Lawmakers support women-owned businesses

Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), ranking Democrat on the House Small Business Committee, announced her support for a lawsuit filed by women business owners to force the government to meet its goal of spending 5 percent of its contracting dollars with women-owned firms. Velázquez (speaking) and 70 other members of Congress last month filed an amicus brief supporting the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce against the Small Business Administration. "Today, more than ever, women continue to face a glass ceiling not only in the workplace but now also in the federal marketplace," Velázquez said. The 5 percent goal has been in place since 2000. The women's group claims that women-owned small businesses have lost $25 billion in revenue over five years because the goal has not been met.