[Pages S3424-S3428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Kerry, and Mr.
Harkin):
S. 3214. A bill to strengthen entrepreneurial education, and for
other purposes; to the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship.
Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I come to the floor today during
National Small Business Week to discuss a strong, widely-supported bill
that I filed today with the help of Senators Lieberman, Kerry, and
Harkin. Over the past several months, as Chair of the Committee on
Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I have held three roundtables
focused on strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the United
States. We heard from entrepreneurs, small business owners, academics,
local and Federal officials, and regulators, and we built quite a long
list of strong ideas that we can implement or facilitate legislatively.
I have converted many of these ideas into legislative proposals that I
will file this week and markup soon in my Committee.
We have included several of such proposals in Today's Entrepreneurs
are America's Mentors Act, or what I refer to as the TEAM Act. The TEAM
Act addresses the domain of ``Mentorship'' in our entrepreneurial
ecosystem. Its four provisions aim to nurture young Americans' innate
entrepreneurial skills from the elementary school classroom through
postgraduate business school and onward. We want to create jobs, and
for posterity's sake we must begin with our young entrepreneurs. This
bill will strengthen America's entrepreneurial ecosystem by empowering
the Small Business Administration's, SBA, Office of Entrepreneurial
Education, OEE, and invigorating students of all ages, entrepreneurs
and mentors throughout the country. We want you to join the TEAM.
President Bush created the SBA OEE administratively in 2008.
Currently, the OEE receives $131,000 in annual funding. This OEE
funding sustains its oversight of the successful SCORE nonprofit
association, comprised of 11,500 volunteer business counselors
throughout the United States. The TEAM Act will formally authorize the
SBA OEE
[[Page S3425]]
and create a program, aside from overseeing SCORE, to conduct
entrepreneurial education outreach and mentorship in K 12 schools and
will be required to work with existing groups in the entrepreneurial
education space. These groups are not-for-profit organizations, for-
profit companies, community civic organizations, and SBA resource
partners. We do not want to reinvent the wheel or allow for some
bureaucratic intrusion. We simply want the SBA OEE to act on what its
title suggests and coordinate among these already successful groups and
facilitate and sustain the great momentum they have built in
entrepreneurial education.
Second, the OEE will administer a scholarship program for MBA
students to counsel local startup companies and small businesses. With
a $1,500 scholarship, 100 MBA students from around the country could
share what they are learning in business school with small business
owners near the school. The selected applicants would offer free
technical assistance, TA, financial planning, and sustainable business
practices. This scholarship program would scale up on the national
level a successful program pioneered by the Idea Village in New
Orleans. We know something about innovative entrepreneurship in
Louisiana: Forbes magazine named New Orleans the ``Biggest Brain
Magnet'' of 2011 and the second ``Best City for Jobs;'' in 2010, the
Brookings Institute reported that the entrepreneurial activity in New
Orleans is 40 percent above the national average; and Inc. Magazine
called New Orleans the ``Coolest Startup City in America.'' With all
that said, I do not mind borrowing a few good ideas from the innovators
in my hometown.
Third, the OEE would, in consultation with the Secretary of
Education, give Congress a report on a possible correlation between
record high student debt and record high youth unemployment and whether
or not student debt deters someone from starting a business. If the OEE
does find a correlation, the study should provide Congress some
recommendations for legislation to address it in a manner that assists
entrepreneurship.
Finally, the TEAM Act also requires the SBA to sponsor competitions,
through its ten Regional Offices, in which local entrepreneurs,
inventors, and small businesses compete to solve local public-private
challenges. There would be a $50,000 grant for each region's winning
idea. The idea for these ten competitions is modeled after both the
``Water Challenge'' sponsored by New Orleans's Idea Village and the
national mobile app competition for college students run by the
Department of Health and Human Services.
Now that you understand the provisions in the TEAM Act, let me read
out a long list of supporters. These organizations have been
instrumental in providing my Committee with their ideas and
perspectives on how best to help young entrepreneurs with this
legislation. Most are national groups that have worked for decades on
teaching young Americans entrepreneurship and the importance of
financial literacy and good business practices. Others are local, but
nationally recognized groups with a national impact on jobs creation.
The TEAM Act has also received endorsements from Girl Scouts of
America, Venture for America, and Mayor's Office, City of New Orleans.
We urge all of my colleagues here in the Senate to join us on the
TEAM to promote entrepreneurial education and nurture the
entrepreneurial spirit inside all young Americans. The TEAM Act will
help students, entrepreneurs, and small business owners in all 50
States.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text and letters of
support be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
S. 3214
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Today's Entrepreneurs are
America's Mentors Act'' or the ``TEAM Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the terms ``Administration'' and ``Administrator'' mean
the Small Business Administration and the Administrator
thereof, respectively; and
(2) the term ``small business concern'' has the meaning
given that term under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 632).
SEC. 3. OFFICE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION.
(a) In General.--The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et
seq.) is amended--
(1) by redesignating section 45 (15 U.S.C. 631 note) as
section 46; and
(2) by inserting after section 44 (15 U.S.C. 657q) the
following:
``SEC. 45. ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION.
``(a) Office of Entrepreneurial Education.--
``(1) In general.--There is in the Administration an Office
of Entrepreneurial Education, which shall develop and provide
innovative entrepreneurial information, education, and
resources, to promote prospective entrepreneurs and
successful small business concerns.
``(2) Director.--The head of the Office of Entrepreneurial
Education is the Director of the Office of Entrepreneurial
Education, who shall report to the Associate Administrator
for Entrepreneurial Development.
``(3) Duties.--The Director of the Office of
Entrepreneurial Education shall--
``(A) manage the online courses, online publications, and
other online resources provided by the Administration to
entrepreneurs and small business concerns;
``(B) manage the youth entrepreneurship programs of the
Administration, including--
``(i) online resources for youth entrepreneurs; and
``(ii) coordination and outreach with entrepreneurial
development service providers that provide counseling and
training to youth entrepreneurs desiring to start or expand
small business concerns;
``(C) coordinate with nonprofit and other private sector
partners to share educational materials on money management
and financial literacy for entrepreneurs and small business
concerns; and
``(D) provide assistance and courtesy services to
individuals and foreign dignitaries visiting the United
States who are interested in issues relating to entrepreneurs
and small business concerns.
``(b) National Primary and Secondary School Entrepreneurial
Education Program.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of the Today's Entrepreneurs are America's Mentors
Act, the Associate Administrator for Entrepreneurial
Development (referred to in this subsection as the `Associate
Administrator') shall establish a program under which the
Associate Administrator may make grants to nonprofit
organizations, including small business development centers,
SCORE chapters, women's business centers, and other resource
partners of the Administration, to provide technical
assistance to primary and secondary schools for the
development and implementation of curricula and mentoring
programs designed to promote entrepreneurship.
``(2) Application.--A nonprofit organization desiring a
grant under this subsection shall submit to the Associate
Administrator an application that contains--
``(A) a description of the goals of the project to be
funded using the grant;
``(B) a list of any partners that plan to participate in
the project to be funded using the grant; and
``(C) any other information that the Associate
Administrator determines is necessary.
``(3) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which a nonprofit organization receives a grant under this
subsection, the nonprofit organization shall submit to the
Associate Administrator a report that describes--
``(A) the individuals assisted using the grant;
``(B) the number of jobs created or saved through the use
of the grant; and
``(C) any other information concerning the use of the grant
that the Associate Administrator may require.
``(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection
$3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013, 2014, and 2015.''.
(b) Report on Best Practices of Entrepreneurial Education
and Training Programs.--
(1) Report required.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of
Entrepreneurial Education shall submit to the Committee on
Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the
Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a
report that describes best practices of entrepreneurial
education and training programs throughout the United States.
(2) Contents.--The report submitted under paragraph (1)
shall include--
(A) a description of any programs that the Director of the
Office of Entrepreneurial Education determines are exemplary,
including national programs, regional programs, State
programs, and local programs; and
(B) a summary of entrepreneurial education and training
programs carried out by--
(i) the Federal Government;
(ii) State and local governments; and
(iii) as nonprofit organizations and private sector groups.
SEC. 4. MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SCHOLARSHIP PILOT
PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Administrator may award not more than
100 scholarships of not
[[Page S3426]]
more than $1,500 on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis to
students who are pursuing a Masters of Business
Administration degree.
(b) Requirements.--
(1) Agreement to provide assistance.--A student receiving a
scholarship under subsection (a) shall enter into an
agreement with the Administrator under which the student
shall, during the fiscal year during which the student
receives the scholarship, provide free technical assistance,
counseling, and other assistance to small business concerns
and entrepreneurs on a full-time basis for a period of 1 or 2
weeks.
(2) Requirements.--The Administrator shall ensure that--
(A) not less than 50 percent of the students receiving a
scholarship under subsection (a) are students at an
institution of higher education (as defined in section 101 of
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) where
entrepreneurship opportunities are limited;
(B) the activities carried out under agreements under
paragraph (1) support a variety of small business concerns
and entrepreneurial projects, including independent
investigator-led projects, interdisciplinary projects, and
multi-institutional projects (including virtual projects);
and
(C) each student receiving a scholarship under subsection
(a) has a mentor to help the student relate the academic
course of study of the student to the assistance to be
provided under the agreement under paragraph (1).
(3) Data collection.--A student receiving a scholarship
under subsection (a) and a small business concern or
entrepreneur receiving assistance under an agreement under
paragraph (1) shall agree to provide to the Administrator
information relating to the use and result of the assistance
provided and employment status until the end of the 3-year
period beginning on the expected graduation date of the
student.
(c) Failure to Comply With Agreement.--If a student
receiving a scholarship under subsection (a) fails to comply
with the agreement entered under subsection (b)(1), the
amount of the scholarship received by the student shall, upon
a determination of such a failure, be treated as a Federal
Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D of title IV of
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.),
and shall be subject to repayment, together with interest
thereon accruing from the date of the award, in accordance
with terms and conditions specified by the Administrator (in
consultation with the Secretary of Education) in regulations
under this section.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Administrator $200,000 for each of
fiscal years 2013 through 2015 to carry out this section.
(e) Sunset.--The Administrator may not award a scholarship
under this section after September 30, 2015.
SEC. 5. REGIONAL ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPETITIONS.
(a) In General.--The Administrator, acting through the
Associate Administrator for Field Operations, shall establish
a program to host regional competitions and a national
conference to address regional challenges through
entrepreneurial research and business planning.
(b) Program Requirements.--
(1) Regional offices.--The regional administrator of each
regional office of the Administration shall--
(A) identify a prominent public-private issue that
challenges a broad range of individuals in the region;
(B) sponsor a single regional competition among local small
business concerns, inventors, and entrepreneurs under which
persons or groups of persons submit research and business
plans to address the issue identified under subparagraph (A);
(C) provide outreach to universities, colleges, business
communities, industry leaders and organizations, and
nonprofit organizations to promote the competition and to
request proposals for research and business plans;
(D) in coordination with the Director of the Office of
Entrepreneurship Education, select the 3 research or business
plans that best address the issue identified under
subparagraph (A); and
(E) submit to the Administrator a report that contains the
research or business plans selected under subparagraph (D).
(2) Conference.--
(A) In general.--The Administrator, acting through the
Associate Administrator for Field Operations, shall organize
a single national conference for the presentation of the
research and business plans selected under paragraph (1)(D)
by the regional administrators.
(B) Panel.--
(i) In general.--The Administrator shall designate 11
employees of the Administration to serve on a panel that
shall select, from among the research and business plans
presented at the conference, 1 plan from each region that
best addresses the issue identified under paragraph (1)(A)
for that region.
(ii) Members.--The Administrator shall designate as a
member of the panel under clause (i)--
(I) 1 employee of the principal office of the
Administration; and
(II) 1 employee from each of the regional offices of the
Administration.
(3) Grant.--
(A) In general.--The Administrator shall award a grant of
$50,000 to each person or group of persons who submitted a
plan selected under paragraph (2)(B).
(B) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which
the Administrator awards a grant under subparagraph (A), the
recipient of the grant shall submit to the Administrator a
report on the use of the grant.
(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Administrator $750,000 to carry out
this section.
SEC. 6. STUDY ON ENTREPRENEURIAL DEFERMENT OF STUDENT LOANS.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of
Education, shall submit to Congress a report that includes
detailed recommendations for legislation--
(1) establishing a program to forgive student loans in a
manner that assists youth entrepreneurship by making
available capital for business formation; and
(2) establishing a program to defer student loan repayments
in a manner that assists youth entrepreneurship by making
available capital for business formation.
____
May 18, 2012.
Dear Senator Landrieu: It is with great enthusiasm that I
submit this letter of support for Today's Entrepreneurs are
America's Mentors (TEAM) Act.
Over a decade ago New Orleans was in a downward spiral,
failing in all relevant areas of community vitality:
education, jobs, health and crime. As a result, there was an
exodus of talent; from 1990 2000 over 41,000 23 35 year olds
left the State of Louisiana. This ``brain drain'' created a
vacuum of innovative thinking needed to redirect the economy
and to address critical social issues.
The Idea Village formalized as an independent 501c (3)
nonprofit in 2002 to address the ``brain drain'' with a
mission to identify, support and retain entrepreneurial
talent in New Orleans. What began as a small group of local
entrepreneurs has evolved into an engaged global
entrepreneurial ecosystem of over 2,028 CEOs, professionals,
investors, MBA and high school students, corporations,
entrepreneurs and civic leaders who have invested over 56,949
hours of mentorship and $3.3 million in seed capital in 1798
New Orleans entrepreneurs. This network has helped create
over 1,006 jobs and $83 million in annual revenue.
Today New Orleans is at a tipping point and the movement
that started in 2000 is showing measurable results. The
August 2009 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine described New
Orleans as a blueprint of economic recovery through
entrepreneurship, and in April 2011, an article in Inc.com
called New Orleans the ``coolest startup city in America.'' A
2011 Forbes article named New Orleans the ``#1 brain magnet
in the country'' and the ``#2 best big city for jobs.''
During the second annual New Orleans Entrepreneur Week in
March 2010, noted author and historian Walter Isaacson said,
``New Orleans is a brain magnet instead of a place that will
suffer a never-ending brain drain.''
Two of The Idea Village's most impactful programs that can
be duplicated nationally are IDEAcorps and Entrepreneur
Challenge Competitions:
1. IDEAcorps is an MBA service learning program started in
the wake of Hurricane Katrina as bright MBA students around
the nation descended on New Orleans to utilize their business
skills to help local entrepreneurs execute high impact
projects. Since 2008, 15 national business schools and 596
MBA students have participated in IDEAcorps. Participating
universities include: Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth,
Cornell, Duke, Berkeley, DePaul, MIT, Columbia, Tulane,
Loyola, University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago and
Xavier Labour Relations Institute in India.
2. Entrepreneur Challenge Competitions have become an
impactful way to provide entrepreneurs with much-needed
resources while also galvanizing the community to develop
for-profit solutions to regional problems. The Idea Village
began this program by working with local partners to launch
the Water Challenge in 2011, a six month intensive start up
accelerator for entrepreneurs solving serious water
management issues. The Water Challenge culminates in a
$50,000 pitch competition during the annual New Orleans
Entrepreneur Week in March, bringing together entrepreneurs,
industry experts, investors, students and civic leaders to
support innovative solutions to local challenges. In
addition, The Idea Village has executed an Education
Challenge to encourage entrepreneurs to find innovative
solutions to closing the education gap.
Entrepreneurial ecosystems require consistent support and
nurture from the entire community. The Today's Entrepreneurs
are America's Mentors (TEAM) Act is an excellent step towards
infusing entrepreneurship throughout our communities and
nation and I urge the Senate to give all due consideration to
this legislation.
Sincerely,
Tim Williamson,
Cofounder & CEO,
The Idea Village.
____
Empact,
New York, NY, May 21, 2012.
Senator Mary L. Landrieu,
Chair, Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chair Landrieu: My name is Michael Simmons, and I'm
the Co-Founder and CEO of Empact, one of the leading youth
entrepreneurship education organizations in the U.S.
[[Page S3427]]
Over the last six years, we've held entrepreneurship
conferences on over 500 college campuses and high schools
featuring the country's top young entrepreneurs. In addition,
we've held a 300-person, invite-only, annual Summit for the
entrepreneurship education industry at the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, White House, and Capitol Hill featuring the field's
top leaders. Our work with Chair Landrieu and the Committee
on Small Business and Entrepreneurship began at the Capitol
Hill portion of our Summit in 2011.
Through our work in these areas, our company has seen the
large unmet need in exposing today's youth to
entrepreneurship as a viable career path. We are in full
support of the Today's Entrepreneurs are Mentors (TEAM) Act,
as we believe it will have a large, positive impact on the
entrepreneurship education field and help fill this unmet
need.
Specifically, I believe the TEAM Act will help lead to a
new generation of young people who look at problems as
opportunities rather than stopping points. I am particularly
in favor of the recreation of a program within the Office of
Entrepreneurial Education that would conduct outreach and
mentorship in K 12 schools.
Sincerely,
Michael Simmons,
Co-Founder and CEO.
____
May 21, 2011.
Hon. Mary Landrieu,
Chair of the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship, Russell Senate Office Bldg.,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Landrieu: We are writing to commend your work
to reduce barriers to youth entrepreneurship in America and
express our strong support for the TEAM Act. The ``Today's
Entrepreneurs are America's Mentors'' Act contains a number
of strong provisions that can provide that vital boost young
adults need to start a business and find new economic
opportunity. The TEAM Act reflects an important investment in
the future of our country, and in the potential of this
younger generation to be drivers of innovation and job
creation.
In particular, the TEAM Act contains some of the key
priorities that Young Invincibles and our partners in the
entrepreneurship space have advocated for as part of the
Youth Entrepreneurship Act
(www.YouthEntrepreneurshipAct.com). The TEAM Act helps to
increase the SBA's focus on young entrepreneurs by providing
badly needed support for the Office of Entrepreneurial
Education. This office has tremendous potential to support
and expand some of the strong entrepreneurship education
models that have already sprung up in high schools, community
colleges, and universities across the country. The TEAM Act
also strengthens support for entrepreneurship competitions,
which have been a great and cost-efficient way to introduce
young adults to the challenge of starting a successful
business.
Finally, the TEAM Act requires the SBA to study and issue
detailed recommendations to Congress on the feasibility of a
student loan forgiveness and deferment program for people who
start businesses. Young Invincibles has outlined this
innovative policy idea in our Youth Entrepreneurship Act, and
it has found considerable support among young adults as a way
to address a major hurdle for young adults trying to start a
business: the tens of thousands in student loans that are all
too common for recent graduates. During our recent 20-state
bus tour, we heard directly from young entrepreneurs
struggling to pay back student loans and stand-up a new
business simultaneously. We look forward to working with the
SBA and Congress to advance and study this promising idea.
Thank you again for your support of America's young
innovators.
Sincerely,
Aaron Smith,
Co-Founder & Executive Director,
Young Invincibles.
____
Re Support for TEAM Act.
Mary Landrieu,
U.S. Senator, Dirksen Senate Office Bldg., Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Landrieu: Thank you for your support of
entrepreneurship as a critical tool in economic development.
I'm excited to endorse your efforts to authorize the Small
Business Administration's Office of Entrepreneurial Education
(OEE). Entrepreneurship Education is essential to DECA's
mission to develop emerging leaders and entrepreneurs.
The Office of Entrepreneurial Education will strengthen
small businesses, the backbone of our economy through
partnerships with DECA and other entrepreneurship education
organizations. It will provide new avenues to reach high
school and college students with the exciting opportunities
they have to create their own future through
entrepreneurship.
Thank you again for your leadership in this effort.
Sincerely,
Edward L. Davis,
Executive Director,
DECA Inc.
____
May 18, 2012.
Chair Landrieu and the Senate Committee on Small Business
and Entrepreneurship: As founder of the Young Entrepreneur
Council, an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of
several hundred of America's top young entrepreneurs, I write
today to express how proud we are to support your efforts to
strengthen the youth entrepreneurship ecosystem with
proposals included in the TEAM Act.
Since its inception in 2010, the YEC has promoted
entrepreneurship as a means to overcome unemployment and
underemployment by providing students and aspiring
entrepreneurs with access to tools, peer-to-peer mentorship
and resources to support each stage of a business'
development and growth. Provisions of the TEAM Act will go a
long way toward helping the thousands of young people we
mentor each year achieve their goals--and spur new job
creation.
Specifically, empowering the Small Business
Administration's Office of Entrepreneurial Education (OEE) to
conduct outreach and mentorship in K 12 schools will
significantly impact the way we teach opportunity recognition
to our youth, and regional SBA-sponsored entrepreneurial
competitions will spur youth-led innovation at a relatively
low cost to the government (but with the potential to lead to
great gains in new jobs and businesses). The SBA Pilot MBA
Scholarship program will change many lives, as has already
been demonstrated in New Orleans, and we support the Senate
Committee's vision for scaling the program nationally.
Finally, a study on the effect of student loan deferment on
youth entrepreneurship is timely and much-needed. Based on
the obstacles facing young entrepreneurs that we've
documented throughout our #FixYoungAmerica campaign, we
believe that the results of this SBA-led study are the first
step toward empowering young entrepreneurs burdened with
student loan debt to create new businesses and jobs at a time
when America needs it most.
With policy reforms such as the TEAM Act, the YEC can
continue to speak out, educate, empower and improve our
youth's ability to sustain themselves in today's challenging
economy, and we are proud to voice our support for these
importantly and timely efforts.
Sincerely,
Scott Gerber,
Founder,
Young Entrepreneur Council.
____
May 21, 2012.
Chair Landrieu and the Senate Committee on Small Business
and Entrepreneurship: As Chief Executive Officer and
President of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
(NFTE), I am happy to extend our organization's support to
the TEAM Act and your efforts to strengthen the resources
available to expand entrepreneurship education to all young
people in our country.
For nearly 25 years NFTE has partnered with schools and
local business leaders to bring entrepreneurship education to
youth in some our most challenged and under-resourced
communities across the nation, and we've seen firsthand how
this type of intensive, experiential programming can
demonstrate the relevance of school, invest students in
academic pursuits and unlock in young people their potential
as entrepreneurs, scholars and leaders in their communities.
The provisions outlined in the TEAM Act will serve as
powerful catalysts to grow the impact of the work NFTE and
other like-minded organizations do, in particular, by further
empowering the Small Business Administration's Office of
Entrepreneurial Education (OEE) and creating a network of
regional entrepreneurial competitions.
The young people we work with each day face many obstacles
and the policy reforms contained in the TEAM Act will create
a powerful platform of solutions and tools to support the
achievement of their personal and professional goals. We are
proud to support these important efforts.
Sincerely,
Amy Rosen,
President and Chief Executive Officer, NFTE.
____
National FFA Center,
Indianapolis, IN, May 21, 2012.
Hon. Mary Landrieu,
Chair, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S.
Senate, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairwoman Landrieu: Today there are over 540,000
student members of FFA in nearly 7,500 high school programs
across the United States studying agriculture, developing
their leadership skills and preparing for career success
through agricultural education. A key part of agricultural
education is experiential learning experiences that provide a
hands-on way for students to learn, develop their skills and
apply the knowledge learned in the classroom to serve real-
world problems. We have always put a high degree of focus on
developing our students' knowledge and application of
entrepreneurship education as away of helping them achieve
their career goals.
As a Senator from Louisiana I am sure you have a special
appreciation for the role of small business and the critical
role entrepreneurs play in starting businesses and creating
jobs in rural communities. Entrepreneurship is a critical
part of agriculture and is particularly important to the
development and sustainability of rural communities. It is
vitally important that young people learn and develop these
skills in their earliest years to help them achieve success.
We support the expansion and increased focus of
Entrepreneurship Education by the Small Business and
Entrepreneurship Committee. We also encourage the committee
to
[[Page S3428]]
consider language in the bill that would direct, incentivize
and enable the Small Business Administration to work with
other agencies such as USDA, Department of Education and
others in developing an interagency working group that can
develop a more comprehensive plan and approach to k 12
Entrepreneurship Education. To the degree that we can
participate in supporting that collaboration and planning we
would be happy to do so.
Thank you for your leadership in recognizing the importance
of this issue and for putting forward legislation that will
increase the visibility and effectiveness of Entrepreneurship
Education. It is important to young people, our communities,
our nation and the world.
Sincerely,
Kent Schescke,
Director of Strategic Partnerships.
____
Council of Graduate Schools,
Washington, DC, May 21, 2012.
Hon. Mary Landrieu,
Chair, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S.
Senate, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Landrieu, I am writing in support of Today's
Entrepreneurs are America's Mentors (TEAM) Act, legislation
that is intended to strengthen the U.S. entrepreneurial
ecosystem by empowering the Small Business Administration's
Office of Entrepreneurial Education and invigorating students
of all ages, entrepreneurs and mentors throughout the
country.
We are particularly supportive of the SBA Pilot MBA
Scholarship program that would provide a scholarship/
fellowship to MBA students. Scholarship recipients would
provide free technical assistance, financial planning and
sustainable business practices to local small businesses and
start-up companies. This provision recognizes the increasing
importance of graduate education in providing the highly
skilled talent the nation needs to be successful in the 21st
century global economy. The role of graduate education in
preparing a highly skilled workforce was addressed in the
landmark report, The Path Forward: The Future of Graduate
Education in the United States. That report reviewed trends
and vulnerabilities in our nation's system of graduate
education and proposed a set of recommendations to strengthen
the enterprise. The report and executive summary are
available at http://www.fge
report.org/
A recent report, Pathways Through Graduate School and Into
Careers, proposed increased collaboration among business
leaders and university leaders to develop and support the
next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators and is
available at http://pathwaysreport.org/. Both reports were
produced by the Council of Graduate Schools and ETS under the
guidance of commissions of business leaders and university
leaders.
We would welcome the opportunity to work with you and your
colleagues on exploring additional ways that U.S. graduate
education, a strategic national asset, can support our
nation's entrepreneurial enterprise. Thank you for your
leadership in introducing this important legislation.
Regards,
Debra W. Stewart,
President.
____
Junior Achievement USA,
Colorado Springs, CO, May 21, 2012.
Chairwoman Mary Landrieu,
Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, Russell
Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairwoman Landrieu, on behalf of Junior Achievement
USA, I am writing in support of the proposed Today's
Entrepreneurs are Mentoring (TEAM) act. This legislation
would strengthen the federal entrepreneurship education
outreach to our nation's schools and further empower groups
like Junior Achievement to inspire students, entrepreneurs,
and mentors throughout the United States.
With the job landscape of the 21st century continuously
changing, an increased emphasis on entrepreneurial education
for our nation's students is needed more than ever. The TEAM
act appears to do just that. By encouraging the SBA Office of
Entrepreneurial Education (OEE) to work with existing
entrepreneurial outreach organizations, I believe more
students will be inspired to take the innovative action
needed to successfully compete in the world's marketplace.
As you may know, Junior Achievement (JA) annually prepares
more than 4 million K 12 students across the United States.
For close to 100 years, educating and training youth on
entrepreneurship has been a vital component of JA's purpose
as an organization. Along with financial literacy and work
readiness, teaching students about entrepreneurship through
hands on activities that promote an entrepreneurial spirit is
woven into JA's programs. Since 1919, the JA Company Program
has taught millions of students about the skills and
responsibilities needed to start and run a business.
Given JA's history and scope of impact in the
entrepreneurial education space, we stand ready to assist the
OEE were your bill to become law. Thank you for introducing
this important piece of legislation and we look forward to
possibly working with you and your staff in the weeks and
months ahead.
Sincerely,
Jack E. Kosakowski,
President and CEO.
______