On the recordJune 9, 2011
I thank the Senator from California, and I thank the Senator from South Dakota also for his indulgence. I will be no more than 10 minutes. I listened to Senator Boxer. This EDA issue is important for job creation. I know when it comes to something such as this, there is a whole array of issues that EDA is involved with in job creation. Just one of them is what EDA does with incubators and accelerators. Last week, I was in Shaker Heights, OH, at a place called the LaunchHouse. It used to be an auto dealership, and there are now 40 entrepreneurs working there. We know EDA investment, public dollar investment, in these incubators pays real dividends. The EDA estimates a $10,000 investment creates 50 or more jobs. We are seeing that in places such as Shaker Heights and Youngstown, one of the best incubators in the country. Athens, OH, is the home of the National Association of Incubators, and they know what that means. Before the Senator from Alaska was presiding, I was in the chair presiding and listening to some of this debate. I am a bit amazed by it. First of all, let's remember a little bit of history. I hear the talking points, apparently distributed to all 47 of the Republican Senators, all coming to the floor and blaming government regulation for every problem known to humankind.…





