Startup Act Introduced by Sens. Moran, Warner in 114th Congress

Statement

U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), along with Chris Coons (D-Del.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) today reintroduced Startup Act in the 114th Congress -- the bipartisan jobs plan aimed at jumpstarting the economy through the creation and growth of new businesses.

The Startup Act -- based on research and analysis by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation -- modifies the tax code to encourage investment in new businesses, accelerates the commercialization of university research that can lead to new ventures, and seeks to improve the regulatory process. The legislation is also the only proposal that creates both Entrepreneur and STEM Visas for highly-educated and entrepreneurs here legally to stay in the United States where their talent and new ideas can fuel economic growth and create American jobs.

"Startup Act is about creating jobs for Americans through the creation and growth of new businesses," Sen. Moran said. "Entrepreneurs and the businesses they create are responsible for almost every net new job in America, but under our country's current policies, new business formation and the rate of entrepreneurship among young people have reached historic lows. We must reverse these trends. Startup Act would reduce barriers to growth, encourage investment in new businesses, stem government overregulation, and accelerate the commercialization of university research that can lead to new ventures. Startup Act would also help make certain America remains the land of opportunity for innovators and entrepreneurs from around the globe. Under new leadership in the 114th Congress, I am hopeful Startup Act will no longer denied a vote."

"In the new Congress, we are focused on continued growth in the economy, and we're looking for ways to ensure that the United States is able to compete and win the global competition for talented innovators and entrepreneurs," Sen. Warner said. "Our bipartisan legislation provides commonsense tools and greater support for the creation of more high-wage, high-skill jobs in Virginia and across the country."

"Innovation is the fuel that powers our nation's economy," Sen. Coons said. "Congress should constantly be looking for ways to help America's innovative startups grow and create jobs, and this bill contains more than half a dozen of them. The bipartisan Startup Act is proof that there are good ideas for economic growth that have support from both parties and deserve to be debated and considered on the floor."

"Now more than ever, we cannot afford to lose American innovators and entrepreneurs as a result of anti-competitive domestic policies," Sen. Blunt said. "But countries like Great Britain and Canada are already promoting their low-tax, business friendly regulatory environments in hopes of attracting U.S.-based companies to relocate. I'm pleased to join Senator Moran and my colleagues in reintroducing this common-sense bipartisan bill, and I'm hopeful that we can work together to encourage American entrepreneurship and help put more people back to work."

"First-generation Americans have always found a home for their ideas and entrepreneurial spirit in America. That's why I'm pleased to once again co-sponsor the Startup Act," Sen. Kaine said. "By providing entrepreneurs and foreign students who are educated in American universities with the ability to pursue career opportunities here, the Startup Act will help grow Virginia's diverse talent pool, fill STEM vacancies in American companies, and create employment opportunities in new business ventures for American workers."

"Ninety of the Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants and more than 200 were founded by immigrants or their children," Sen. Klobuchar said. "This bipartisan bill would help ensure the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs can get their start in America and contribute their innovations to our country and economy."

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