KS Democrat and MO Republican team up to pass bill to help veterans start businesses

There are several programs that help veterans start small businesses.

Rep. Mark Alford, a Missouri Republican, rattled some of them off at the Capitol on Wednesday morning: The Boots to Business program, Veterans Business Outreach Centers and the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business program.

“I want to help the SBA to better serve veterans so that the information is there, they can access it and they can properly use it to get going to be a part of the fabric of our districts and part of the fabric of America,” Alford said, referring to the Small Business Administration, a federal agency that provides resources for small companies.

On Tuesday night, the House unanimously passed a bill sponsored by Alford and Rep. Sharice Davids, a Kansas Democrat, that did just that.

The SERV Act, which stands for the Successful Entrepreneurship for Reservists and Veterans Act, will require the Small Business Administration to improve its communication about veterans programs. The bill will also commission a report from the Government Accountability Office — an independent agency that audits government programs — looking into the barriers veterans face when trying to start a small business.

The percentage of veterans starting small businesses has decreased significantly since the 1940s. After World War II, 50% of veterans went on to start their own business. Only 4.5% of the veterans who served after September 11, 2001 did the same.

“The problem is a lot of times people don’t know about it, veterans don’t know,” Davids said. “And so we’re like, the effort here is to just make sure that we’re bringing all of those resources, the information about the resources to light and making sure that there’s kind of like a one stop shop almost for people to be able to find that stuff.”

This is the first bill Davids, who is in her third term, and Alford, who is in his first term, have teamed up on. But they said other bills, including one focused on agriculture, are in the works. Both also serve on the House Agriculture Committee together.

Alford and Davids teamed up on the bill this summer after Alford raised issues with the difficulties veterans face in starting small businesses. Both serve on the House Committee on Small Businesses and said this legislation proves that bipartisan legislation is still possible in Washington.

“I can’t speak to other areas of the country, but I think that people at home really do care about having their their representatives trying to figure out how to work with each other,” Davids said.

Their bill still has to clear the Senate. While Davids has been able to pass versions of this bill before, it hasn’t cleared the full Congress.

This time around, Davids said she hopes to work with Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, to pass the bill in the Senate. Moran serves as the ranking Republican on the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs.

“They don’t see a state line,” Alford said of his constituents. “They’re Americans, and they want help. And that’s what we’re trying to provide, especially to veterans now, so they can help contribute to the rich fabric of the Midwest and of America.”