HARTFORD – On the fourth annual Startup Day Across America, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday released the following statement recognizing the innovation and job-creating prowess of Connecticut’s startups.

“Startups are engines of job creation. With the best and the brightest minds from Yale and UConn, along with our high quality of life and top-performing education system, communities like greater New Haven are attractive landing spots for startups,” said Murphy. “I see my job in Congress as a partner to creating these good-paying jobs—as someone who can help cut through red tape and spur important seed money so entrepreneurs can get on their feet. That’s why I introduced two bipartisan bills to promote angel investing and why I fight so hard for robust federal R&D funding. Today, as we celebrate our state’s entrepreneurial spirit, let’s recommit to supporting these up-and-coming businesses and the good jobs they create.”

Murphy believes entrepreneurship and innovation are building blocks for a strong economy. In the U.S. Senate, he’s introduced two bipartisan pieces of legislation to incentivize angel investors to put more money into startup companies  – the Angel Tax Credit Act and the Helping Angels Lead Our Startups (HALOS) Act. Startup companies create an average of 2 million jobs each year.