On June 17, the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee approved en bloc, 18-0, the Entrepreneurial Development Act (S. 1229). The House passed similar legislation on May 20 (see The Source, 5/22/09).
Sponsored by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), S. 1229 would reauthorize the Women’s Business Center (WBC) program and the National Women’s Business Council, among others. The bill would authorize $20 million in FY2010, $20.5 million in FY2011, and $21 million in FY2012 for the WBC program. The bill also would create new programs for the Native American Business Center and Veterans Business Center programs.
According to Sen. Landrieu’s statement, the legislation would clarify the organizations that can participate in the program and the process by which grants are awarded to eligible centers.
The measure would direct the comptroller general to conduct a study of “unique issues facing women’s business centers.” Specifically, the study would examine the difficulties centers face raising non-federal funds, competing for financial assistance, writing grant proposals, and responding to the challenges of the current economy and its impact on their surrounding communities.