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Charlotte NC

Adams Introduces the Women Small Business Growth Act

March 29, 2018

Charlotte, N.C.—Today, Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12) introduced the Women Small Business Growth Act to help female small business owners pay off crushing student loan debt and incentivize job creation. This bill would: allow women small business owners to have 15% of their student loan debt forgiven on their third and fourth year of being in business, allow an additional 20% of a women small business owner's student debt to be forgiven for each job she creates with a salary of at least $30,000, and precludes the dollar amount of student loan forgiveness from being considered taxable income.

"I'm proud to introduce the "Women Small Business Growth Act" to lessen the crushing burden of student loan debt on female entrepreneurs and incentivize job growth," said Congresswoman Adams. "Women take on an additional 14% of student loan debt on average, as compared to their male counterparts, stifling their ability to invest in and grow their businesses. Even with these challenging circumstances, female-owned businesses grew five times as fast as the national average in the last decade. Imagine what they could do with better support. Small businesses are the job creating engines of our economy and I'm committed to ensuring our entrepreneurs have the tools and resources to succeed."

"When I learned that Congresswoman Alma Adams was introducing legislation to help female small business owners the first thought that came to mind for me was ‘About Time'. I am honored to stand in the shadow of an amazing leader for all people," said Charlotte City Councilmember LaWana Mayfield.

"As a small business owner, I've faced the challenge of choosing between paying off my student loans or investing in the growth of my business," said Dr. LaTanya Bowman, owner of Discovery Chiropractic and Wellness Center in Charlotte. "This legislation would alleviate some of the hardship of making large student loan payments and allow me to make greater investments in my business, ensure the job security of current employees, and create more jobs in our community."

"At Carolina Small Business Development Fund, we strongly believe that women-owned businesses are economic and community drivers," said Awamary Lowe-Khan, Executive VP, Chief Financial & Operating Officer at Carolina Small Business Development Fund. "As of 2017, there are an estimated 11.6 million women-owned businesses. Women-owned businesses now account for 39% of all U.S. firms and employ 8% of the total private sector. Still, women entrepreneurs face unique challenges in accessing and affording capital, as well as other resources they need to establish successful businesses. The Women Small Business Growth Act removes a challenging layer by alleviating their financial burden and serving as an incentive for women entrepreneurs to focus on small business growth and job creation, while fostering economic growth."

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The Women Small Business Growth Act has been cosponsored by Reps. Frederica Wilson (FL-24), Nannette Diaz Barragan (CA-44), Adriano Espillat (NY-13), Madeleine Bordallo (GU) and Al Lawson (FL-05).