Sen. Moran speaking at a Capital Factory panel entitled, “Supporting Startups to Fuel American Competitiveness.” From left to right, moderator Eugene Sepulveda of Capital Factory, panelists Kansan Jason Tatge with Farmobile, Jeff Farrah with the National Venture Capital Association, Sen. Moran (R-Kan.), Rachel Wolbers with Engine, Ben Johnson with the State Science & Technology Institute, John Dearie with the Center for American Entrepreneurship and Kansan Jason Wiens with the Kauffman Foundation.
OFFICE OF SEN. MORAN
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) visited with entrepreneurs, technology and policy leaders at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas, where he discussed a variety of issues critical to our nation’s innovators, including barriers to starting a business.
“Finding effective and efficient ways for the public and private sectors to work together to advance American innovation should be one of our top priorities, free of partisan politics,” said Sen. Moran.
“I was proud to showcase Kansas’ innovation and success at SXSW again this year, and I will continue to advocate on behalf of Kansas entrepreneurs to advance their ability to bring their ideas to market, create jobs and improve American economic competitiveness.”
Sen. Moran participated in a Capital Factory panel entitled, “Supporting Startups to Fuel American Competitiveness,” with Kansans Jason Wiens from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Jason Tatge from Farmobile.
During the panel discussion, Sen. Moran highlighted provisions in his bipartisan Startup Act legislation that would improve entrepreneurs’ abilities to commercialize technology resulting from federal research and development funds. This bill would modernize the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Regional Innovation Strategies program to bolster capital opportunities to get businesses up and off the ground.
Sen. Moran reiterated his priority to make certain broadband deployment is included in any infrastructure package so that Kansas entrepreneurs in rural areas may compete in the global economy.
Sen. Moran also participated in a panel discussion hosted by Dell Technologies, “Making Government Better with Better Technology,” where he discussed entrepreneurship and technology issues that impact businesses’ abilities to grow and the federal government’s authorities to tap into these types of innovations. Sen. Moran highlighted his bipartisan MGT Act – signed into law last December as part of the NDAA for FY2018 – which reforms the way federal agencies purchase IT systems in an effort to eliminate cybersecurity vulnerabilities while saving taxpayer dollars.
Additionally, Sen. Moran spoke with the Case Foundation’s Vice President of Social Innovation Sarah Koch live on Facebook about ways to reduce barriers when starting new businesses.