{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://carey.house.gov/2024/06/04/carey-leads-effort-encourage-small-business-formation/", "Carey Leads Effort to Encourage Small Business Formation", "2024-06-04", "2024", "2024-06", "Republican", "House", "OH", "Mike Carey", "C001126", "carey.house.gov", "carey", "https://carey.house.gov/press-releases/", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\n\nCONTACT: Theresa Braid, Theresa.braid@mail.house.gov\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Today, Representatives Mike Carey (OH-15) and Greg Landsman (OH-1) introduced the bipartisan New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency (NO BOSS) Act, which supports individuals as they pursue small business ownership. The bill makes improvements to the currently underutilized Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) Program, making state participation less onerous and encouraging participation.\n\n\u201cSmall businesses are the engine of our economy, but making the leap from unemployment to self-employment is risky,\u201d said Carey. \u201cAmericans shouldn\u2019t be forced to choose between unemployment insurance and working on the next big idea. We\u2019re proud to join Rep. Landsman on this bill to improve the support available to aspiring entrepreneurs.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis unique opportunity allows those who are unemployed to build a business with dignity,\u201d said Landsman. \u201cAs a member of the House Small Business Committee, I believe these reforms to the program empowers entrepreneurship and could benefit many folks who have a passion but doubt they can make it a reality.\u201d\n\nThe bill has earned widespread support from the small business community and other outside groups.\n\n\u201cEntrepreneurship is challenging, and we know that finding the support to take the leap is often the hardest part of getting started,\u201d said Shopify Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs Alex Clark. \u201cThis policy is a great example of how the government can come to the table to support, enable, and foster more entrepreneurship in a way that can really make a significant difference. Starting a business may have been someone\u2019s plan C, but now is the time they can make it their plan A.\u201d\n\n\u201cEmerging technologies are making it easier than ever for individuals to strike out on their own and realize the American dream of starting up a business. The NO BOSS Act will help ease restrictions that are inhibiting people from seizing on new innovations to bet on themselves and harness the American entrepreneurial spirit,\u201d said Luke Hogg, Foundation for American Innovation.\n\nEli Lehrer, of the R Street Institute \u201cThe NO BOSS Act is a commonsense proposal that empowers workers, improves our social safety net, and creates new opportunities. While self-employment rates and business start up rates remain lower than they were 30 years ago, the post-pandemic period has seen a movement towards more people pursuing their dreams and starting new businesses. This proposal can help the nation continue this positive momentum. The R Street Institute is pleased to support it.\u201d\n\nKaren Kerrigan, President & CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council), said \u201cEncouraging business ownership and entrepreneurship needs to be embedded within government policy and programs where it is efficient, makes sense, and has a proven track record. Therefore, SBE Council applauds Rep. Mike Carey and Rep. Greg Landsman for their bipartisan work in identifying a policy path that will turn the difficulty of a layoff into entrepreneurial opportunity for more Americans. The \u2018New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act\u2019 (NO BOSS Act) provides a pragmatic approach to that end in that it modifies existing federal rules governing the state administration of self-employment programs to allow individuals to utilize those resources to start a business rather than being restricted into finding a new job with an existing employer, which may be more difficult in certain regions of the country. This smart approach, which has been piloted in certain states, supports economic development and entrepreneurial choice, and will help individuals achieve financial stability and fulfillment through business ownership. The NO BOSS Act provides reasonable and smart flexibility in how states administer the unemployment insurance program and is a win-win-win for local economies, the broader U.S. economy, and for individuals that want more flexibility and choice in pursuing their next career path.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe thank Congressmen Mike Carey (R-OH) and Greg Landsman (D-OH) for their leadership and sponsorship of the New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act (NO BOSS Act). We are proud to support this legislation, which expands Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) programs that transform aspiring entrepreneurs\u2019 dreams into thriving businesses. In today\u2019s world, with ecommerce at our fingertips, the opportunities to start a business have never been greater. As an organization that works with small and medium businesses across the US, we have witnessed remarkable success stories from individuals with great ideas, and we believe this legislation can lead to many more. By supporting this Act, we can unleash a wave of new entrepreneurs, invigorate local economies, and create bustling marketplaces driven by innovation and determination,\u201d said Al Ko, CEO at Auctane.\n\nCenter for American Entrepreneurship Founder and President John Dearie said, \u201cOur nation\u2019s Unemployment Insurance (UI) system has been an important policy tool to combat joblessness during economic downturns for nearly a century. Created as part of the Social Security Act of 1935, UI benefits are intended to reduce the hardship of unemployment, help maintain the purchasing power of the unemployed, and preserve the local workforce so that workers are available when employers are ready to rehire,\u201d said John Dearie, president of the Center for American Entrepreneurship. \u201cMore recently, repeated research has demonstrated that entrepreneurs and the new businesses they launch are disproportionately responsible for the innovations that drive economic growth and account for virtually all net new job creation. The New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act will improve and modernize UI by leveraging the power of entrepreneurship. Specifically, the Act will broaden and facilitate participation in the Self-Employment Assistance Program (SEA), a currently underused aspect of the UI program that offers qualifying individuals the opportunity for self-employment by combining income support during periods of unemployment with activities related to starting a business. The bill is a powerfully pro-innovation and pro-entrepreneurship reform to an important aspect of America\u2019s employment policy apparatus. CAE thanks Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) and Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH) for their leadership and looks forward to working with them to ensure swift passage of the legislation.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nThe Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) Program is designed to encourage unemployed individuals to start their own businesses. Unlike traditional Unemployment Compensation, SEA participants can receive weekly payments while getting their small business off the ground.\n\nOnly eight states offer SEA programs for UC claimants as of 2022 (Delaware, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island). Currently, Oregon and New York have the largest SEA programs, with 390 participants and 1005 participants, respectively.\n\nThe NO BOSS Act will improve utilization of the SEA program by making common-sense changes to the program, many modeled after the program\u2019s highly successful implementation in Oregon. The bill would remove the \u201clikely to exhaust benefits\u201d provision, which prevents many unemployed workers from participating in this program and implies that entrepreneurship should only be for those who are unlikely to find any other job.\n\nAdditionally, the legislation would clarify that a business plan and market feasibility study could serve as an alternative requirement to entrepreneurship training. The bill also provides integrity guardrails to ensure those who have opted to submit a business plan and market feasibility study are meeting the required deadlines. Lastly, the bill increases the participation cap from five to ten percent.\n\nFull text of the NO BOSS Act is available here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:11:47Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://carey.house.gov/2024/06/04/carey-leads-effort-encourage-small-business-formation/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.043231226503849, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}