Bipartisan Entrepreneurship Caucus

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Bipartisan legislative caucuses in U.S. Congress established to address declining new business formation through coordinated policy development and cross-party collaboration on entrepreneurship issues.
What are the main aims and objectives?

The primary mission of the Bipartisan Entrepreneurship Caucus is to serve as a forum for policy discussions and collaboration to address the most pressing issues facing entrepreneurs throughout the United States; to analyze new business formation trends and form wide-ranging strategies to boost entrepreneurship growth; and to ensure new business ventures continue to create jobs and drive innovation. More specifically, the caucuses aim to address the documented "startup slump"—the significant decline in new business formation rates in America to nearly 40-year lows—by identifying root causes and developing evidence-based policy responses; to reduce regulatory, tax, and capital formation barriers facing entrepreneurs and startups; to improve access to capital and financing for entrepreneurs; to support commercialization of university research; to attract and retain entrepreneurial talent in the United States through immigration reform (including entrepreneur and STEM visas); to promote innovation and economic growth through entrepreneurship; to facilitate information-sharing among legislators, entrepreneurs, academics, and policy experts; and to ensure entrepreneurship policy remains bipartisan and receives sustained congressional attention despite partisan divisions on other issues.

How does the program work?

The Bipartisan Entrepreneurship Caucus operates as an informal bipartisan forum within Congress's legislative structure, functioning through multiple mechanisms to advance entrepreneurship policy:

Policy Development and Analysis:

The caucuses analyze new business formation trends, review regulatory and tax policies affecting entrepreneurship, and develop policy recommendations addressing identified barriers. This analytical work involves consultation with entrepreneurs, academic researchers, business leaders, and economists to identify evidence-based policy solutions.

Legislation Introduction and Advocacy:

Caucus members introduce bipartisan legislation addressing entrepreneurship priorities. Notable examples include the Enhancing Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century Act (2019), directing the Secretary of Commerce to conduct comprehensive study into the startup slump; the Startup Act (multiple versions), addressing commercialization of university research, regulatory improvement, and entrepreneur/STEM visas; and various bills addressing tax reform for startups, capital formation, and regulatory burden reduction.

Education and Awareness Building:

The caucuses hold hearings, roundtables, and events bringing together legislators, entrepreneurs, investors, and policy experts to discuss entrepreneurship challenges and solutions, building congressional awareness of entrepreneurship issues.

Coalition Building:

The caucuses coordinate with other congressional caucuses (Small Business Caucus, others), industry organizations, advocacy groups, and research organizations to amplify entrepreneurship policy voice and coordinate efforts.

Integration into Committee Work:

While caucuses are informal, membership in the Entrepreneurship Caucuses informs members' participation in relevant committees (Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, House Committee on Small Business, tax committees, others) where substantive legislative work occurs.


 

What is the overall cost?

No direct costs. 

How was it implemented?

The Bipartisan Entrepreneurship Caucus emerged from growing recognition among members of Congress from both parties that the declining rate of new business formation (reaching nearly 40-year lows) represented a significant national economic challenge requiring congressional attention. Research and media coverage documenting the "startup slump" created shared concern across party lines that policy responses were necessary.

Multiple senators, including Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tim Scott (R-SC), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Mark Warner (D-VA), and others, had previously introduced bipartisan startup-focused legislation (including various versions of the Startup Act beginning in 2012), building foundation for formal caucus establishment.

The Senate Entrepreneurship Caucus was formally launched on March 6, 2019, co-chaired by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), with initial membership of approximately 15 senators from both parties. The launch reflected recognition that entrepreneurship issues transcended partisan divisions and that formal bipartisan structure would enable more coordinated policy work than individual member efforts.

On October 2, 2019, the House Entrepreneurship Caucus was established, co-chaired by Representatives David Schweikert (R-AZ), French Hill (R-AR), Bill Foster (D-IL), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), and Marc Veasey (D-TX). The House caucus was created seven months after the Senate version, following similar recognition of need for formal bipartisan legislative focus on entrepreneurship.

Shortly after caucus establishment, co-chairs introduced multiple pieces of bipartisan legislation, including the Enhancing Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century Act (introduced November 2019 by Congressman French Hill with six co-chairs), directing Commerce Department study of startup slump causes, and various Startup Act proposals addressing immigration reform, university research commercialization, and regulatory improvement.

What impact has been measured?

Caucus members have introduced multiple bipartisan bills addressing entrepreneurship policy priorities, including comprehensive startup slump studies, Startup Act versions addressing research commercialization and immigrant entrepreneur visas, and tax reform proposals supporting startups.

What lessons can be learned?
  • Entrepreneurship transcends partisan divides as policy priority: The successful formation of formal bipartisan caucuses in both chambers demonstrates that entrepreneurship and startup policy support represents issue area where partisan perspectives can align, suggesting entrepreneurship may represent rare area of genuine bipartisan consensus amid partisan polarization.
  • Congressional caucuses provide formal structure for policy coordination: The creation of formal institutional mechanism (caucuses) for bipartisan entrepreneurship focus enables more coordinated policy work than individual member efforts, suggesting that institutionalizing bipartisan collaboration around shared policy priorities increases legislative effectiveness.
  • Documentation of policy problems enables solutions development: The caucuses' focus on documenting the "startup slump" phenomenon (declining business formation to 40-year lows) and identifying underlying causes (regulatory burden, capital access, tax code provisions, immigration barriers) demonstrates value of problem identification and evidence-based analysis in driving policy solutions.
  • Coordination with advocacy community amplifies policy voice: The caucuses' partnerships with Small Business Majority, SBE Council, Kauffman Foundation, and other advocacy organizations demonstrate that legislative caucuses can amplify policy voice when coordinating with organized advocacy infrastructure.
  • Limited formal legislative power constrains direct impact: Congressional caucuses are informal groups lacking formal legislative authority, committee jurisdiction, or budgetary power, meaning caucus recommendations must be advanced through formal committees to become legislation. This structural limitation constrains caucus ability to directly implement policy despite member enthusiasm.
  • Bill passage remains challenge despite bipartisan support: While Entrepreneurship Caucus members have introduced multiple bipartisan bills (Startup Act versions, Enhancing Entrepreneurship Act, tax reform proposals), passage rates and specific legislative outcomes are not comprehensively documented, suggesting that bipartisan agreement on problems does not automatically translate to legislative success.
  • Caucus longevity depends on member engagement: The effectiveness and continuity of congressional caucuses depend on sustained member engagement and priority, which can change with congressional turnover, election cycles, and shifting priorities.
  • Limited published evaluation constrains optimization: The absence of comprehensive published evaluation analyzing Entrepreneurship Caucus legislative effectiveness, policy outcomes, or comparative impact prevents evidence-based assessment of whether formal caucus structure drives superior outcomes compared to alternative policy coordination mechanisms.
  • Lesson on bipartisan mechanism design: The successful formation and apparent sustainability of bipartisan entrepreneurship caucuses suggests that organizing legislative work around concrete policy challenges (rather than broader ideological frameworks) can facilitate bipartisan collaboration and persistent institutional structures.
  • Startup slump messaging creates urgency: The caucuses' framing of declining business formation as "startup slump" and comparison to "40-year lows" effectively communicated economic challenge urgency to broader congressional membership and public, demonstrating value of clear messaging in policy agenda-setting.
Notes + Additional Context

Formation of the Senate caucus was supported by the Center for American Entrepreneurship (CAE), Economic Innovation Group (EIG), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Majority, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), Main Street Alliance, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, Small Business Investor Alliance, the American Investment Council, and the National Venture Capital Association.

CAE president John Dearie published the essay “New Caucuses in Congress Create Unprecedented Opportunity for American Entrepreneurship”. 

Formation of the House of Representative caucus was supported by the Center for American Entrepreneurship (CAE), Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Innovation Group, the National Venture Capital Association, the Angel Capital Association, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Archbridge Institute, Third Way, Engine, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, the National League of Cities, the Small Business Majority, and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO).

CURATED BY

John Dearie

Founder and President
United States