[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 89 (Thursday, June 20, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E944]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN HONOR OF NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

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                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 20, 2013

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 50th 
Anniversary of National Small Business Week.
  Growing a small business is a difficult task that requires dedication 
and perseverance.
  For a minority business owner or a woman business owner, it can be 
even more difficult--as demonstrated by study after study.
  Because of discrimination, minorities and women frequently do not 
have the history of entrepreneurship, the employment background, or the 
wealth to start their own businesses.
  And then, when they try to borrow funds to grow their businesses, 
woman and minorities often face discrimination yet again. Studies show 
us that lenders are more likely to reject minority loan applications or 
to charge higher interest rates to minority borrowers--even when the 
minority-owned or woman-owned business is similar to a white-owned 
business.
  Finally, minority and women business owners often have a hard time 
breaking into the closed networks of contracting and are overlooked or 
even intentionally excluded when opportunities do arise. Again, study 
after study demonstrates that minority-owned and women-owned businesses 
do not participate in public contracting in the numbers that we would 
expect given their availability.
  Programs that help level the playing field for women- and minority-
owned businesses remain critical to ensuring that taxpayer money is not 
used to support exclusionary ``business as usual'' practices.
  Today, therefore, I am submitting for the record a list of studies 
that substantiate these fundamental points--just as I did during the 
May 8, 2012, meeting of the House-Senate Conference Committee that 
considered the surface transportation bill that became the MAP-21 
legislation, when conferees accepted the materials by unanimous 
consent.

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