[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18199-18200]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 PERMITTING WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTERS TO RE-COMPETE FOR SUSTAINABILITY 
                                 GRANTS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1517, which was introduced 
earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1517) to permit Women's Business Centers to re-
     compete for sustainability grants.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today in support of this bill that 
would provide critical funding that is needed to preserve the 
operations of existing Women's Business Centers that currently serve 
women entrepreneurs in almost every State and territory.
  Women-owned businesses breathe new life into our economy, grow at 
twice the rate of all firms, and create jobs with pace-setting results. 
With 10.6 million women-owned businesses across the Nation, employing 
more than 19 million Americans, and generating nearly $2.5 trillion in 
revenue--indeed, they are nothing short of an economic powerhouse!
  Part of our job is to make sure that Government programs continue to 
help small and women-owned businesses. We can't afford to ignore, or 
reduce, the extraordinary contributions America's business women are 
making to our economy, our society, and our future.
  The Small Business Administration's Women's Business Center has been 
a tremendous resource to women-owned businesses across the Nation. 
Since the program was introduced through the Small Business Ownership 
Act of 1988, and made permanent in 1997, Congress has agreed seven 
times that this program is critical for women business owners. In fact, 
the program's unique training and counseling helped clients generate 
more than $235 million in revenue and create or retain over 6,500 jobs 
in 2003. This program clearly has a record of success, fostering job 
growth and providing American small businesses with the opportunity to 
thrive.
  If we look at the centers that are achieving the greatest impact, it 
is the established centers. The results of their outreach and one-on-
one assistance has made it possible for the Small Business 
Administration to achieve its goals as it measures the success of the 
products and programs offered by these centers.
  However, 11 of our longest standing Women's Business Centers located 
in California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New 
Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin now face the possibility of 
closing their doors. The Federal Government has invested 10 years 
helping to establish these centers which, in turn, have helped women-
owned businesses start and existing businesses grow.
  In accordance with outdated legislation, the SBA plans to award 92 
competitive grants to regular and sustainable women's business centers 
in September with the fiscal year 2005 appropriations. However, our 11 
longest standing centers will not be eligible to compete for these 
grants. This was not the intent of the Senate. Last Congress, the 
Senate agreed to transform the women's business center program into a 
3-year competitive grant program which is reflected in my bill, S. 
1375, The Small Business Administration's 50th Anniversary 
Reauthorization Act of 2003. While the House failed to pass their 
version of the bill, limited provisions of the bill were included in 
the fiscal year 2005 Omnibus package. However, the women's business 
center provisions, among others, failed to make the omnibus bill and 
this program now operates under outdated legislation.
  This emergency legislation temporarily solves this problem and 
preserves our investment by simply making the women's sustainability 
grant funding available for these 11 existing centers only during 
fiscal year 2005. While we must fix the funding problem in the long-
run, we also face a crisis today. With this legislation, existing 
centers that have been established for the longest period of time would 
be able to operate without disruption in funding and could continue the 
programs and services they currently offer. Moreover, this provision 
does not require any additional appropriations but only reallocates 
current funds.
  As Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship, I take great pride in the fact that my own State of 
Maine leads the way for women-owned businesses. Today, there are more 
than 63,000 women-owned firms in Maine, employing over 75,000 Mainers 
and generating more than $9 billion in sales. We must all be committed 
to multiplying that story of success in every State in America.
  It is our duty to ensure that Americans have the necessary resources 
to start, grow and develop a business. I am committed to resolving the 
temporary funding crisis through this bill and I am committed to 
working with my colleagues to ensure the long-term viability of the 
program for today's women entrepreneurs and those of tomorrow.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill 
be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid 
upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed 
in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 1517) was read the third time and passed, as follows:

                                S. 1517

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

[[Page 18200]]



     SECTION 1. WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTERS.

       Section 29(k) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(k)) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) Prior recipients.--Notwithstanding subsection (l)(1), 
     any recipient of a grant under subsection (l) whose 5-year 
     project ended in fiscal year 2004, is eligible to apply to 
     receive the funds for grants to continue Women's Business 
     Centers in sustainability status for fiscal year 2005, made 
     available by Public Law 108-447 (118 Stat. 2911).''.

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