Recently in the Public Policy Category

   In order to participate in federal procurement contracting, a business must be registered on the Federal Government's database, the CCR.   Although there are almost half a million small businesses currently registered on it, less than 60,000 are women-owned businesses.   To get our fair share of contracts, each business woman needs to registered and counted.   It is fast and easy.   The government buys every type of service - so why not participate?

   Why is it so important?

The good news:

1. Women business owners  account for 48% of small businesses in America.   We are recognized as the engine of the American economy, generating $1.9 trillion in annual sales and employing almost 13 million people.

The non-so-good news

1. In 2000 Congress set a goal that 5% of contracts issued should be set aside for women, but so far, almost eight years later, we have not exceeded 3.3%
2. On December 27, 2007, the SBA issued a proposed ruling that stated that women business owners are not under-represented, and do not need the advantage of any contracts that could be set aside.   They based this ruling on the fact that 55,000 women were registered on the CCR..
3. The government awards more than $400 BILLION in contracts each year, and women business owners get ONLY $11 billion of that money.

These sad statistics will not change unless we are counted - and to be counted - each of us must register on the CCR.   WIPP is launching a major campaign to get every business woman registered.   Join us.   Get more information by calling 1-888-488-WIPP, or email us at ccr@wipp.org.

   Whether we are talking about energy or telecommunications, so many commodities we use today scream out for a comprehensive policy that encourages growth and innovation.   With the growing importance the role of the internet plays in each of our lives, it is long since time for us to protect what is truly a national treasure. Whether in education, business, research, or in our personal lives - we depend upon it.   Innovation, competition and economic growth require it.  

   Just as so many Americans depend upon the transportation infrastructure, its reliability, frequency and speed - we too depend upon the internet.   With the rising costs of energy, more and more citizens will depend on public transportation to get to and from work, and with increasing need and speed.    With the increased global dependency on the internet for our business and personal lives, more and more citizens will depend on the speed and reliability of the internet.  And just as transportation must continually innovate and grow, so must the internet.

    So who should pay for it?  We all agree on its growing importance to this global economy.    So why should someone who only uses the internet occasionally for pleasure, pay the same rates as a business whose heavy and frequent use puts stresses and demands on the infrastrucure?   Why should heavy video streaming block cutting edge medical research?   The carriers continue to make heavy investments in the growth and reliability  and to manage the traffic flow, but we too must pay our fair share.   Why aren't there variable pricing levels for bandwidth use?   With the rapid expansion of internet traffic, now is the time to have a comprehensive policy that spurs growth.      

The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) recently released statistics about women in elected office:

• Congress: women hold 87, or 16.3%, of the 535 seats in the 110th US Congress -- 16, or 16.0%, of the 100 seats in the Senate and 71, or 16.3%, of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. In addition, three women serve as Delegates to the House from Guam, the Virgin Islands and Washington, DC. 

• Statewide Elective Executive: In 2008, 74 women hold statewide elective executive offices across the country; women hold 23.5% of the 315 available positions. Among these women, 44 are Democrats, 27 are Republicans, and 3 were elected in nonpartisan races.

• State Legislature: In 2008, 1,746, or 23.7%, of the 7,382 state legislators in the United States are women. Women hold 423, or 21.5%, of the 1,971 state senate seats and 1,323, or 24.5%, of the 5,411 state house seats. Since 1971, the number of women serving in state legislatures has more than quintupled

For more information and to view the full article visit the CAWP website.

It's no secret that an increasing number of Americans are financially unprepared for their retirement.  A recent report released by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found that workers' confidence about their prospects of retiring comfortably fell from 27 percent in January 2007 to 18 percent in January 2008. And with 77 million baby boomers set to retire over the next few years, retirement security will become an increasingly important issue for policy makers to address. For women, the challenge to be able to have a financially secure retirement is even steeper.

The causes for the increasing financial security challenges Americans face are varied.   For one thing Americans are living longer than ever before and a lot longer than many projected when they were planning for retirement. Making things more challenging is the fact that less than half of Americans have any type of employer-sponsored retirement plan.  Lastly, Social Security and personal savings as sources of retirement income are not enough. On average, Social Security provides just 38 percent of pre-retirement earnings and America's personal savings rate stands at a negative.

As the president of WIPP, I have seen firsthand the unique challenges that women business owners face when it comes to saving for retirement.  Women spend an average of 12 years less than men in the workforce, which translates into fewer years saving or participating in an employer-sponsored retirement plan.  Women also earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.  Consider that a typical 25-year-old woman with a college degree will make about $523,000 less in wages over her lifetime than her male counterpart.  This amount, or even a portion of it, with accumulated interest, could itself represent a comfortable retirement nest egg.

And women will need to do more with less, as their life expectancy is 80 years from birth, compared to just 74 for men.  Women who are living alone face a much greater risk of declining living standards or poverty in old age.

One way to address this retirement challenge is to encourage the "annuitization" of savings.  Lifetime annuities are the only retirement vehicle besides Social Security and pensions that can deliver retirees a steady stream of income for life - a "paycheck" for life.  Lifetime annuities greatly ease the challenges of retirement planning and take the guesswork out of estimating the necessary level of savings and rate of consumption.  Annuities are a particularly useful retirement tool for women entrepreneurs and small business owners, who typically do not have access to traditional retirement vehicles such as pensions or 401(k)s.

A large bipartisan group of Members of Congress have recognized the importance of savings annuitization through the introduction and support for the bipartisan Retirement Security for Life Act (S, 1010/HR 2205).  The legislation would provide a tax incentive that would exempt from income taxes 50 percent of the retirement income received from an annuity. For an average taxpayer, this would yield an average of $5,000 in savings. Most importantly, it provides an incentive to save outside of an employer-sponsored plan, thus providing greater flexibility and helping to level the playing field for women saving for retirement.  It's a small but important step toward ensuring retirement security for all Americans.

I urge you to contact your Congressional delegation asking them for their support of this legislation.  We've made it easy to do.  Go to our website and click on Take Action.  You will see an action alert where you can ask your Congressional delegation to support The Retirement Security for Life Act.  It will only take a minute but your voice will be heard.

For more information on Americans for Secure Retirement, visit www.paycheckforlife.org

    Each year WIPP polls its members to get confirmation and reaffirm the issues that are most important to them, and to gain a sense of the priority of those issues.   For the first time, health care was out-ranked as the most pressing issue, by concern for the economy.

   Despite ranking the U.S. econonomy as the #1 issue, WIPP members are optimistic about their business prospects in 2008.   Over 82% do not expect to downsize their business, and 49% expect to add up to 5 new employees this year.

   The response from women entrepreneurs clearly reflects the growing concern with the U.S. economic outlook.   Given the key role that small business plays in our overall economy, the results of the survey helps shape federal and state policy that supports the continued health of WIPP's 500,000 members, and the millions of small business owners in the United States.

   Right behind the U.S. economy, as in past years, members ranked health care as their leading issue.   65% of the surveyed women business owners offer health insurance coverage to their employees.   While the majority oppose the federal government acting as the sole provider of healthcare coverage, our members were split on whether or not employers or individuals should be responsible for obtaining insurance for health care.   In 2007, 33% said individuals rather than employers should assume that responsibility.   This number has increased to 46% in 2008.

   When asked about possible solutions to address health care costs, 89% were supportive of proposals which would give small employers access to the same insurance offered to government employees.   Additionally, 62% of survey respondents supported lifting restrictions which prohibit business owners and employees to shop across state lines.

   Other issues that ranked as important or very important in the survey, included energy and the environment, access to capital, federal procurement programs and telecommunications issues.

   One of the items that surprised me - and pleased me so much - was the growth of the number of minority members in our organization.   According to the survey, 36% of our members responded as a member of a minority community:   African American, Hispanic, Asian, etc.    Diversity has been a top priority for WIPP.   We've been working hard to increase minority participation, and are making steady progress.   Thank you all for your confidence and faith in us.

   For more information on the survey, a detailed Executive Summary of the survey results, and our Top Ten WBO Facts, check out our website!