Hispanic Enterprise - October/November 2007 - (Page 30)

HISPANIC COMMERCE ADVOCATING FOR MINORITY -OWNED BUSINESSES By Michael L. Barrera, USHCC President & CEO n the history of this great nation, many of our immigrant forefathers weathered seemingly impossible odds to achieve the American Dream. Today, we as Hispanics continue their vision in pursuit of that dream, and do so while contributing to the nation’s growth and economy. Recently, I testiﬁed before the House Government Affairs Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization and Procurement about the need to revamp the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) business development program, and other contracting programs designed to assist small and disadvantaged business owners in accessing the federal marketplace. One of our nation’s greatest assets is our diversity. Minorities represent 32 percent of the population, yet they own only 18 percent of this country’s businesses. What’s more, the average gross receipts of non-minority held companies is $448,000 per ﬁrm. For minority companies, it’s $162,000. Small business development and procurement programs need to become more effective so minority business owners may prosper. First, contract bundling needs to be restructured so that federal agencies use it only when absolutely necessary—in national emergencies such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Bundled contracts tend to shut out small and minor30 I ity businesses because they are too large for them to compete for. Federal agencies bundle contracts for administrative convenience, not cost savings. Major improvements also need to be made on how prime contractors treat subcontractors on federal contracts. Take for example, USHCC board member Bill Miera. His ﬁrm, Fiore Industries of Albuquerque, New Mexico won two U.S. Air Force contracts as prime contractor. Air Force decision makers later decided to bundle the contract, forcing Mr. Miera to act as a subcontractor to a new prime contractor. Eventually, he was entirely cut out, and Mr. Miera’s company was almost forced out of business. Yet another problem are the bait-andswitch tactics in which a prime contracting ﬁrm secures a quote from a minority subcontractor and incorporates it into its bid. After winning the prime contract, the prime re-bids the subcontract, giving the work to other companies instead of to the minority subcontractor who was included in the original bid and helped secure the contract. Prime contractors need to be given incentives to use small and minority businesses in their subcontracting. They could receive an extra award fee for accomplishing subcontracting goals, whereas if they do not, they should be assessed a penalty in their award fee. Another challenge faced by minority business owners is access to capital, whether it’s SBA guaranteed loans or discrimination by local lending institutions. Minority-owned ﬁrms are more likely not to apply for loans because they feel the loan will be denied, or will be charged higher interest rates. Legislative changes are needed to the SBA’s 8(a) program, but we must also push for comprehensive immigration reform, and support the STRIVE Act. Not advocating for change may jeopardize as many as 1.4 million workers who are at risk of becoming displaced if the Administration imposes its proposed enforcement initiative. We need to allow a steady and regulated stream of immigrant labor into our country—it’s part of global economic integration. Rather than furthering offshoring of American industries and jobs, we should maintain a productive and legal immigrant workforce to ﬁll the gaps in our labor supply. The CATO Institute concluded immigrant workers ﬁll segments in the U.S. job market for which Americans are either over- or under-qualiﬁed. Simply put, immigrants perform jobs Americans simply don’t want or can’t perform. The USHCC is the largest advocate for America’s 2 million Hispanic-owned businesses, and we represent 200 chambers nationwide. There’s strength in numbers. As Hispanics, we must unite and continue advocating for SBA and immigration reform so that we, our children, and their children may continue to pursue the American Dream. October/November 2007 HISPANIC ENTERPRISE

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hispanic Enterprise - October/November 2007

Hispanic Enterprise - October/November 2007 Contents BIZBUZZ: Business Briefs Trendsetters BIZTECH: Personally Digital BizLife - Travel: The Mobile Meeting Motoring: Is What You Drive, Who You Are? Q&A - Fact Tank for the Hispanic Population Hispanic Commerce Cover Story: Tiles with Style Success & Motivation: Grammy Whammy Finance: Talking Code Event: Masterminds NCLR Report - Improving your Triple Bottom Line Politics & Government: Keep on Truckin' Managing: Avoiding an Identity Crisis Franchising: Beyond the Brand Finance & Investing - Talking Money Movers & Shakers Regional Report - Louisiana, Louisiana Chamber Focus - On the Island of Enchantment

Hispanic Enterprise - October/November 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.