Support bipartisan legislative updates to strengthen entrepreneurial programs

Seven bills updating programs boosting entrepreneurship were sent recently to the House Committee on Small Business for approval. These bills were updated by the Subcommittee on Rural Development, Entrepreneurship, and Trade. According to Subcommittee Chairman Heath Shuler (D-NC), “These programs offer resource and expertise that can help existing businesses expand and new enterprises get off the ground.”

It has been estimated that in 2008 alone, entrepreneurial development (ED) programs created 73,000 jobs and pumped $7.2 billion into communities across the country.

If you are in favor of these updates, you may want to let your representative (or the representatives who introduced these updates) know that you support their work.

The bills to watch for (and support) are:

H.R. 1803, Veterans Business Center Act of 2009. Introduced by Glenn Nye )D-VA).

H.R. 1834, Native American Business Development Enhancement Act of 2009. Introduced by Ann Kirkpatrich (D-AZ).

H.R. 1807, Educating Entrepreneurs through Today’s Technology Act. Introduced by Glenn Thompson (R-PA), this improves the SBA’s online and distance learning resources with high quality multilingual and educational resources for entrepreneurs.

H.R. 1838, Women’s Business Center Act. Introduced by Mary Fallin (R-OK).

H.R. 1839, SCORE Act. Introduced by Vern Buchanan (R-FL), this strengthens the SCORE (Service Corp of Retired Executives) and updates its mandate to improve its valuable business mentoring services.

H.R. 1842, Expanding Entrepreneurship Act of 2009. Introduced by Blaine Leutkemeyer (R-MO), this improves program coordination, setting performance benchmarks and increasing partnerships with local training providers.

H.R. 1845, Small Business Development Center Modernization Act of 2009. Introduced by Aaron Schock (R-IL), this modernizes the Small Business Development Centers’ program to assist entrepreneurs in accessing capital, securing procurement opportunities, and increasing energy efficiency.
The SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs have not been updated since 1999. These measures now need to be considered by the full House Committee on Small Business before they go before the entire House of Representatives for consideration.