WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) spoke to his colleagues in the U.S. Senate today to urge their support for the Startup Act and to explain why our country’s future economic competitiveness depends on America winning the global battle for talent.

Sen. Moran introduced the Startup Act to jumpstart the economy through the creation and growth of new businesses. According to analysis conducted by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, companies less than 5 years old accounted for nearly all net job creation in the United States between 1980 and 2005. In fact, new firms create on average approximately 3 million jobs each year.

Research also shows that more than a quarter of the technology and engineering companies formed in the United States between 1995 and 2005 had at least one key founder who was foreign-born. To help America win the global battle for talent, the Startup Act creates an Entrepreneur’s Visa for foreign entrepreneurs who register a business and employ Americans in the United States. Sen. Moran’s proposal will also create a new STEM visa for foreign students who graduate from an accredited U.S. university with a Master’s or Ph.D. in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.

By allowing more entrepreneurs and highly-skilled, American-educated workers, to stay in America, they will not only start more businesses, but they will employ more Americans and strengthen our economy. To learn more about the Startup Act, click here.

Excerpts from Sen. Moran’s remarks can be found below, along with links to video and audio downloads.

“The Department of Labor reported last week that more than 12 million Americans are still looking for work and our economy only added 115,000 jobs in April - the lowest number of jobs added in five months. This makes 39 straight months of an unemployment rate over 8 percent. Our first priority in Congress must be to strengthen our economy so more jobs can be created, more Americans can get back to work and more graduates can pursue their dreams.”

“Rather than spend money on government programs, Congress should enact policies that create an environment in which entrepreneurs and their young companies have a better shot at success, and in the process of pursing success, put people to work.” 

“The future of our country’s economic competitiveness depends on America winning the global battle for talent. The Department of Commerce projects STEM jobs to grow by 17 percent in the years ahead. We have to retain more of the highly-skilled and talented individuals we educate in America to remain competitive in the global economy. Doing so will fuel American economic growth and result in the creation of jobs for more Americans.”

“Foreign-born Americans have a strong record of creating businesses and employing Americans. Rather than send these talented individuals who have been educated in America back home once they graduate, we should do more to allow them to remain in the United States where their skills and new ideas can fuel U.S. economic growth.”  

“Despite the overwhelming evidence Congress should address this issue, conventional wisdom in Washington says that not much gets done during an election year. But if we wait much longer, we could lose even more highly-skilled talent to other countries who are working hard to attract and retain the best and brightest.”

“Congress should work to make it easier for companies to grow, because in a free market, when people have a good idea and work hard, they not only enhance their own lives with their success – but the lives of so many others through their products and the jobs they create.”

“If we don’t take steps now to win the global battle for talent, our country’s future economic growth will be limited. That means, college grads and young people will have fewer opportunities and high rates of unemployment may become the norm, instead of the exception. Allowing talented foreign-born students and entrepreneurs to remain in the U.S. will create jobs for more Americans.”

FTP LINK:  Click here to download the video of his remarks. (Save to your desktop.)

YOUTUBE:  Click here to watch the floor speech on YouTube.

AUDIO:  Click here to download an audio clip of his full remarks.

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