When You Make it in America, Every American Can Make it

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Ms. SEWELL. Thank you very much. I am indeed delighted to join my colleagues in discussing making it in America.

I think you will all agree that any playbook about job creation must have as its cornerstone the creation of jobs in our small businesses. And so today I rise in support of small businesses and entrepreneurs across the Seventh Congressional District of Alabama, and indeed this Nation.

As America recovers from our economic recession, we must continue to make strategic policy decisions that benefit our economy and encourage job creation. Small businesses play a critical role in our economy. They provide jobs, they spur innovation, they indeed strengthen our economy.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and are responsible for generating half of the Nation's gross national product as well as employing over half of its workforce. In fact, over the past decade and a half, America's small businesses and entrepreneurs have created 65 percent of all new jobs in this country. That is why I introduced H.R. 1730, the Small Business Start-Up Savings Account Act. More entrepreneurs will benefit if they are provided better incentives that will allow them to save and start a new business.

On average, an entrepreneur who wants to launch a new business spends on average $80,000 in their first year in startup costs. Entrepreneurs often go into debt to start their own businesses. Many even use their savings from their retirement accounts to build the capital they need to run those small businesses. This bill will allow entrepreneurs to save up to $10,000 per year tax free so they can start their own small businesses. Once an individual starts their small business, funds from a savings account can be used for their operating expenses.

The government can't guarantee a company's success--I think all of us would agree with that--but the government can knock down barriers that prevent hardworking Americans from starting their own businesses.

Innovation is the key to keeping America number one, and small businesses have always been at the forefront of American innovation. We can't expect to start and continue to be competitive in a global economy without making small businesses and the creation of small businesses the centerpiece of our playbook.

As we continue to build our economy, we must give entrepreneurs incentives and the tools they need to prosper right here in America. When American small businesses are given the opportunity to grow and thrive, they help rebuild our country, our country's middle class, and strengthen our economy. We must recommit ourselves to helping create businesses right here in America.

My colleagues have been talking about rebuilding in America and investing in what's good in America. Our small businesses are where it's at. They create the bright and prosperous future that we as Americans want to ensure. Small businesses will help to out-innovate and out-build our other competitors globally. I urge my colleagues to join with me in standing up for small businesses and entrepreneurs across this great Nation and support H.R. 1730, the Small Business Start-Up Savings Act. Now is the time to blend bold, new initiatives with commonsense solutions so that we can strengthen our economy and create jobs right here in America.

I thank my colleagues for letting me join them in this hour in promoting all that is good in America, and in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship right here in America by supporting our small businesses.

Thank you very much.

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