Rubio Reauthorization of the Small Business Act Receives Support from Leading Experts on Innovation

Statement

Today, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, praised a coalition letter supporting the reforms proposed in the committee's legislation to comprehensively reauthorize the Small Business Act. The last comprehensive reauthorization of the legislation that governs the Small Business Administration (SBA) was nearly two decades ago. The letter is led by Samuel Hammond of the Struggling Regions Initiative, Niskanen Center, and Robert D. Atkinson of the Information Technology Innovation Foundation.

"It is critical that we ensure the SBA fits the needs of the 21st century entrepreneur," Rubio said. "In order to boost small business dynamism we must create policies that modernize resources and provide opportunities for small businesses to grow and compete globally against countries like China. While China seeks to undermine American industry and competitiveness, our reauthorization will give American small businesses the tools they need to compete in the global economy and drive economic strength by promoting American innovation. I appreciate the support from the leading experts on innovation, and look forward to continuing the committee's bipartisan work towards reauthorizing the act."

"It's time small business policy focuses more on supporting high-growth technology firms and manufacturing firms, as these are critical to U.S. growth and competitiveness," Robert D. Atkinson, President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) said. "The proposed Senate reauthorization of the Small Business Act would move the Small Business Administration significantly in that direction."

"The last two decades have seen a disturbing decline in the formation of young, high-growth firms," Samuel Hammond, Director of Poverty Welfare Policy for the Niskanen Center said. "The disappearance of small businesses that scale quickly does not bode well for the health and dynamism of the American economy. Fortunately, the bipartisan reauthorization before the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship contains a number of important reforms designed to reverse this trend, in addition to a suite of long-over modernizations."

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