Seeking to counter a steady decline in the number of startups in the last few decades, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) reintroduced sweeping legislation on Thursday to encourage entrepreneurship and retain talent in order to lift economic growth across the country.
The Startup Act, S. 1877, would direct existing federal research and development dollars to university initiatives that aim to bring innovative research to the market where it can create jobs. Moran introduced the bill with U.S. Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Mark Warner (D-VA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
“New business formation and the rate of entrepreneurship have reached historic lows,” Moran said. “Simply put, America is falling behind and losing talent and jobs to countries overseas. Congress must work to reverse these trends and support policies that allow better opportunities for someone to take an idea, bring it to market, and in the process of pursuing that success, create jobs for other Americans.”
The legislation would require all federal agencies to review how regulations with an economic impact of $100 million or more would affect new business formation and growth.
Under the bill, the Department of Commerce would be directed to evaluate state and local aid policies regarding business startups. The Economic Development Administration (EDA) Regional Innovation program would be modernized, and its funding would be restored to $100 million.
“This bipartisan legislation would reduce barriers to growth, encourage investment in new businesses, improve the regulatory process, keep talent here in the United States and accelerate the commercialization of university research that can lead to new ventures and the creation of good-paying jobs in Kansas and nationwide,” Moran said.
Lawmakers said the Startup Act would increase U.S. competitiveness by doing away with the per-country caps for employment-based immigrant visas that hurt U.S. employers who need to recruit highly skilled labor.
Given that data shows immigrants are more than twice as likely as native-born Americans to start a business, the bill would establish a limited entrepreneurial visa for 75,000 legal immigrants. It would also create a new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) visa for 50,000 foreign students who were educated in the United States.
“The number of new businesses being created in this country is lower than it’s been in decades,” Blunt noted. “The Startup Act will make it easier for entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses, resulting in more good-paying American jobs. The bill will also increase U.S. competitiveness by ensuring that we have the workforce we need in high-demand STEM fields, which will pave the way for new innovations and stronger economic growth.”
The bill reflects principles outlined in the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private organization that supports entrepreneurship and education.
“Too many have been left out of our economy,” Jason Wiens, the director of policy at Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, said. “There’s a connection between the long-term decline in entrepreneurship and the effect on productivity, growth and wages. Put simply, fewer startups means a lower quality of life for all Americans. We need more startups, fast.”