H. Res. 699

In the House of Representatives, U.S., 

June 7, 2006.

Whereas according to the Department of Labor, most of the 

new jobs created throughout the United States in the 

past decade have come from the creative efforts of entrepreneurs and small businesses, which have been expanding and advancing technology and fueling the recent 

growth in the economy; 

Whereas entrepreneurs have been the source of economic innovation throughout the history of the Nation, and the 

entire society has been improved because of the new ways 

of doing things that have been brought about by people 

who market their ideas; 

Whereas economically independent entrepreneurs are engaged 

citizens who work to improve the economic environment 

in their local communities, providing better opportunities 

for businesses to operate and a better environment for 

the human resources they need to advance their business 

dreams; 

Whereas 70 percent of high school students want to become 

entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurial skills will assist students in the future regardless of whether they work in a 

business owned by others or run their own business; 
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Whereas the high interest of students in becoming entrepreneurs and the critical role entrepreneurs have played 

in advancing the national economy make it vital for the 

Nation’s schools to provide students with training in the 

skills which will enable them to become the entrepreneurs 

of the future; 

Whereas the Partnership For 21st Century Skills identified 

financial, economic, business literacy, and entrepreneurship skills as the types of skills students must have in 

order to enhance workplace productivity and career options; 

Whereas exposing students to the types of market-driven 

problems faced by entrepreneurs is an excellent example 

of how educators can use problem-based learning strategies to prepare students for the situations they will encounter in the future, an approach recommended by the 

National Council on Competitiveness in its 2004 report 

entitled ‘‘ Innovate America’’; 

Whereas entrepreneurship education provides exactly the type 

of academic engagement of all students promoted by the 

National High School Alliance, based on relevant realworld contexts that build on community assets, allow participation in workplace-based learning, and include performance-based assessments; 

Whereas entrepreneurship education has been shown to be especially effective in closing the achievement gap between 

minority students and others in public schools; 

Whereas students who participate in entrepreneurship education programs have better attendance records, perform 

better on core subjects, and have lower dropout rates 

than those who do not participate in these programs; 
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Whereas successful programs in entrepreneurship education 

have been established in many States, including the public-private partnership program in North Carolina by the 

Center for 21st Century Skills, which helps students acquire the knowledge and skills needed for success in the 

global economy and which has been touted as a national 

model for education in the 21st century; 

Whereas the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has assembled a multidisciplinary panel of distinguished scholars who will evaluate relevant research and review what 

has been learned in the many existing programs on entrepreneurship under way throughout the United States in 

order to provide recommendations for a comprehensive 

approach to teaching entrepreneurship in colleges and 

universities; 

Whereas the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has contributed significant time and resources to create the 

Kauffman Campuses program to make entrepreneurship 

education a common and accessible campus-wide opportunity that is an integral part of the college experience; 

Whereas the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education has 

developed and nurtured a lifelong entrepreneurship education model to encourage students’ awareness of entrepreneurship as a career option throughout their years of 

school and to assist entrepreneurs as they implement 

their entrepreneurial ideas; 

Whereas the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education has 

lead the initiative to broadly define the field of entrepreneurship through 403 performance indicators to guide 

the delivery of entrepreneurship education in support of 

the lifelong learning model; 
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Whereas, through the initiative to observe annually National 

Entrepreneurship Week, the Ewing Marion Kauffman 

Foundation, the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education, and partner organizations promote awareness of 

the contributions of entrepreneurs as innovators, positive 

forces in the economy, and important resources for improving communities as places to live and work; and 

Whereas National Entrepreneurship Week will focus on the 

innovative ways in which entrepreneurship education can 

bring together the core academic, technical, and problem 

solving skills essential for future entrepreneurs and successful workers in future workplaces: Now, therefore, be 

it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) encourages the implementation of entrepreneurship education throughout the United States; 

(2) supports the goals and ideals of National Entrepreneurship Week so that the people of the United 

States are reminded of the contributions of entrepreneurs and so that educators are encouraged to reflect 

on how entrepreneurship education can improve the performance of their students; and 

(3) requests that the President issue a proclamation 

calling on the Federal Government, State and Local governments, schools, nonprofit organization, and others to 

observe National Entrepreneurship Week annually with 
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special events in support of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship education programs.

Attest: 

Clerk.