ASBL 55 Bushra Amiwala, House Candidate, Illinois District 9

ASBL 55 Bushra Amiwala, House Candidate, Illinois District 9

Bushra Amiwala is running for Congress as a Democrat in Illinois’ 9th District, which includes part of Chicago. Her priorities include Education, Economic Justice, Immigration, and Healthcare. She’s running because “the rich are getting richer, the middle class is shrinking, special interest groups are plaguing our elections, there are humanitarian crises worldwide: and our taxpayer dollars are paying for it.”

Bushra has an MBA, a B.S. in Information Systems, and a double minor in Community Service Studies and Public Policy Studies. In 2019, Bushra was elected to the Skokie School District 73.5 Board of Education, and re-elected in 2023, running unopposed.

From her website, www.bushraforcongress.com:

“Born in Chicago to Pakistani immigrant parents and raised in Skokie, Bushra has lived in IL-09 her entire life. As an innovative problem solver Bushra made history as the first Gen Z elected official in the United States.”

“Bushra has put herself through college (twice) with an MBA from Kellogg Northwestern’s School of Management (in District, too!), a B.S in Information Systems and a double minor in Community Service Studies and Public Policy Studies from DePaul University, Bushra serves as a shining example of what is possible with hard work, determination, and a little bit of hope.”

“In 2019, Bushra was elected to the Skokie School District 73.5 Board of Education, advancing transparency by livestreaming all public board meetings, accessibility, by offering Halal, Kosher and Vegetarian food options for all students, inclusion by offering access to after school programming and curriculum to students free of charge - so cost is never a barrier. She was re-elected in 2023, running unopposed, and continues to serve her community with dedication.”

The American Small Business League, www.asbl.com, wants Congress to stop the diversion of federal small business contracts to large corporations, make federal agencies reveal the companies that get small business contracts, and raise from 5% to 15% the federal contract dollars that must go to women-owned small businesses.

That requires an overhaul of the Small Business Administration (SBA). It should expose, not cover up, the billions of dollars in small business contracts that go to large corporations every year.

The goals of the ASBL’s www.DontCheatWomen.com project are:

·         Raise from 5% to 15% the amount of federal contract dollars that must go to women-owned small businesses (which would raise from 23% to 33% the amount that must go to small businesses in general).

·         Define a small business as 100 or less employees – because 98% of all businesses in America have less than 100 employees. Small business contracts should not go to firms with 500, 1,000, or 2,000 employees, as they do now.

·         Make the Small Business Administration prove that small business contracts go to small businesses.

·         Give the SBA a budget and staff as big as its mission (to help small businesses). The Trump administration is cutting the SBA budget and staff and plans to burden it with the $1.7 trillion dollar student loan portfolio, perhaps setting it up to fail.

Women are half the population. They own 40% of all businesses. They sell what the government buys.

But companies owned by men get over 95% of federal contracts, which helps men dominate in politics (because they earn and save more than women). Men donate more to campaigns and so have more influence with the winners. And it’s easier for men to run for office.