October 20, 2004
Government Spending with Women Businesses Up
Three percent of federal dollars - $8.3 billion – was spent with women-owned small businesses in fiscal year 2003, according to the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC). The 3 percent share is short of the federal goal of 5 percent, set in a 1994 law, but higher than FY 2002 spending of 2.2 percent.
Additionally, 11 individual federal agencies did meet the 5 percent contracting goal to women-owned small businesses, up from seven the previous year. They are: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) (32.8%); Department of Commerce (8.4%); Department of Education (7.7%); Office of Personnel Management (OPM) (7.4%); Department of the Interior (7.3%); Department of the Treasury (6.7%); General Services Administration (6.5%); National Science Foundation (NSF) (5.8%); Department of Homeland Security (5.6%); Department of State (5.2%); and Department of Agriculture (5.2%).
The NASE believes more needs to be done to increase the number of federal contracts awarded to women entrepreneurs across the federal government. While the number of federal contracts awarded to women-owned small businesses was 5.3 percent in 2003, the average value of Federal contract actions awarded to women-owned small businesses was $13,910, compared to an average value of $24,490 for all awarded contract actions. In addition, 90 percent of all Federal contract actions to women-owned small businesses in FY2003 came from just three Federal agencies: Department of Defense; Veteran's Affairs; and GSA.
More information on federal contracting spent with women-owned businesses can be found on the NWBC's Web site, www.nwbc.gov.
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Congress Recessed for Elections; Will Finish Work in November
The House and Senate adjourned last week, suspending legislative work and voting until after the November 2nd elections. They will return to Washington mid-November in what is commonly called a “lame duck” session. With the early adjournment, Congress still has yet to complete work on several appropriations bills and the recommendations of the September 11th commission.
The term “lame duck” session refers to Congress reconvening in November after the elections to finish business. Some of the lawmakers who will return for this session may not have been re-elected, so their ability to legislate is crippled like a duck with a lame leg or wing.
Stay tuned to Washington Watch for updates on Congress, and visit NASE’s Election Watch at http://advocacy.nase.org for information on local and federal races.
SBA Loans to Small Businesses Doubles from 2001 to 2004
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced last week that the number of loans it provided to small businesses in the 2004 fiscal year had doubled since 2001 fiscal year levels. By the end of the FY2004 on September 30, the SBA surpassed its 7(a) and 504 (or Certified Development Company) loan program records, and provided a record volume of loans to women, minorities, and veterans. In addition to volume, the net worth of SBA loans was also at a record level in 2004. During the FY2004, 74,825 7(a) loans totaling $12.5 billion and 8,168 loans under the 504 program totaling $3.9 billion were awarded to small businesses.
With this growth in SBA-backed loans, women and minorities received double the level of loans that they had in 2001. One third of these thousands of SBA-backed loans went to minorities in 2004, allowing African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans to reach record loan levels. Loans to African Americans increased 32%, to Hispanics increased 31.7%, and to Asian Americans increased 33.7% over the past year. Women and veterans also saw significant increases in the number of loans awarded to them from the 2003 fiscal year. The number of loans to women increased 27.3%, and loans to veterans increased 21%.
To find out more information on the Small Business Administration loan program visit http://www.sba.gov.
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