21st Century Youth Entrepreneurship Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. MENG. Madam Speaker, this week is Global Entrepreneurship Week--a time to recognize the importance of entrepreneurship in our communities and economy. Entrepreneurship kindles the spark of creativity and ingenuity that has been such a cornerstone of our economy. Fostering more entrepreneurs is also a poverty alleviation solution. Studies showed that for every one-percentage point increase in the rate of entrepreneurship in a state, there is a two-percentage point decrease in the poverty rate.

Furthermore, additional studies show that two-thirds of adults worldwide are financially illiterate while 57 percent of U.S. adults overall are financially literate--ranking the U.S. 14th in the world in financial literacy. Only 17 states require high school students to take a course in personal finance, and students without a financial education are more likely to have low credit scores and other financial problems.

Madam Speaker, we already know that entrepreneurship requires creative problem-solving skills, leadership, teamwork, and adaptability, which are skills necessary for the 21st century workforce. Forty percent of American middle and high school students say they plan to start a business, and 29 percent said they planned to invent something that will change the world. These rates increase significantly for students who participate in entrepreneurship programs.

That is why I will be introducing the 21st Century Youth Entrepreneurship Act--to create a pathway to empower our youth to become next generation of leaders and innovators through the inclusion of entrepreneurship programs within our K-12 public school system, community colleges, libraries, and other community spaces.

Specifically, the 21st Century Youth Entrepreneurship Act would:

Amend Title IV of ESEA to allow for local and state educational agencies to include entrepreneurship programs, financial literacy programs, and leadership programs within existing curricula, utilizing pre-existing funds; and

Amend the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act to explicitly include ``entrepreneurship education programs'' as an allowable use of funds.

Bringing entrepreneurship into places such as schools provide youth a safe space to encourage divergent thinking, learning from failure, explore reiterative processes, gain financial literacy, and learn to communicate new ideas. Entrepreneurial thinkers can turn problems into business opportunities and stay in or return to their communities, generating employment and enlarging the local tax base. The development of an entrepreneurial mindset in youth will help lead to an empowered society.

Madam Speaker, as I urge my colleagues in the House of Representatives to recognize Global Entrepreneurship, I urge support of the 21st Century Youth Entrepreneurship Act. Ultimately, entrepreneurs are the backbone of American society; they drive innovation, job creation, and national economic growth. And entrepreneurship programs in our schools will empower our youth to strengthen our nation by cultivating their entrepreneurial spirit.

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