Committee on Small Business: 2021 Member Day Hearing
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A Government Publishing Office print of the Committee on Small Business: 2021 Member Day Hearing before the Committee on Small Business of the United States House of Representatives, on June 29, 2021, Small Business Committee Document Number 117-022. The contents list opening statements by Hon. Nydia Velazquez and Hon. Blaine Luetkemeyer, with Hon. Earl Blumenauer and Hon. Ed Case as witnesses. In the opening remarks, Chairwoman Velazquez says Congress provided over $1 trillion in relief through bipartisan work by the Committee. The record shows the Committee was adjourned at 10:18 a.m.
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[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS: 2021 MEMBER
DAY HEARING
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
UNITED STATES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
HEARING HELD
JUNE 29, 2021
__________
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Small Business Committee Document Number 117-022
Available via the GPO Website: www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
44-924 WASHINGTON : 2021
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HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
NYDIA VELAZQUEZ, New York, Chairwoman
JARED GOLDEN, Maine
JASON CROW, Colorado
SHARICE DAVIDS, Kansas
KWEISI MFUME, Maryland
DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota
MARIE NEWMAN, Illinois
CAROLYN BOURDEAUX, Georgia
TROY CARTER, Louisiana
JUDY CHU, California
DWIGHT EVANS, Pennsylvania
ANTONIO DELGADO, New York
CHRISSY HOULAHAN, Pennsylvania
ANDY KIM, New Jersey
ANGIE CRAIG, Minnesota
BLAINE LUETKEMEYER, Missouri, Ranking Member
ROGER WILLIAMS, Texas
JIM HAGEDORN, Minnesota
PETE STAUBER, Minnesota
DAN MEUSER, Pennsylvania
CLAUDIA TENNEY, New York
ANDREW GARBARINO, New York
YOUNG KIM, California
BETH VAN DUYNE, Texas
BYRON DONALDS, Florida
MARIA SALAZAR, Florida
SCOTT FITZGERALD, Wisconsin
Melissa Jung, Majority Staff Director
Ellen Harrington, Majority Deputy Staff Director
David Planning, Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
OPENING STATEMENTS
Page
Hon. Nydia Velazquez............................................. 1
Hon. Blaine Luetkemeyer.......................................... 2
WITNESSES
Hon. Earl Blumenauer, United States House of Representatives,
Washington, DC................................................. 3
Hon. Ed Case, United States House of Representatives, Washington,
DC............................................................. 5
APPENDIX
Prepared Statements:
Hon. Earl Blumenauer, United States House of Representatives,
Washington, DC............................................. 8
Hon. Ed Case, United States House of Representatives,
Washington, DC............................................. 10
Questions for the Record:
None.
Answers for the Record:
None.
Additional Material for the Record:
Statement of Hon. Glenn "GT" Thompson........................ 13
Statement of Hon. Linda T. Sanchez........................... 15
MEMBER DAY HEARING
----------
TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021
House of Representatives,
Committee on Small Business,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:00 a.m., in Room
2360, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Nydia Velazquez
[chairwoman of the Committee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Velazquez, Newman, Carter,
Delgado, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Luetkemeyer, Williams, and
Donalds.
Also Present: Representatives Blumenauer, and Case.
Chairwoman VELAZQUEZ. Good morning. I call this hearing to
order.
Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a
recess at any time.
I thank everyone for joining us this morning and I want to
especially thank my colleagues for joining us today for the
House Committee on Small Business Member Day Hearing.
Let me begin by saying that standing House and Committee
rules and practice will continue to apply during hybrid
proceedings. All Members are reminded that they are expected to
adhere to these standing rules including decorum.
House regulations require Members to be visible through a
video connection throughout the proceeding, so please keep your
cameras on. If you participate in another proceeding, please
exit this one and log back in later.
In the event a Member encounters technical issues that
prevent them from being recognized for their questioning, I
will move to the next available Member of the same party and I
will recognize that Member at the next appropriate time slot
provided they have returned to the proceeding.
For those Members and staff physically present in the
Committee room today, we will continue to follow the most
recent OAP guidance. Masks are no longer required in our
meeting space for Members and staff who have been fully
vaccinated. All Members and staff who have not been fully
vaccinated are still required to wear masks and socially
distance. I sincerely hope we all do our part to protect each
other and our staff.
Today is a chance for the Committee to hear directly from
our fellow Members of Congress about their priorities for
supporting programs and policies that promote small business
creation and growth. Last year was a pivotal moment across our
country that we all experienced and still are because the
pandemic is not over. Our nation's entrepreneurs closed more
doors in 2020 than in any other year on record, but Congress
was able to save many due to bipartisan work by this Committee
to provide over $1 trillion in relief. It is easy to focus on
the problems and frustrations we have all experienced, but I
want to remind everyone today about all the good we have
accomplished for main street nonprofits and families. That $1
trillion funding was more aid in 1 year for struggling
entrepreneurs than in any other year on record and the SBA rose
to the occasion in distributing it.
Every Member in Congress has a small business in their
district that has been impacted by our work, both COVID and
non-COVID related. I know that when we travel back to our
districts, we are eager to hear from our local small business
owners to understand what policies are working for them and
what we can improve on.
For the Members testifying here today, I know that you have
been gathering feedback from main street businesses in your
district and I am eager to hear more throughout this hearing.
Besides our work on relief programs, this Committee's
mission is to open the lucrative federal marketplace to
entrepreneurs, strengthen capital markets for all small
employers, and give small firms the tools they need to take
care of their employees and build their companies.
We do so while working together. Our Committee has a long
history of bipartisanship because we all agree that small
businesses truly are the backbone of our economy at the end of
the day. They are what unifies us in our work and they hold our
communities together. We saw that firsthand last year. Today,
we have the chance to engage in an open dialogue on how we can
collaborate to support small firms.
Thank you to all the Members for being with us today. I
look forward to our discussion and to working with you to
foster an environment that promotes entrepreneurship and job
creation in communities across the country.
I would now like to yield to the Ranking Member, Mr.
Luetkemeyer, for his opening statement.
Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Thank you, Madam Chair, for holding this
member hearing today and to the gentlemen who are with us this
morning, the members.
Throughout this Congress, members have heard from numerous
constituent small business owners and job creators in a
prioritized legislation to support the small business recovery.
I am proud of the work this Committee has been able to achieve
on a bipartisan basis such as the Paycheck Protection Program
Extension Act, and I look forward to continuing our work
together to empower small businesses and Main Street America in
the recovery.
COVID-19 devastated small businesses, and through no fault
of their own, many were forced to close their doors due to
overreaching state and local shutdown measures and altered
capacity restrictions. As a response, Congress created numerous
small business relief programs to provide much needed
assistance to Main Street USA.
Many of these programs, like the Paycheck Protection
Program, have successfully assisted millions of small
businesses providing billions of dollars in assistance. As
small businesses continue to recover, we must ensure they
return to operating independently. Prior to the pandemic, small
businesses were reporting historic levels of optimism and
confidence that resulted from President Trump's pro-growth
policies of a low tax environment combined with efficient and
pragmatic regulations.
It remains clear that Congress has a lot of work ahead of
it when it comes to the small business economy. Small
businesses are currently facing labor shortages, rising cost of
goods, inflation, and fears of increased taxes and burdensome
government mandates. From ensuring that the smallest firms can
employ workers, to providing necessary agency oversight to
protect taxpayer dollars, I know we will be busy in the months
and years ahead.
Thank you to the members who have joined us today. I look
forward to our continued work to ensure our Nation's small
business environment which is rich in opportunities for growth.
Thank you, Madam Chair, and I yield back.
Chairwoman VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Luetkemeyer. The
gentleman yields back.
I would like to take a moment to explain how this hearing
will proceed. You will have 5 minutes to provide a statement
and each Committee Member will have 5 minutes for questions.
Please ensure that your microphone is on when you begin
speaking and that you return to mute when finished.
I will begin by introducing our panel before we move to
testimony.
With that, I would like to introduce our first witness,
Congressman Earl Blumenauer, who represents the 3rd District of
Oregon. Congressman Blumenauer is a tireless advocate for
Portland and its surrounding communities. He is known in the
halls of the Capitol as a consensus builder and that is evident
from his work on the Restaurant Revitalization Program, a
critical relief program that has helped thousands of restaurant
owners keep their doors open. Thank you for your hard work and
I welcome you, sir. You have 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF HON. EARL BLUMENAUER, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, WASHINGTON, DC
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I deeply
appreciate the opportunity to be with you here today.
Small businesses in my community and across the country
have been saved because of the work that you and this Committee
have done. Congress, and indeed the country, owes you a debt of
gratitude. But you know well that the work is far from over.
As primary author of the RESTAURANTS Act, we generated
legislation to deal with the fact that the PPP, which made such
a difference for so many was ill-suited for restaurants, who
did not even know if they were going to be open in 8 weeks and
certainly did not need to pile on more debt under these
circumstances.
As primary author of the Restaurants Act, I created the
Small Business Administration's Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
I am testifying before you today about the urgent need to
replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund to allow all
eligible applicants to receive relief.
It was clear from the beginning of the pandemic that
restaurants, bars, caterers, would be some of the hardest hit
businesses of any sector. In April of 2020, 5.5 million
restaurant workers lost their jobs, accounting for more than a
quarter of the total job losses for the month. Indoor dining
restrictions, limited capacity, and the public's personal
health concern further prolonged the restaurants' challenges.
It was estimated that we could see 80 or 85 percent of
restaurants go out of business permanently without Federal
assistance.
I introduced the RESTAURANTS Act in June 2020 and worked
with both Republican and Democratic colleagues to build a
coalition of support for the $120 billion Restaurant
Revitalization Fund contained in the legislation. An
independent analysis found that the fund would generate more
than a 2-to-1 return on the investment and bring back millions
of lost jobs.
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund was finally enacted as
part of the American Rescue Plan and it provided $28.6 billion
for restaurants, bars, and caterers. The Small Business
Administration opened the Restaurant Revitalization Fund on May
3rd and received an unprecedented level of applications from
small restaurants, bars, and caterers. Within days, the
Restaurant Revitalization Fund had received more than 362,000
applications with a total of $75 billion in funding requested,
nearly triple the available funding.
The Small Business Administration was forced to close the
program to new applicants on May 24th, citing insufficient
funding from Congress. Essentially, it was done in a matter of
days. While approximately 100,000 restaurants, bars, and
caterers have received $27.5 billion in funding, there are
hundreds of thousands of restaurants and millions of employees
whose future hinges on this Committee's ability to replenish
the fund.
I have introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to
replenish it with $60 billion in additional aid, enough to
cover all outstanding applications and allow the Small Business
Administration to continue its outreach to hard-to-reach
communities.
In fewer than 2 weeks, the legislation has already garnered
160 bipartisan cosponsors. It has broad support from every link
in the trillion dollar restaurant supply chain. There is
nothing more central to our communities, large and small, than
their local restaurants. From first-time jobholders to
classically trained chefs, restaurants support an array of
workers at every stage of their career. They are integral to
each of our congressional districts and they are still hurting.
One or 2 good months is not going to make up for more than a
year of losses or protect those jobs. It is critical that this
Committee quickly come together to replenish the Restaurant
Revitalization Fund. Without it, many of our beloved
institutions will be lost forever.
Thank you for your courtesy and permitting me to make that
case, and I look forward to working with you as we build upon
your prior success.
Chairwoman VELAZQUEZ. Thank you. Thank you for taking time
and thank you for all the great work that you have done to
assist and provide relief to small businesses in our country.
Now, I would like to introduce our second witness,
Congressman Ed Case, who proudly represents Hawaii's 1st
Congressional District. Mr. Case was born and raised in Hilo.
His great-grandparents on his father's side immigrated to
Hawaii in 1896 from Kansas, and his family has lived on many of
the state's islands over the generations since. Before joining
Congress, Mr. Case spent 2 decades at the Honolulu law firm of
Carlsmith Ball, where he rose to managing partner. Congressman
Case serves on the Appropriations Committee and I am also proud
to serve with him on the Natural Resource Committee. Welcome,
Congressman case.
STATEMENT OF HON. ED CASE, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, WASHINGTON, DC
Mr. CASE. Thank you so much, Chair Velazquez, Ranking
Member Luetkemeyer, and members of the Committee. Thank you for
that kind introduction. And I am also a proud former member of
this Committee during my prior service in Congress. I have
always enjoyed that privilege.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts with the
Committee on two critical issues: 1) Of course, the continuing
impact of COVID-19 on Hawaii small businesses, and (2) The need
to ensure our small businesses are fully included in our
Nation's recovery, especially in government contracting areas.
Because Hawaii's large industry is tourism and hospitality,
our economy and small businesses have been especially hard hit
by COVID-19 related stay-at-home orders and travel
restrictions. Hawaii's unemployment rate was one of the lowest
in the Nation at 2.6 percent before COVID-19. It quickly peaked
at 23.5 percent during the height of the pandemic and today
Hawaii's employment remains the highest in the Nation at 8.1
percent.
This economic crisis has had a profound impact on our small
businesses which are the lifeblood of my state. Prior to COVID-
19, Hawaii had about 136,000 small businesses, roughly 1
business for every 10 people. Although it is difficult to
pinpoint the exact number of small businesses we lost due to
the pandemic, it has been estimated that well over 1,000
businesses in Hawaii permanently closed during the pandemic.
Sadly, this includes Hawaii's institutions with long roots in
the community like Love's Bakery, Like Like Drive Inn and many
more. This impact would have been significantly worse if it was
not for the decisive action of this Committee. Your hard work
and ingenious work to create new programs like the Paycheck
Protection Program provided a lifeline for thousands of
businesses in Hawaii. I also want to commend the Committee for
remembering our immigrant and underbanked communities in
ensuring they are not being left behind. This has been critical
in Hawaii, a state with unmatched ethnic diversity.
However, segments of small business in Hawaii and
throughout our country were not effectively targeted and still
desperately need additional assistance. These include our
restaurants and live event operators who despite rounds of
Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan
Program assistance need additional funding from the Restaurant
Revitalization Fund and increased access to the Shuttered Venue
Operator's Grant Program. The nearly $80 billion requested by
restaurants from the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization
Fund shows the desperate need of an industry struggling to
recover. Because Hawaii small businesses are some of the most
diverse in the Nation with the majority being minority-owned
businesses, many were approved for Restaurant Revitalization
Fund assistance only to have that funding precipitously halted
by the current court action. We should honor our commitment to
these small businesses and look to pass my colleague,
Congressman Blumenauer's Restaurant Revitalization Fund
Replenishment Act of which I am a co-sponsor.
I have also spoken to many small business owners in the
hospitality and live event industry that were left out of the
Shuttered Venue Operator Grant Program. While I understand that
there are some challenges in defining this industry, that
should be eminently surmountable. If we continue to leave out
those that support the live entertainment industry such as
audiovisual rentals, specialty entertainment services, wedding
operators and more, we will neglect a critical component of the
hospitality sector.
Lastly, as we work towards a comprehensive infrastructure
package, Congress must ensure that our small businesses are
fully included in this once in a generation investment. In
particular, we must ensure that small business contractors,
including Super 8(a)s 8(a)s, HUBZone, women- and veteran-owned
businesses have meaningful and enforceable set-asides. This
will require this Committee's continued oversight and focus but
it is a critical component to helping small businesses and all
of our districts truly recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In closing, thank you so much for your leadership and work
in helping to provide relief to our Nation's small businesses
that are still struggling to survive the unprecedented
disruption of COVID-19. Without your decisive action over the
past year and a half, many more small businesses would have
shut their doors.
I look forward to continuing to work with you on behalf of
our Nation's small businesses as we continue to transition from
basic survival to recovery. Mahalo.
Chairwoman VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Congressman Case for
everything that you have shared with us and for taking time out
of your busy schedule to be here advocating on behalf of small
businesses. This Committee will continue to work with you in
addressing the issues that we are still facing, especially
during the recovery and rebuilding after the pandemic. We
appreciate the work that you have done and your advocacy on
behalf of small businesses.
Mr. CASE. Thank you.
Chairwoman VELAZQUEZ. Now I would like to ask if any other
Member would like to be recognized from the Committee.
If not, if there are no other comments, I would like to
conclude this hearing by once again thanking my colleagues for
being here today. I can hear the passion and enthusiasm in your
voice when you talk about ways to strengthen our nation's small
businesses. Many of the issues you talk about are at the heart
of what this Committee will be working on for the rest of the
117th Congress. We will also be giving a voice to small
businesses and making sure that they are represented as we
advance important initiatives like infrastructure. I encourage
you to work with my staff and our Republican colleagues because
working on behalf of small businesses is a bipartisan issue.
I will also ask unanimous consent that Members have 5
legislative days to submit statements and supporting materials
for the record.
Without objection, so ordered.
If there is no further business to come before the
Committee, we are adjourned. Thank you.
[Whereupon, at 10:18 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
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