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WASHINGTON – House Committee on Small Business Chairman Steve Chabot (R-OH) released the following statement on the 30th anniversary of H.R. 5050 (Public Law 100-533), the Women’s Business Ownership Act, becoming law:
“Women-owned and led businesses are growing at an extraordinary pace and we need to keep doing what we can to ensure their success. Before the law was passed women not only had few resources available to them as entrepreneurs, but even had to get a husband or male relative to co-sign loans for them. Now, there are over 11 million women-owned businesses that employ almost 9 million people in the United States alone. Today we celebrate not only a law that allowed women the ability to make that possible, but also the millions of women business owners who continue to make a difference in their communities and throughout the country.”
Specifically, H.R. 5050:
- eliminated state laws requiring women to have a male relative or husband as a co-signer to get a loan;
- established the National Women’s Business Center Council, a federal advisory council created to provide advice to the president, Congress, and SBA on economic issues important to women business owners;
- created the Women’s Business Center (WBC) Program, which helps women entrepreneurs through technical and managerial training and counseling designed for women.
According to a recent survey from American Express, women-owned firms have grown at a rate five-times faster than the national average.
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