[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 699 Engrossed in House (EH)]


H. Res. 699

                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                          June 7, 2006.
Whereas according to the Department of Labor, most of the new jobs created 
        throughout the United States in the past decade have come from the 
        creative efforts of entrepreneurs and small businesses, which have been 
        expanding and advancing technology and fueling the recent growth in the 
        economy;
Whereas entrepreneurs have been the source of economic innovation throughout the 
        history of the Nation, and the entire society has been improved because 
        of the new ways of doing things that have been brought about by people 
        who market their ideas;
Whereas economically independent entrepreneurs are engaged citizens who work to 
        improve the economic environment in their local communities, providing 
        better opportunities for businesses to operate and a better environment 
        for the human resources they need to advance their business dreams;
Whereas 70 percent of high school students want to become entrepreneurs, and 
        entrepreneurial skills will assist students in the future regardless of 
        whether they work in a business owned by others or run their own 
        business;
Whereas the high interest of students in becoming entrepreneurs and the critical 
        role entrepreneurs have played in advancing the national economy make it 
        vital for the Nation's schools to provide students with training in the 
        skills which will enable them to become the entrepreneurs of the future;
Whereas the Partnership For 21st Century Skills identified financial, economic, 
        business literacy, and entrepreneurship skills as the types of skills 
        students must have in order to enhance workplace productivity and career 
        options;
Whereas exposing students to the types of market-driven problems faced by 
        entrepreneurs is an excellent example of how educators can use problem-
        based learning strategies to prepare students for the situations they 
        will encounter in the future, an approach recommended by the National 
        Council on Competitiveness in its 2004 report entitled `` Innovate 
        America'';
Whereas entrepreneurship education provides exactly the type of academic 
        engagement of all students promoted by the National High School 
        Alliance, based on relevant real-world contexts that build on community 
        assets, allow participation in workplace-based learning, and include 
        performance-based assessments;
Whereas entrepreneurship education has been shown to be especially effective in 
        closing the achievement gap between minority students and others in 
        public schools;
Whereas students who participate in entrepreneurship education programs have 
        better attendance records, perform better on core subjects, and have 
        lower dropout rates than those who do not participate in these programs;
Whereas successful programs in entrepreneurship education have been established 
        in many States, including the public-private partnership program in 
        North Carolina by the Center for 21st Century Skills, which helps 
        students acquire the knowledge and skills needed for success in the 
        global economy and which has been touted as a national model for 
        education in the 21st century;
Whereas the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has assembled a multidisciplinary 
        panel of distinguished scholars who will evaluate relevant research and 
        review what has been learned in the many existing programs on 
        entrepreneurship under way throughout the United States in order to 
        provide recommendations for a comprehensive approach to teaching 
        entrepreneurship in colleges and universities;
Whereas the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has contributed significant time 
        and resources to create the Kauffman Campuses program to make 
        entrepreneurship education a common and accessible campus-wide 
        opportunity that is an integral part of the college experience;
Whereas the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education has developed and nurtured 
        a lifelong entrepreneurship education model to encourage students' 
        awareness of entrepreneurship as a career option throughout their years 
        of school and to assist entrepreneurs as they implement their 
        entrepreneurial ideas;
Whereas the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education has lead the initiative to 
        broadly define the field of entrepreneurship through 403 performance 
        indicators to guide the delivery of entrepreneurship education in 
        support of the lifelong learning model;
Whereas, through the initiative to observe annually National Entrepreneurship 
        Week, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Consortium for 
        Entrepreneurship Education, and partner organizations promote awareness 
        of the contributions of entrepreneurs as innovators, positive forces in 
        the economy, and important resources for improving communities as places 
        to live and work; and
Whereas National Entrepreneurship Week will focus on the innovative ways in 
        which entrepreneurship education can bring together the core academic, 
        technical, and problem solving skills essential for future entrepreneurs 
        and successful workers in future workplaces: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) encourages the implementation of entrepreneurship education 
        throughout the United States;
            (2) supports the goals and ideals of National Entrepreneurship Week 
        so that the people of the United States are reminded of the 
        contributions of entrepreneurs and so that educators are encouraged to 
        reflect on how entrepreneurship education can improve the performance of 
        their students; and
            (3) requests that the President issue a proclamation calling on the 
        Federal Government, State and Local governments, schools, nonprofit 
        organization, and others to observe National Entrepreneurship Week 
        annually with special events in support of entrepreneurs and 
        entrepreneurship education programs.



            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.