[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 69 (Wednesday, April 27, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E416-E417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SCORE FOR SMALL BUSINESS ACT OF 2022

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 26, 2022

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6450 the 
SCORE for Small Business Act of 2022 which would:
  reauthorize $13.5 million for the program for two years;
  ensure the SBA prevents abuse and misuse of funds; and
  expand counseling and training programs to provide online webinars, 
electronic mentoring platforms and online toolkits to better serve 
small businesses.
  The SCORE program provides vital mentoring and education programs for 
business owners and entrepreneurs.
  SCORE is dedicated to helping small business owners plan, launch, 
manage and grow their businesses. The programs volunteers also give 
continuous advice and support to the firms.
  Almost 97 percent of businesses in the greater Houston area have 
fewer than 500

[[Page E417]]

employees--the standard to be considered a small business--and these 
collectively employ 44 percent of the region's workforce, about 1.2 
million people.
  Houston adds more than 9,200 new startups annually. In 2021 startups 
attracted a record $753 million in venture capital funding, up from 
$702 million in 2019.
  The creation of small businesses in Houston is likely to keep 
growing. Last year, real estate investment group Roofstock released a 
report ranking Houston among the Nation's top 10 metros for startup 
formation.
  Houston also ranks number 5 among the nation's largest metro areas 
when it comes to the percentage of minority-owned startups.
  Nearly 5,600 startups in the Houston area are minority-owned or about 
30 percent of all companies less than two years old.
  Together, these minority businesses employ more than 22,700 workers 
in the region.
  But in a region where minorities make up 64 percent of the 
population, clear inequities in entrepreneurship remain in Houston that 
mirror the rest of the Nation.
  There are currently close to 170,000 minority-owned startups in the 
U.S. employing more than 700,000 workers and generating close to $100 
billion in annual revenue.
  Nationally, Hispanics represent about 18 percent of the population 
but just 7 percent of startup owners. For Black Americans, those 
figures diminish to just 12 percent and 3 percent, respectively. 
Meanwhile, Non-Hispanic Whites make up 60 percent of the U.S. 
population but own nearly 80 percent of the nation's startups.
  Mr. Speaker, the reauthorization of the SCORE program funding is 
essential to the thousands of minorities and women entrepreneurs in 
this country.
  People who have been historically disadvantaged are the people who 
benefit most from programs like SCORE and we must ensure that they 
continue to receive assistance.
  I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 6450 the SCORE for Small 
Business Act.

                          ____________________