Member Corner

Rural America is primed for an entrepreneurial renaissance | Rep. Troy Downing
REP. TROY DOWNING
Billings Gazette

Rural America is primed for an entrepreneurial renaissance. A recent study ranked Montana as the state with the best opportunities for startups. Data from the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the Treasure State boasts a strong 422 startups per 100,000 individuals and a 41% 10-year startup survival rate. Oregon, Nevada, and Utah occupy the next three spots, followed later by Wyoming and Idaho in the sixth and seventh positions. Starting to see a trend?

In contrast, through my own experience as a Montana small business owner, state securities commissioner, and meetings with stakeholders across the state, one sentiment remains constant: access to capital is the single greatest issue facing small businesses in our communities. These concerns are not merely anecdotal. Research shows that 68% of rural small businesses are concerned about their ability to access capital.

So where is the disconnect? While Montana’s startup success is undoubtedly a testament to the resilience of rural job creators and the state’s pro-business policies, it seems counterintuitive that individuals from such startup-friendly parts of the country would report facing difficulty accessing the funding they need to grow.

I introduced the Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act to get answers for Montana’s innovators and small businesses.

My bipartisan bill directs the SEC’s Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to specifically consider the unique challenges faced by rural entrepreneurs and detail these challenges in its annual report to Congress. By improving how the agency gathers feedback, we can help more businesses go and stay public, driving job creation and economic growth at home and across our nation.

Today, the number of public companies in the U.S. is half of what it was in the 1990s. Unreasonable regulations, high compliance costs, and a one-size-fits-all approach to capital markets have made going public a pipe dream for many businesses. My bill will reverse that trend by ensuring our financial regulatory policies don’t just work for Wall Street, but for Main Street as well.

If we want to capitalize on the raw potential of rural America, we must start by listening to the people who live and work here. My bill takes a big step in that direction by supporting rural entrepreneurs, encouraging investment, and ensuring that Montana’s voice is heard in Washington.