The Minority Business Development Agency:
June 8, 2021
An Overview of Its History and Programs
Julie M. Lawhorn
The Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is the lead
Analyst in Economic
federal agency dedicated to assisting minority business enterprises (MBEs) in overcoming social
Development Policy
and economic disadvantages that have limited their participation in the nation’s free enterprise

system. The MBDA’s mission is to support the growth and global competitiveness of the
minority business community. Through a network of local business development centers and

other initiatives, the MBDA carries out this mission by providing technical and business
assistance, support, and resources, as well as advocacy and research on behalf of MBEs.
The agency was established as the Office of Minority Business Enterprise (OMBE) by Executive Order 11458 signed by
President Richard Nixon in 1969. In 1979, the Carter Administration reorganized and renamed the OMBE as the Minority
Business Development Agency (MBDA). Successive Administrations have changed the agency’s focus and reorganized the
delivery of its assistance and services.
 The Carter Administration renamed the agency and refocused its efforts on helping businesses of all sizes
develop into medium and large-scale businesses, particularly in growth industries.
 In 1981, the Reagan Administration established the Minority Business Development Center program,
which became the MBDA’s primary method for delivering technical and management services to minority
businesses.
 The George H.W. Bush Administration proposed eliminating the agency and transferring its mission to the
Small Business Administration (SBA), but ultimately continued the agency as an entity within the
Department of Commerce.
 The Clinton Administration supported substantial increases in the agency’s budget to fund the
establishment of Rural Business Development Centers and support the activities of the Minority Business
Development Centers and Minority Business Opportunity Committees.
 The George W. Bush Administration continued efforts to coordinate the MBDA’s programs with the
SBA’s programs, pledged to focus MBDA’s resources on minority firms with at least $500,000 or more in
annual revenues, and to increase their presence in the global economy. The Obama Administration placed
increased emphasis on quantifying the impact of MBDA activities, increasing the efficient delivery of its
services to minority business communities, and increasing coordination with other federal agencies.
 The Trump Administration’s first budget request proposed to eliminate the agency, and later budget
requests proposed reductions to the agency’s budget by approximately 75%.
 The Biden Administration’s FY2022 Budget Request includes $70 million for the MBDA, an amount that
would be $22 million above the FY2021 enacted level, and a new $1 billion grant program to assist MBEs
access private capital.
Today, the agency’s activities are designed to expand access to capital, markets, and contracts through public and private
sector programs, policy, and research. Technical assistance and other services are provided to MBEs through specialty
projects and a network of business centers located in areas with the largest concentration of minority populations and the
largest number of minority businesses. The MBDA coordinates with other federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations,
and private firms to expand capital access and contracting and export opportunities for MBEs. Although Congress has never
enacted a statutory authorization for the agency, it has appropriated funding for MBDA for over 50 years. When considering
the MDBA, Congress may examine the absence of enabling legislation, the coordination of services for MBEs across federal
agencies, and disagreements over the agency’s funding.
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The Minority Business Development Agency: An Overview of Its History and Programs

Introduction
The Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is the lead
federal agency dedicated to supporting growth and global competitiveness of the minority
business community. 1 Numerous congressional hearings, undergirded by historical and current
academic research, have tried to document the extent to which members of minority groups
confront disparities and disadvantages in creating new businesses, expanding markets, and
finding opportunities for their business enterprises.2 Barriers include difficulty in accessing
capital, a lack of capacity or expertise, and exclusion from business networks. Given these
challenges, Congress and many successive presidential administrations since the Nixon
Administration have supported national policies intended to address these disparities through the
MBDA.
The MBDA’s primary mission is to assist minority businesses in achieving entrepreneurial
participation and parity in the nation’s free enterprise system and to overcome social and
economic disadvantages that have limited their participation. To these ends, the MBDA is charged
with formulating and coordinating federal policies and programs to support minority business
enterprises (MBEs) by providing technical and managerial expertise and resources through a
network of local business development centers. This report includes
 a discussion of the agency’s origins and authority;
 a summary of the agency’s funding history, including Administration requests
and final appropriations;
 a review of the agency’s recent programs, initiatives, performance, and
accomplishments; and
 a review of current issues and considerations.
Although Congress has never enacted a statute establishing the agency, it has appropriated
funding for MBDA for over 50 years. In FY2021, Congress approved $48 million in annual
appropriations for the agency.3 In FY2020 and FY2021, Congress also provided a combined $35
million in two rounds of supplemental appropriations for the agency in response to the adverse
economic impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on MBEs.4

1 15 C.F.R. § 1400.2 “Determination of Group Eligibility for MBDA Assistance, Definitions” defines Minority
Business Enterprise as a business that is owned or controlled by one or more socially or economically disadvantaged
persons. Socially disadvantaged persons means those persons who have been subjected to cultural, racial, or ethnic
prejudice because of their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities. Economically
disadvantaged persons means those persons whose ability to compete in the free enterprise system has been impaired
due to diminished capital and credit opportunities because of their identity as members of a group without regard to
their individual qualities, as compared to others in the same line of business and competitive market area. Person means
a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
2 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on General Oversight and Minority Enterprise,
Establishment of a Minority Business Development Administration in the Department of Commerce, 96th Congress, 2nd
sess., June 9, 1980, and June 16, 1980 (Washington: GPO, 1980); MBDA, “Demographic Trends Publications,”
https://www.mbda.gov/page/demographic-trends-publications; and Robert W. Fairlie and Alicia M. Robb, Race and
Entrepreneurial Success: Black-, Asian-, and White-Owned Businesses in the United States (Cambridge, MA: The MIT
Press, 2010).
3 P.L. 116-260.
4 P.L. 116-136 and P.L. 116-260.
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MBDA Origins and Authority
The MBDA was originally established as the Office of Minority Business Enterprise (OMBE) by
President Richard Nixon with the signing of Executive Order (E.O.) 11458 on March 5, 1969.5
During the 1968 presidential campaign, then-Republican candidate Nixon embraced the idea of
“Black Capitalism,” which promoted increasing minority participation as owners and managers in
the U.S. economy as a means of not only promoting economic advancement and parity, but
political power as well.6 Eager to demonstrate his commitment to these goals and pressed by civil
rights advocates to fulfill his campaign promise, President Nixon chose to bypass Congress and
the legislative process, opting to establish a cabinet-level committee on minority enterprise.7
Within the first 100 days of his administration, President Nixon had established the OMBE as a
policy prescription for issues of racial inequality and social injustice.
The OMBE’s mission, as outlined in E.O. 11458, was threefold:
 encourage the coordination of the plans, operations, and programs of the federal
government in ways that strengthen participation of minority businesses in the
activities of federal agencies;
 promote the deployment of the resources of state and local governments,
businesses, trade associations, and other nongovernmental entities in support of
minority businesses; and
 establish a clearinghouse to identify and disseminate information to support the
successful operation of MBEs.
E.O. 11458 also established an Advisory Council on Minority Enterprise (ACME), charging it
with advising and supporting the Secretary of Commerce on matters affecting the success of
minority businesses, including recommendations for further actions. During its first two years, the
ACME played a significant role in shaping the OMBE’s agenda. The ACME also helped develop
efforts to increase minority participation in franchises.8
Stymied by organizational difficulties, including a lack of cooperation from other cabinet-level
departments, an inexperienced staff, and the absence of a dedicated budget, the OMBE struggled

5 Executive Order 11458, “Prescribing Arrangements for Developing and Coordinating a National Program for
Minority Business Enterprise,” 34 Federal Register 4937, March 5, 1969.
6 Dean Kotlowski, “Black Power-Nixon Style: The Nixon Administration and Minority Business Enterprise,” The
Business History Review, vol. 72, no. 3 (Autumn 1998), p. 411.
7 Members of the committee included Secretary of Commerce Maurice Stans, Secretary of Health, Education, and
Welfare Robert H. Finch, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development George Romney, Secretary of Agriculture
Clifford Hardin, and Secretary of Transportation John Volpe. See Dean Kotlowski, “Black Power-Nixon Style: The
Nixon Administration and Minority Business Enterprise,” The Business History Review, vol. 72, no. 3 (Autumn 1998),
p. 420.
8 In 1969, eager to demonstrate results, the OMBE co-sponsored with the Small Business Administration (SBA) what
was dubbed the 25 x 25 x 2 program, which was one of two federal programs focused on increasing minority
participation in the franchise industry. The plan involved the OMBE, during eight separate rounds, recruiting 25
national franchisors who each would commit to awarding 25 franchises to minority owners each year for a two-year
period. See U.S. Congress, Senate Select Committee on Small Business, The Economic Effects of Franchising,
committee print, prepared for the Small Business Administration by Urban B. Ozanne, D.B.A. and Shelby D. Hunt. Ph.
D, Graduate School of Business, the University of Wisconsin, 92nd Cong., 1st sess., September 8, 1971, Committee
Print (Washington: GPO, 1971), pp. 51-55 and pp. 187-198. Two years later, the franchising initiatives and SBA’s
commitment to minority business development were criticized in a 1971 committee print released by the Senate Select
Committee on Small Business. In addition, the OMBE initiated efforts to increase capital assets in minority-controlled
banking institutions to be made available to minority businesses.
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during its first years of operation. It was also said to be handicapped in pursuing its mission by
the Commerce Secretary’s decision “not to become involved in individual cases or with programs
at the operational level and not to seek to encroach upon existing programs functions of other
federal agencies.”
E.O. 11625—Expanding Agency Role
To address concerns raised during the OMBE’s initial two years of operations, President Nixon,
on October 13, 1971, signed E.O. 11625, Prescribing Additional Arrangements for Developing
and Coordinating a National Program for Minority Business Enterprise.9 The new E.O. was
intended to clarify and strengthen OMBE’s role. In remarks made at the time the new E.O. was
issued, President Nixon noted the following:
This order gives the Secretary a clear mandate to establish and carry out Federal policy
concerning minority enterprise and to coordinate the related efforts of all Federal
departments and agencies. It also directs the departments and agencies to develop
systematic data collection processes concerning their minority enterprise programs and to
cooperate in expanding the overall Federal effort.10
In addition to reinforcing the original E.O.’s objectives, the new E.O. called for the OMBE to
create a network of minority business centers. These centers would be charged with providing
managerial and technical assistance to minority businesses and conducting special projects,
including the provision of direct financial assistance to minority businesses. This development
marked an evolution in the agency’s role from an advisory one undertaken principally through the
ACME to an active one, supporting the development of minority business enterprises using
public-private partnerships.
Agency Reorganization
During the Carter Administration, Congress considered, but did not pass, enabling legislation
authorizing the agency and its mission.11 In 1979, the Carter Administration reorganized and
renamed the OMBE as the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). The reorganization
was, in part, a response to reports that characterized the agency’s efforts to support MBEs as
fragmented, heavily focused on small businesses, and favoring the number of firms assisted rather
than the quality of assistance provided. The Carter Administration’s efforts were intended to
refocus the agency on assisting “minority businesses develop into medium- and large-size firms
in growth industries that produced jobs, stabilized communities, and improved the overall
economy.”12
See “Additional Agency History” Appendix A for information about the MBDA’s history since
the Carter Administration. See “Legislative Proposals, 96th Congress-117th Congress” in
Appendix B for a summary of bills related to the MBDA and its activities.

9 Executive Order 11625, “Prescribing Additional Arrangements for Developing and Coordinating a National Program
for Minority Business Enterprise,” 36 Federal Register 19967-19970, October 13, 1971.
10 U.S. President (Nixon), “Special Message to the Congress Urging Expansion of the Minority Business Enterprise
Program,” Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Richard Nixon 1971, vol. 332 (Washington: GPO,
1972), pp. 1041-1046.
11 For a summary of legislative activities related to the establishment of a Minority Business Development
Administration in the 96th Congress, 2nd sess., see H.Rept. 96-1542, pp. 129-138.
12 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on General Oversight and Minority Enterprise,
Establishment of a Minority Business Development Administration in the Department of Commerce, 96th Congress, 2nd
sess., June 9, 1980, and June 16, 1980 (Washington: GPO, 1980), pp. 2-3.
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Funding History
Congress has not enacted enabling legislation during the agency’s 52-year history. Congress has
continued to provide the MBDA appropriations as various Administrations have considered
reorganizing it, defunding its activities, or merging it into the Small Business Administration
(SBA).
Figure 1 provides a visual representation of OMBE/MBDA appropriations from FY1970 to
FY2021. Table A-1 provides a history of Administrations’ annual budget requests and enacted
appropriations for the agency since FY1970.
Figure 1. OMBE/MBDA Appropriations History: FY1970 to FY2021
(in millions of dollars)

Source: Budget Appendices of the United States.
Notes: Includes supplemental appropriations.
FY2020 and FY2021 Appropriations
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-93) funded MBDA at $42 million. In the
explanatory statement accompanying the FY2020 agency appropriations report, Congress
directed the MBDA to allocate no less than $18 million to the business center and specialty
project center program and $7 million for the Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs).13 In
FY2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act, P.L. 116-136)

13 Rep. Nita Lowey, “Explanatory Statement Submitted by Mrs. Lowey, Chairwoman of the House Committee on
Appropriations Regarding H.R. 1158, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020,” Congressional Record, vol. 165, No.
204-Book II (December 17, 2019), p. H10961.
MBDA may use Broad Agency Agreements (BAAs) to solicit responses to specific challenges or opportunities.
According to MBDA, a BAA “is a competitive mechanism to encourage new programs, education, outreach,
innovative projects or sponsorships that are not addressed through the MBDA business center program.” See MBDA,
“Frequently Asked Questions—2018 MBDA Broad Agency Announcement,” https://www.mbda.gov/sites/default/files/
2018baafrequentlyaskedquestions070918.pdf, and Department of Commerce, FY2021 MBDA Congressional Budget
Justification, p. 17, https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2020-02/
fy2021_mbda_congressional_budget_justification.pdf.
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provided the MBDA an additional $10 million in supplemental funding to assist MBEs with
preventing, preparing for, and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic through education,
training, and advising grants to minority business centers and minority chambers of commerce.14
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260) funded the MBDA at $48 million. In
the explanatory statement accompanying the act, Congress directed the agency to allocate no less
than $18 million to the business center and specialty project center program and $9 million for the
BAA program, with an emphasis on “innovation and entrepreneurship, formerly incarcerated
persons, global women’s empowerment, virtual business development, and access to finance.”
Congress further directed the agency to allocate $1.5 million of the BAA funding to Historically
Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs)
Entrepreneurship Pilot and to “include Tribal Colleges and Universities and Alaska Native and
Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions.”15 The FY2021 appropriations bill also provided $25
million for business centers to assist MBEs with preventing, preparing for, and responding to the
COVID-19 pandemic, including “identifying and accessing local, state and Federal government
assistance related to such virus.”16
Recent Administration’s Budget Requests and Related Activities
The Biden Administration has proposed increased annual appropriations, a dedicated Assistant
Secretary, and expanded programs and activities for the agency. The Biden Administration’s
FY2022 Budget Request included $70 million for the MBDA, an amount that would be $22
million, or almost 46%, above the FY2021 enacted level for annual appropriations.17 In the
American Jobs Plan, the Biden Administration has recommended a new $1 billion grant program
to assist minority-owned manufacturers access private capital as one of several, proposed
initiatives to address the racial wealth gap.18 The President’s Discretionary Budget, released April
9, 2021, signaled support for a dedicated Assistant Secretary for MBDA.19 Additionally, on May
28, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order establishing the White House Initiative on
Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AA and NHPI), which is

14 P.L. 116-136. Recipients of MBDA’s CARES Act funding are listed online at https://www.mbda.gov/mbda-and-
cares-act-funding. According to the MBDA’s FY2020 Annual Performance Summary, CARES Act grants supported
“education, training, and advising small and minority-owned businesses in their recovery from the effects of the
COVID-19 crisis.” See https://www.mbda.gov/performance.
15Rep. Nita Lowey, “Explanatory Statement Submitted by Mrs. Lowey, Chairwoman of the House Committee on
Appropriations Regarding H.R. 133, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Division B—Commerce, Justice,
Science, and Related Agencies),” Congressional Record, vol. 166, No. 218-Book III (December 21, 2020), p. H7923.
16 P.L. 116-260.
17 OMB “Appendix: Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2022” (2021), p. 205, https://www.whitehouse.gov/
wp-content/uploads/2021/05/com_fy22.pdf. In FY2021, P.L. 116-260 provided the MBDA $25 in supplemental
funding for assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to $48 million in annual appropriations, for a
total of $73 million.
18 White House, “FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Actions to Build Black Wealth and
Narrow the Racial Wealth Gap,” June 1, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/
06/01/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-new-actions-to-build-black-wealth-and-narrow-the-racial-
wealth-gap/. The Appendix to the President’s FY2022 Budget Request also notes that, “The American Jobs Plan
proposes $1 billion to support small business access to credit, venture capital, and research & development dollars.
Ensuring equitable access to capital is essential to supporting the growth of entrepreneurship in communities of color
and undeserved communities.” See OMB “Appendix: Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2022” (2021), p.
205, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/com_fy22.pdf.
19 OMB, “The President’s FY 2022 Discretionary Request,” April 9, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/
uploads/2021/04/FY2022-Discretionary-Request.pdf.
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designed, in part, to “ensuring that AA and NHPI communities are empowered and equitably
served by Federal funding, grants, and contracts.”20
Agency Overview
Mission and Structure
MBDA’s mission is to foster the economic growth and global competitiveness of MBEs. The
agency’s activities are designed to expand access to capital, markets, and contracts through public
and private sector programs, policy, and research. Technical and managerial assistance and other
services are principally provided to MBEs through a network of Business Centers, Specialty
Centers, and other projects and initiatives.22 The MBDA and its network partners coordinate with
other agencies, such as the Treasury Department, Department of Commerce International Trade
Administration, the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank, and other federal agencies, non-governmental
organizations, and private firms to expand capital access and contracting and export opportunities
for MBEs.23
Minority Businesses Face Distinct Challenges
According to MBDA and other sources, MBEs have unique challenges in accessing capital, contracts, and other
areas of business development. Below are findings from a FY2020 MBDA summary of key challenges:

Overall, minority-owned firms are smaller in size and scale than their non-minority counterparts. The gap in
combined gross receipts is 10:1, with only 2% of minority firms generating gross receipts of more than $1
mil ion and only 11% of minority-owned firms having paid employees.

In terms of capital access, minority firms are more likely to be denied loans at a rate nearly three times
higher than non-minority firms, and minority firms are likely to pay higher interest rates of, on average 7.8%,
while nonminority firms pay on average 6.4%. Additionally, minority firms are less likely to receive loans, and
when approved, receive lower loan amounts.

In terms of contracts, minority firms secure a lower number and dol ar amount of contracts in proportion to
the number of available minority firms in the relevant market. Additionally, studies indicate that market and
other barriers impact minority firms’ access to contracts.21
Source: MBDA, “The Minority Business Development Agency—Vital to Making America Great,”
https://www.mbda.gov/sites/default/files/migrated/files-attachments/MBDAVitaltoMakingAmericaGreat_170330.pdf.

20 White House, “FACT SHEET: President Biden Establishes the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native
Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders,” May 28, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/
2021/05/28/fact-sheet-president-biden-establishes-the-white-house-initiative-on-asian-americans-native-hawaiians-and-
pacific-islanders/.
21 As noted in MBDA’s summary of key challenges facing minority businesses. See MBDA, “The Minority Business
Development Agency: Vital to Making America Great,” https://www.mbda.gov/page/minority-business-development-
agency-vital-making-america-great.
22 MBDA, “Overview,” https://www.mbda.gov/who-we-are/overview.
23 MBDA, “2020 Year in Review,” https://www.mbda.gov/2020-year-in-review; MBDA, “Global Business: Strategic
Partners,” https://www.mbda.gov/page/global-business-strategic-partners; and Testimony of MBDA Director,
Alejandra Castillo, in U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Accessing Capital in Indian Country, 114th
Congress, 1st sess., June 17, 2015, S.Hrg. 114-97 (Washington: GPO, 2015), https://www.congress.gov/event/114th-
congress/senate-event/LC34122/text?s=5&r=29.
The SBA, for instance, is a source of funding for minority small businesses, and it partners with MBDA in providing
assistance to minority firms. Technical and management assistance from MBDA and its partners may facilitate
minority business entities to qualify for SBA’s Section (8)(a) small disadvantage business and other programs.
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The MBDA is composed of offices focused on business development, Native American business
development, policy analysis and development, management, administration, and education,
legislative, and intergovernmental affairs.24 The Office of Business Development coordinates the
agency’s business center activities, and plans and implements business development strategies
(e.g., strategies related to access to capital, contracts, emerging domestic and international
markets, and global supply chains).25 In 2005, MBDA established the Office of Native American
Business Development within the Office of Business Development.26 In FY2020, MBDA
completed its launch of the Office of Policy Analysis and Development (OPAD). OPAD works
with other agencies to expand data, research, analysis, and policy recommendations for minority
business development based on economic and industry trends.27
MBDA Clients
MBDA clients include U.S. minority business enterprises owned or controlled by members of one
or more of the following groups: African Americans, Asian Americans, Hasidic Jewish
Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders.28 The agency provides
services to MBEs through a network of business centers and other programs and initiatives. The
agency’s events and referral services are available to minority businesses of any size. The MBDA
primarily focuses its Business Center services on businesses with revenues of at least $500,000
annually.29
Programs
Through annual appropriations, Congress authorizes MBDA to foster, promote, and develop
MBEs through grants, contracts, and other agreements with public or private organizations.30 The
agency’s programs and activities focus on addressing MBDA and U.S. Department of Commerce
(DOC) priorities, and include the Business Center Program, among other projects and

24 U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), FY2021 MBDA Congressional Budget Justification, p. 2,
https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2020-02/fy2021_mbda_congressional_budget_justification.pdf, and
MBDA, “Organization Chart,” https://www.mbda.gov/images/organizationchartjpg.
25 MBDA, “Chief of the Office of Business Development,” https://www.mbda.gov/who-we-are/leadership/
Chief%20of%20the%20Office%20of%20Business%20Development.
26 DOC, FY2016 MBDA Congressional Budget Justification, p. 17, https://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/FY16CJ/
MBDA_FY_2016_CJ_Final.pdf.
27 Testimony of MBDA Director Henry Childs, in U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Building Out
Indian Country: Tools for Community Development, 116th Cong., 1st sess., April 10, 2019, S.Hrg. 116-16 (Washington,
DC: GPO, 2019), https://www.congress.gov/event/116th-congress/senate-event/LC63799/text?s=2&r=33.
In terms of data, MBDA and researchers have noted that existing data on MBEs, which is generally survey-based and
incomplete, is insufficient. See MBDA, “How 11 Million Minority-Owned Firms Can Close the Wealth Gap and Drive
the U.S. Economy,” September 16, 2019, https://www.mbda.gov/news/press-releases/2019/09/how-11-million-
minority-owned-firms-can-close-wealth-gap-and-drive-us, and Lucas Misera, An Uphill Battle: COVID-19’s Outsized
Toll on Minority-Owned Firms, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, October 8, 2020, https://www.clevelandfed.org/
newsroom-and-events/publications/community-development-briefs/db-20201008-misera-report.aspx.
28 Pursuant to Executive Order 11625 and 15 C.F.R. part 1400.1 and 1400.2, https://ecfr.federalregister.gov/current/
title-15/subtitle-B/chapter-XIV/part-1400, and MBDA, “Who We Are,” https://www.mbda.gov/who-we-are/overview.
29 MBDA, MBDA Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)—Business Center Program, FY2021,
https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=MBDA-OBD-2021-2006809. The NOFO notes that,
“This NOFO is focused on capacity building for firms with revenues of $500,000 or more.”
30 See Table A-1, and by example, see the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (P.L. 116-260).
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partnerships.31 Through the Business Center network and partnerships, the agency facilitates
export opportunities, contracts, and financings for minority clients.32 MBDA does not provide
loans or grants for business formation or expansion purposes.33
Business Centers
MBDA provides financial assistance to organizations that operate Business Centers. In turn,
MBDA Business Centers provide management and technical assistance to minority-owned firms
seeking to expand to new domestic and international markets. According to MBDA’s funding
procedures, Business Center services focus on business development and capacity building by
assisting MBEs to:
 improve operational efficiencies;
 increase resources;
 build scale;
 manage risk and increase liability thresholds;
 strengthen management teams;
 access and secure financing, equity, and venture capital;
 raise online capital;
 increase profits and owner equity; and
 implement and integrate new technology and equipment.
MBDA Business Centers are located in areas with the largest concentration of minority
populations and the largest number of minority businesses. MBDA Business Centers must serve
MBEs in any U.S. state or territory, and may provide services on a fee-for-services basis.34
Applicants eligible to compete to operate an MBDA Business Center include nonprofit
organizations, for-profit firms, state and local governments, educational institutions, and Native
American tribal entities. Operators are expected to contribute nonfederal cost share funding. The
MBDA’s online “List of MBDA Centers” currently includes 27 Business Centers.35 In FY2021,
MBDA plans to fund 36 Business Centers in 29 states for a five-year term.36

31 The DOC strategic goals are outlined in the 2018-2022 Strategic Plan, Helping the American Economy Grow, and
include (1) accelerating American leadership through commercial space activities, foundational research investments,
and protecting intellectual property; (2) enhancing job creation through increased exports and foreign direct investment;
(3) strengthening U.S. economic and national security; (4) fulfilling Constitutional requirements and supporting
economic activity with reliable data; and (5) excelling in the delivery of customer-centric services. See
https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/us_department_of_commerce_2018-2022_strategic_plan.pdf.
32 U.S. Department of Commerce, FY2021 MBDA Congressional Budget Justification, https://www.commerce.gov/
sites/default/files/2020-02/fy2021_mbda_congressional_budget_justification.pdf.
33 MBDA, “Grants,” https://www.mbda.gov/grants.
34 MBDA, MBDA Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)—MBDA Business Center Program, FY2021, MBDA-OBD-
2021-2006809, https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=mbda.
35 For a list of Business Centers, see https://www.mbda.gov/mbda-programs.
36 MBDA, MBDA Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)—MBDA Business Center Program, FY2021, MBDA-OBD-
2021-2006809, https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=mbda, and MBDA, “Business
Services,” https://www.mbda.gov/page/business-services. The NOFO states that prospective funding is contingent upon
the availability of funds from Congress, satisfactory performance, and continued relevance to program objectives (p.
9).
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Specialty Centers
MBDA also supports Business Centers that provide specialized business development services
and technical assistance (“Specialty Centers”). In FY2021, MBDA announced Notices of Funding
Opportunity for Specialty Centers focused on exports, advanced manufacturing, and federal
procurement.37
 Export Centers seek to expand access to new and global markets and to help
identify, screen, promote, and refer MBEs to exporting resources. In FY2020,
there were four MBDA export centers located in Chicago, IL; Miami, FL; San
Antonio, TX; and Sacramento, CA. In FY2021, MBDA plans to fund four export
centers for a five-year term.38
 Advanced Manufacturing Centers assist advanced manufacturing MBEs in
obtaining large scale contracts; accessing established supply chains; supporting
MBEs in joint ventures, teaming arrangements, mergers, and acquisitions; and
facilitating entry and large-scale transactions in global markets. In FY2020, there
were four MBDA advanced manufacturing centers located in Atlanta, GA;
Detroit, MI; Baltimore, MD; and San Antonio, TX. In FY2021, MBDA plans to
fund four advanced manufacturing centers for a five-year term.39
 The Federal Procurement Center provides services designed to generate
increased federal procurement and acquisition opportunities for MBEs. In
FY2020, the federal procurement center was located in Alexandria, VA. In
FY2021, MBDA plans to fund one federal procurement center for a five-year
term.40
Related Initiatives, Events, and Partnerships
To further increase MBE’s access to capital, contracts, and markets, MBDA partners with other
federal agencies and private sector partners on business development services, cross-sector
initiatives, annual events, and interagency groups and commissions. For instance, technical and
management assistance from MBDA Business Centers may assist MBEs in qualifying for SBA’s
Section (8)(a) Business Development program for socially and economically disadvantaged small
businesses (as well as other SBA programs), or to transition from the 8(a) program to the private

37 For a list of Specialty Centers, see https://www.mbda.gov/mbda-programs.
38 MBDA, “MBDA Programs,” https://www.mbda.gov/mbda-programs, and MBDA, MBDA NOFO—Export Project,
FY2021, MBDA-OBD-2021-2006815, https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=mbda. The
NOFO states that prospective funding is contingent upon the availability of funds from Congress, satisfactory
performance, and continued relevance to program objectives, and Export Center operators are expected to contribute
nonfederal cost share funding (pp. 6-7).
39 MBDA, “MBDA Programs,” https://www.mbda.gov/mbda-programs, and MBDA, MBDA NOFO—Advanced
Manufacturing Project, FY2021, MBDA-OBD-2021-2006811, https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?
keywords=mbda. The NOFO states that prospective funding is contingent upon the availability of funds from Congress,
satisfactory performance, and continued relevance to program objectives, and Advanced Manufacturing Center
operators are not required to contribute nonfederal cost share funding (pp. 7-8).
40 MBDA, “MBDA Programs,” https://www.mbda.gov/mbda-programs, and MBDA, MBDA NOFO—Federal
Procurement Project, FY2021, MBDA-OBD-2021-2006824, https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?
keywords=mbda. The NOFO states that prospective funding is contingent upon the availability of funds from Congress,
satisfactory performance, and continued relevance to program objectives, and Federal Procurement Center operators
are expected to contribute nonfederal cost share funding (p. 7).
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sector.41 MBDA works with other Department of Commerce agencies and the EXIM Bank of the
United States to encourage MBE participation in international trade, and partners with the
Department of Energy’s Office of Economic Impact to expand opportunities for MBE business in
the energy supply chain.42 Through the InVision Tour initiative, MBDA has partnered with
several agencies to support minority innovation and entrepreneurship in space technology, smart
cities, satellites, aerospace, and related industries. InVision Tour partners include
NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and agencies of the
Departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, the Interior, and
Homeland Security, among others.43
Additional MBDA initiatives have involved partners such as the U.S. India Small Medium
Entrepreneurs (SME) Council, the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce
(USPAACC), the National Minority Supplier Development Council, the National Business
League, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and others.44 MBDA’s participation in interagency groups
and commissions includes the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders, among others.45
MBDA assistance may also address specific challenges or opportunities, support proof of concept
program models, meet presidential or departmental priorities, and facilitate the programs and
initiatives not addressed through the MBDA business center program.46 For instance, in FY2019
and FY2020, the MBDA funded projects designed to increase MBE participation in advanced
technology and innovation sectors. In FY2020, MBDA grants funded a capital formation
initiative and the Minority Growth Equity Fund Initiative (MGEFI), among others.47 Additional,
targeted MBDA initiatives include the Enterprising Women of Color (EWOC) initiative and
centers, the American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian (AIANNH) projects, the

41 MBDA, “The Minority Business Development Agency: Vital to Making America Great,” https://www.mbda.gov/
page/minority-business-development-agency-vital-making-america-great.
For more information on the SBA’s Section (8)(a) program, see CRS Report R44844, SBA’s “8(a) Program”:
Overview, History, and Current Issues, by Robert Jay Dilger.
42 EXIM Bank, “EXIM Signs Memorandum of Understanding with U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business
Development Agency,” September, 14, 2020, https://www.exim.gov/news/exim-signs-memorandum-understanding-
department-commerce-minority-business-development-agency, and MBDA, “2020 Year in Review,”
https://www.mbda.gov/2020-year-in-review.
43 MBDA, “InVision Tour,” https://www.mbdainvision.com/.
44 MBDA, “2020 Year in Review,” https://www.mbda.gov/2020-year-in-review, and Black Enterprise, “Black
Enterprise, Minority Business Development Agency Partner to Help Black Businesses Gain Access to Innovation and
Financing,” April 19, 2019, https://www.blackenterprise.com/black-enterprise-minority-business-development-agency-
black-businesses/.
45 MBDA, “White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders,” https://www.mbda.gov/WHIAAPI, and
Black Enterprise, “Black Enterprise, Minority Business Development Agency Partner to Help Black Businesses Gain
Access to Innovation and Financing,” April 19, 2019, https://www.blackenterprise.com/black-enterprise-minority-
business-development-agency-black-businesses/.
46 MBDA may use Broad Agency Agreements (BAAs) and unsolicited proposals to respond to specific challenges or
opportunities. See MBDA, “Frequently Asked Questions—2018 MBDA Broad Agency Announcement,”
https://www.mbda.gov/sites/default/files/2018baafrequentlyaskedquestions070918.pdf, and Department of Commerce,
FY2021 MBDA Congressional Budget Justification, p. 17, https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2020-02/
fy2021_mbda_congressional_budget_justification.pdf.
47 MBDA, MBDA FY2021 Congressional Budget Justification, pp. 12-20, 23, https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/
files/2020-02/fy2021_mbda_congressional_budget_justification.pdf; and MBDA, “MBDA Awards $5.1 Million in
Grants,” October 23, 2020, https://www.mbda.gov/news/news-and-announcements/2020/10/minority-business-
development-agency-awards-51-million-grants.
The American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian (AIANNH) projects are also awarded through BAAs.
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Entrepreneurship Education Programs for Formerly Incarcerated Persons, and the Inner-City
Innovation Hub Program.48
Minority Growth Equity Funds Initiative and Equity Multiplier Project
Barriers to capital—including, but not limited to growth capital—limit expansion and scale
opportunities for many MBEs. In FY2020, an MBDA award established the Minority Growth
Equity Fund Initiative (MGEFI). The MGEFI is to expand access to capital by facilitating the
aggregation and deployment of $1 billion in growth equity capital to MBEs.49 In FY2021, MBDA
announced the Equity Multiplier Project, which will fund technical assistance to expand MBE’s
access to capital. The Equity Multiplier Project focuses on capacity building, venture capital
readiness, and increasing access to equity and venture investment and investors.50
Enterprising Women of Color (EWOC)
Entrepreneurship is often viewed as a strategy for economic growth and individual economic
independence. Minority women are considered the fastest growing population of entrepreneurs.51
MBDA-supported entrepreneurship programs include activities designed to support minority
women business owners. Through the Enterprising Women of Color (EWOC) initiative, launched
in 2019, MBDA has provided assistance to expand access to capital, business education, and
professional networks. The EWOC initiative also provided assistance to five projects focused on
minority women business enterprises beginning in FY2020.52
American Indian Alaska Native / Native Hawaiian (AIANNH) Initiatives
MBDA provides assistance to entities with an expertise in American Indian, Alaska Native, and
Native Hawaiian (AIANNH) business for projects that focus on job creation and retention and
economic impact for AIANNH communities and businesses. AIANNH projects may provide a
range of services including, but not limited to: entrepreneurial assistance, training, capital access,

48 MBDA, “MBDA Awards $5.1 Million in Grants,” October 23, 2020, https://www.mbda.gov/news/news-and-
announcements/2020/10/minority-business-development-agency-awards-51-million-grants.
49 MBDA, “MBDA Awards NAIC Million Dollar Grant to Raise $1 Billion for Investment in Minority Entrepreneurs,”
October 4, 2019, https://www.mbda.gov/news/press-releases/2019/10/mbda-awards-naic-million-dollar-grant-raise-1-
billion-investment, and MBDA, “2020 Year in Review,” https://www.mbda.gov/2020-year-in-review.
50 MBDA, FY2021 Notice of Funding Opportunity—Equity Multiplier Project, MBDA-OBD-2021- 2006868,
https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=mbda.
51 American Express’ State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, 2019 (see https://about.americanexpress.com/all-
news/news-details/2019/Woman-Owned-Businesses-Are-Growing-2X-Faster-On-Average-Than-All-Businesses-
Nationwide/default.aspx). The report is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau Survey of Business Owners (SBO).
The report noted that although SBO “is conducted every year in years ending in two and seven. Data from the 2012
Census surveys were collated, analyzed and extrapolated forward to 2019, factoring in relative changes in Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) not only nationally but also at industry, state and metropolitan statistical area levels. All GDP
data was obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (bea.gov).”
52 MBDA, “Enterprising Women of Color (EWOC),” https://www.mbda.gov/enterprising-women-of-color, and
MBDA, “Grant Awards,” https://www.mbda.gov/grantawards.
In the FY2020 EWOC Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), MBDA cited measures of growth in levels of minority
women entrepreneurship as reported by American Express’ State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, 2019 (see
https://about.americanexpress.com/all-news/news-details/2019/Woman-Owned-Businesses-Are-Growing-2X-Faster-
On-Average-Than-All-Businesses-Nationwide/default.aspx). Highlights include “as of 2019, 6.4 million minority-
owned women businesses employed nearly 2.4 million people and generated $422.5 billion in revenue, and women-
owned businesses represent 42% of all businesses, among others.”
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federal procurement assistance, networking and relationship management, deal sourcing, joint
ventures and partnerships, strategic infrastructure and economic planning assistance, and
education for entrepreneurial and tribal entities. In FY2019-FY2021, the agency supported 13
projects designed to address specific needs of Native American businesses.53 In FY2021, MBDA
plans to fund 13 AIANNH projects.54
Entrepreneurship Education Programs for Formerly Incarcerated Persons
The Entrepreneurship Education Programs for Formerly Incarcerated Persons are designed to
provide individuals with skills and a business network to enable them to start their own business
after incarceration. The programs also aim to reduce the rates of recidivism. According to MBDA
and other sources, researchers have linked recidivism to unemployment, education level, and
inability to reintegrate into communities after prison.55
Inner City Innovation Hub Program
The Inner City Innovation Hub program supports new and established entrepreneurs in inner
cities and urban areas with high concentrations of minority populations and MBEs. The program
focuses on entrepreneurship, digital innovation, artificial intelligence, and research and
technology transfer. Recent awards facilitate the growth of MBEs in regionally-specific industry
concentrations, such as the aerospace industry, and by providing technical assistance to MBEs
through accelerators, incubators, and co-working spaces and university-focused technology,
artificial intelligence, technology, research, mergers, and acquisitions.56
National Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week
According to MBDA, since 1983, every president has issued a Presidential Proclamation
designating one week as National Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week.57 The event
highlights the role of minority entrepreneurs in creating jobs, products, and services, and
contributions to local economic activity. Features of recent MED Week events include a
conference panel focused on global markets and the National Minority Business Awards Program.

53 MBDA, FY2019 Notice of Funding Opportunity—AIANNH Projects, MBDA-OBD-2019-2006047,
https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=315200. For a list and map of AIANNH projects, see
https://www.mbda.gov/sites/default/files/aiannh_2.pdf. See also MBDA, “Minority Business Development Agency
Awards $3.6 Million for Business Development in Indian Country,” September 26, 2019, https://www.mbda.gov/news/
press-releases/2019/09/minority-business-development-agency-awards-36-million-business, and “Native American
Success Stories,” https://www.mbda.gov/native-american-success-stories.
54 MBDA, FY2021 Notice of Funding Opportunity—AIANNH Projects, MBDA-OBD-2021-2006916,
https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=mbda.
55 MBDA, FY2020 Notice of Funding Opportunity—Entrepreneurship Education Programs for Formerly Incarcerated
Persons, MBDA-OBD-2020-2006457, April 2020, https://www.mbda.gov/sites/default/files/2020-10/
Entrepreneurship%20Education%20Program%20for%20Formerly%20Incarcerated%20Persons_Full%20Announceme
nt%20%28April%202020%29.pdf.
56 MBDA, Notice of Funding Opportunity—Inner City Innovation Hubs, MBDA-OBD-2020-2006442, April 2020,
https://www.mbda.gov/sites/default/files/2020-10/
Inner%20City%20Innovation%20Hubs_Full%20Announcement%20%28April%202020%29.pdf, and MBDA, “Grant
Awards,” https://www.mbda.gov/grantawards.
57 MBDA, “MBDA Announces 2019 National MED Week Award Winners,” https://medweek.mbda.gov/awards-
program.
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MBDA also coordinates, sponsors, and participates in other national events, such as Buy Minority
Business Enterprises Day, among others.58
Other Initiatives
Additional initiatives and activities support the MBDA mission and priorities of the Department
of Commerce. For instance, MBDA initiatives include global and domestic Business-to-Business
(B2B) efforts to expand MBE access to domestic and global markets. In March 2020, in
collaboration with Amazon Business, the MBDA launched the Minority Business and Technology
Initiative, to expand MBE participation in e-commerce and the use of digital technology for
domestic and international sales.59 MBDA and Business Center partners participate in Global
B2B efforts in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. MBDA has also joined trade
missions and partnered with the Department of Commerce International Trade Administration, the
EXIM Bank, and other agencies and organizations to expand export opportunities for MBEs.60
Performance Metrics
The MBDA uses several performance metrics to measure its effectiveness, including:
 dollar value of contracts secured for MBDA clients,
 dollar value of capital secured for MBDA clients,
 number of jobs created, and
 number of jobs retained.
According to the latest data available, in FY2020, the MBDA reported 27,317 jobs were created
or retained with the assistance of MBDA resources.61 MBDA’s measure of jobs created or
retained included the number of new full-time and/or part-time positions reported on the client’s
payroll, and positions MBDA clients would have eliminated without the contract and/or financing
obtained with the MBDA’s help.62 Although the value of contracts measures both public and
private sector activity, in FY2020, approximately 70% of contracts that MBDA helped MBEs to
secure were for private sector deals.63 See Appendix C for a summary of assessments and
evaluations of the agency.

58 U.S. Department of Commerce, “Minority Business Development Agency: Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Ofice of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request;
National Minority Business Awards,” 86 Federal Register 10544-10545, February 22, 2021, and MBDA, “Minority
Enterprise Development Week,” https://www.mbda.gov/MEDWeek.
59 MBDA, “Minority Business and Technology Initiative,” https://www.mbda.gov/page/minority-business-and-
technology-initiative, and “The Minority Business Development Agency Launches the ‘Minority Business and
Technology Initiative’ with Amazon Business,” March 17, 2020, https://www.mbda.gov/news/press-releases/2020/03/
minority-business-development-agency-launches-minority-business-and.
60 DOC, FY2020-2022 Annual Performance Plan and Report, p. 61, https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/
2021-01/DOC-FY20-22-APPR-Final.pdf, and MBDA, “Global Business: Strategic Partners,” https://www.mbda.gov/
page/global-business-strategic-partners.
61 MBDA, “Annual Performance Summary, FY2021,” https://www.mbda.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/
MBDA_FY%202020%20APR%20Summary_042121.pdf.
62 For definitions of MBDA measures, see “MBDA Performance Metrics,” https://www.mbda.gov/sites/default/files/
2020-11/MBDA%20Performance%20Metrics.pdf.
63 David Byrd, National Director, MBDA, “Meeting Notes—President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders Fourth Quarterly Meeting and AAPI Town Hall,” January 13, 2021, https://www.commerce.gov/
sites/default/files/2021-02/PAC-
AAPI%20Fourth%20Quarterly%20Meeting%20Minutes%20Final_January%2013%202021.pdf.
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Table 1. MBDA Performance Metrics, FY2016–FY2020

FY2016
FY2017
FY2018
FY2019
FY2020
Total Value of Contracts
$1.4 bil ion
$3 bil ion
$3.4 bil ion
$3.1 bil ion
$6.9 bil ion
Total Value of Capital
$1.3 bil ion
$4.9 bil ion
$1.2 bil ion
$1.8 bil ion
$967 mil ion
Jobs Created
5,784
10,191
10,196
10,366
11,597
Jobs Retained
5,689
8,364
9,277
11,764
15,720
Source: MBDA, “MBDA Annual Performance Reports,” https://www.mbda.gov/performance.
Notes: The source of data regarding contracts, financial transactions, and jobs created/retained are reported by
MBDA Business Centers and are verified by MBDA headquarters staff. The performance data date of retrieval
was April 30, 2021.
Considerations for Congress
MBDA’s role and its services have shifted over time to address new and emerging challenges and
opportunities. Two perennial issues of congressional interest are (1) the absence of enabling
legislation and (2) debates about the agency’s role in supplementing (or duplicating) other forms
of federal assistance for businesses. In addition, there has been continued interest in developing
strategies to use the MBDA to promote individual economic mobility, as well as broader national
economic growth, especially with regard to reducing inequities and advancing minority
entrepreneurship, innovation, and business expansion activities.
Absence of Enabling Legislation
The MBDA was created by executive order. There have been a number of proposals over the
years to statutorily authorize the MBDA; none of these proposals have become law. Absent
specific statutory requirements, the President may exercise authority to effectively terminate the
MDBA’s discretionary activities at any time without congressional consultation or consent.
Nevertheless, Congress may (and has from time to time) appropriated funds to carry out specific
activities, and potentially supersede presidential discretion.64 In addition, Congress could revoke
or modify the executive order, potentially eliminating, expanding, or restricting the agency.
Alternatively, Congress could codify the order (and thus the agency) by enacting a statute. The
statute could modify the agency and its powers (subject to the usual constraints on congressional
action), and reduce or eliminate the President’s ability to terminate its functions.65

64 In general, when Congress appropriates a specific amount of budget authority for a specific purpose, the President
has only limited authority to order executive branch agencies to reduce or withhold funds. Decisions by federal courts,
including a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court in Train v City of New York, 420 U.S. 35 (1975), and the
enactment of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, P.L. 93-344, clarified this. Specifically,
under ICA, the President can withhold funds for a limited time if he complies with specific reporting requirements to
Congress, but he cannot permanently prevent the obligation or expenditure of funds provided in law unless Congress
agrees.
65 For a discussion of congressional revocation and modification of executive orders see CRS Report R46738,
Executive Orders: An Introduction, by Kevin T. Richards.
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Duplication of SBA Activities
Whether the MBDA complements or duplicates the SBA’s programs, especially those programs
targeted to minority populations (e.g., the Microloan program66) or the socially and economically
disadvantaged (e.g., the 8(a) Business Development Program67), has been a perennial issue.
Although there have been several calls for the MBDA’s termination and the transfer of its
activities to the SBA, there have also been suggestions to transfer SBA programs that support
minority business development to the MBDA (or a reorganized version of the agency within the
Department of Commerce).68 MBDA’s proponents have argued that the agency complements
rather than conflicts with the SBA’s programs. The SBA focuses on small businesses. The MBDA
does not restrict its activities, referrals, or events based on business size. However, MBDA
Business Centers focus on providing technical and business development services to minority
firms with employees and revenues that exceed $500,000.69
Proposals to Establish, Transfer, or Eliminate the Agency
Executive branch and legislative proposals have sought to transfer, eliminate, or—alternatively—
statutorily authorize the agency. Transferring or providing the agency statutory authorization
could change the agency’s role and visibility. Several reorganization plans from the late 1970s
through the 1990s from the executive branch would have moved the MBDA out of the
Department of Commerce.70 For instance, the George H.W. Bush Administration proposed to

66 For further information and analysis of the Microloan program, see CRS Report R41057, Small Business
Administration Microloan Program, by Robert Jay Dilger.
67 For further information and analysis of the 8(a) Business Development program, see CRS Report R44844, SBA’s
“8(a) Program”: Overview, History, and Current Issues, by Robert Jay Dilger.
68 See U.S. Commission on Minority Business Development (CMBD), Final Report, 1992 (Washington, D. C.:
Government Printing Office) and U.S. Congress, House Committee on Small Business, Minority Business
Development, H102-91, 102nd Cong., 2nd sess., September 24, 1992, pp. 7-8, 16 (Washington: GPO, 1992). The
Commission was established by P.L. 100-656 to assess and review federal programs designed to promote minority
business development.
69 MBDA, MBDA Notice of Funding Opportunity—Business Center Program, FY2021, https://www.grants.gov/web/
grants/search-grants.html?keywords=MBDA-OBD-2021-2006809.
70 For example, in the 95th Congress, the Senate Committee on Appropriations urged “the Office of Management and
Budget to consider the merger of OMBE into SBA’s programs of assistance to minority businesses so that a unified
program will be available for consideration in the 1980 budget review.” See S.Rept. 95-1043.
In the 98th Congress, the Department of International Trade and Industry Act of 1983 (S. 121) proposed a transfer of
the MBDA to the SBA as one of several aspects of a reorganization plan for the Department of Commerce. See S.Rept.
98-374. Later, during the Reagan Administration, a memo from the Secretary of Commerce, James Baker, outlined a
proposal to reorganize the Department of Commerce and establish the Department of International Trade and Industry.
Included in the proposal are references to efforts to consolidate government and the following proposed action:
“Disposition of other elements of the Department of Commerce will be identical to the Administration proposal of the
98th Congress approved by OMB, except that PTO [Patent and Trademark Office] would go to Justice and MBDA
would go to HUD (unless SBA receives continued funding).” See Memo, Malcolm Baldrige to Edwin Meese, James
Baker, Richard Darman, January 5, 1985, folder “Cabinet Affairs (1)” box 6, James Baker Files, Ronald Reagan
Library. (At the time, Malcolm Baldrige was Secretary of the Department of Commerce, Edwin Meese was Counselor
to the President, and Richard Darman was Assistant to the President and Deputy to the Chief of Staff.)
In the 104th Congress, the Commerce Department Termination and Government Reorganization Act of 1995 (S. 929,
S.Rept. 104-164) and the Department of Commerce Dismantling Act (H.R. 1756, H.Rept. 104-260) proposed to
eliminate several Commerce agencies, including the MBDA. S. 929 and H.R. 1756 are noted in the analysis of trade
reorganization in CRS Report R42555, Trade Reorganization: Overview and Issues for Congress, by Shayerah I.
Akhtar.
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transfer the MBDA into the SBA in FY1989 and FY1990.71 In FY2018, the Trump
Administration recommended a $6 million budget for MBDA, to be used to close out the
agency.72 The Trump Administration’s budgets in FY2019, FY2020, and FY2021 would have
reduced the agency’s annual funding to approximately $10 million and proposed to change the
focus of MBDA services from assisting individual MBEs to efforts to address issues facing the
broader minority business community.73
As previously noted, Congress has continued to provide the MBDA appropriations even as
various Administrations and legislative proposals have considered reorganizing the agency,
defunding the agency’s activities, or merging it into the SBA. Legislative proposals to transfer or
establish the MBDA and its programs are included in Appendix B and Table A-1 provides a
history of Administrations’ annual budget requests and enacted appropriations for the agency
since FY1970.
Additional Policy Proposals
Due to the unique set of challenges and circumstances faced by minority business owners, some
analysts and policymakers have called for new or expanded roles, services, and partnerships for
the MBDA, including ways for MBDA to respond to the economic impact of the COVID-19
pandemic.74

71 OMB, “Budget of the U.S. Government - FY1989,” pp. 5-69 and 5-70, available at https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/
54/item/18995; and “Budget of the U.S. Government—FY1990,” p. 5-78, available at https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/
54/item/18996.
72 OMB “Appendix: Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2018” (2017), p. 190, https://www.govinfo.gov/
content/pkg/BUDGET-2018-APP/pdf/BUDGET-2018-APP.pdf.
73 OMB, “Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2019,” (2018), p. 31, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/
pkg/BUDGET-2019-BUD/pdf/BUDGET-2019-BUD.pdf, and “Appendix: Budget of the United States Government,
Fiscal Year 2019” (2018), p. 189, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BUDGET-2019-APP/pdf/BUDGET-2019-
APP.pdf; “Appendix: Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2020” (2019), p. 187,
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BUDGET-2020-APP/pdf/BUDGET-2020-APP.pdf; and “Appendix: Budget of
the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2021” (2020), p. 198, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BUDGET-
2021-APP/pdf/BUDGET-2021-APP.pdf.
74 Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers identified challenges and outcomes that are unique to MBEs and small
MBEs in particular. For reports on aspects of minority business ownership, including capital access and
entrepreneurship, see MBDA, “Demographic Trends Publications,” https://www.mbda.gov/page/demographic-trends-
publications; Robert W. Fairlie, Alicia Robb, and David T. Robinson, “Black and White: Access to Capital Among
Minority-Owned Startups,” NBER Working Paper No. 28154 (November 2020); V. Hwang, S. Desai, and R. Baird,
“Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs: Removing Barriers,” Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation: Kansas City (2019).
Timothy Bates, W.D. Bradford, and Robert Seamans, “Minority Entrepreneurship in Twenty-First Century America,”
Small Business Economics, 50, pp. 415–427 (2018); Robert W. Fairlie and Alicia M. Robb, Race and Entrepreneurial
Success: Black-, Asian-, and White-Owned Businesses in the United States (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2010);
and Robert W. Fairlie, Alicia M. Robb, and David Hinson, “Disparities in Capital Access Between Minority and Non-
Minority-Owned Businesses,” Minority Business Development Agency (2010), https://www.mbda.gov/sites/default/
files/migrated/files-attachments/DisparitiesinCapitalAccessReport.pdf.
For analysis of metrics related to small businesses, including disparities between small MBEs and small non-minority
firms, see Small Business Credit Survey: 2021 Report on Employer Firms, Federal Reserve Banks, February 2021,
https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/survey/2021/report-on-employer-firms, and Mels de Zeeuw, Small Business Credit
Survey: 2019 Report on Minority-Owned Firms, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, December 2019,
https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/survey/2019/report-on-minority-owned-firms, among others.
Studies indicate that the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic has affected minority business owners more
severely than non-minority business owners. For a summary of research on the economic impact of the coronavirus
pandemic on MBEs, see Lucas Misera, An Uphill Battle: COVID-19’s Outsized Toll on Minority-Owned Firms,
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, October 8, 2020, https://www.clevelandfed.org/newsroom-and-events/
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In committee reports and legislation proposed during the 116th and 117th Congresses, new,
renewed, or expanded MBDA roles and services included:
 Increasing resources for the Business Center Program.75
 Conducting an annual diverse business forum on capital formation; administering
an agency study on alternative financing options; expanding educational
development relating to management and entrepreneurship; and expanding the
agency’s role in research and analysis and as a clearinghouse for data related to
MBEs.76
 Establishing rural business centers at Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) or entrepreneurship programs at Minority Serving
Institutions (MSIs).77
 Authorizing MBDA to provide grants to nonprofit economic development
organizations in order to offer services to low- and moderate-income business
owners78 and expanding business assistance services in response to the
coronavirus pandemic.79
 Authorizing a role for MBDA in selecting innovation centers through the Inner
City Innovation Hub program.80

publications/community-development-briefs/db-20201008-misera-report.aspx.
For additional analysis of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on small businesses, see Daniel Wilmoth,
“The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Small Businesses,” SBA, Office of Advocacy, Issue Brief Number 16,
March 2021, https://cdn.advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/02112318/COVID-19-Impact-On-Small-
Business.pdf; Robert Fairlie, The Impact of COVID-19 on Small Business Owners: Evidence of Early-Stage Losses
from the April 2020 Current Population Survey, National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper 27309, 2020,
doi.org/10.3386/w27309, and Alexander W. Bartik, et al., How Are Small Businesses Adjusting to COVID-19? Early
Evidence from a Survey, National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper 26989, 2020,
doi.org/10.3386/w26989, among others.
Researchers have also proposed additional roles, services, outreach, and partnerships for the agency in recent years.
Some suggest that MBDA resources could be directed to focus on minority serving-institutions (MSIs) that would
administer business incubators and accelerators or operate business centers; administer an equity grant program to fund
municipal capital projects; and develop and administer a minority business investment company (MBIC)—similar to
the SBA’s small business investment company (SBIC) program—to allow the agency to license lenders and lend
capital for business investments, among other activities. For an example of these perspectives, see Connor Maxwell,
Darrick Hamilton, Andre M. Perry, and Danyelle Solomon, “A Blueprint for Revamping the Minority Business
Development Agency,” July 31, 2020, https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2020/07/31/488423/
blueprint-revamping-minority-business-development-agency/.
75 U.S. House Small Business Committee, The State of Black-Owned Small Businesses in America, 117th Cong., 1st
sess., p. 8, https://smallbusiness.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bob_report_final.pdf.
76 The Minority Business Resiliency Act of 2020 (H.R. 6869 and S. 4208), 116th Congress, and the Heroes Small
Business Lifeline Act (S. 4818), 116th Congress.
77 The Reaching America’s Rural Minority Businesses Act of 2020 (S. 4873, H.Rept. 116-4550), 116th Congress; the
Minority Entrepreneurship Grant Program Act of 2021 (S. 1109); and A bill to authorize MBDA to establish business
centers at HBCUs, and for other purposes (S. 1749), 117th Congress.
78 The Community Economic Development Center Support Act of 2020 (H.R. 7844), 116th Congress.
79 The Workforce Emergency Response Act of 2020 (H.R. 6379), the Delivering Immediate Relief to America’s
Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act (S. 4775), the Continuing the Paycheck Protection Program Act (S. 4773),
the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act, P.L. 116-136), 116th Congress, and the
American Rescue Plan of 2021 Act (H.R. 1319, P.L. 117-2), 117th Congress.
80 The Innovation Centers Acceleration Acts (S. 4624 and H.R. 8745), 116th Congress, and the Innovation Centers
Acceleration Acts (S. 871 and H.R. 476), 117th Congress.
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 Authorizing a grant to capitalize a growth equity fund for MBEs.81
Financial and technical assistance provided by MBDA and its partners has been designed to build
wealth, expand employment opportunities, and increase MBE capital access and economic
activity in order to improve individual outcomes and build local and national economies. As
Congress reviews options to support economic development, the MBDA offers existing and
potentially new avenues for providing financial and technical assistance to MBEs. In light of
COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on MBEs, Congress may further consider economic
recovery policy options to address the unique challenges faced by MBEs as well.

81 Financial Protections and Assistance for America’s Consumers, States, Businesses, and Vulnerable Populations Act
(H.R. 6321), To fully implement the Initiative to Build Growth Equity Funds for Minority Businesses, and for other
purposes (H.R. 6348), and the Workforce Emergency Response Act of 2020 (H.R. 6379), 116th Congress.
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Appendix A. Additional Agency History
Successive Administrations since the Carter Administration have changed the agency’s focus and
reorganized the delivery of its assistance and services. Among other shifts, the agency expanded
its services through the Business Center program in the 1980s and focused on enhancing global
competitiveness of MBEs in the 1990s and early 2000s. During the Obama Administration, the
agency continued to enhance global competitiveness and coordinated inter-agency minority
business initiatives. Beginning in FY2017, the Trump Administration proposed cuts to the
agency’s budget and proposed orienting the agency’s initiatives away from services for individual
businesses. The Biden Administration has proposed increased annual appropriations, a dedicated
Assistant Secretary, and expanded programs and activities for the agency. Table A-1 provides a
history of Administrations’ annual budget requests and enacted appropriations for the agency
since FY1970.
Evolving Delivery System
In 1981, the Reagan Administration established the Minority Business Development Center
program (MBDC), which became the MBDA’s primary method for delivering technical and
management services to minority businesses. The centers, located in metropolitan areas, were
designed to serve as “one-stop” service centers intended to address the needs of minority
entrepreneurs. The centers focused on recruiting and encouraging private corporations to do
business with minority firms, including creating a directory of minority firms and their
capabilities. President Ronald Reagan also issued E.O. 12432, Minority Business Enterprise
Development, which required federal agencies with substantial procurement and grant-making
authority to develop plans that encourage minority business participation in federal procurement,
contracts, and grants.82 President George H.W. Bush proposed eliminating the agency and
transferring its mission to the SBA, but ultimately continued the agency as an entity within the
Department of Commerce.83
In 1994, President Clinton issued E.O. 12928, Promoting Procurement with Small Businesses
Owned and Controlled by Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Individuals, Historically
Black Colleges and Universities, and Minority Institutions.84 Although E.O. 12928 did not
directly reference E.O. 11625, it reiterated support for expanding access to federal procurement
contracts for businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, black
colleges and universities, and other minority institutions. The Clinton Administration supported
substantial increases in the agency’s budget. In seeking to expand the reach and capacity of the
MBDA, the Clinton Administration sought increases to fund the establishment of Rural Business
Development Centers, and the activities of the MBDCs and Minority Business Opportunity
Committees (MBOC).
In 1996, the agency announced the initiation of a pilot program, the Community Based
Enhancement Services (CBES). According to the Federal Register Notice on March 6, 1996, the

82 Executive Order 12432, “Minority Business Enterprise Development,” 48 Federal Register 32551, July 14, 1983.
83 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and
State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies, Departments of Commerce, Justice, And State, The Judiciary, and Related
Agencies Appropriations for 1990, H181-26, 101st Cong., 2nd sess., March 14-17, 20-22, 1989 (Washington: GPO,
1989).
84 Executive Order 12928, “Promoting Procurement with Small Businesses Owned and Controlled by Socially and
Economically Disadvantaged Individuals, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Minority Institutions,” 59
Federal Register 48377, September 20, 1994.
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CBES’s goal was “to enable MBDA to enter into strategic alliances, coordinating the delivery of
its services with those of other entities capable of assisting in minority and/or small and
disadvantaged business development in a particular market.”85
An audit of the pilot program found significant deficiencies in MBDA’s administration of the
pilot project, noting that MBDA failed to monitor and assess the grantees’ performance in accord
with its own handbook.86 The report recommended that MBDA develop project-specific
performance measures to reflect the nature of the project, assign staff with adequate technical and
business expertise to monitor project activities, and undertake timely and thorough evaluation to
determine program effectiveness.87
Under the George W. Bush Administration, the MBDA continued efforts to coordinate its
programs with the programs of the SBA supporting minority and disadvantaged firms. The Bush
Administration, based on research findings, pledged to focus its resources on minority firms with
$500,000 or more in annual revenues.88
The agency funded programs and services including
 National Enterprise Centers staffed by MBDC personnel who provided support
services, including referrals and marketing services, to business entities of
significant size and capacity;
 MBDCs, which provided consultant services to firms with significant growth
potential; and
 MBOCs that provided consulting services, including identifying potential sources
of equity and working capital, assisting minority entrepreneurs gain access to
profitable markets.
The agency also funded a number of projects intended to address communities with special needs
(Special Projects). Other activities included supporting youth entrepreneurship (Emerging
Minority Business Leaders Program), improving access to capital (Equity Capital Access
Committee), and the continued development of an online database of potential procurement and
contracting opportunities.

85 U.S. Department of Commerce, “Minority Business Development Agency: Implementation of Pilot Community-
Based Enhanced Services (CBES) Initiative in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Identification of Other Markets To Be
Considered as Alternatives to the Minority Business Development Center Program for the Delivery of Management
and Technical Assistance to Minority Firms and Entrepreneurs,” 61 Federal Register 8919-8920, March 6, 1996.
86 U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General, Minority Business Development Agency Community-
Based Enhanced Services Pilot Project Award Not Effectively Monitored, Final Audit Report No. EDD-9406-8-0002,
Washington, DC, May 1998, pp. i-ii.
87 Ibid. p. 8.
88 U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency, The State of Minority Business
Enterprises, An Overview of the 2002 Survey of Business Owners, Washington, DC, August 2006, p. 30,
https://archive.mbda.gov/sites/mbda.gov/files/migrated/files-attachments/
StateofMinorityBusiness2002SurveyofBusinessOwners.pdf.
Later, a 2015 report also noted that minority firms with gross annual receipts of $500,000 or more generated a much
larger percentage of all minority revenues and were more likely to have paid employees compared to minority firms
with annual gross receipts under $500,000. See Sumiye “Sue” Obuko and Mark Planting, The State of Minority
Business Enterprises: An Overview of the 2007 Survey of Business Owners, U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority
Business Development Agency, Washington, DC, 2015, p. 36 (footnote), https://archive.mbda.gov/sites/mbda.gov/
files/migrated/files-attachments/State_Minority_Business_Enterprises_2007Data.pdf.
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Global Competitiveness
Starting in the 1990s, the agency began to focus on assisting minority firms enter and compete in
the global economy. A 2003 MBDA study explored issues and opportunities for minority
businesses seeking international opportunities. The preliminary study’s key findings included the
following observations:
 Minority businesses may not be able to compete directly with massive U.S.
companies that have already established a multinational presence in developed
economies.
 By capitalizing on their unique competitive strengths, especially in developing
countries, minority-business enterprises (MBEs) can compete with larger
multinational companies.
 A secondary conclusion is that the quality of information about MBE interaction
with the international economy is badly outdated, and further research must be
conducted. Given the need to design successful policies and programs to support
MBE international expansion, this lack of data is a critical hurdle that must be
overcome.89
During the Obama Administration, in addition to a focus on facilitating entry or expansion of
minority firms into the global market place, increased emphasis was placed on quantifying the
impact of MBDA activities, increasing the efficient delivery of services to minority business
communities, and increasing coordination with other federal agencies. Federal agencies that have
partnered with MBDA include the SBA, the International Trade Administration, the Export-
Import Bank, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Economic Development
Administration.
As mentioned, the Trump Administration’s first budget request (for FY2018) proposed to
eliminate the agency, and later budget requests proposed reductions to the agency’s budget by
approximately 75%. For example, the Trump Administration sought to reduce the agency’s
budget to $10.3 million for FY2021, with the intent of redirecting resources away from services
for individual businesses.90 According to budget documents, the Trump Administration supported
the termination of the MDBA and its programs as part of its wider efforts to reduce federal
spending and to redefine the role of the federal government in domestic affairs. MBDA and its
activities are among a number of federal programs that support private sector job creation.91 The
Administration’s opposition may have been rooted in a view of federalism which argues that
these kinds of activities are the responsibilities of state and local governments and the private and
nonprofit sectors, not the federal government. Supporters of the MBDA contend that the agency’s

89 John Owens and Robert Pazornik, Globalization and Minority-Owned Businesses in the United States: Assessment
and Prospects, Minority Business Development Agency, Preliminary Study, Washington, DC, September 28, 2003, p. 1,
https://www.mbda.gov/sites/default/files/migrated/files-attachments/MBEintheGlobalEconomy.pdf.
90 U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), “A Budget for America’s Future—Appendix,” FY2021
Congressional Budget Justification, p. 198, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BUDGET-2021-APP/pdf/BUDGET-
2021-APP.pdf.
91 Other agencies and programs that support private job creation and economic development include the SBA; federally
chartered regional economic development agencies, including the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Delta
Regional Authority, the Northern Border Regional Commission, and the Denali Commission; the Economic
Development Administration and its programs; the rural development programs administered by the Rural
Development Administration of the Department of Agriculture; and the Community Development Block Grant
program administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. See CRS Report R46683, Federal
Resources for State and Local Economic Development, by Julie M. Lawhorn.
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mission is critical to the nation’s economic future and that the agency’s programs and services
address a number of deficiencies and impediments faced by minority entrepreneurs.
Administrations’ Annual Budget Requests and Enacted Appropriations,
FY1970–FY2021
Table A-1 provides a history of Administrations’ annual budget requests and enacted
appropriations for the agency since FY1970.
Table A-1. MBDA Appropriations, FY1970–FY2021
(in millions of dollars)
Fiscal Year
Admin. Request
Enacted
1970
1.5
1.2
1971
1.8
2.1
1972
3.5
43.6
1972supplemental
40
40
1973
63.6
63.9
1974
74.5
35.6
1975
52
52
1976
52.6
49.8
1977
0
50.3
1978
50.3
49.4
1979
60.6
57.9
1980
58.8
58.9
1981
62.9
59.6
1982
65.4
56.6
1983
50
47.3
1984
54
53.9
1985
49.6
49.6
1986
44.8
43
1987
45.4
39.8
1988
4.6
39.7
1989
0
39.7
1990
0
39.7
1991
46.2
41.1
1992
0
42.6
1993
37.9
37.9
1994
46
44.1
1995
46.2
43.8
1996
47.9
32
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Fiscal Year
Admin. Request
Enacted
1997
34
28
1998
28
25
1999
28.1
27.3
2000
27.6
27.3
2001
28.2
27.3
2002
28.4
28.3
2003
29.8
28.9
2004
29.5
28.9
2005
34.5
29.9
2006
30.7
30
2007
29.6
30
2008
28.7
28.6
2009
29
29.8
2010
31
31.5
2011
32.3
30.3
2012
32.3
30.3
2013
28.7
27.5
2014
29.3
28
2015
28.3
30
2016
30
32
2017
35.6
34
2018
6
39
2019
10
40
2020
10
52
2021
10.3
73
2022
70

Source: Budget Appendices of the United States. The FY2022 Administration Request amount is from the
President’s request for FY2022 discretionary funding.
Notes: In FY2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act, P.L. 116-136) provided
the MBDA an additional $10 mil ion in supplemental funding in addition to $42 mil ion in annual appropriations,
for a total of $52 mil ion. The supplemental funding was to assist MBEs with preventing, preparing for, and
responding to the COVID-19 pandemic through education, training, and advising grants to minority business
centers and minority chambers of commerce. In FY2021, the Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 116-260)
provided the MBDA with $25 in supplemental funding, in addition to $48 mil ion in annual appropriations, for a
total of $73 mil ion.
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Appendix B. Legislative Proposals, 96th Congress-
117th Congress
Since the MBDA’s inception, a number of bills have been introduced that would have “codified”
the agency or its duties by, for example, establishing, redesignating, or transferring the agency;
creating new programs within the agency; or authorizing the agency to carry out certain
functions. The following bills—introduced in the 96th -117th Congresses—address the agency’s
statutory authority or its activities.
 The 96th Congress considered, but did not pass, legislative proposals to provide
the MBDA statutory authorization. The House Committee on Small Business
held hearings on bills (H.R. 6904 and S. 2565) that would have established a
permanent MBDA within the Department of Commerce.92 The House bill,
introduced by Representatives Parren Mitchell and Joseph Addabbo, would have
granted the agency the authority to engage in a number of activities in support of
the agency’s mission, including equity financing of minority business; financial
and technical assistance in penetrating domestic and foreign markets; and
minority business management education. A Senate bill, S. 2565, introduced by
Senator Abraham Ribicoff and backed by the Carter Administration, would have
authorized the creation of a Minority Business Development Agency focused on
the provision of technical assistance to minority firms. The Senate bill included
much of the language of E.O. 11625.
 In the 98th Congress, Senator William Roth introduced the Department of
International Trade and Industry Act of 1983 (S. 121), which proposed a transfer
of the MBDA to the SBA as one of several aspects of an executive branch agency
reorganization plan.93
 During the 99th Congress, Representative Parren Mitchell introduced H.R. 4632,
a bill that would have denied any appropriations to the MBDA to avoid potential
duplication of services with the SBA’s Associate Administrator for Minority
Small Business and Capital Ownership Development. The activities of the
MBDA, as well as any unexpended balances, would have been transferred to the
SBA Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital
Ownership Development.
 During the 101st through the 104th Congresses, Representative Kweisi Mfume
introduced legislation (H.R. 1769, H.R. 373, H.R. 278, H.R. 114, respectively)
that would have redesignated MBDA as the Minority Business Development
Administration. The bill would have directed the MBDA to assist disadvantaged
businesses penetrate domestic and foreign markets, encourage firms to form joint
ventures to increase their share of the market, provide financial assistance to
public and private entities in support of the mission of MBDA, conduct pilot
projects that would assist disadvantaged businesses obtain and expand access to
capital; support management education efforts, and conduct research to advance

92 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on General Oversight and Minority Enterprise,
Establishment of a Minority Business Development Administration in the Department of Commerce, 96th Cong., 2nd
sess., June 9 and 16, 1980 (Washington: GPO, 1980).
93 S. 121 would have established a new cabinet level agency and eliminated the Department of Commerce. See U.S.
Congress, Senate Committee on Government Affairs, Report on the Trade Reorganization Act of 1983, 98th Cong., 2nd
sess., April 3, 1984, S.Rept. 98-374 (Washington: GPO, 1984).
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the nation’s understanding of the issues and opportunities surrounding minority
business enterprises.
 During the 111th Congress, Senator Bob Casey introduced S. 4026, the Minority
Business Development Improvements Act of 2010. This bill would have required
the MBDA to establish the Minority Business Development Program and charged
it with providing qualified minority businesses with technical assistance and
contract procurement assistance. This bill would have also outlined minority
business qualification requirements for the program. It would have required that
(1) not less than 51% of the qualified minority business is directly and
unconditionally owned or controlled by historically disadvantaged individuals;
and (2) each officer or other individual exercising control over regular operations
would meet the definition of a historically disadvantaged individual.
Additionally, the bill would have authorized the program to provide technical
assistance to qualified disadvantaged businesses and support efforts to expand
federal procurement opportunities for disadvantaged businesses.
 Also during the 111th Congress, Representative Bobby Rush introduced H.R.
4343, the Minority Business Development Improvements Act of 2009, which
would have required the National Director of the Minority Business
Development Agency to establish and administer a Minority Business
Development Program focused on providing loan guarantees, technical
assistance, and contract procurement assistance to qualified minority businesses.
The bill would have defined a qualified minority business as a business that is at
least 51% directly owned or controlled by historically disadvantaged individuals.
In addition, the net worth of each principal of the minority business could not
exceed $2 million. The bill would have directed the MBDA’s National Director
to (1) establish a database to assist prime contractors in identifying historically
disadvantaged firms for subcontracting, (2) enter into agreements to provide set-
aside contracting opportunities to minority businesses, and (3) terminate a
minority business from the program for specified violations. Representative Rush
also introduced H.R. 4929, Expanding Opportunities for Main Street Act of 2010.
This bill included a provision that would have required MBDA to establish a
Minority Business Development Program with the objective of providing
technical assistance, loan guarantees, and contract procurement assistance to
minority businesses. This bill would have also authorized MBDA to (1) enter into
agreements to provide set-aside contracting opportunities to minority businesses;
and (2) terminate a minority business from the program for specified violations.
This bill would have also required MBDA to establish a database to assist prime
contractors in identifying historically disadvantaged firms for subcontracting.
 During the 112th Congress, Senator Tom Udall introduced S. 1334, Expanding
Opportunities for Main Street Act of 2011. An identical bill (H.R. 2424) was
introduced by Representative Bobby Rush. Both bills’ MBDA provisions are
identical to provisions included in H.R. 4929, introduced by Representative Rush
during the 111th Congress.
 During the 113th Congress, Representative Bobby Rush introduced H.R. 2551,
Expanding Opportunities for Main Street Act. Title II of the bill deals exclusively
with the MBDA and includes the same provisions included in H.R. 4343,
introduced during the 111th Congress.
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 During the 114th and 115th Congresses, no bills were introduced to formally
establish the agency and its duties by statute.
 During the 116th Congress, Representative Jerry McNerney introduced H.R.
1432, the Minority Business Development Act of 2019, to redesignate and
establish the MBDA as the Minority Business Development Administration.
Later in the 116th Congress, Representative Al Green introduced H.R. 6869 and
Senator Benjamin Cardin introduced S. 4208, both titled the Minority Business
Resiliency Act of 2020. Both bills were designed to codify the agency by
providing it statutory authorization and provide additional funding to help MBEs
recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, among other activities. Later in 2020,
Senator Benjamin Cardin introduced the Heroes Small Business Lifeline Act (S.
4818), and it included the Minority Business Resiliency Act of 2020 as a subtitle
of the larger bill. Representative Karen Bass introduced H.R. 8352 and Senator
Charles Schumer introduced S. 5065, which both included the Minority Business
Resiliency Act of 2020 as a subtitle of the larger bill. During the 116th Congress,
versions of the Heroes Act (H.R. 925, S. 4800, H.R. 8406) included language to
establish the agency and fund emergency grants for non-profit organizations and
MBEs impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, among other activities. Also
during the 116th Congress, Senator Kelly Loeffler introduced S. 5011 to codify
the MBDA and establish an Office of African American Affairs within the
agency.
 During the 117th Congress, Senator Benjamin Cardin introduced the Minority
Business Resiliency Act of 2021 (S. 1255) to make permanent and expand the
activities of the MBDA. Representative Al Green introduced companion
legislation in the House (H.R. 2689).
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Appendix C. Assessments and Evaluations
During its 52-year history, MBDA has been the subject of numerous evaluative reports. These
reports have examined the agency’s efficacy in creating and assisting minority businesses,
performance measures used to gauge progress in achieving agency objectives, and program
management and duplication issues.
National Advisory Council on Minority Business Enterprise 2013
In 2013, the National Advisory Council on Minority Business Enterprise (NACMBE) released a
set of recommendations to improve MBDA’s effectiveness. The NACMBE, which was created
by the Obama Administration in 2010, was a voluntary body comprised of representatives from
business and public sectors. The final recommendations included the following:
 centralizing and consolidating federal MBE development efforts into one single
well-funded agency;
 assisting MBEs’ development of long-term contractual relations with larger
businesses to facilitate integration;
 expanding MBE access to capital by establishing new sources of capital through
the use of tax credits in exchange for equity capital investments in MBEs or by
an enterprise bond fund;
 establishing an MBE Academy to provide ongoing education to MBE owners
through a public private partnership; and
 building a comprehensive longitudinal database to support long-term policy
analysis of the issues and opportunities.94
PART Evaluation 2007
Starting in 2002, the George W. Bush Administration initiated its Program Assessment Rating
Tool (PART) as a means to evaluate the effectiveness of federal programs. The PART instrument
was a set of questionnaires focused on four elements: purpose and design; strategic planning;
program management; and program outcomes. A PART evaluation of the agency conducted in
2007 found MBDA performance to be Adequate with high marks for program purpose and design
(80%); strategic planning (75%); and program management (100%).95 Among the highlights, the
evaluation noted the following:
 The program has developed appropriate annual and long-term measures that
focus on the direct impact of its assistance on business clients. However, more
research and evaluation needs to be conducted on the long-term impact of MBDA
assistance.

94 Department of Commerce, National Advisory Council on Minority Business Enterprise Recommendations,
Washington, DC, December 2013, https://www.mbda.gov/sites/default/files/migrated/files-attachments/
NACMBEFinalReport041314.PDF.
95 U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Program Assessment: Minority Business Development Agency,
Washington, DC, 2007, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/omb/expectmore/
summary/10000034.2007.html.
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 The program has strong management. It awards grants using a competitive
process, and provides sufficient oversight of grant activities, including tracking
of progress towards meeting performance goals.
 While MBDA is focused on minority small businesses, there are many other
sources of minority business assistance and support at the federal, state, and local
level. At the federal level, the SBA provides similar assistance through its
entrepreneurial development programs.96
Office of Inspector General Reports
Past reports of the Commerce Department’s Office of Inspector General (IG) examined various
aspects of the agency and its operations. Three of these reports are summarized below.97
 A 2017 report by the Department of Commerce IG reviewed MBDA’s
management of cooperative agreements for the Minority Business Center
Program and found no significant problems. The MBDA director concurred with
the report’s recommendations, which directed MBDA to enforce existing and
implement new procedures related to oversight, reporting policies and
procedures, and the agency’s methodology for verifying select performance
measures.98
 A 2006 report by the IG found that MBDA performance measures were
undermined by inappropriately combining results for three different programs
and unreliable performance data. The report was initiated after the agency
reported a 300% increase in the number of clients assisted during the 2004
program year by MBOCs despite a decrease in FY2004 appropriations. The
report found that MBDA, in reporting FY2004 results, inappropriately combined
results for MBOCs with two other programs—Business Development Centers
and the Phoenix program—resulting in the inflation of the number of clients
served by MBOCs.99 The MBDA director concurred with the recommendations
of the report, which directed the MBDA to define clearly key performance
measures and the types of actions that may be counted toward measuring the
“dollar value of contract awards obtained,” and report performance measures of
its programs separately.
A 1998 audit report by the IG identified deficiencies in the process MBDA used to monitor the
performance of a pilot project that would test the viability of the Community-Based Enhancement
Services initiatives as an alternative to the Minority Business Development Center. The IG report
found that MBDA’s monitoring of the pilot project failed to follow the agency’s written policies
and procedures and thus was ineffective in its assessment of the program. The MBDA concurred

96 Ibid.
97 Another report of note is the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Minority Business Development Agency Needs
to Address Program Weaknesses, RCED-91-114, April 16, 1991, http://www.gao.gov/products/RCED-91-114.
98 Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General, MBDA Can Improve Processes to More Effectively Monitor
Cooperative Agreements, Final Report OIG-17-029-A, Washington, DC, September 2017, https://www.oig.doc.gov/
OIGPublications/2017-09-05_MBDA-Business-Centers_final-report-Secured.pdf.
99 Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General, Minority Business Development Agency Value of MBDA
Performance Measures Is Undermined by Inappropriate Combining of Program Results and Unreliable Performance
Data from MBOC Program, FSD-17252-5-0001, Washington, DC, September 2005, https://www.oig.doc.gov/
OIGPublications/MBDA-FSD-17252-5-0001-09-2005.pdf.
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with the report’s findings and committed to incorporating the recommendations put forth by the
report, which included assigning staff with appropriate expertise who will follow MBDA policies
and procedures; and developing project specific performance measures and specific reporting
requirements to reflect the specific nature of the project.100

Author Information

Julie M. Lawhorn

Analyst in Economic Development Policy

Acknowledgments
Retired CRS analyst Eugene Boyd was the original author of CRS Report R45015, Minority Business
Development Agency: An Overview of Its History and Current Issues, which was published in November
2017. Several sections of Mr. Boyd’s report are included in this report. Mr. Boyd received research support
from Christina Miracle Finch in the preparation of R45015.

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to
copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

100 United States Department of Commerce, Office of the Inspector General, Minority Business Development Agency
Community-Based Enhancement Services Pilot Project Award Not Effectively Monitored, EDD-9406-8-0002,
Washington, DC, June 1998, p. 8, https://www.oig.doc.gov/OIGPublications/MBDA-EDD-9406-2-06-1998.pdf.
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