[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16168-16170]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               SBA WOMEN'S BUSINESS PROGRAMS ACT OF 2007

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2397) to reauthorize the women's entrepreneurial development 
programs of the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2397

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``SBA 
     Women's Business Programs Act of 2007''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

               TITLE I--NATIONAL WOMEN'S BUSINESS COUNCIL

Sec. 101. Annual studies on problems hindering the success of women 
              entrepreneurs.
Sec. 102. Additional progress reports.

                   TITLE II--WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTERS

Sec. 201. Revised funding formula.
Sec. 202. Matchmaking formula change.
Sec. 203. Termination of funding.
Sec. 204. Women's business center awards to be made public.

               TITLE I--NATIONAL WOMEN'S BUSINESS COUNCIL

     SEC. 101. ANNUAL STUDIES ON PROBLEMS HINDERING THE SUCCESS OF 
                   WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS.

       Section 409 of the Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988 
     (15 U.S.C. 7109) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
       ``(b) Problems Hindering the Success of Women 
     Entrepreneurs.--The Council shall conduct at least one study 
     per year that evaluates the problems hindering the success of 
     women entrepreneurs. The Council shall select the topic for 
     the study in consultation with the Committee on Small 
     Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
     Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate.''.

     SEC. 102. ADDITIONAL PROGRESS REPORTS.

       Section 406(d)(4) of the Women's Business Ownership Act of 
     1988 (15 U.S.C. 7106(d)(4)) is amended by inserting before 
     the semicolon at the end the following: ``, and on a biannual 
     basis (notwithstanding paragraph (6)) submit to the President 
     and to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 
     of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the 
     House of Representatives a report containing a description 
     of, and the status of, such initiatives, policies, programs, 
     and plans''.

                   TITLE II--WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTERS

     SEC. 201. REVISED FUNDING FORMULA.

       Section 29(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(b)) 
     is amended to read as follows:
       ``(b) Authority.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Administrator may provide financial 
     assistance to private nonprofit organizations to conduct 
     projects for the benefit of small business concerns owned and 
     controlled by women. The projects shall provide--
       ``(A) financial assistance, including training and 
     counseling in how to apply for and secure business credit and 
     investment capital, preparing and presenting financial 
     statements, and managing cash flow and other financial 
     operations of a business concern;
       ``(B) management assistance, including training and 
     counseling in how to plan, organize, staff, direct, and 
     control each major activity and function of a small business 
     concern; and
       ``(C) marketing assistance, including training and 
     counseling in identifying and segmenting domestic and 
     international market opportunities, preparing and executing 
     marketing plans, developing pricing strategies, locating 
     contract opportunities, negotiating contracts, and utilizing 
     varying public relations and advertising techniques.
       ``(2) Tiers.--The Administrator shall provide assistance 
     under paragraph (1) in three tiers of assistance as follows:
       ``(A) The first tier shall be to conduct a 5-year project 
     in a situation where a project has not previously been 
     conducted. Such a project shall be in a total amount of not 
     more than $150,000 per year.
       ``(B) The second tier shall be to conduct a 3-year project 
     in a situation where a first-tier project is being completed. 
     Such a project shall be in a total amount of not more than 
     $100,000 per year.
       ``(C) The third tier shall be to conduct a 3-year project 
     in a situation where a second-tier project is being 
     completed. Such a project shall be in a total amount of not 
     more than $100,000 per year. Third-tier grants are renewable 
     subject to established eligibility criteria as well as 
     criteria in subsection (b)(4).
       ``(3) Allocation of funds.--Of the amounts made available 
     for assistance under this subsection, the Administrator shall 
     allocate--
       ``(A) at least 40 percent for first-tier projects under 
     paragraph (2)(A);
       ``(B) 20 percent for second-tier projects under paragraph 
     (2)(B); and
       ``(C) the remainder for third-tier projects under paragraph 
     (2)(C).
       ``(4) Benchmarks for third-tier projects.--In awarding 
     third-tier projects under paragraph (2)(C), the Administrator 
     shall use benchmarks based on socio-economic factors in the 
     community and on the performance of the applicant. The 
     benchmarks shall include--
       ``(A) the total number of women served by the project;
       ``(B) the proportion of low income women and socio-economic 
     distribution of clients served by the project;
       ``(C) the proportion of individuals in the community that 
     are socially or economically disadvantaged (based on median 
     income);
       ``(D) the future fundraising and service coordination 
     plans;
       ``(E) the diversity of services provided; and
       ``(F) regional distribution within the 10 districts of the 
     Administration.''.

     SEC. 202. MATCHMAKING FORMULA CHANGE.

       Section 29(c)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
     656(c)(1)) is amended--
       (1) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B); and

[[Page 16169]]

       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(A) For the first and second years of the project, 1 non-
     Federal dollar for each 2 Federal dollars.
       ``(B) Each year after the second year of the project--
       ``(i) 1 non-Federal dollar for each Federal dollar; or
       ``(ii) if the center is in a community at least 50 percent 
     of the population of which is below the median income, 1 non-
     Federal dollar for each 2 Federal dollars.''.

     SEC. 203. TERMINATION OF FUNDING.

       Section 29(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(c)) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) Termination.--An organization that has conducted a 
     project under this subsection--
       ``(A) is not eligible to conduct another such project; and
       ``(B) may continue thereafter to use the women's business 
     center logo only with the consent of the Administrator.''.

     SEC. 204. WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTER AWARDS TO BE MADE PUBLIC.

       Section 29(g)(2)(B)(ii)(V) of the Small Business Act (15 
     U.S.C. 656(g)(2)(B)(ii)(V)) is amended by inserting before 
     the semicolon at the end the following: ``, and make 
     available to the public the award made to each applicant so 
     selected''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Ms. Velazquez) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. David 
Davis) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, there is no question that the face of small business is 
changing in this country. Women entrepreneurs now account for 50 
percent of all small business owners and are growing at a phenomenal 
rate. The SBA Women's Program Act of 2007, sponsored by Congresswoman 
Fallin, works to enhance opportunities for women by increasing access 
to in-depth outcome-oriented counseling and training. It strengthens 
SBA's Women's Business Centers to ensure that they continue to serve 
the important role of assisting small business owners.
  While many have taken advantage of the services Women's Business 
Centers offer, not all budding entrepreneurs are getting the resources 
they need to successfully start and own a business. A significant gap 
exists between the number of women in our country and those involved in 
entrepreneurship, particularly in certain industry sectors.
  Representative Fallin's legislation will increase the reach of 
Women's Business Centers to help develop entrepreneurship, particularly 
in underprivileged areas. By setting standards, it ensures that those 
who want to start their own firms have quality support and training 
resources available. The increased research that this bill requires 
will make sure that challenges currently impacting women are identified 
and addressed.
  The SBA Women's Procurement Act of 2007 builds on the strong track 
record of Women's Business Centers. The expansion of these centers has 
the potential to spur economic growth in disadvantaged communities and 
to even move impoverished women from welfare to entrepreneurship.
  I strongly support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVID DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the request to suspend the rules 
and pass H.R. 2397, the SBA Women's Business Programs Act of 2007. I 
would like to thank Chairwoman Velazquez for working in a cooperative 
and bipartisan manner to bring this bill, authored by Ms. Fallin, a 
freshman member of the committee, to the House floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman 
from Oklahoma (Ms. Fallin).
  Ms. FALLIN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking Chairwoman 
Velazquez and Ranking Member Chabot for their support for this 
legislation and also in helping to build a strong bipartisan coalition 
in the Small Business Committee.
  This bill, the SBA Women's Business Act of 2007, will strengthen the 
Women Business Centers program that was established in 1997 by making 
it more efficient and more accountable. The Women's Business Centers 
are a very important part of the grant programs that are funded by the 
Small Business Administration. Today, Women's Business Centers all 
across the country are providing women entrepreneurs with much-needed 
technical assistance in starting and operating their own small 
businesses.
  In the mid-1990s, the Federal Government began awarding grants to 
Women's Business Centers that were operating as nonprofit organizations 
in conjunction with institutions of higher learning. Originally, these 
grants were intended to be awarded to business centers in their first 5 
years with the understanding that after the first 5-year period had 
ended, the center would be financially self-sustaining.
  Although many Women's Business Centers did meet this goal, some have 
not for a variety of reasons. As a result, a greater percentage of the 
funding for this program has been consumed by the operating costs of 
potentially unviable centers rather than the intended purposes of 
establishing new business centers. The result is a drag on the system 
and viable business centers that are not truly serving an unmet need in 
their communities. This jeopardizes the effectiveness in the viability 
of the entire program.
  The SBA Women's Business Programs Act of 2007 will restore the 
original priorities held by the Federal Government when this program 
was created. By offering a three-tiered system of funding and lower 
caps on spending for older business centers, we can ensure a balanced 
percentage of funding is used to support both new and existing business 
centers.
  The first tier requires that at least 40 percent of the total funds 
be reserved for the purpose of establishing and supporting new Women's 
Business Centers during their first 5 years of existence. The second 
tier will use 20 percent of the total funds to help sustain the centers 
that have successfully existed during their first 5 years.
  Lastly, the third tier will use a maximum of 40 percent of the funds 
to continue supporting centers that have existed for 8 years or more 
and have met the necessary benchmarks set forth by the SBA to receive 
this funding. This three-tiered system will offer a helping hand to 
newly established centers while slowly weaning the older centers off 
the dependency of the Federal grants.
  It is important to realize that this legislation does not affect the 
overall funding level of this program. Rather, it rearranges the 
distribution of funds to reflect the original intention of these 
grants, an offer of temporary assistance rather than one of permanent 
dependency on the Federal Government.
  This legislation will ultimately restore accountability and 
efficiency to a program that, while well intentioned, has become 
weighed down by inefficiency. These are goals that every Member of 
Congress can all support. The SBA Women's Business Programs Act of 2007 
has passed in the Small Business Committee with overwhelming bipartisan 
support, and I want to encourage all my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to vote in favor of this today.
  Mr. DAVID DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I have no further 
speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, the small business face in America is 
changing. We have more and more women who would like to get involved in 
opening and starting their businesses, and the bill that we have before 
us as sponsored by Representative Fallin does just that.

[[Page 16170]]

  It promotes opportunity for women by increasing access to business 
counseling and training through the development of the Women's Business 
Center. This will better enable women to have flourishing enterprises 
and help to spur job creation and economic development across this 
Nation. I urge adoption of this bill.
  Mr. SESTAK. Mr. Speaker, as a husband, a father of a young daughter, 
the proud brother to 6 sisters, and having served alongside dedicated 
women in the military, I have seen first-hand the role that women play 
in economically strengthening American society. And this is why I rise 
today to support H.R. 2397, the SBA Women's Business Programs Act of 
2007.
  Despite their significant contributions, women who work full time, 
year round, still only make 77 cents for every dollar made by their 
male counterparts, and women business owners, particularly those from 
socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds, face significant 
challenges resulting from inadequate community resources. Such 
resources include lack of access to capital, training resources, and 
networks of assistance.
  Today, women-owned firms are one of the fastest growing, successful 
small business sectors. The number of women-owned firms has increased 
at nearly double the rate of all firms, and those with socially and 
economically disadvantaged backgrounds have grown at twice the rate of 
their counterparts and 6 times the rate of all U.S. firms. As the 
number of women entrepreneurs grows, particularly those from 
underserved communities, I believe it is critical that women have 
adequate and appropriate resources to prepare them for success in the 
marketplace. To that end, H.R. 2397 proposes to expand the agency's 
commitment to the Women's Business Centers (WBCs).
  WBCs provide in-depth, substantive, and outcome-oriented counseling, 
training and mentoring, resulting in substantial economic impact as 
measured by successful business start-ups, job creation and retention, 
and increased company revenues. They also provide financial, 
management, and marketing assistance to women small business owners.
  H.R. 2397 supports the growth of women small business owners by 
expanding entrepreneurial development assistance, particularly in low-
income areas. The legislation dedicates funding to the opening of new 
WBCs in underserved areas, while implementing new benchmarks to ensure 
centers that continually receive funds are meeting performance 
requirements. These metrics, which include information on clients 
served and fundraising plans, will help to preserve resources for 
centers that have demonstrated success helping women entrepreneurs 
while promoting the expansion of assistance centers into underserved 
areas.
  H.R. 2397 is important legislation which promotes economic security 
for America's women, and I urge all my colleagues to support this bill.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 
2397, the Small Business Administration Women's Business Programs Act 
of 2007. I commend my colleague from Oklahoma (Ms. Fallin) for 
introducing this important legislation to reauthorize the women's 
entrepreneurial development programs of the Small Business 
Administration (SBA).
  Most notably H.R. 2397 would authorize the SBA Administrator to 
provide financial assistance to private nonprofit organizations to 
conduct projects for the benefit of small businesses owned and operated 
by women. The bill notes that such projects shall provide, among other 
things, financial assistance, including training and counseling on how 
to apply for and secure business credit and investment capital, 
preparing and presenting financial statements, and managing cash flow 
and other financial operations of a business concern; management 
assistance, including training and counseling in how to plan, organize, 
staff, direct, and control each major activity and function of a small 
business; and marketing assistance, including training and counseling 
in identifying and segmenting domestic and international market 
opportunities, preparing and executing marketing plans, developing 
pricing strategies, locating contract opportunities, negotiating 
contracts, and utilizing varying public relations and advertising 
techniques.
  H.R. 2397 would also direct that the National Women's Business 
Council (NWBC) conduct at least one study per year that evaluates the 
challenges hindering the success of women entrepreneurs, and mandates 
that NWBC select the topic for the study in consultation with the 
Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate.
  Support for this legislation will help Congress fulfill its 
commitment to ensuring that women owned and operated small businesses 
are able to access the resources and training they may require in order 
to achieve success. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2397.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of H.R. 2397, to reauthorize the women's entrepreneurial development 
programs of the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.
  I would first begin by applauding my esteemed colleague from 
Oklahoma, Congresswoman Mary Fallin, for her work on, and undertaking 
of this important piece of legislation. The SBA Women's Business 
Programs Act of 2007 will help to restore the goal of the Federal 
Government to award grants to Women's Business Centers, originally 
operating as a non-profit organizations in conjunction with 
institutions of higher learning. This bill will also restore the 
balance of funding between new and existing Women's Business Centers, 
originally envisioned at the start of the program.
  Women Business Centers (WBCs) are community-based projects that are 
funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration through grants that 
require matching funds. They provide long-term business skills 
training, counseling, and mentoring to benefit emerging and existing 
small businesses that are owned and controlled by women, especially 
those who are socially or economically disadvantaged. Its goal is to 
continually ensure that those WBC's that are indeed serving an unmet 
need in their underserved communities remain sustained. They also work 
to provide valuable technical assistance to women entrepreneurs.
  The SBA's Women's Business Programs Act of 2007 authorizes the 
National Women's Business Council to conduct annual studies on problems 
hindering the success of women entrepreneurs and to submit reports to 
the President and the House and Senate Small Business committees. By 
offering a three-tiered system of funding and lower caps on spending 
for older business centers, SBA hopes to make certain that a balanced 
percentage of the funding is used to support both new and existing 
business centers. This system will offer assistance to newly 
established centers, while slowly reducing the older centers dependency 
on federal grant funds.
  Grants awarded to these business centers in their first 5 years were 
awarded with the intention that after this 5-year period had ended, the 
center would be financially self-sustaining. These grants were not 
intended to be a source of permanent funding. With that said, one of 
the main objectives of the SBA has been to provide direction and 
resources to those desiring to start and expand their small business 
firms.
  As once stated by the House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia 
M. Velazquez, ``today's small business owners are leading the way when 
it comes to job creation and economic development in communities 
nationwide. [H.R. 2397] will ensure that the needs of the drivers of 
our economy--small businesses--are met.'' This legislation dedicates 
resources to strengthen centers and ensure stability in the program.
  I rise today to support, as well as to encourage my other colleagues 
to join Representative Fallin and myself in helping to increase the 
effectiveness of Women's Business Centers nationwide by supporting the 
SBA Women's Programs Act of 2007, H.R. 2397. I thank you once again, 
Representative Fallin, for introducing this important piece of 
legislation. I am looking forward to witnessing the tremendous effects 
and positive results that this bill has to offer.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2397.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________