[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8565]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

  (Mr. McNERNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, the President's fiscal year 2018 budget 
calls for the elimination of the Minority Business Development Agency. 
This is shameful and counterproductive to the progress that minority-
owned firms have achieved.
  I led on this issue by sending two bipartisan letters to the House 
Appropriations Committee, joined by over 70 Members, advocating for 
Congress to fund the MBDA at fiscal 2017 levels, and recommending that 
the MBDA provide annual policy reports to Congress.
  The agency has one of the highest returns on investment in the 
Federal Government, helping minority-owned firms secure $40 billion in 
contracts and capital over the last 10 years. The 8 million minority 
businesses in the United States contribute $1.4 trillion in economic 
output to the economy. My home State of California leads the Nation 
with 1.6 million minority-owned firms, which represents 45 percent of 
all businesses in my State.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to continue funding the Minority 
Business Development Agency so that we can continue to see this 
progress in our economic growth and for the communities of our Nation.

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