Congressman Troy Carter Centers Equity in Economic Development with Introduction of the NEW START Act of 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Congressman Troy A. Carter Sr. introduced the Necessary Entrepreneurship Workshops via the SBA to Transform and Assist Re-Entry Training Act of 2021, or the NEW START Act of 2021. This legislation would expand entrepreneurship opportunities for the formerly incarcerated to reduce recidivism and provide economic stability as they rejoin the economy.

An estimated 60 percent of formerly incarcerated individuals are still unemployed a year after their release, and as a group they experience an unemployment rate higher than total unemployment during the Great Depression. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, maintaining stable employment after release lowers the likelihood that individuals will return to prison, promoting public safety and saving public dollars.

“The formerly incarcerated already face significant barriers to re-entering the workforce and can feel utterly locked out of the labor market,” said Congressman Carter. “Especially as our economy continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to jump at the chance to help get people back to work and back on their feet. Entrepreneurship should be one of the tools that returning citizens have access to as they re-enter society. Support in starting a business can help people overcome barriers and may dramatically lower recidivism rates. The NEW START Act of 2021 is a path forward for people to rejoin the greater community and for our nation to achieve a more equitable economic recovery.”

Specifically, the NEW START Act of 2021:

• Establishes a five-year pilot reentry program within the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide entrepreneurial development training to formerly incarcerated individuals.
• Requires the SBA Administrator to award annual grants over a five-year period to at least six geographically diverse organizations or partnerships of organizations, to deliver business counseling to formerly incarcerated individuals.
  • The organizations must demonstrate ties with the business and returning citizen communities.
• In addition, organizations are required to partner with lenders in the existing SBA Microloan Program who will provide microloans (up to $50,000) to qualifying participants. This program is not intended to supplant or take away from the traditional Microloan Program and the SBA does not guarantee microloans.
• Requires several reports on the effectiveness, overall performance, and impact of the program on grant recipients.

This legislation mirrors the 2019 Senate bill from Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee.

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