Secretary's Speech

U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez Luncheon Remarks to MED Week
Washington, D.C.

Thank you, Ron (Langston) for your introduction. I am very pleased to be at MED Week again this year.

Ron and his team are committed to achieving results. Last year they helped minority firms win $718 million in contracts, and secure $458 million in financial packages for a grand total of nearly $1.2 billion. Those are good numbers. We applaud your efforts and look forward to even better results this year.

The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) has a long 37-year history of assisting minority business entrepreneurs. The growth and success of minority entrepreneurs is vitally important to our country, and to our economy.

Minority businesses significantly contribute to the U.S. economy. Between 1997 and 2002, annual gross receipts grew 13 percent to $670 billion. Paid employees were up 5 percent to 4.7 million workers.

The number of minority-owned firms is also rapidly expanding, with virtually every ethnic group growing at two, three or four times the national average of 10 percent.

These numbers reflect the new reality: Unprecedented demographic changes. The end result will be dramatic changes in the size, and the racial and ethnic makeup of the U.S. labor force. This trend is unlikely to change, and is driven by indigenous growth and immigration.

So, in the years ahead, minority business enterprises will play an increasingly important role in expanding the U.S. economy, and keeping America competitive in the global economy.

President Bush and his Administration are committed to an ownership society. We believe in empowerment through enterprise where competition, innovation, and risk-taking are rewarded. And we will continue to support you as you grow your businesses.

Hurricane Katrina
Last year at this conference, we were all talking about making donations to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Today, we’re talking about making investments in a new emerging Gulf Coast economy. In fact, this may be the best investment in the world today.

I have visited the region several times, and have always been impressed by the spirit of the people. Despite what they’ve been through, their confidence remains undaunted.

I was in New Orleans last Friday (Aug. 25) where I met with local business people. They told me that while there is still a great deal of work to be done, there has also been a great deal of progress. They were optimistic about the future. Their message was: New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are open for business and investment.

The support of the Congress has been phenomenal. President Bush and Congress have committed $110 billion for this massive effort.

The President and the Congress have also provided as a central part of the Gulf recovery strategy, powerful federal tax incentives for investing in the region. We call them GO Zones.

Because of the GO Zone tax incentives and the opportunities this new emerging market in the Gulf offers, many business leaders have announced plans to invest.

To learn more about the Go Zones, I urge you to attend the MED Week workshop this afternoon.

Opportunity for Minority Business Enterprises
But the rebuilding will require more than taxpayer dollars. It can’t be accomplished by government alone.

The coastal economy will be revitalized by small and large businesses -- men and women like you with the entrepreneurial spirit to start a new business or to expand an existing one.

I’m confident that more businesses will choose to invest in this region – opportunity abounds. And when businesses succeed in the Gulf Coast, the Gulf Coast will be successful.

Last year, I asked MBDA to focus their time and resources in the Gulf.

Business Enterprise Centers
MBDA took the challenge and launched a number of programs.

So far this year, MBDA has invested over $1 million in setting up business centers in the Gulf region. Applications are under review to operate Business Enterprise Centers in Mobile, Alabama … Biloxi, Mississippi … and in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana.

These centers will provide displaced minority firms with the management and technical assistance they need to get their companies up and running again, or to start a new one.

Business-to-Business Forums
MBDA is also actively pursuing “business-to-business” forums for larger minority strategic growth firms and smaller minority businesses. These forums help them form new partnerships to compete for federal contracts and subcontracts.

Over 400 minority businesses have participated in business-to-business forums held this summer in New Orleans and Biloxi.

And they produce results:

• Is John Hunter here? John is president of Tri County Contractors. His firm won a $100 million FEMA contract to provide stairs, ramps, and steps for travel trailers and mobile homes. As a result of the business-to business-forums, Tri County is now teaming up with two other service firms to bid on upcoming projects.
• BPE & Associates from Houston won a $23 million subcontract to haul away debris in New Orleans.
• Two New Orleans-based minority firms, Sai Sai Trucking and SEMA, Inc., teamed up to win contracts worth a combined $2.5 million for logistics and disaster recovery.

Without a doubt, there are many opportunities for minority firms throughout the Gulf Coast.

But there are other opportunities as well.

Mastering the Global Supply Chain
I believe the worse thing a modern society can do is to isolate itself economically and culturally. Open markets and economic freedom are powerful forces for creating growth and opportunity and raising standards of living.

With just 5 percent of the world’s population, 95 percent of global consumers live outside the U.S.

Today business is global. So, you must think global when you are ready to expand your business reach.

So “mastering the global supply chain” – the theme for this year’s MED Week conference – is absolutely vital.

Many U.S. companies recognize this. In terms of sheer value, the U.S. is the world’s largest exporting country. Our exports this year are up 12 percent.

There are many business opportunities. In Asia, China and India are growing rapidly. So are South Korea and Japan. Latin America, Mexico, Brazil, and others are experiencing strong growth.

In response, our policy is to aggressively negotiate new, multilateral open trade agreements. At the same time, we’re liberalizing trade with like-minded partners.

This week you have the opportunity to hear from some of the world’s best supply chain experts. They include well-known brand names: FedEx, UPS, Wal-Mart, IBM, and the Marriott Corporation.

You’ll also meet companies in the construction business, and have the chance to partner with other minority firms in pursuit of large public and private sector contracts.

And remember that the economic playing field is leveling.

With new production and supply chain technologies, and the ability to do business over the Internet, world markets are more accessible than ever before. And by engaging in global commerce, you help keep America’s economic leadership in the 21st century.

Economy
As a member of the President’s economic team, we work hard every day with President Bush to create an environment where U.S. business can prosper both at home and abroad.

President Bush’s tax cuts and pro-growth policies have produced a strong and dynamic U.S. economy that’s a model for the world.

Despite a number of blows to our economy – the tech bubble that burst; a recession; 9/11; corporate scandals; hurricanes; and high energy prices – under President Bush’s leadership, the U.S. economy is strong.

• Our GDP per capita is among the highest in the world.
• Our unemployment rate is 4.8 percent -- lower than the average of each of the past three decades.
• More than 5.5 million new jobs have been created in the United States since August 2003.
• And since 2001, productivity growth has been at a strong 3.2 percent annual rate.

President Bush is committed to a pro-business, pro-prosperity agenda. It includes: low taxes, responsible regulation, quality education, energy security, and open and fair trade.

The reason we are so committed to these policies is we want the entrepreneurial spirit to flourish.

We want people to succeed and to realize their dreams. We believe in the individual and in the power of minority businesses, as I said at the outset.

So let me end on this. As business leaders you have the capacity to create jobs and economic growth that are the foundation of stable and prosperous societies.

This is a significant responsibility. I encourage you to see yourselves as key players in maintaining America’s competitive advantage in the global economy. I believe diversity is deeply woven into our strength as a nation, whether it’s our economic strength, or our rich cultural heritage.

So I thank you for your leadership and your willingness to be a part of the business community. I can tell you from personal experience, that it will be one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences that you will have in life.

Thank you and God bless you.