Warner introduces bills pushing tech start-ups

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) today introduced bipartisan legislation that would update regulatory and tax policies to encourage entrepreneurs and innovators to launch new companies, creating jobs and broadening economic opportunities. Today’s initiative builds upon bipartisan legislation Senator Warner introduced last week that is designed to make it easier for growing companies to access investment capital.

The Start-Up Act, introduced today with U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), speeds-up the transfer of research and technology from university laboratories to the marketplace; modernizes tax policies to encourage longer-term investments of early-stage capital;  reforms visa requirements for foreign-born students earning advanced degrees from U.S. colleges and starting companies based on science, technology, engineering and math; and examines federal policies to identify those regulations which discourage start-up businesses.

“Encouraging early-stage investment in fast-growing, entrepreneurial start-up businesses is one of the best ways to create new jobs,” Senator Warner said. “This legislation includes new tools that will renew the focus on tech start-ups and help unleash the next wave of American entrepreneurs.”

Before entering politics, Sen. Warner played a key role in the development of the U.S. wireless and technology industries. As a business leader, he co-founded the wireless company Nextel and was a founding partner of Columbia Capital, which invested in hundreds of technology start-up companies that created thousands of new jobs.

“Sens. Warner and Moran recognize the important role entrepreneurs play in job creation, and I commend them for working across party lines to improve the environment for entrepreneurs to start and grow their firms,” said  Steve Case, a member of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and a co-founder and the former CEO of AOL. “By increasing access to capital, lowering the tax and regulatory burden on young businesses, and attracting the world’s best and brightest entrepreneurs to the United States, the Startup Act will play an important role in helping to create the next generation of iconic American companies.”

Last week, Sen. Warner also introduced bipartisan legislation to make it easier for small and medium-sized companies to access investment capital. The Reopening American Capital Markets to Emerging Growth Companies Act of 2011, co-sponsored with U.S. Sens. Pat Toomey (R-PA), Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Charles Schumer (D-NY), would reduce hurdles to an initial public offering (IPO) by phasing-in many of the costliest obligations over time while also maintaining key investor protections.

“We need to make it easier for companies to go public because 90% of jobs are created after an IPO,” Sen. Warner said. “When AOL went public, it had 100 employees, and a decade later it had 10,000 employees. We need to make the smart policy choices now that make it less burdensome for start-up companies to grow responsibly and create new jobs.”