[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 23, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 84451-84452]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-24754]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 205 / Wednesday, October 23, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 84451]]

                Proclamation 10841 of October 18, 2024

                
Minority Enterprise Development Week, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Our Nation's minority-owned businesses are the glue of 
                our communities and the engines of our economies. 
                Investing in them is key to growing our economy from 
                the middle out and bottom up, not the top down. When 
                minority-owned businesses do well, everyone does well. 
                More people get jobs, first-time business owners build 
                generational wealth, our economy grows, and more 
                Americans feel a sense of pride and hope in all that is 
                possible in our Nation. This Minority Enterprise 
                Development Week, may we celebrate the talent and 
                ingenuity of the innovators and entrepreneurs who run 
                our Nation's minority-owned businesses. And may we 
                recommit to ensuring that minority-owned businesses 
                have access to the resources they need to thrive.

                Minority-owned businesses add incredible value to our 
                economy, generating nearly $2 trillion in revenue each 
                year. These businesses not only provide the goods and 
                services we need but are also sources of hope--helping 
                people realize their American Dream, building 
                generational wealth, and uplifting their families and 
                communities. That is why my Administration is ensuring 
                that minority-owned businesses have access to capital 
                and can grow. The Small Business Administration (SBA) 
                is lending tens of billions of dollars to small 
                businesses that would otherwise struggle to access 
                capital. For example, since 2020, the rate of SBA-
                backed loans increased by about 40 percent for Asian 
                American-owned businesses, tripled for Black-owned 
                businesses, and more than doubled for Latino-owned 
                businesses. Further, my American Rescue Plan helped 
                minority-owned small businesses keep their doors open 
                during the COVID-19 pandemic and represents the 
                largest-ever dedicated Federal investment to connect 
                minority-owned small businesses to support. That law 
                invested $10 billion to launch and expand programs that 
                provide critical access to capital for small 
                businesses. The American Rescue Plan also invested $500 
                million to fund over 100 awards for organizations 
                working to connect entrepreneurs to resources to help 
                their small businesses recover and thrive through 
                initiatives like the SBA's Community Navigators 
                Program, the Department of the Treasury's Small 
                Business Opportunity Program, and the Minority Business 
                Development Agency's Capital Readiness Program.

                My Administration has also been working to ensure that 
                minority-owned businesses get a fair shot at success. 
                That is why I signed an Executive Order that would 
                increase the share of total Federal contracts going to 
                disadvantaged businesses from 10 percent to 15 percent 
                by 2025--and in the last 3 years, we have spent over 
                $208 billion on small disadvantaged businesses. My 
                Bipartisan Infrastructure Law expanded and made 
                permanent the Minority Business Development Agency, 
                ensuring that minority-owned businesses have access to 
                the resources and support they need to thrive. And with 
                my Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS and Science Act, 
                we are working to make sure that minority-owned 
                businesses are benefiting from the billions of dollars 
                we are investing in America's infrastructure, 
                manufacturing, and clean energy industries here at 
                home. In addition, Vice President Harris launched the 
                Economic Opportunity Coalition in 2022 to

[[Page 84452]]

                provide tens of billions of dollars in investments to 
                underserved communities.

                Since Vice President Harris and I entered office, our 
                Administration has created 16 million jobs, and 
                American entrepreneurs have filed nearly 20 million new 
                business applications. Wages are growing faster than 
                prices. Unemployment remains low. Black- and Latino-
                owned businesses are being created faster today than 
                they have been in years and Federal contracts with 
                Native American-owned companies increased by over $8 
                billion from 2020 to 2023. I also take pride in my 
                Administration's investments in Historically Black 
                Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving 
                Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and 
                Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-
                Serving Institutions--all of which are helping launch 
                the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and 
                business owners. These investments will ensure that 
                their graduates will have every opportunity to lead the 
                industries of the future and build generational wealth.

                Across America--from small towns to big cities--we are 
                seeing thousands of stories of revival, renewal, 
                optimism, and pride. And each new business that is 
                created is an act of hope, not just for the business 
                owner but for the entire community. During Minority 
                Enterprise Development Week, may we celebrate all the 
                minority-owned businesses making our economy stronger, 
                our Nation more competitive, and our communities more 
                hopeful. And may we recommit to supporting their 
                success and longevity.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 20 
                through October 26, 2024, as Minority Enterprise 
                Development Week. I call upon the people of the United 
                States to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements 
                and contributions of minority business owners and 
                enterprises and commit to promoting systemic economic 
                equality.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                eighteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                ninth.
                <GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-24754
Filed 10-22-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P