[Senate Report 117-104]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                     Calendar No. 279
117th Congress       }                           {           Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session          }                           {           117-104

======================================================================



 
    INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON WOMEN'S BUSINESS ENTERPRISE ACT OF 2022

                                _______
                                

                  May 3, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Cardin, from the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                             MINORITY VIEWS

                         [To accompany S. 2042]

    The Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, to 
which was referred the bill (S. 2042) to reauthorize the 
Interagency Committee on Women's Business Enterprise, and for 
other purposes, reports favorably thereon, with an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute, and recommends that the bill, as 
amended, do pass.

                            I. INTRODUCTION

    A bill to reauthorize the Interagency Committee on Women's 
Business Enterprise, (S. 2042) was introduced by Senators 
Tammie Duckworth, Tim Scott, Ben Cardin, and Susan Collins on 
June 14, 2021.
    This bill amends Title IV of the Women's Business Ownership 
Act to reauthorize the Interagency Committee on Women Business 
Enterprise (ICWBE), in order to better provide assistance and 
decrease barriers for women owned businesses.
    During the markup of the bill, the Cardin substitute 
amendment was approved by a voice vote as part of a manager's 
package. The Cardin substitute amends the bill in various ways 
including changing the title from 2021 to 2022. Additionally, 
it clarifies that the ICWBE may use published research and 
policy independently developed by the National Women's Business 
Council (Council). This ensures the Council and ICWBE maintain 
a working relationship while also maintaining their 
independence of one another. The amendment also updates the 
list of participants on the ICWBE by replacing the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics and the Department of Homeland Security with 
the Minority Business Development Agency and the Office of the 
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs of the Department of the 
Interior. The amendment designates the SBA Administrator to be 
the Chairperson of the ICWBE. This also eliminates the need for 
a vacancy provision as the President does not have to appoint a 
Chairperson. The amendment also updates the due date of the 
first annual report to September 30, 2022 and makes other 
technical changes. The bill, as amended, was also approved by a 
voice vote as part of a manager's package.

              II. HISTORY (PURPOSE & NEED FOR LEGISLATION)

    Executive Order #12138 (The Order) established the ICWBE in 
1979. The Order served to acknowledge the impact women-owned 
small businesses and women entrepreneurs could play in the 
growth of the U.S. economy, recognition of the many obstacles 
women entrepreneurs faced at the time, and the need to aid and 
stimulate women's business enterprise. The Order stated all 
Executive Branch departments and agencies were to take actions 
to support women-owned businesses, including by providing 
management, technical, financial, and procurement assistance, 
business-related education training, counseling and information 
dissemination, and federal procurement opportunities. Congress 
codified and expanded upon the ICWBE by adopting the Small 
Business Administration Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 
1994 (P.L. 103-403). Congress last reauthorized the ICWBE 
through the Small Business Administration Reauthorization Act 
of 1997 (P.L. 105-135).
    The ICWBE's work supplemented the efforts of several 
Federal agencies and departments in developing policies focused 
on assisting women business owners but the ICWBE has been 
inactive since 2000 with no chairperson appointed to operate 
it.

                      III. HEARINGS & ROUNDTABLES

    In the 117th Congress the Committee held a hearing titled 
``Women Entrepreneurs: An Economic Growth Engine for America.'' 
The hearing highlighted the valuable contributions women 
entrepreneurs and small business owners make to the American 
economy, underscored successes of female entrepreneurs and 
women-owned businesses achieved through private initiative and 
industriousness, and also identified barriers women face. Some 
of these barriers include child care, access to capital, 
finding mentors, and securing government contracts. The ICWBE 
was mentioned as one way to overcome these barriers and ensure 
women can participate in the economy on equal footing with 
their male counterparts.

                        IV. DESCRIPTION OF BILL

    This bill, as amended, reauthorizes the Interagency 
Committee on Women Business Enterprise by amending Title IV of 
the Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988. Under section 
402(a) it adds a new duty for the ICWBE to monitor the plans, 
programs, and operations of the departments and agencies of the 
Federal Government to identify barriers to new business 
formation by women entrepreneurs, or barriers experienced by 
women-led startups in accessing and participating in the plans, 
programs, and operations of the departments and agencies of the 
Federal Government. The bill amends section 402(b) to state 
that meetings of the ICWBE shall meet at the call of the 
executive director of the National Women's Business Council or 
the chairperson of the ICWBE. The bill amends section 402(c) to 
clarify that when consulting with the Council, the ICWBE may 
use published research and policy independently developed by 
the Council to carry out its duties.
    The bill amends section 403 to make the SBA Administrator 
and the executive director of the Council permanent members of 
the ICWBE. It also amends section 403 to add one representative 
each from NASA, EPA, OMB, MBDA, the Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior, 
and the VA to the ICWBE, and makes the SBA Administrator the 
chairperson.
    Finally, the bill updates reporting requirements by 
changing dates from ``1995'' to ``2022'' and makes other 
technical corrections.

                           V. COMMITTEE VOTE

    In compliance with rule XXVI (7)(b) of the Standing Rules 
of the Senate, the following vote was recorded on February 15, 
2022.
    A motion to adopt S. 2042, a bill to reauthorize the 
Interagency Committee on Women Business Enterprise, as amended 
by the Cardin substitute amendment, was agreed to by a majority 
voice vote of a quorum present as part of a manager's package. 
Senators Paul, Ernst, Hawley, and Marshall asked to be recorded 
as voting no.

                           VI. COST ESTIMATE

    The Committee has not yet received the Congressional Budget 
Office's estimate of the cost of S. 2042 as ordered reported. 
When the Congressional Budget Office completes its cost 
estimate, it will be posted on the Internet at www.cbo.gov.

                  VII. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

    In compliance with rule XXVI (11)(b) of the Standing Rules 
of the Senate, it is the opinion of the Committee that no 
significant additional regulatory impact will be incurred in 
carrying out the provisions of this legislation.

                   VIII. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    This section designates the act as the ``Interagency 
Committee on Women's Business Enterprise Act of 2022''.

Sec. 2. Interagency Committee on Women's Business Enterprise

    This section reauthorizes the Interagency Committee on 
Women Business Enterprise (ICWBE). It adds a new duty for the 
ICWBE to monitor the plans, programs, and operations of the 
departments and agencies of the Federal Government to identify 
barriers to women-led businesses in accessing and participating 
in government programs. Clarifies that meetings of the ICWBE 
shall meet at the call of the executive director of the 
National Women's Business Council (Council) or the chairperson 
of the ICWBE, and that the ICWBE may use published research and 
policy independently developed by the Council to carry out its 
duties.
    The section also makes the SBA Administrator the 
chairperson of the ICWBE and add them and the executive 
director of the Council as permanent members. It adds one 
representative each from NASA, EPA, OMB, MBDA, the Office of 
the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs of the Department of 
the Interior, and the VA to the ICWBE. Finally, the section 
updates reporting requirements and makes other technical 
corrections.

                          VIV. MINORITY VIEWS

Minority Views of Senator Paul

    In the ensuing decades since the creation of the ICWBE, 
women have made significant strides in our economy, though not 
as a result of the ICWBE. The ICWBE has been inactive since 
2000 but women are majority owners of nearly 40 percent of 
privately held firms. This represents a nearly 15 percent 
increase since 2007, after the ICWBE had ceased operations. 
Thankfully, female business ownership is growing at a rapid 
pace. The number of women-owned private firms is growing, not 
shrinking, rendering the purpose of the ICWBE counterintuitive 
at best and needless at worst.
    The already-existing support infrastructure for female 
entrepreneurs makes reviving the ICWBE an unnecessary use of 
taxpayer dollars. Female entrepreneurs currently receive public 
support from the federal government through special set-asides 
and services exclusive to female entrepreneurs and women-owned 
businesses. For example, the federal government operates the 
Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contracting Program, 
providing special access to federal contracts for WOSBs. 
Further, the Small Business Administration's Office of Women's 
Business Ownership (OWBO) spends taxpayer dollars almost 
exclusively on women-owned businesses, providing services 
including but not limited to entrepreneurial training, business 
counseling, as well as special access to credit and capital.
    Historically, women faced unique barriers to owning and 
operating businesses but the women entrepreneurs of today are 
on equal footing with male counterparts. This view was 
discussed in the 117th Congress on February 1, 2022 in a 
hearing entitled, ``Review of SBA Entrepreneurial Development 
Programs and Initiatives'' during which Ms. Hannah Cox of the 
Foundation for Economic Education discussed the progress of 
female entrepreneurs, the successes of the businesses they own, 
and the manner in which the government itself often serves as a 
barrier to entrepreneurship for women and men alike. Women-
owned small businesses have equal access to the full range of 
small business programs and face no barriers to obtaining 
private financing or technical assistance. Therefore, reviving 
the ICWBE is an unnecessary endeavor which needlessly 
duplicates already-existing antiquated federal programs.

                                                 Rand Paul,
                                                    Ranking Member.

                                  [all]