I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4960 
To require the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an assessment and analysis 
relating to the decline in the business formation rate in the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 31, 2019 
Mr. HILL of Arkansas (for himself, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mrs. 
MURPHY of Florida, Mr. VEASEY, and Mr. CHABOT) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an assess-
ment and analysis relating to the decline in the business 
formation rate in the United States. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Enhancing Entrepre-
neurship for the 21st Century Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Recent research has demonstrated that— 
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(A) new businesses (commonly referred to 
as ‘‘startups’’)— 
(i) are disproportionately responsible 
for the innovations that drive economic 
growth; and 
(ii) account for virtually all net new 
job creation; 
(B) the rate of formation of United States 
businesses has fallen significantly in recent 
years; and 
(C) as determined by widely cited research, 
the decline in the rate described in subpara-
graph (B) is occurring in all 50 States, in all 
but a handful of 360 metro areas examined, 
and across a broad range of industry sectors. 
(2) Before policymakers can identify ways in 
which the decline in the rate described in paragraph 
(1)(B) may be counteracted, the underlying causes 
of the decline must be identified. 
(3) Economists have identified several factors 
that may explain the decline in the rate described in 
paragraph (1)(B), including— 
(A) demographic changes caused by an 
aging workforce and slowing population growth; 
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(B) increased industry concentration that 
may make it more difficult for new market en-
trants to compete with established companies; 
(C) increased risk-aversion following the fi-
nancial crisis and recession that occurred in 
2008 and 2009 and deterioration of household 
balance sheets; 
(D) difficulties relating to access to cap-
ital, particularly difficulties encountered by un-
derserved populations, women, and members of 
minority groups; 
(E) the concentration of venture capital in 
only a few cities; 
(F) record levels of student debt; and 
(G) inefficiencies or other difficulties relat-
ing to the commercialization of federally funded 
research and innovation. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) 
APPROPRIATE
COMMITTEES
OF
CON-
GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con-
gress’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate; and 
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