Business and Professional Women USA Annual Membership Meeting

Remarks by Thomas J. Donohue
President & CEO

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Cleveland, Ohio
July 18, 2003

Thank you very much and good morning everyone. It's a pleasure to be here.

When Jane called to invite me to speak here today, I jumped at the opportunity for a couple of reasons. First, it was a chance to get out of Washington and its 100% humidity. Second, it meant I could spend some time with my friend Jane, a respected and influential business leader.

Jane is one of the women members of the Chamber's Committee of 100, an exclusive group of top association executives who meet several times a year to discuss the important business issues of the day and the challenges facing associations.

But most importantly, I wanted to be here because I believe in this organization and its goals … I believe that by working together, the Chamber and BPW can build a stronger, more vibrant economy and create opportunities for thousands of entrepreneurs to live the American dream.

When you think about it, our two groups have a great deal in common.

We've both been around for a long time. The Chamber was founded in 1912 and BPW USA just seven years later, in 1919.

Both organizations were formed on common values—opportunity, free enterprise, and entrepreneurship.

Both organizations have a far and wide reach. BPW boasts a membership of 30,000, with more than 1,600 chapters, including at least one in every congressional district across the country.

The Chamber counts among its members 3 million businesses, 2,800 state and local chambers, 830 associations, and 95 American Chambers of Commerce aboard.

Collectively, it's what we call the Chamber Federation, and it's what makes the Chamber the most powerful voice for business in our nation's capital.

As powerful as our voice is, we can't always get the job done alone. If there's one thing I've learned during my time in Washington it is that when like-minded organizations pool their resources and speak with a single voice, the politicians sit up and take notice.

So today I'd like to tell you about the Chamber's agenda and specifically answer the question of your conference – what must be done to get the economy moving again?

I'd also like to suggest some ways we can work together – by combining our strengths and common vision — to advance our mutual goals.

Policy Agenda

To me, answering the question of how to get the economy moving again is simple – energize small businesses! Create an environment in which they can grow and prosper.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. They create two-thirds of all new jobs. They account for 40% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product and 96% of the Chamber's membership.

And increasingly, when you're talking about small business in America, you are talking about women- and minority-owned businesses.

Women-owned businesses now number more than 6 million in the U.S. and are growing at twice the rate of the national average. More than 9 million workers draw their paychecks from companies owned by women.

Additionally, if jointly owned and publicly traded firms are included in this population, the numbers are even more impressive: more than 9 million women-owned firms, accounting for 38% of all businesses, employing 27.5 million workers, and generating more than $3.5 trillion in revenue.

President Bush was absolutely right last year when he said: "When it comes to entrepreneurship and job creation, ours is an increasingly woman's world."

So it will come as no surprise to you that a large part of the Chamber's public policy agenda focuses on small businesses and the entrepreneurs who run them.

So what are we doing for them?

On the public policy front, the Chamber, working with its allies, has scored some significant victories for small businesses:

Tax bill

Across the board rate cuts

Cut in capital gains and dividend rates

Increased expensing allowance from $25,000 to $100,000 and a first year bonus depreciation

Child tax credit

SBA Loans

Restored $6 billion in funding for SBA loans

Health care

Won 100% health insurance deductibility for the self-employed which took effect this year

Won Medical Savings Accounts for the self-employed

Legal Reform

Won passage of class action reform in the House

Those are the victories. While we've made progress, there is still much to be done. Among the Chamber's priorities are:

Winning passage of Association Health Plans (small businesses face premium increases of 20-30% annually)

Permanently and completely eliminating the death tax (some companies must pay at a 55% rate upon death of the owner)

Amending the Fair Labor Standards Act to allow for comp time and to clarify overtime rules

Restoring fairness to our legal system (small businesses are often named as defendants just so trial lawyers can get the venue they want)

Building Coalitions

This is an aggressive agenda … an agenda that will help unleash the power of America's small businesses and set us on the path to sustained economic growth.

But as I said in the beginning, no single group can achieve this agenda alone – it requires partnership and coordination.

That's why the Chamber is a leader in Washington in building and managing coalitions. We participate in literally dozens of them. We created, and now manage, two of the largest coalitions ever assembled, Americans for Transportation Mobility – which lobbies for adequate infrastructure spending — and the Alliance for Energy and Economic Growth, which supports a commonsense national energy policy.

And the Chamber will work with anyone – within reason – that shares our viewpoint on an important issue. It's why we are a bipartisan organization that works with members from both sides of the aisle.

It's why we've set aside our differences with the labor unions and partnered with them on transportation and other issues.

And in a fundamental way, it's why we believe so strongly in organizations like the Committee of 100 — like minded people representing members with similar interests who share their strategies and challenges, provide fresh insights and unique perspectives, and participate in problem solving.

It's why we put such a high premium on working in tandem with our state, local, and international chambers, much in the same way you work with your local chapters in every congressional district.

My point here is simple – there is strength in numbers. There is strength in pooling resources and speaking with a united voice. There is strength simply in coming together.

And it's why I am here today.

Beyond Public Policy

While the Chamber is a strong advocate for policies that benefit small businesses—including women- and miniorty-owned companies—we understand that there are challenges that can't be resolved in the public policy arena.

Small businesses need access to capital, information, networks, and international markets. But before they can do that, they need resources that will help them get that access.

That's why a year and a half ago the Chamber started a program called Access America, which is designed to connect women and minority entrepreneurs and professionals with the people, institutions, resources, and information they need to grow their businesses.

Our Access America initiative leverages the strength of the entire U.S. Chamber to provide resources, tools, and advocacy for women and minority businesses. Access America also works to strengthen the Chamber by recruiting strong new advocates to advance its legislative and policy agenda.

Over the past 18 months, we have created a national network of organizations and partners – including our relationship with BPW. Access America works with these partners and with all the Chamber departments to promote the Chamber's agenda – your agenda – and to develop value-added programming for our membership.

Access America is making a difference in the lives of thousands of women business professionals.

When we launched Access America, I said that "the business of America is still business, but the face of American business has changed." That is evident – your presence here today is evidence that women play and exceedingly important role in our nation's economic growth, prosperity, and leadership …

Your CEO, Jane Smith, has been working very closely with my Vice President, Reta Lewis, who also directs our Access America program, and we intend to build on our partnership.

Conclusion

In sum, I believe the U.S. Chamber and BPW should be stronger and more active partners.

As an active participant in the Chamber federation— whether on the local, state, or national level—you're influencing decisionmakers, working to create greater prosperity in your communities, and helping to give yourselves and a whole new generation of women professionals economic opportunities that, for you, may have been hard to come by.

I look forward to helping build this partnership in the coming days and months, and to helping create an economy befitting this great nation of ours … an economy that rewards the risk takers and the dreamers, and provides prosperity for all.

Thank you.