A legislative effort to boost support for U.S. military veterans pursuing a new chapter as entrepreneurs now heads to the U.S. Senate — buoyed by broad partisan support and championed by two members of Kansas City’s congressional delegation.

The Successful Entrepreneurship for Reservists and Veterans SERV Act successfully passed in the U.S. House of Representatives this week on a voice vote. The bill was introduced by U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, and Mark Alford, R-Missouri.

“Veterans possess many of the entrepreneurial skills needed to start and run a successful small business, but we must do a better job of helping them transition from service to business,” said Davids. “I’m proud to have worked across party and state lines with Rep. Mark Alford, so we can help connect veterans with all the small business resources available to them and better address the barriers veterans entrepreneurs face.”

ICYMI: Davids leads effort to ease re-entry for veterans becoming entrepreneurs

The SERV Act aims to help veteran small business owners and entrepreneurs succeed by studying the barriers faced when starting a business and boosting the outreach and promotion of existing veteran-focused small business programs to ensure they can access all available resources, capital, and credit.

Davids, whose mother served in the U.S. Army for 20 years, originally introduced the legislation in 2019, when it first passed the House with broad bipartisan support.

“While military experience provides transferable entrepreneurial training and skills, the number of veterans starting their own businesses has decreased drastically over the last few decades,” Davids’ Office detailed in a release. “Today, only 4.5 percent of the more than 3.6 million veterans who have served since September 11, 2001 have launched a company. In contrast, the number of World War II and Korean War veterans who went on to operate a business was 50 and 40 percent, respectively.”

Reasons for the decline include challenges accessing credit, transitioning to civilian life, and overcoming stigmas around physical disabilities and post-traumatic stress disorder, Davids said.

The newly passed House legislation: 

• Commissions a Government Accountability Office report on veteran small business owners’ access to capital; 

• Requires the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development to develop an outreach plan for programs veterans can access as they transition to business world and civilian life, like SBA’s Boots to Business program; and 
• Requires the Task Force to report annually to Congress on its appointments and outreach plan.

Alford saluted the work of Davids and Navy Lt. Cmdr. Taylor Burks, a Missouri veteran, for their work in identifying an improved strategy for aiding veteran-owned small businesses. Burks, a fellow Republican who Alford defeated in the race for Missouri’s 4th congressional district in 2022, testified to Congress in March on better supporting veterans-turned-entrepreneurs.

“One of the biggest barriers for entrepreneurs, especially for our veterans, is accessing capital,” said Alford. “It is a critical component when starting a business and one of the biggest challenges throughout a small business’s lifespan. Our veterans have given their all in service to our country, and it’s only right that we, in return, support them when they come home. We stand with our veterans and will work non-stop to ensure that this becomes law.”

The SERV Act now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration.