In response to chronically high unemployment rates among people with disabilities, policy makers have typically focused on training programs, hiring incentives, and similar solutions. A new, bipartisan Senate bill takes a different approach, with provisions to help people with limb loss and other disabilities start their own businesses.
With Disability Employment Awareness Month just around the corner, this timely legislation could help reduce the glaring lack of disabled-owned businesses. According to the 2022 Annual Business Survey, only 3 percent of US businesses are owned by a person with a disability—far below the estimated 15 to 25 percent of the population that actually has a disability.
The Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Reporting Act would direct the Small Business Administration (SBA) to file a report on the challenges and needs that confront entrepreneurs with disabilities when they attempt to start or grow a small business. Introduced by US Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), the bill would require the SBA to enumerate the resources it currently offers entrepreneurs with disabilities, the challenges it faces in meeting the needs of this community, and recommendations for legislation to help SBA better serve entrepreneurs with disabilities.
“We should be doing everything we can to provide Americans with disabilities with the support they need to start and grow small businesses and pursue careers in entrepreneurship,” says Duckworth, who lost both legs in combat during the Iraq War. “By improving our understanding of what entrepreneurs with disabilities need through better reporting, we can make well-informed decisions and enable more of them to make their dreams of starting a business a reality—all while boosting our economy along the way.”
“Entrepreneurship is a vital part of the American dream, but a lack of resources often prevents many Americans with disabilities from owning their own business,” adds Lummis. “Our bipartisan solution will contribute to empowering Americans with disabilities to pursue their passions and realize their dreams of business ownership.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the US disability population has increased, while the number of entrepreneurs with disabilities has decreased. The causes of this decline are poorly understood, due to lack of data. The Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Reporting Act would yield information about the barriers to entrepreneurship that are faced by people with disabilities, as well as policy solutions that could increase opportunities for disabled-owned businesses.
The US House of Representatives has already passed a bill identical to the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Reporting Act. “We worked hard to get it passed through the House, and I’m grateful that Senator Duckworth and Senator Lummis are partnering with us to get it one step closer to the finish line,” says that bill’s sponsor, US Representative Morgan McGarvey (D-KY).
The legislation has been endorsed by the following organizations: Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR), the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD), CCD Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) and Melissa Ortiz, founder of Capability Consulting and former Commissioner of the Administration on Disability at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
