2025 Year-In-Review

Happy New Year!  We hope everyone had a wonderful and restful holiday season with family and friends.

2025 was a very busy year for CAE on all fronts — indeed, our most active and impactful year to date.  The Year-and-Review below provides a summary of our major activities and achievements, with hotlinks to relevant letters, Op/Eds, and other documents.

2026 promises to be another very busy year, with many opportunities for important work and progress on behalf of American entrepreneurs.  Key issues include the Senate’s effort to expand access to capital following passage by the House on December 11^th of the INVEST Act; re-authorization of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which expired on September 30^th; the implications of AI for entrepreneurship; strengthening America’s workforce to meet the needs of entrepreneurs and startup employees in the AI era; more coherent and meaningful regulatory reform following DOGE; and – we hope – high-skilled immigration reform.

CAE will be active on each issue.

Thank you for being an important part of CAE’s work on behalf of American entrepreneurs and startups.  Happy to answer any questions — and best wishes for a great 2026!

• January 5, 2025 – CAE and six other innovation-focused organizations – the Advanced Medical Technology Association, the Angel Capital Association, Carta, Engine, the National Venture Capital Association, and Technology Councils of North America – form a tax policy advocacy coalition called the Innovator Alliance.  Many of the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) are set to expire at the end of 2025, and Alliance members are aware the incoming Administration will focus on making those provisions permanent, and will likely consider other tax policy changes important to American startups.  The Innovator Alliance launches a website outlining tax policies critical to American innovation and entrepreneurship.
• January 8, 2025 – CAE joins Innovator Alliance colleague organizations in letter to President-elect Trump outlining the importance of tax policies that promote and support American entrepreneurship.
• February 12, 2025 – CAE joins 38 other organizations in letter to the leadership of the House Judiciary Committee expressing support for the use of the Congressional Review Act to overturn the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recently revised pre-merger notification rules.  The letter argues that the revised notification rules violate the Administrative Procedures Act and are unnecessarily burdensome.
• February 18, 2025 – CAE publishes the Op/Ed “New Report Demonstrates Need for the Small Business Technological Advancement Act” by CAE president John Dearie.
• March 19, 2025 – CEA president John Dearie issues a statement urging President Trump to reconsider his March 14, 2025 Executive Order, “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” which effectively eliminates the non-statutory functions of the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund and the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).
• March 20, 2025 – CAE joins 20 other new and small business advocacy organizations in a letter to President Donald Trump and Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, urging reconsideration of the March 14, 2025 Executive Order.
• April 8, 2025 – CAE releases new report on “State of Small Business in Pennsylvania” conducted by Common Good Labs.
• May 2, 2025 – CAE’s Entrepreneurs Council conducts its first in-person gathering in St. Helena, CA.
• May 6, 2025 – CAE, in collaboration with Corporate Advisory Council Members Meta and gener8tor, conducts a roundtable with 15 AI-focused startups in Houston, TX.  CAE drafts a memo reporting on the major insights and take-aways from the discussion and sends to the legislative directors of the entire Texas Congressional delegation.
• May 9, 2025 – CAE publishes the Op/Ed “Don’t Abandon Trade, Mr. President – Modernize Economic Adjustment Assistance” by CAE president John Dearie and CAE Advisory Council member Bob Litan.
• May 13, 2025 – CAE president John Dearie joins 40 other innovation organization leaders in a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees urging continued support for the Tech Hubs program to ensure that regions across the country can build globally competitive ecosystems in critical technology sectors. Specifically, the letter calls on Congress to appropriate at least $250 million in FY26 of authorized funding for this critical initiative — in addition to the Advanced Wireless Services auction proceeds already dedicated to the program, as authorized by the National Defense Authorization Act for FY25.
• May 13, 2025 – CAE president John Dearie joins 28 other innovation organization leaders in a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees urging Congress to fully appropriate the EDA Workforce Training Grants and State Grant Pilot Program at $50 million for FY26, as authorized at the end of last session under the bipartisan EDA reauthorization.  The investments will support employer-driven efforts to close skill gaps and connect more Americans to good jobs in in-demand industries.
• June 17, 2025 – CAE, along with other founding members of the Innovator Alliance, send a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) expressing support for passage of the Senate amendment to H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
• June 25, 2025 – CAE joins nine other innovation organizations in a letter to House and Senate leadership urging Congressional support for pro-innovation tax policies and the full funding of federal innovation and research and development programs, including the National Science Foundation research grants, DARPA, the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, NIST, ARPA-H, and the Regional Tech Hubs program authorized by the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act.
• July 1, 2025 – CAE, along with other founding members of the Innovator Alliance, send a letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) expressing support for passage of H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” as amended.
• July 4, 2025 – President Trump signs the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act into law after narrow passage in both the House and Senate.  The bill includes three of the four objectives of the Innovator Alliance, co-founded by CAE: 1) restoration of first-year expensing of R&D investment, which was changed in by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017; 2) enhanced favorable tax treatment of qualified small business stock (QSBS); and, 3) continued favorable treatment of carried interest.  With Innovator Alliance colleagues, CAE participated in more than a dozen in-person and virtual briefings of key staff of the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee, which are the tax-writing Committees of Congress.
• July 22, 2025: Following three years of complex advocacy by CAE, the House Financial Services Committee passes the Improving Capital Allocation for Newcomers Act by a strong bipartisan vote of 50-2.  The bill, based on a proposal by CAE, will raise the size of permitted investment funds and double the number of permitted investors, significantly reducing the size of the average investment and, therefore, facilitating the participation of more accredited women and investors of color in funds that invest in startups.  A more diverse investor base will expand access to capital for a more diverse array of startups, including more women founders and entrepreneurs of color.
• August 6, 2025 – CAE joins nine other innovation-focused organizations in a letter to Paul Dabber, congratulating him on his confirmation as Deputy Secretary of Commerce, and urging his and the Department’s support for full funding and implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act, including the Tech Hubs program.
• August 27, 2025 – CAE joins the Advanced Medical Technology Association, the Angel Capital Association, Carta, the Medical Device Manufacturing Association (MDMA), and the Technology Councils of North America (TECNA) in a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate Small Business Committees urging re-authorization of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which expire on September 1^st.
• September 2, 2025 – CAE president John Dearie is quoted extensively in a Newsweek article, “Early-Stage Startups Leverage AI for Productivity, Growth, and Hiring” by Adam Mills, the magazine’s AI editor, on the importance and impact of artificial intelligence on American entrepreneurship.
• September 11, 2025 – CAE, in collaboration with Corporate Advisory Council Members Meta and gener8tor, conducts a roundtable with 15 AI-focused startups in Atlanta, GA.  CAE drafts a memo reporting on the major insights and take-aways from the discussion and sends to the legislative directors of the entire Georgia Congressional delegation.
• September 17-18, 2025 – CAE conducts its 2025 meeting of the board.  Policymaker guests include: Josh Carter, Associate Administrator of the Small Business Administration and Head of the Office of Investment and Innovation; Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), Vice Chair for Innovation of the New Democrat Coalition; and Senator Todd Young (R-IN).
• September 24, 2025 – CAE, in collaboration with Corporate Advisory Council Members Meta and gener8tor, conducts a roundtable with AI-focused startups in Miami, FL.
• October 21, 2025 – CAE sends a letter to President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick urging them to consider exempting new and small businesses younger than ten years of age and with gross assets of $75 million or less from a new $100,000 fee on H-1B visas announced by President Trump in a September 19, 2025 proclamation.  The letter – written and organized by CAE – is also signed by Engine, Mass Technology Leadership Council, National Venture Capital Association, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Technology Councils of North America.
• October 24, 2025 – CAE, in collaboration with Corporate Advisory Council Members Meta and gener8tor, conducts a roundtable with 21 AI-focused startups in Milwaukee, WI.  CAE drafts a memo reporting on the major insights and take-aways from the discussion and sends to the legislative directors of the entire Wisconsin Congressional delegation.
• November 13, 2025 – CAE helps convene and participates in a roundtable event hosted by the Idea Village in New Orleans, LA regarding the newly released report “Advancing Regional Innovation Economies: Mapping the Momentum of America’s Top Entrepreneurial Regions.”  The report, produced by the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center in Palo Alto, CA, documents the latest phase of a four-year initiative called Advancing Regional Innovation Economics (ARIE), which maps the factors and conditions that contribute to equitable access to entrepreneurship-led economic development.  CAE drafts a memo reporting on the major insights and take-aways from the discussion and sends to the legislative directors of the entire Louisiana Congressional delegation.
• December 11, 2025 – The House of Representatives passes the INVEST (“Incentivizing New Ventures and Economic Strength Through Capital Formation”) Act in a strongly bipartisan vote of 302-123.  The legislation — comprised of 22 individual bills passed out of the House Financial Services Committee on a bipartisan basis in July — will significantly improve access to capital for American startups by: 1) strengthening and modernizing public capital markets; 2) expanding access to capital alternatives for new and small businesses; 3) facilitating access to capital beyond the coastal innovation hubs; and, 4) broadening opportunities for more Americans to participate in and support the innovation economy as investors.  Passage of the Act is the culmination of three years of work by CAE and our colleague organizations in the Innovator Alliance.