{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://davids.house.gov/media/press-releases/davids-ks-03-alford-mo-04-introduce-bipartisan-bill-support-veteran", "Davids (KS-03), Alford (MO-04) Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Support Veteran Entrepreneurs", "2023-07-10", "2023", "2023-07", "Democrat", "House", "KS", "Sharice Davids", "D000629", "davids.house.gov", "davids", "https://davids.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Today, Representatives Sharice Davids (D-KS-03) and Mark Alford (R-MO-04) reintroduced the SERV Act, bipartisan legislation to help veteran small business owners and entrepreneurs succeed by studying the barriers faced when starting a business. The bill also commissions a report on the outreach and promotion of existing veteran-focused small business programs to ensure veterans can access all available resources, capital, and credit. Davids, whose mother served in the U.S. Army for 20 years, originally introduced the legislation in 2019, when it passed the House with broad bipartisan support.\n\n\u201cBecause of their sense of service and dedication, there are few people better situated to become entrepreneurs than our nation\u2019s veterans, but they face far too many obstacles when starting their business,\u201d said Davids. \u201cWe must do a better job setting Kansas City area veterans up for success, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m honored to lead the SERV Act alongside Representative Alford. Our bill is a crucial step in identifying solutions so veterans can thrive, take care of their families, and contribute to our local economy.\"\n\n\u201cAs members of Congress, we have the duty to protect and support our nation\u2019s veterans,\u201d said Representative Mark Alford (MO-04). \u201cEarlier this year, it was my distinct pleasure to have Taylor Burks at the Small Business Committee hearing. We heard from him how the Committee and Small Business Administration can better serve those who served this nation. This bill is our first step in doing that. It is a win for our districts, a win for veterans, and a win for our country. I am proud to co-lead the SERV Act with my colleague Rep. Davids who represents our neighboring district to promote veteran entrepreneurship.\u201d\n\nWhile military experience provides transferable entrepreneurial training and skills, the number of veterans starting their own business has decreased drastically over the last few decades. Today, only 4.5 percent of the more than 3.6 million veterans who have served since September 11, 2001 have launched a company. In contrast, the number of World War II and Korean War veterans who went on to operate a business was 50 and 40 percent, respectively. Reasons for this decline include challenges accessing credit, transitioning to civilian life, and overcoming stigmas around physical disabilities and post-traumatic stress disorder.\n\nTo improve accessibility to resources available for veteran small business owners, the Successful Entrepreneurship for Reservists and Veterans Act, or SERV Act:\n\nCommissions a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the ability of veteran and reservist small business owners to access credit.\n\nThis includes a new analysis on common sources of credit and how deployment and other military responsibilities affect veterans' and reservists' credit.\n\nRequires the U.S. Small Business Administration\u2019s Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development to develop an action plan for outreach and promotion of the many programs available to veterans looking to transition into the business world.\n\nRequires the task force to report annually to Congress on its appointments and outline its plan for outreach on the many programs available to veterans, service-disabled veterans, reservists, and their spouses.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:18:03Z"]], "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://davids.house.gov/media/press-releases/davids-ks-03-alford-mo-04-introduce-bipartisan-bill-support-veteran"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.286809030920267, "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"}