Over the next few months, Joint Economic Committee Democrats will highlight cutting-edge policy solutions that empower small towns and rural communities across the nation. Starting a new business is often not simple; it can involve high start-up capital costs and risk. Most entrepreneurs have limited resources and must seek capital from outside sources. Access to this start-up capital, however, is a primary obstacle to those wishing to start a business. This is all the more true in underserved and rural communities.

Congress should also build on current models — including SCORE and mentor-protégé programs — that leverage private-sector expertise to boost entrepreneurship. These models, complemented by culturally competent skills training, have made a big difference in New Mexico and can make an even bigger impact with strong backing from Congress.

Growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is often held up as the primary measure for the health of the economy. But with widening income gaps, it is increasingly less representative of what most American households are experiencing. For example, between 2003 and 2005, real GDP growth was 3 percent or greater each year. But during that span, average income for half of Americans fell. To better measure what households are actually experiencing, Senator Martin Heinrich, JEC Ranking Member, joined Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to introduce a bill that would require the Bureau of Economic Analysis to report on how income is growing across the economic ladder.