Political Quotes

“I thank my friend for yielding and for her leadership on this important issue. I especially enjoy being on the same side of this issue with the chairman of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Mr. Chairman, I would like to add my voice to Representative Esty's voice in support of her amendment. I-Corps is a revolutionary partnership that helps maximize the economic impact of taxpayer-funded research by connecting the brilliant minds at NSF to the brilliant minds in the private sector. This amendment offered by Representative Esty today ensures that we foster all of the brilliant minds by supporting female entrepreneurs. Gender diversity makes good business sense. Research conducted by Dow Jones on venture-backed companies found that successful ones had twice the number of women on the founding teams, and there is more research that shows that women-owned firms outperformed those owned by male counterparts. Despite this and despite the fact that women earn more college degrees than men, they comprise only 5 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs and only 19 percent of corporate board seats. Clearly, something is wrong. For us to fully realize our economic potential, we have got to do a better job of supporting female entrepreneurs. That is why I strongly support her amendment and urge my colleagues to do the same.”