Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Announces Supplier Business Initiative Study Results
Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (D-Fla.), chairman of the CBCF board of directors, and Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus – and senior-level representatives from three other companies committed to diversity – joined officials from CBCF and GSK in promoting the urgent need to help SDBs compete in a 21st century global economy.
The lawmakers, executives and officials joined in releasing the study’s results at the 37th Annual Legislative Conference, a four-day event which opened today at the Washington Convention Center. The speakers said their efforts are dedicated to the memory of Parren J. Mitchell, a Congressional Black Caucus co-founder who championed small and minority businesses during his storied 16-year career in the House of Representatives. Rep. Mitchell died in May at age 85.
In 2005, CBCF and GSK expanded their partnership to increase the ability of small disadvantaged businesses to better compete. The Supplier Business Initiative’s Corporate Advisory Council, created to advise and direct the initiative, commissioned a study to look at existing U.S. policy concerning the U.S. Small Business Administration’s SDB program.
Thomas D. Boston, Ph.D., and Linje R. Boston, of the Atlanta-based EuQuant firm researched specific goals while completing the study, titled “Increasing the Capacity of the Nation’s Small and Disadvantaged Businesses.” They set out to measure the impact of the SDB program on minority business performance and examine how the personal net worth ceiling has affected SDB capacity. They also assessed the impact of the SDB program on national output and employment.
The study’s results outline the barriers that small disadvantaged businesses face in pursing success in today’s environment, including the ability to build capacity and satisfy corporate demand. The goals of the research findings are to close the gap and help minority businesses achieve the size, scale and capabilities necessary for global competition.
“With greater capacity, SDBs are able to operate more successfully in the public and private sectors,” said Elsie L. Scott, Ph.D., CBCF’s president and chief executive officer. “Their greater success expands overall economic output and generates jobs, income and wealth in the economy and especially in underserved communities.”
The results reveal the following:
· Small disadvantaged businesses still experienced an annual disparity in revenue of $900,000 in comparison to non-minority owned small business concerns with similar characteristics.
· The $750,000 personal net worth ceiling of the SDB program has not been adjusted for inflation in nine years. Therefore, the current real value of the ceiling is $558,070.
· The capacity of small disadvantaged businesses and the personal net worth of their owners are closely related.
· A personal net worth ceiling that is set too low causes other economic hardships.
“GlaxoSmithKline and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation partnered together to improve ways to help small disadvantaged businesses succeed among the competition,” said Chris Viehbacher, president of U.S. Pharmaceuticals for GSK. “This study shows the success of that partnership. GSK will work with the CBCF to transform these recommendations into an action plan that helps GSK and all corporations turn government goals into success for small businesses. GSK is proud to share in this achievement with the CBCF.”
CBCF and GSK intend to present the study’s findings to the Corporate Advisory Council so that its members can submit feedback. Efforts will then be made to meet with more members of Congress in hopes of bringing about the legislative remedies necessary to increase the ability of SDBs to better compete.
About the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc. was established in 1976 as a nonpartisan, nonprofit, public policy, research and education institute intended to help improve the socio-economic circumstances of African Americans and other underserved communities. For more information, visit www.cbcfinc.org.
About GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline is one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, and is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For more information, visit www.gsk.com.
