National Entrepreneurship Month, 2015

Proclamation 9359 of October 29, 2015

National Entrepreneurship Month, 2015

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Since our Nation's founding, our progress has been
fueled by an inherent sense of purpose and ingenuity in
our people. Americans have more opportunities now than
ever before to carry forward this legacy--to create
something, to raise capital in creative ways, and to
pursue aspirations. During National Entrepreneurship
Month, we revisit our roots as a country of dreamers
and doers, and we celebrate and support the next
generation of American entrepreneurs.

Bold ideas demand bold progress, and my Administration
is committed to ensuring ours is a country that
encourages and supports those willing to take risks and
pioneer innovation. The Affordable Care Act is opening
doors of opportunity for America's aspiring
entrepreneurs, enabling them to find affordable health
insurance through the marketplace and providing them
the flexibility they need to steer their own journey
forward. To further provide economic security for those
seeking to start a business or market their invention,
I have signed 18 tax cuts for small businesses since
taking office. I also remain committed to net
neutrality, because we do not want to lose the
Internet's potential to empower innovative startups and
unleash the breakthroughs of tomorrow.

In keeping with our goal of fostering economic growth
through private-sector collaboration, the Federal
Government is accelerating the movement of new
technologies from the laboratory to the marketplace,
increasing access to research awards for small
businesses, making more data open to the public, and
catalyzing new industry partnerships in critical fields
such as advanced manufacturing and clean energy. And
earlier this year, I signed an Executive Order to make
the Presidential Innovation Fellows program a permanent
component of the Federal Government. This program will
bring entrepreneurs, executives, technologists, and
other innovators to Washington and help reinvigorate
how our Government serves our citizenry.

My Administration is also continuing to expand access
to capital, connect mentors, cut red tape, and
accelerate innovation through the Startup America
initiative. This summer, we hosted the first-ever White
House Demo Day, where startup founders of many
backgrounds and from many corners of our country came
together to showcase their innovations and where we
announced major new commitments from investors,
companies, universities, and cities to promote
inclusive entrepreneurship. And because we understand
that jobs in technology that go unfilled are missed
opportunities for American workers to find better,
higher-earning jobs and for businesses to recruit the
talent needed to start and expand in the United States,
we launched TechHire. This initiative works with
communities and employers on innovative training and
placement programs to connect trained workers with
entrepreneurial opportunities and well-paying jobs. As
we work to secure America's status as the best place on
the planet to generate sweeping innovation, we must
continue to make it easier for startup hotbeds to
emerge across our Nation and for those underrepresented
in entrepreneurship to contribute their individual
ideas and talents to our collective success.

Fostering a spirit of innovation is important not just
for entrepreneurs in the United States, but for
consumers and people hoping to start their own
businesses around the world. Entrepreneurship builds
stronger and more secure communities, empowering people
of every gender, race, and background. That is why,
this summer, we hosted the 6th annual Global
Entrepreneurship Summit in Kenya, a gathering that
brought attention to the extraordinary potential and
dynamism of Africa, and where we expanded our
commitment to supporting entrepreneurs--including young
people and women. To spur greater economic growth and
set higher standards for trade and investment across
the globe, we continue to work toward ensuring the
success of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade pact
that opens doors to new markets for American
entrepreneurs and allows them to compete in more
economies.

I have also taken action to fix our Nation's broken
immigration system, including measures to encourage
more immigrant entrepreneurs to come to America, create
jobs, contribute to our economy, and use their talents
to help drive our country's progress. The White House
Task Force on New Americans is working to highlight the
contributions of immigrants and refugees who start a
business, and because immigrants are more likely than
non-immigrants to start a business, the Task Force is
engaging communities to provide these new American
entrepreneurs with the tools they need to grow and
expand their enterprises.

Ensuring our economy works better for everyone means
enabling all our people to make of their lives what
they will. By supporting entrepreneurs, we can help
ensure our daughters and sons are able to do whatever
they set out to accomplish and achieve their highest
aspirations. As we celebrate National Entrepreneurship
Month and Global Entrepreneurship Week, let us recommit
to upholding our founding promise: that no matter who
you are or where you come from, with talent, hard work,
and dedication, you can make it if you try.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim November 2015 as
National Entrepreneurship Month. I call upon all
Americans to commemorate this month with appropriate
programs and activities, and to celebrate November 17,
2015, as National Entrepreneurs' Day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord
two thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and fortieth.