Interagency Committee on Women’s Business Enterprise Act of 2022
- Issuer
- Congressional materials
- Document type
- Crpt 117Srpt104
- Case
- Crpt 117Srpt104
Summary
Senate Report 117–104 of the 117th Congress, 2d Session, submitted by Mr. Cardin from the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and ordered to be printed May 3, 2022, to accompany S. 2042, the Interagency Committee on Women’s Business Enterprise Act of 2022. The committee reports the bill favorably with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and recommends that it pass. The report recounts the history of the ICWBE since Executive Order #12138 in 1979 and states it has been inactive since 2000. It describes amendments to sections 402 and 403, including making the SBA Administrator the chairperson, and records a voice vote on February 15, 2022 with Senators Paul, Ernst, Hawley, and Marshall recorded as voting no. It closes with minority views of Senator Paul arguing the committee's revival is unnecessary.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Cite this document
“Interagency Committee on Women’s Business Enterprise Act of 2022.”
Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crpt-117srpt104/
, SHA-256 e8925850c1f306acdf837015ba4cb42def9fa96f61e953414a65b57b5b1792c7.Full text
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 pur-
poses, 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 de-
crease 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 chang-
ing the title from 2021 to 2022. Additionally, it clarifies that the
ICWBE may use published research and policy independently de-
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with REPORTS
veloped by the National Women’s Business Council (Council). This
ensures the Council and ICWBE maintain a working relationship
29–010
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:53 May 04, 2022 Jkt 029010 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR104.XXX SR104
2
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 Agen-
cy 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 ap-
proved 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 Execu-
tive Branch departments and agencies were to take actions to sup-
port women-owned businesses, including by providing manage-
ment, technical, financial, and procurement assistance, business-re-
lated education training, counseling and information dissemination,
and federal procurement opportunities. Congress codified and ex-
panded upon the ICWBE by adopting the Small Business Adminis-
tration 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 assist-
ing 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 entre-
preneurs and small business owners make to the American econ-
omy, underscored successes of female entrepreneurs and women-
owned businesses achieved through private initiative and industri-
ousness, 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 Wom-
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with REPORTS
en’s Business Ownership Act of 1988. Under section 402(a) it adds
a new duty for the ICWBE to monitor the plans, programs, and op-
erations of the departments and agencies of the Federal Govern-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:53 May 04, 2022 Jkt 029010 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR104.XXX SR104
3
ment to identify barriers to new business formation by women en-
trepreneurs, or barriers experienced by women-led startups in ac-
cessing 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 inde-
pendently 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 Sec-
retary for Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior, and the
VA to the ICWBE, and makes the SBA Administrator the chair-
person.
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 addi-
tional regulatory impact will be incurred in carrying out the provi-
sions 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
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with REPORTS
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
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:53 May 04, 2022 Jkt 029010 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR104.XXX SR104
4
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 de-
veloped 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 Sec-
retary for Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior, and the
VA to the ICWBE. Finally, the section updates reporting require-
ments 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 re-
sult 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 busi-
ness ownership is growing at a rapid pace. The number of women-
owned private firms is growing, not shrinking, rendering the pur-
pose of the ICWBE counterintuitive at best and needless at worst.
The already-existing support infrastructure for female entre-
preneurs makes reviving the ICWBE an unnecessary use of tax-
payer dollars. Female entrepreneurs currently receive public sup-
port from the federal government through special set-asides and
services exclusive to female entrepreneurs and women-owned busi-
nesses. For example, the federal government operates the Women-
Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contracting Program, pro-
viding special access to federal contracts for WOSBs. Further, the
Small Business Administration’s Office of Women’s Business Own-
ership (OWBO) spends taxpayer dollars almost exclusively on
women-owned businesses, providing services including but not lim-
ited to entrepreneurial training, business counseling, as well as
special access to credit and capital.
Historically, women faced unique barriers to owning and oper-
ating 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, ‘‘Re-
view of SBA Entrepreneurial Development Programs and Initia-
tives’’ during which Ms. Hannah Cox of the Foundation for Eco-
nomic 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.
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with REPORTS
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:53 May 04, 2022 Jkt 029010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR104.XXX SR104
5
Therefore, reviving the ICWBE is an unnecessary endeavor which
needlessly duplicates already-existing antiquated federal programs.
RAND PAUL,
Ranking Member.
Æ
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with REPORTS
VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:53 May 04, 2022 Jkt 029010 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6611 E:\HR\OC\SR104.XXX SR104
File and source
- File
- CRPT-117srpt104.pdf
- Size
- 213,985 bytes
- SHA-256
- e8925850c1f306acdf837015ba4cb42def9fa96f61e953414a65b57b5b1792c7
- Our copy
- CRPT-117srpt104.pdf
- Original
- No public link identified.