[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 17, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5700-S5701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BOOKER:
  S. 2850. A bill to amend the Small Business Act to create a program 
to provide funding for organizations that support startup businesses in 
formation and early growth stages by providing entrepreneurs with 
resources and services to produce viable businesses, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
  Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Startup 
Opportunity Accelerator Act or SOAR Act, which provides funding for 
accelerator programs and organizations that support small business 
startups.
  The importance of small businesses to the economy and job creation is 
well documented. In fact, data has shown the innovative, smallest 
companies represent a significant majority of all new businesses, 
reaffirming the importance of young, small firms to driving small 
business and economic growth.
  To be sure, we see the impact of these high growth startups daily in 
the technology we rely on for communication and access to information. 
Many of the startups developing these innovative technologies have 
thrived in regions, such as Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley, where 
there are high concentrations of other entrepreneurs and startups. 
Specifically, these regions have benefited from the presence of growth 
accelerators and other organizations that connect startups with the 
resources necessary for growth. These resources can provide critical 
opportunities for entrepreneurs to access the

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venture capital, mentorship, and industry networks vital to success.
  That is why I am introducing the SOAR Act. The SOAR Act would 
authorize the Small Business Administration's SBA, Growth Accelerator 
Fund, which offers funding to growth accelerators and other 
organizations supporting startups through a competitive prize program. 
The SOAR Act would broaden the reach of these organizations to new 
communities by specifically encouraging applicants that fill both 
geographic and demographic gaps in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
  After launching in the spring of 2014, the SBA saw tremendous 
interest in the Fund and received more than 800 applications from 
organizations across the country. The SBA was able to grant awards to 
50 organizations, including a New Jersey-based innovation center that 
plans to develop a new growth accelerator focused on the food industry.
  The SOAR Act will authorize the Growth Accelerator Fund for 5 years 
and provide a needed funding boost to help meet high demand from small 
businesses and entrepreneurs in the program.
  I am proud to introduce this legislation that provides increased 
resources to help startups succeed. This relatively small, targeted 
investment would deliver big returns for communities across the 
country, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this 
legislation.
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