[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7623-7628]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      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

[[Page 7624]]

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 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 of the bill 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

[[Page 7625]]

     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 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

[[Page 7626]]

     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.
       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.

[[Page 7627]]

       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 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.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Ms. Ayotte):
  S. 3218. A bill to improve the coordination of export promotion 
programs and to facilitate export opportunities for small businesses, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, this week we celebrate National Small 
Business Week. Small businesses are so important to job creation in 
this country. So much of the innovation that takes place in this 
country happens as the result of the work of small businesses. Two-
thirds of the jobs we expect to be created to lead us out of the 
recession and through this recovery are going to be created by small 
businesses.
  It is important that in this Chamber we do everything we can to 
support small businesses. I am pleased that I have been able to be a 
member of the Small Business Committee. I applaud the leadership of 
Senator Landrieu and Senator Snowe, the chair and ranking

[[Page 7628]]

member, for all of the good work they have done for small business.
  I can tell you from my own personal experience just how important 
small businesses are. My husband and I started our married life and for 
8 years ran a family business. It put us both through graduate school 
and gave us a downpayment on a house. It employed a number of young 
people for 8 years. It taught me a lot about meeting a payroll and 
making sure we could take care of our employees, help make sure they 
had good jobs. So I have had that personal experience to make me 
understand just how critical small businesses are to our economy.
  I am here on the floor also to talk about bipartisan legislation that 
my colleague from New Hampshire, Ms. Ayotte, and I are introducing 
today to boost small business exporting.
  Just as small businesses are the backbone of so much of this 
country's economy, they are clearly the backbone of New Hampshire's 
economy. It should come as no surprise to all of our constituents in 
New Hampshire that both Senator Ayotte and I serve on the Small 
Business Committee because we know how important those businesses are 
to our State. We both recognize how critical it is for us as a 
delegation to work across the aisle and across Chambers when possible 
to help the small businesses in New Hampshire provide the good jobs the 
residents of New Hampshire need.
  So I am glad Senator Ayotte and I are working together to introduce 
legislation to help remove barriers to exporting for small businesses 
in New Hampshire and across the United States. The bill we are 
introducing today, the Small Business Export Growth Act, is the result 
of a Small Business Committee field hearing that we hosted together in 
Manchester, NH, last August. We held that hearing because we recognized 
that exports offer a tremendous opportunity for small businesses.
  Unfortunately, for so many small businesses, those foreign markets 
have remained an untapped resource for most of them. Over 95 percent of 
the world's customers live outside of the United States, but only 1 
percent of our small businesses export. That is a particularly shocking 
number when we compare to it large businesses because over 40 percent 
of large businesses sell their products overseas. So we have to do more 
to help our small businesses get into those international markets.
  At our field hearing we heard about some of the barriers our small 
businesses face when they try to go global. Our legislation is an 
attempt to remove some of those barriers so that small businesses can 
access new sources of revenue and create jobs. One of the problems we 
heard about is that navigating the Federal bureaucracy can be a special 
challenge for small businesses that wish to export. I know the 
Presiding Officer and I can both appreciate that because we know how 
hard it is for us to navigate the Federal bureaucracy.
  Senator Ayotte and I heard from two such New Hampshire companies that 
rely on State and Federal offices to help them export. I want to talk 
about one of those companies specifically. It is a company that is 
called Secure Care. Secure Care has developed a technology that 
protects Alzheimer's patients who may wander away from their home or 
their place of residence. It also protects newborns who are still in 
the maternity ward.
  Grace Preston, who is the international sales manager for Secure 
Care, told us that the company has significantly expanded its growth by 
selling overseas. Grace also told us that Secure Care could not have 
done that without Federal and State export programs working together. 
In New Hampshire, we are very fortunate because our State and Federal 
export services work seamlessly, and that has been important in helping 
our businesses grow their exports.
  In 2010 New Hampshire's exports grew about 40 percent. That was 
almost twice the national average and the most of any State in the 
country. So it has been very critical to our small businesses.
  But we also heard that State and Federal agencies don't always have 
that same collaborative relationship in other places across the 
country. According to our former New Hampshire trade director, Dawn 
Wivell, these services sometimes, in some places, can overlap or, even 
worse, sometimes there are agencies that refuse to work together. Our 
bill attempts to require better coordination to make more successes 
like Secure Care a reality across the country.
  Our bill also encourages the Federal Government to do more to promote 
the opportunity of exporting and to get the word out about Federal 
export programs.
  Foreign markets can be daunting for small businesses, but that should 
not stop our innovators from trying to compete. Our small businesses 
must be assured that the Federal Government will help them when 
considering exporting. Part of our responsibility is to try to do 
everything we can to put into place policies that help small businesses 
when they want to try to export.
  I thank Senator Ayotte for her cooperation and for the work we have 
done together. I thank both Senator Ayotte and her staff, along with 
mine, for working on this issue. I look forward to advancing this 
legislation in the Senate and to continue to recognize the important 
role that small business plays in our economy.
  Ms. AYOTTE. Mr. President, I am pleased today to join my colleague 
from New Hampshire, Senator Shaheen, in introducing the Small Business 
Export Growth Act, which would help small businesses better navigate 
the complex process of promoting and selling their goods abroad.
  Senator Shaheen and I serve together on the Small Business Committee, 
and as she mentioned, we held a field hearing in Manchester, New 
Hampshire, last August to examine the role of exports in small business 
growth and job creation. We heard testimony from key national and New 
Hampshire-based stakeholders about ways to improve coordination among 
regulatory agencies, and how to ease the burdens faced by small 
business owners seeking to grow and export their products to foreign 
markets. The Small Business Export Growth Act represents a commonsense, 
bipartisan response to the issues identified at that hearing.
  This legislation makes improvements to the operational efficiency of 
the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, TPCC, and improves 
Congressional oversight of the TPCC's activities. The bill also gives 
the Small Business Administration a larger voice in developing export 
policy and facilitates more networking opportunities for small 
businesses.
  New Hampshire companies export to 160 countries and our exports are 
increasing at the fourth highest rate of any State. In fact, New 
Hampshire is leading the ten northeastern states in exports. Since 
2003, New Hampshire exports have risen three times faster than the 
State's economy. Small businesses comprise over 96 percent of all New 
Hampshire firms, and it is imperative that we empower them with the 
tools they need to grow and hire. Opening markets around the world for 
our small businesses is an area in which we can find bipartisan 
agreement.
  During the Manchester Small Business Week Forum I attended yesterday, 
I heard first-hand about the challenges small business owners are 
facing as they try to grow and create jobs in this tough economic 
climate. Exporting represents an enormous opportunity, not only for New 
Hampshire small businesses, but for small businesses across the 
country. The Small Business Export Growth Act will help smaller firms 
to compete in the global marketplace.

                          ____________________