U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett: Let’s Give a Helping Hand to America’s Innovative Entrepreneurs

"Small businesses create two thirds of all new jobsand we need to be working to help entrepreneurs create the 21st century jobs ofthe future," said Rep. GaryPeters. "Fostering innovation in ourcommunities today will help our economy grow out of these tough economic times.Winston Churchill once said that 'an optimist sees the opportunity in everydifficulty' and it's in this spirit that the STARTUP Act was written to help theunemployed become the self-employed."

The Startup TechnicalAssistance for Reemployment Training and Unemployment Prevention (STARTUP) Actwould encourage states to offer self-employment assistance by: allowing thelong-term unemployed, who remain eligible for unemployment benefits, to drawdown those benefits in the form of self-employment assistance; providingtechnical assistance and model language from the U.S. Department of Labor forstates that create new self-employment programs; and providing financialassistance to aid states in establishing, implementing, improving and/oradministering self-employment programs. Currently, only seven states—Delaware, Maine,Maryland, NewJersey, New York, Oregon, and Pennsylvania offer self-employment insurance.U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, Tom Carper,and Bob Casey have introduced companion legislation in theSenate.

A U.S. Department of Labor study found that self-employmentassistance participants were 19 times more likely than eligible non-participantsto become self-employed. Moreover, they were four times more likely to find ajob of any kind. Despite widespread support for self-employment andentrepreneurial programs, only seven states offer self-employment assistance. Though states can currently take advantage of self-employment assistance,administrative costs and costs related to entrepreneurial training are oftenprohibitive. Furthermore, because federal law prevents self-employment benefitsfrom being paid out while an individual is receiving benefits from eitherthe Extended Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) or Extended Benefit (EB)programs, the long-term unemployed cannot take advantage of theprogram.