Olympia Snowe: “to help start-up small businesses obtain access to capital, today I rise with my colleague Senator Kerry to introduce…”

“to help start-up small businesses obtain access to capital, today I rise with my colleague Senator Kerry to introduce the Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Act of 2006 or ACE Act. Our bill would encourage equity investments in qualified small businesses by providing so-called ``angel investors'' with a tax incentive to fund new small business enterprises. Angel investors are high-net-worth individuals who invest in and support start-up companies in the critical early stages of growth. As Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I meet with prospective entrepreneurs in Maine and across the country and repeatedly hear about their dreams of starting dynamic new businesses. Unfortunately, their hopes can sometimes be dashed when these entrepreneurs encounter barriers to raising the funds they need to get their ``start-up'' enterprises off the ground. For entrepreneurs and other aspiring small business owners, a self-evident truth since the founding of our country is that it takes money to make money. Our legislation makes that goal a little easier for aspiring small business owners by ensuring that our entrepreneurs have access to venture capital and credit markets so they can continue to drive America's economic growth and job creation. Since small businesses represent 99 percent of all employers and create nearly 75 percent of all net new jobs, Congress must do everything within its power to help them grow and thrive.”