U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), sponsor of Startup Act 3.0, issued the following statement today on the introduction of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013:
“While it is important we find a solution for the 11 million undocumented immigrants, we must not forget about the other 11 million – those 11.7 million Americans who are unemployed. This is an opportunity to create jobs for Americans by making certain highly-skilled and entrepreneurial immigrants are able to contribute to American economic growth and start businesses in the United States. But while other countries are creating new visas to attract entrepreneurs as a way to grow their economies, the immigration bill introduced early this morning sets arbitrarily low quotas on startup visas, unreasonably high investment or revenue requirements, and includes unnecessary hurdles like the submission of a business plan to bureaucrats in Washington. The most important criterion should be whether an immigrant entrepreneur creates jobs for Americans.
“Independent analysis shows that the Entrepreneur Visa created in Startup Act 3.0 has the potential to add up to 1.6 million new jobs for Americans within 10 years. Our proposal is straightforward and workable: if you are in the United States legally and employ Americans, you get to stay and run your business.
“It is also important that legislation create a dedicated visa for foreign students who graduate from U.S. universities with advanced degrees in valuable fields. Allowing these individuals to put their talent and training to use in America will result in job creation and economic growth.
“I am glad the Gang of Eight recognizes the importance of entrepreneurial immigrants, but when it comes to winning the global battle for talent and creating jobs, this proposal falls short. If we miss this opportunity to pass smart high-skilled immigration policy, we risk losing the next generation of great entrepreneurs and the jobs they will create. I look forward to working with my colleagues to make certain the American dream can continue to be lived in America.”
Startup Act 3.0 is the strongest, most comprehensive jobs and high-skilled immigration reform bill on the table in Congress and the only proposal that creates the Entrepreneur Visa. It was re-introduced in the 113th Congress by U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), and is cosponsored by Chris Coons (D-Del.) Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.).
The Entrepreneur Visa created by Startup Act 3.0 has the potential to up to 1.6 million new jobs for Americans over the next 10 years according to a white paper released in February by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. At a time when the Congressional Budget Office expects unemployment to remain above 7.5 percent through 2014 and the economy to grow by just 1.4 percent this year, the job creation potential of Startup Act 3.0’s Entrepreneur Visa translates to an additional 1.6 percent increase in GDP, or about $224 billion in economic activity.
A National Foundation for American Policy analysis of the top 50 venture-capital-backed companies in 2011 revealed that 24 were founded or co-founded by immigrants. At an average company age of 5.8 years and 153 employees, this small sample of immigrant-founded companies added 27 new employees per year, indicating the potential such companies – or even a sliver of Entrepreneur Visa companies – have for extraordinary job creation in the United States.
