counseling, similar to other SBDCs. The one-to-one 
counseling offered by the business specialists at these centers has 
proven to be the most effective model available for making 
entrepreneurs run more effective, more efficient, and more successful 
businesses. By placing the centers on campus, the institutions will be 
able to leverage the $1 million grant for greater returns and 
coordinate efforts with the school's academic departments to maximize 
the efficacy of the program.
  While the funding in this bill is modest relative to the multi-
billion dollar budgets we discuss on a daily basis, these funds can go 
a long way and be leveraged to create economic growth in the most 
needed areas of this country. With this legislation, we will help 
foster long-term innovation and competitiveness in the small business 
sector. Mr. President, this bill is a small investment in the future of 
this country that I am sure will do much to foster economic growth in 
our minority communities and beyond. I urge my colleagues to join me as 
cosponsors of this important piece of legislation.
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