CONGRESSWOMAN SUSAN DAVIS
INTRODUCES
VETERANS ENTREPRENEURSHIP LEGISLATION
Bill keeps veterans business assistance program alive
Washington - To help
entrepreneurial veterans, Congresswoman Susan Davis introduced
legislation to preserve a vital program designed to assist veterans
start and grow a business.
The Veterans Corporation Reauthorization and
Enhancement Act will reauthorize the Veterans Entrepreneurship and
Small Business Development Act through 2012.
"With this legislation, we can make sure our
brave service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan will have
access to entrepreneurship training," said Davis. "Those who
are courageously fighting abroad deserve the opportunity to start a
business and achieve that aspect of the American Dream."
Congress passed the Veterans Entrepreneurship
and Small Business Development Act of 1999 establishing the National
Veterans Business Development Corporation to provide all of these
crucial aspects of entrepreneurship to veterans.
As a result of that landmark legislation, the
Veterans Corporation (TVC) has provided training to over 8,000
veterans and has helped over 550 veterans start businesses during
2006 alone.
"A young service member once told me his
dream was to start and operate his own business once he finished his
tour of duty in Afghanistan," said Davis, a member of House
Armed Services Committee. "I spoke with this brave soldier
shortly after I was elected to the House of Representatives while
visiting with our service members in the battlefield. His story
moved me to help veterans learn what it takes to operate a business
and help them get started in entrepreneurship."
In June, Davis offered an amendment to the
Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act for 2007 (H.R. 5672) increasing its funding to
$1.5 million for the next fiscal year. The Davis Amendment was
approved by the House of Representatives.
The legislation
encourages TVC to raise private funds to leverage federal funding.
It also encourages reservists to take advantage of the services
offered by TVC. |