Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and GlaxoSmithKline Announce Supplier Business Initiative Study Results

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Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and GlaxoSmithKline Announce Supplier Business Initiative Study Results
 Joint Effort to Increase the Capacity of the Nation's Small Disadvantaged
                                 Businesses

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ - The Congressional Black
Caucus Foundation (CBCF) and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) today announced
the results of a comprehensive Supplier Business Initiative study aimed at
helping Corporate America assist small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs).
    Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (D-Fla.), chairman of the CBCF board of
directors, and Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), chairwoman of the
Congressional Black Caucus -- and senior-level representatives from three
other companies committed to diversity -- joined officials from CBCF and
GSK in promoting the urgent need to help SDBs compete in a 21st century
global economy.
    The lawmakers, executives and officials joined in releasing the study's
results at the 37th Annual Legislative Conference, a four-day event which
opened today at the Washington Convention Center. The speakers said their
efforts are dedicated to the memory of Parren J. Mitchell, a Congressional
Black Caucus co-founder who championed small and minority businesses during
his storied 16-year career in the House of Representatives. Rep. Mitchell
died in May at age 85.
    In 2005, CBCF and GSK expanded their partnership to increase the
ability of small disadvantaged businesses to better compete. The Supplier
Business Initiative's Corporate Advisory Council, created to advise and
direct the initiative, commissioned a study to look at existing U.S. policy
concerning the U.S. Small Business Administration's SDB program.
    Thomas D. Boston, Ph.D., and Linje R. Boston, of the Atlanta-based
EuQuant firm researched specific goals while completing the study, titled
"Increasing the Capacity of the Nation's Small and Disadvantaged
Businesses." They set out to measure the impact of the SDB program on
minority business performance and examine how the personal net worth
ceiling has affected SDB capacity. They also assessed the impact of the SDB
program on national output and employment.
    The study's results outline the barriers that small disadvantaged
businesses face in pursing success in today's environment, including the
ability to build capacity and satisfy corporate demand. The goals of the
research findings are to close the gap and help minority businesses achieve
the size, scale and capabilities necessary for global competition.
    "With greater capacity, SDBs are able to operate more successfully in
the public and private sectors," said Elsie L. Scott, Ph.D., CBCF's
president and chief executive officer. "Their greater success expands
overall economic output and generates jobs, income and wealth in the
economy and especially in underserved communities."
    The results reveal the following:
    -- Small disadvantaged businesses still experienced an annual disparity in
       revenue of $900,000 in comparison to non-minority owned small business
       concerns with similar characteristics.

    -- The $750,000 personal net worth ceiling of the SDB program has not been
       adjusted for inflation in nine years. Therefore, the current real value
       of the ceiling is $558,070.

    -- The capacity of small disadvantaged businesses and the personal net
       worth of their owners are closely related.

    -- A personal net worth ceiling that is set too low causes other economic
       hardships.
    "GlaxoSmithKline and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
partnered together to improve ways to help small disadvantaged businesses
succeed among the competition," said Chris Viehbacher, president of U.S.
Pharmaceuticals for GSK. "This study shows the success of that partnership.
GSK will work with the CBCF to transform these recommendations into an
action plan that helps GSK and all corporations turn government goals into
success for small businesses. GSK is proud to share in this achievement
with the CBCF."
    Copies of the study are available online on the CBCF Web site at
http://www.cbcfinc.org .
    CBCF and GSK intend to present the study's findings to the Corporate
Advisory Council so that its members can submit feedback. Efforts will then
be made to persuade Congress to make the legislative remedies necessary to
increase the ability of SDBs to compete in the global economy.
    About the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
    The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc. was established in 1976
as a nonpartisan, nonprofit, public policy, research and education
institute intended to help improve the socio-economic circumstances of
African Americans and other underserved communities. For more information,
visit http://www.cbcfinc.org .
    About GlaxoSmithKline
    GlaxoSmithKline is one of the world's leading research-based
pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, and is committed to improving the
quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live
longer. For more information, visit http://www.gsk.com .
SOURCE GlaxoSmithKline
http://www.gsk.com
http://www.cbcfinc.org
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/801350.html/
CONTACT:
Muriel Cooper of the Congressional Black
Caucus Foundation, +1-202-263-2829, mcooper@cbcfinc.org; or Rose
McElhatton of GlaxoSmithKline, +1-215-751-7709,
gsk-us-media-relations@gsk.com