Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairwoman and the ranking member for helping bring this bill today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as we mark Veterans Small Business Week in support of the Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Act of 2021, an important bipartisan bill I was proud to introduce with Congressman Roger Williams to help build our economy by giving veterans the tools they need to successfully start and grow their own businesses.

Just as our Nation's security rests on the shoulders of the men and women serving in our armed services, our Nation's economic growth relies on small businesses and American entrepreneurship. U.S. small businesses generate 44 percent of our total economic output annually; they employ almost half of all working Americans; and they produce almost 65 percent of all new jobs.

Small business owners exemplify the American Dream. According to the SBA, self-employed people, on average, earn more and have more net worth than the non-self-employed. Perhaps best of all, Mr. Speaker, owning your own business is the chance to do something you love and to control your own destiny.

We also know that many veterans have the self-motivation, experience, and valuable acquired skills to be successful entrepreneurs and small business owners. America's veterans have gained extraordinary experience and learned vital lessons, including planning, leadership, team building, problem-solving, and adapting to constantly changing situations.

The Boots to Business Program offers veterans a training curriculum to help them transfer their service experiences to the business world and expand their skill set with the know-how to succeed and prosper.

Since being launched in 2011, more than 50,000 veterans and their spouses have benefited from the Boots to Business Program, learning everything from strategic planning, marketing, basic accounting, and even financing for a new business or new opportunity.

As we beat back the pandemic, one of the best things we can do to help rebuild our economy is to unleash the ingenuity and entrepreneurship that can power our Nation into the post-COVID, 21st century global economy. The bipartisan bill before the House today builds on proven outcomes by formally codifying the Boots to Business Program into law.

I want to thank all of our veterans. I am pleased that this bill passed out of the committee with strong bipartisan support, and I am happy we are bringing it to the House floor today for a vote.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Act of 2021.

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