[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 27, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10302-S10303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KERRY:
  S. 3953. A bill to foster development of minority-owned small 
businesses; to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Minority 
Entrepreneurship Development Act of 2006. It's especially appropriate 
that this bill be introduced during Hispanic Heritage Month. Millions 
of Latino Americans during this time reflect on their place in this 
country and the positive contributions they have made here. One area 
where we can be certain that the Hispanic community has made a 
significant contribution is in business. The principled and strong 
leadership of Hispanic Americans can be seen in corporate boards and 
sole proprietorships alike. As a Nation, we must support the 
development of the next generation of business leaders within the 
Latino community. I believe that this legislation will help in that 
effort.
  This legislation is aimed at giving potential and burgeoning 
entrepreneurs the tools they need to realize their goals. Whether those 
goals include creating a small business that will employ people from 
the community or taking a small business and making it into a major 
enterprise, it's imperative that we develop the tools to help minority 
small business owners succeed.
  I want to take a moment and tell you why it's so important to expand 
the numbers of entrepreneurs in the minority community. 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. 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.
  Although, these economic numbers tell a significant part of the 
story, they don't tell the whole story of what these firms mean to the 
minority communities they serve and represent. Many of these business 
leaders are first generation immigrants; many are first generation 
business owners and many represent, for those in their communities, 
what hard work, determination and patience can do.
  We must encourage those kinds of values in our minority communities 
and, quite frankly, in our nation as a whole. For generations, millions 
have come to our shores in search of a better life. Millions of others 
were brought here by force and for years were not given a voice in how 
their lives would turn out. But how ever we got here, we all have 
become branches of this great tree we call America. This tree is still 
nourished by roots planted by our forefathers more than 200 years ago. 
Those men and women planted the roots of hard work, innovation, faith 
and risk taking.
  When you think about it, those words are the perfect description of 
an entrepreneur. It is the spirit of entrepreneurship that has made our 
nation great. And that is why it is absolutely imperative that we 
continue to support and develop that spirit in our minority 
communities. To that end, this legislation provides several tools to 
help minority entrepreneurs as they develop and grow their businesses.
  First, this legislation will create an Office of Minority Small 
Business Development. One of its primary functions will be to increase 
the number of small business loans that minority businesses receive. 
Latinos, African-Americans, Asian-Americans and women have been 
receiving far fewer small business loans than they reasonably should.
  To ensure that this trend is reversed and minorities begin to get a 
greater share of loan dollars, venture capital investments, counseling, 
and contracting opportunities, this bill will give the new office the 
authority to monitor the outcomes for programs under Capital Access, 
Entrepreneurial Development, and Government Contracting. It also 
requires the head of

[[Page S10303]]

the Office to work with SBA's partners, trade associations and business 
groups to identify more effective ways to market to minority business 
owners, and to work with the head of Field Operations to ensure that 
district offices have staff and resources to market to minorities.
  Second, this legislation will create the Minority Entrepreneurship 
and Innovation Pilot Program. This program will offer a competitive 
grant to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges, 
and Hispanic-Serving Institutions to create an entrepreneurship 
curriculum at these institutions and to open Small Business Development 
Centers on campus to serve local businesses.
  The goal of this program is to target students in highly skilled 
fields such as engineering, manufacturing, science and technology, and 
guide them towards entrepreneurship as a career option. Traditionally, 
minority-owned businesses are disproportionately represented in the 
service sectors. Promoting entrepreneurial education to undergraduate 
students will help expand business ownership beyond the service sectors 
to higher yielding technical and financial sectors.
  Third, this legislation will create the Minority Access to 
Information Distance Learning Pilot Program. This program will offer 
competitive grants to well established national minority non-profit and 
business organizations to create distance learning programs for small 
business owners who are interested in doing business with the federal 
government.
  The goal of this program is to provide low cost training to the many 
small business owners who cannot afford to pay a consultant thousands 
of dollars for advice or training on how to prepare themselves to 
contract with the federal government. There are thousands of small 
businesses in this country that are excellent and efficient. They are 
primed to provide the goods and services that this nation needs to stay 
competitive. This program will help prepare them to do just that.
  Finally, this legislation will extend the Socially and Economically 
Disadvantaged Business Program which expired in 2003. This program 
provides a Price Evaluation Adjustment for Socially and Economically 
Disadvantaged businesses as a way of increasing their competitiveness 
when bidding against larger firms. This is one more tool to increase 
opportunities for our minority small business owners.
  I have outlined several ways that we can create a more positive 
environment for our minority small business community. These are 
reasonable steps that we ought to take without delay. Moreover, these 
are important steps that will help bolster a movement that is already 
underway. According to U.S. Census data, Hispanics are opening 
businesses 3 times faster than the national average. Also, business 
development and entrepreneurship have played a significant role in the 
expansion of the black middle class in this country for over a century. 
These business owners are embodying the entrepreneurial spirit that our 
forefathers carried with them as they established this nation.
  With this legislation, we will help to extend that spirit to the next 
generation. Not only is this vital for our minority communities, but it 
is vital for America. I urge my colleagues to join with me in support 
of the Minority Entrepreneurship Development Act of 2006.
                                 ______