[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 38 (Tuesday, February 28, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H953]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               BUILDING A MORE EQUITABLE ECONOMY FOR ALL

  (Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on the last day of Black 
History Month to celebrate the remarkable contributions of Black 
businessowners.
  Business ownership leads to higher incomes and more wealth, but 
decades of systemic bias, redlining, lending discrimination, and 
inequity in wages have created an ever-widening wealth gap for minority 
communities.
  According to the Alliance for Entrepreneurial Equity, Black-owned 
businesses are three to five times more likely to be labeled as a high 
credit risk, which sets up barriers to affordable financing and slows 
growth. During the height of the pandemic, minority-owned firms were 
more likely to be completely shut out of credit and capital resources, 
receiving none of the financing they sought out.
  This Black History Month, I met with entrepreneurs in my district who 
drive our economy forward, people like Malik Muhammad, owner of an 
independent bookstore in Baldwin Hills. Malik is passionate about 
investing in the community and does so by hosting bookfairs at local 
schools because he knows that in order for his neighborhood to thrive, 
more people of color need to start businesses in the community.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in Congress to recognize the great 
strength that is Black entrepreneurship and work with me to build a 
more equitable economy for all.

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