; Whereas, from 2017 to 2020, the number of Black-owned businesses across the country increased by over 13 percent, an amount larger than overall businesses growth, which increased by less than 1 percent over the same period; Whereas, in 2020, Black business owners employed 1.321 million people, and created 48,549 new jobs, adding an additional $1.7 billion in aggregate payroll to the United States economy; Whereas roughly 38 percent of all Black-owned businesses were woman-owned in 2020; Whereas Black-women-owned businesses represent the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs to come out of the pandemic; Whereas roughly 67 percent of Black-women-owned businesses are the owner’s primary source of income; Whereas, in May 2023, roughly 3,455,000 businesses were Black-owned (representing approximately 12.7 percent of the total businesses), with receipts of $83.6 billion; Whereas today there are hundreds of Black Chambers of Commerce established across cities in the United States; Whereas, despite the growth and impact of Black-owned businesses on the United States economy, Black business owners and entrepreneurs continue to face substantial barriers, such as financing and access to capital, that limit their ability to expand their businesses and leverage new entrepreneurial opportunities; Whereas Black-owned businesses are more likely to be denied loans and are more likely to pay higher interest rates than non-minority businesses; Whereas Black-owned businesses are historically smaller in size and scale to their non-minority business counterparts; Whereas industries and associations have recently put forth renewed efforts advocating for consumers to invest in, and buy from, Black-owned businesses over the last 3 years; and Whereas Congress permanently established the Minority Business Development Agency within the Department of Commerce as a part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 to promote the growth and competitiveness of minority-owned businesses: Now, therefore, be it