New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the NO BOSS Act, legislation from my good friend and colleague, Representative Mike Carey. I also acknowledge his co-lead on the bill, Representative Greg Landsman. This bill is a demonstration of what neighbors and neighboring congressional Members can do together in a bipartisan fashion.

The NO BOSS Act would give workers the choice to use their unemployment insurance weeks, as necessary, to build their businesses, rather than being locked into job searches that don't fit their skills, their needs, or their potential.

Mr. Speaker, most businesses are small businesses. Nationwide, more than 80 percent, or nearly 30 million small businesses, are a solo venture, meaning they have no employees. The second most common type of business still has fewer than 20 total employees.

According to a Census in 2022, those solo-venture businesses contributed more than $1.7 trillion, or almost 7 percent, to the U.S. economy. The one thing that all businesses have in common is that they are all started with a good idea and a founder with the time and commitment to develop that business.

Under the Self-Employment Assistance program, Americans using unemployment insurance can use their unemployment insurance weeks to start a business. The cost is negligible to the government since it is offered in lieu of normal benefits. Unfortunately, there are only five States that offer such a program, and participants are unnecessarily restricted.

That is why the NO BOSS Act would expand this program by doubling the number of people who can use it and let workers opt in earlier, instead of requiring them to wait until they have nearly exhausted their benefits.

To be clear, Mr. Speaker, this is not a blank check. Participants must follow an approved training or business plan. There must be a feasibility study, and they must certify weekly so that States can verify their progress.

The NO BOSS Act would simply make commonsense updates to a commonsensical program.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the House to pass this commonsense legislation. As stated before, the NO BOSS Act would remove red tape and make simple, bipartisan updates to an existing program that works.

By giving Americans the option to develop their skills and to go to work for themselves, we can improve our unemployment system and opportunities for all American workers.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source