I am Nydia Vel zquez, the Ranking Democratic Member of the House Small Business Committee.
Minority businesses are the reason our economy is so strong and prosperous.
They are the fastest growing of all businesses. Their numbers increased almost 170 percent in the 10 years leading up to 1997. Latinos top all races and genders in starting new businesses, with a phenomenal growth rate of 114 percent during the last five years. And African-Americans have seen a 108 percent increase in the number of businesses they own since 1987. And one can only wonder if this is not the first step in dismantling this agency, which, ironically, he recently named a minority to head.