Empowering the Innovation Economy

Ever-changing technology, trade patterns, and career paths have created new opportunities and flexibilities for workers, entrepreneurs, and innovators of all sizes and from all sectors.   Our citizens and our businesses have been adapting, changing and modernizing far faster than the federal government, and I am working to bring flexibility and modernization to Washington, DC, so that government is an asset, not a hindrance.

I’ve been working since I entered the Senate to incentivize high-quality apprenticeship programs, which have proven extremely successful in South Carolina, and my Modern Worker Empowerment Act would facilitate innovative business models by adopting a commonsense worker classification standard across different federal laws. The bipartisan SKILLS RENEWAL Act could be a game-changer for workforce development programs, as it would create a flexible skills training credit to give Americans ownership over their upskilling and reskilling pathways. Through bills like the Helping Gig Economy Workers Act, which I helped to introduce, I have also begun working with my colleagues to increase access to benefits for independent contractors in a market-driven manner. We can build on these proposals to unleash innovation and empower workers across our economy.

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