Delaney, MacArthur Form Entrepreneurship Caucus
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman John K. Delaney (MD-6) and Congressman Tom MacArthur (NJ-3) launched the Entrepreneurship Caucus, a bipartisan effort to focus congressional attention on the importance of entrepreneurship and foster a new policy discussion on how to encourage more start-ups, innovation and small business growth. The Entrepreneurship Caucus will work to connect lawmakers with entrepreneurs and experts and advance legislation that helps new business formation and growth.
Rep. Delaney founded and led publicly-traded companies before coming to Congress. On Wednesday, Delaney will speak at the 2018 State of Entrepreneurship Reception hosted by the Kauffman Foundation and the Rise of the Rest.
“I’m proud to launch the Entrepreneurship Caucus with my friend and colleague Congressman MacArthur. Tom and I both worked extensively in the private sector and we know that a healthy private economy depends upon the energy and dynamism of new businesses,” said Congressman Delaney. “Entrepreneurship is an incredibly powerful experience for individuals, a key vehicle for creating more good jobs for workers and a necessary catalyst for innovation and growth in the economy at large. As a country, we’ve got to become more entrepreneurial and we’ve got to make it easier for more people, in more places, to start their own business. America absolutely cannot lose its entrepreneurial edge and this caucus is all about making sure that Capitol Hill stays focused on this topic.”
“As a former businessman, who grew a small, local business into a multi-national company with thousands of employees, I know firsthand the challenges business owners and entrepreneurs face when trying to grow or create a new business. Entrepreneurship plays a vital role in our economy which is why we must make it easier for Americans to start their own small business or start-up. I look forward to working with my friend and colleague, Congressman Delaney, to advance legislation that will help new business creation and growth,” said Congressman MacArthur.
Research indicates that the percentage of businesses that are new enterprises has declined in recent decades. According to data from the Census Bureau reported in the New York Times last fall, the share of younger companies in the United States has declined by almost half since 1980. In testimony before the Joint Economic Committee last year, John R. Dearie, the Founder and President of the Center for American Entrepreneurship, noted that new business formation has remained below pre-recession levels and that the long-term decline in entrepreneurship rates is “occurring in all 50 states… across a broad range of industry sectors, including high-technology.” Dearie testified that, compared to pre-recession levels of business formation, the United States currently faces a start-up deficit of 100,000 missing new firms every year.
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