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WIPP Applauds Letter by Women Senators Opposing SBA’s Proposed Rule on Women Procurement Programs – International Business Times -.

AdvancingWomen.com would like to recognize and honor the 16 women senators who stood up and attempted to level the playing field for women in business.

“Women Impacting Public Policy(WIPP), the nation’s largest bipartisan women business organization, applaudsthe Senate’s 16 female members for their opposition to the SBA’s proposedwomen’s procurement program rule.

The letter stated, “The SBA’s proposed rule has two pivotal flaws whichvhinder it from functioning as Congress originally intended. First, theproposed rule identifies merely four business industries, out of roughly 140,in which women-owned small businesses are under-represented and eligible forset-asides … Second, for the SBA’s proposed rule to be implemented,individual Federal agencies must first publicly admit to a history of genderdiscrimination.”

The letter also says that, despite comprising a third of the nation’s small businesses, women entrepreneurs only received 3.4 percent of federalcontracting dollars in 2006. It continues by stating Congress established thewomen’s procurement program in 2000 to help address the underrepresentation ofwomen entrepreneurs in the government marketplace. “Now, over seven years later, the SBA produced a fundamentally flawed proposed rule in itsinsufficient attempt to implement the women’s program.”

Furthermore, the letter points to recent actions taken by the SenateAppropriations Committee prohibiting the SBA from funding implementation ofthe proposed rule.

( AdvancingWomen.com salutes the following women Senators for standing up for women:)
Also showing their support for women-owned small businesses were Sens. KayBailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Susan Collins (R-Maine, Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Blanch Lincoln (D-Ark.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Debbie Stabenow (R-Mich.).”