Innovation as a Catalyst for New Jobs: SBA's Innovation Initiatives (House Small Business subcommittee hearing, July 14, 2021)
Summary
Transcript of a July 14, 2021 hearing of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access, Small Business Committee Document Number 117-025, on SBA programs that back innovation. Sharice Davids and Dan Meuser gave the opening statements. Witnesses were E. LaVerne Epp of KU Innovation Park, Benjamin Robert Johnson of the Innovation Advocacy Council, Gabriel R. Burks of FrostDefense Envirotech Inc. and Jeffrey Maguire of Clearly Clean Products, LLC. Added material includes a Meuser item titled The cost of tax and spend and a University City Science Center submission.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Cite this document
“Innovation as a Catalyst for New Jobs: SBA's Innovation Initiatives (House Small Business subcommittee hearing, July 14, 2021).”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/innovation-as-a-catalyst-for-new-jobs-sba-s-innovation-initiatives-hou-455f411515/
, SHA-256 194b5eec3672bf8156c8d9dfcef6a4ee90cbe336b31df0bbc910341480425a3a.Full text
INNOVATION AS A CATALYST FOR NEW JOBS:
SBA’s INNOVATION INITIATIVES
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH,
TAX, AND CAPITAL ACCESS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
UNITED STATES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
HEARING HELD
JULY 14, 2021
Small Business Committee Document Number 117–025
Available via the GPO Website: www.govinfo.gov
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
45–124 WASHINGTON : 2021
SBD026 with DISTILLER
Congress.#13
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
NYDIA VELÁZQUEZ, 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
(II)
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
CONTENTS
OPENING STATEMENTS
Page
Hon. Sharice Davids ................................................................................................ 1
Hon. Dan Meuser ..................................................................................................... 3
WITNESSES
Mr. E. LaVerne Epp, Executive Chair, KU Innovation Park, Lawrence, KS ..... 6
Mr. Benjamin Robert Johnson, Chairman, Innovation Advocacy Council,
Westerville, OH .................................................................................................... 7
Dr. Gabriel R. Burks, Vice President and Head of Research and Development,
FrostDefense Envirotech Inc., Champaign, IL .................................................. 9
Mr. Jeffrey Maguire, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Clearly Clean Prod-
ucts, LLC, South Windsor, CT ............................................................................ 11
APPENDIX
Prepared Statements:
Mr. E. LaVerne Epp, Executive Chair, KU Innovation Park, Lawrence,
KS ................................................................................................................... 25
Mr. Benjamin Robert Johnson, Chairman, Innovation Advocacy Council,
Westerville, OH ............................................................................................. 29
Dr. Gabriel R. Burks, Vice President and Head of Research and Develop-
ment, FrostDefense Envirotech Inc., Champaign, IL ................................ 43
Mr. Jeffrey Maguire, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Clearly Clean
Products, LLC, South Windsor, CT ............................................................. 46
Questions for the Record:
None.
Answers for the Record:
None.
Additional Material for the Record:
The cost of ‘tax and spend’ by Rep. Dan Meuser ........................................... 50
University City Science Center ....................................................................... 54
(III)
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 0486 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 0486 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
INNOVATION AS A CATALYST FOR NEW JOBS:
SBA’s INNOVATION INITIATIVES
WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 2021
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH,
TAX, AND CAPITAL ACCESS,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 1:10 p.m., in Room
2360, Rayburn House Office Building and via Zoom, Hon. Sharice
Davids [chairwoman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Davids, Newman, Bourdeaux, Chu,
Evans, Mr. Kim, Meuser, Ms. Young Kim, and Van Duyne.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. All right. Good afternoon, everybody. I am
calling this hearing to order.
Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a recess at
any time.
This is a remote hearing on innovation as a catalyst for new jobs,
SBA’s Innovation Initiatives Committee on Small Business, and
this is the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital
Access.
So we have called the hearing to order.
Let me begin by saying that the standing House and Committee
rules and practice will continue to apply during remote pro-
ceedings. All members are reminded that they are expected to ad-
here to these standing rules including decorum when they are par-
ticipating in any remote event.
With that said, the technology we are utilizing today requires us
to make some small modifications to ensure that members can fully
participate in these proceedings.
House regulations require members to be visible through a video
connection throughout the proceeding, so please keep your cameras
on. If you have to participate in another proceeding, please exit 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 the I will recognize
that member at the next appropriate time slot provided they have
returned to the proceeding.
Should a member’s time be interrupted by technical issues, I will
recognize that member at the next appropriate slot for the remain-
der of their time once their technical issues have been resolved.
In the event a witness loses connectivity during testimony or
questioning, I will preserve their time as our staff addresses tech-
(1)
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
2
nical issues. And I may need to recess the proceedings to provide
time for a witness to reconnect.
And then finally, remember to remain muted until you are recog-
nized so that we can minimize any background noise.
In accordance with the rules, staff have been advised to mute
participants only in the event there is an inadvertent background
noise.
Should a member wish to be recognized, please unmute yourself
and seek recognition at the appropriate time.
I will now move to my opening statement.
For many years, America’s innovative spirit has certainly pro-
pelled our nation to become the world’s preeminent economic
power. Our economic dominance in part was driven by Federal in-
vestment and research and development by prioritizing innovation,
the federal government has financed inventions and discoveries
that have benefitted the economy and improved lives across the
globe.
Innovations have also increased productivity, made American
workers more efficient and lowered the price of goods and services.
Unfortunately, since the 1970s, America has lost its footing as the
world’s most innovative nation. In fact, in the 2021 Bloomberg In-
novation Index, the U.S. fell outside of the top 10 entirely. This
slowed pace of innovation has profound implications leading work-
ing Americans to experience wage stagnation or outright age reduc-
tion when adjusted for the cost of living. High barriers to entry are
also stifling our entrepreneurial ecosystem. Over the years, geo-
graphic and demographic gaps have formed excluding many folks
from creating new products or starting new businesses.
Where a person is located heavily influences their economic op-
portunities. Economic clustering has limited the ability of Ameri-
cans living outside of a handful of major metropolitan areas to de-
velop new products. Women and minority groups are also fre-
quently at a disadvantage when it comes to launching startups. On
average, minority and female entrepreneurs have less access to
capital and are more likely to rely on personal funds to finance
their business. Minority entrepreneurs are approved for credit for
their businesses at lower rates than that of their peers and are less
likely to receive the full amount of their loan request.
It is clear that too many Americans are being denied the oppor-
tunity to create new business. Boosting innovation and making the
innovation ecosystem more inclusive will be critical for rebuilding
our post-pandemic economy. Achieving these goals is going to re-
quire a sustained Federal investment and improving our innovative
capacity.
The CBO, Congressional Budget Office, reports that Federal in-
vestment can promote long-term economic growth, yet the Federal
investment and research and development that we have seen has
been steadily declining from its peak of 30 percent of Federal
spending in the 1960s. Today, only 12 percent of all Federal spend-
ing and 2 percent of gross domestic product goes toward innova-
tion. An investment in innovation is an investment in our country’s
future so it is vital that we are spending adequately at the Federal
level. It is critical that we empower existing programs at the SBA
to better reach and serve startups and entrepreneurs.
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
3
For example, SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation, the OII,
leads programs that provide high growth small business with ac-
cess to capital and R&D funding to develop their products. These
SBA programs are training entrepreneurs and providing them with
mentoring and technical assistance so they can launch America’s
next great companies. Funding from programs under OII’s um-
brella has helped develop successful companies like 23 and Me,
Qualcomm, Symantec, and Da Vinci Surgical Systems. And I hope
that today’s hearing is going to allow us to examine these programs
and find ways to improve SBA’s innovation initiatives to help cre-
ate more startups that will benefit Americans and support our
economy.
As our country recovers from COVID, boosting innovation is
going to be vital to getting our economy back on track. By focusing
on expanding innovation to underserved entrepreneurs, Congress
can certainly unleash economic potential that has long gone un-
tapped.
I am going to take this time now to yield to Ranking Member
Meuser for his opening statement.
Mr. MEUSER. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Thank you very
much for holding this hearing today. Thanks to all for partici-
pating.
Small businesses, entrepreneurs and startups are resilient orga-
nizations that continue to innovate and adapt to the everchanging
marketplaces. Prior to COVID-19 pandemic, small business entre-
preneurs were opening new factories throughout my district and
throughout the commonwealth and the country. Along main street,
hiring more workers, creating new jobs. Manufacturing the next
great American products and services really with rapid speed. This
was, prior to COVID, in large part due to the pro-growth policy
agenda that created an empowering environment and empowering
innovators and entrepreneurs to reduce regulations and independ-
ence in running a small business. After such a harrowing year for
public health that resulted in state and local lockdowns, capacity
restrictions and so many numerous challenges for small businesses,
I do believe the entrepreneurship of the economy can thrive again
if we make the right decisions to help create the environment to
empower that growth.
A recent survey of more than 2,500 Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small
Business participants found that 78 percent of small businesses be-
lieve 2021 will be better than 2020. That is good. But only 36 per-
cent believe it will be better than the economy they knew before
COVID-19 hit. That is not so good and hopefully, perhaps that is
where we come in.
The pandemic impacted businesses differently based on industry,
longevity, location and other factors. However, meeting small busi-
nesses’ workforce and capital needs will be a key to the continued
recovery in all sectors.
I believe this can be an American decade if we do, in fact, help
unleash the power of the American innovators and entrepreneurs
but we cannot do that under the yoke of untargeted unemployment
compensation supplements, government mandates that do not
make sense to business, higher taxes, and runaway inflation which
just adds a cost to everyone.
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
4
To this point, I recently wrote an op ed on the cost of Tax and
Spend which I have submitted for the record. Unemployment in-
centives continue to plague small businesses with an unprece-
dented worker shortage. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce poll of the
COVID-19 unemployed found that roughly 49 percent of Americans
who became unemployed during the pandemic said they are not ac-
tively or not very actively looking for work. And 61 percent of re-
spondents say they are in no hurry to return to work. There are
various factors for this. We know with the randomness of school
closures and just the fear of COVID and other societal factors, the
NFIB June Jobs Report found that 46 percent of all small business
owners reported job openings they could not fill. So that is the bot-
tom line.
As we continue to see small businesses place help wanted signs
in their doors, and very often that help wanted sign is followed by
$20 per hour or $19 an hour or $22 an hour, this is a prime reason
innovation and productivity is being limited further and is on the
decline.
Small businesses across the nation are also feeling——
Madam Chair, how am I doing on time?
Chairwoman DAVIDS. For your opening statement, I do not
think that you have a——
Mr. MEUSER. I see. All right. Thank you. I do not want to go
too long.
But we are dealing with stretched budgets, higher cost of goods
and supply shortages. Inflation is, of course, being something that
is of great concern as stated, raising the costs of businesses. Busi-
ness owners as early as this past April to May found that 80 per-
cent of their cost of supplies are up compared to pre-COVID levels;
22 percent say that there are costs of increase by 25 percent or
more. This is very concerning to the fundamentals of our economy
and to the vibrancy of small businesses.
As small businesses are reopening their doors to only be met
with labor shortage and inflation, there simply cannot be a worse
time to raise taxes on the American worker. President Biden’s
promise to repeal President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would
immediately raise taxes on small businesses by increasing mar-
ginal income tax rates and eliminating the 20 percent small busi-
ness deduction. By eliminating the TCJA, this would also decel-
erate the bonus depreciation. Limiting the ability for businesses to
deduct on their capital investments in a 10-year window. It will be
extended far past that.
As well, capital gains is a big issue for small business. It directly
impacts returns an entrepreneur will find in their work but also in
the value of their companies. So investing in new ideas and gaining
that access to capital would be mitigated and would have a higher
level of risk and uncertainty. So reducing potential returns through
higher capital gains tax does disincentivize investment and creates
additional barriers to access to capital.
So we must grow our opportunity for our nation’s entrepreneurs,
not government. The SBA’s resource partners and innovation pro-
grams that are congressional authorized remain important and
serve as a valuable tool to small businesses. However, we must
continue to examine these programs closely to ensure they are ef-
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
5
fectively and efficiently serving small business entrepreneurs, de-
livering the value that small businesses need but also preventing
waste, fraud, and abuse.
I spent my fair share of time in the small business world, hap-
pened to grow a small business. I do know that is where you can
learn the most by dealing directly with small business or being a
small businessperson yourself, we as part of this Committee and as
members of Congress in helping do all we can to create an environ-
ment for recovery and for long-term growth of small businesses cer-
tainly need to listen intently and respond favorably and that is
why I am very pleased that this Committee has been pulled to-
gether and we have those testifying that we do.
So with that, Madam Chairwoman, I yield back. Thank you.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Meuser. The gentleman
yields back.
I would like to take a moment just to explain how the hearing
is going to proceed. Each witness 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 then return to mute when you conclude your
remarks or questions.
With that, I will go through and introduce all of the witnesses.
Mr. Meuser will introduce a witness as well, and then we will get
started.
So our first witness today Mr. E. LaVerne Epp, Executive Chair
of the KU Innovation Park. As the leader of the KU Innovation
Park, Mr. Epp has experienced and received several rounds of SBA
growth accelerator fund competition awards. His work has helped
many small businesses and entrepreneurs in my home state of
Kansas here to achieve their dreams. And I am really excited to
have them join us to share his expertise today. Welcome, Mr. Epp.
Our second witness is Mr. Benjamin Johnson, the Chairman of
the Innovation Advocacy Council (IAC). The IAC works to educate
policymakers on issues related to innovation, economic develop-
ment, entrepreneurship, and technology. Welcome, Mr. Johnson.
And then our third witness is Dr. Gabriel Burks, the Vice Presi-
dent of FrostDefense. Mr. Burks’s company is participating in the
Enterprise Works Growth Accelerator, a recipient of the SBA
Growth Accelerator Fund Competition Award. And I am excited to
learn more about your company and how the growth accelerator
has helped in its development. Welcome, Mr. Burks.
And I will now yield to the Ranking Member to introduce our
final witness.
Mr. MEUSER. Thank you, Chairwoman.
Our next witness is Jeffrey Maguire. Jeffrey Maguire is Man-
aging Partner and Co-Founder of Clearly Clean Products, LLC,
which invented, patented, and manufactures 100 percent recyclable
food trays. Mr. Maguire also was a co-founder of Tabby Tools,
which manufactures tile installation tools that are available nation-
wide through Lowe’s home improvement stores. Additionally, he is
a certified public accountant and a graduate of the University of
Connecticut. This morning I did have the opportunity to tour Mr.
Maguire’s company at Clearly Clean’s Frackville campus, their of-
fice in my district, and certainly saw firsthand the level of innova-
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
6
tion, their technologically advanced manufacturing of their high
quality and environmentally friendly products. Clearly clean is an
all Made in America manufacturer that creates ecofriendly prod-
ucts with features that surpass non-sustainable alternatives which
is very important, I think. The company holds the world’s only pat-
ents of 100 percent recyclable PET. That is polyethylene
terephthalate—perhaps I pronounced that right—overwrap food
trays with a rolled edge. Since acquiring the first of many patents
on a rolled edge tray in 2016, Clearly Clean has grown from three
people to more than 200. Most of that growth has been in the last
3 years. Clearly Clean has been named the fastest growing manu-
facturer in Northeast Pennsylvania 2 years in a row and received
the Ameristar Award and the Dupont Award for packaging innova-
tion. Mr. Maguire, good to see you again. We all really appreciate
you being here. Thank you for taking the time out from your busy
day and from your business to answer our questions.
And with that, Madam Chairwoman, I thank you and I yield
back.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Meuser.
And thank you all again for being here and for your patience as
we were getting everything going.
We are going to go ahead and kick things off now. I will begin
by recognizing Mr. Epp for 5 minutes.
STATEMENTS OF E. LAVERNE EPP, EXECUTIVE CHAIR, KU IN-
NOVATION PARK; BENJAMIN ROBERT JOHNSON, CHAIRMAN,
INNOVATION ADVOCACY COUNCIL; DR. GABRIEL R. BURKS,
VICE PRESIDENT/HEAD OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT,
FROSTDEFENSE ENVIROTECH, INC.; JEFFREY MAGUIRE,
MANAGING PARTNER AND CO-FOUNDER, CLEARLY CLEAN
PRODUCTS LLC
STATEMENT OF E. LAVERNE EPP
Mr. EPP. Thank you. Good afternoon, everybody. And thank you
for inviting me to offer comment about small business and innova-
tion. And a special thank you and a warm Jayhawk greeting to
Chairwoman Davids. Congresswoman, we appreciate your service
to our state.
You have all read and received my written testimony which de-
scribes the KU Innovation Park and the important role the SBA
and particularly the growth the Accelerator Fund competition plays
in supporting our work in innovating new technologies and starting
companies. I will talk about some of those unique attributes that
make that fund so important. But first I would like to begin with
a brief story.
Several years ago, a private, not-for-profit foster care agency in
Kansas approached my colleagues at the KU Innovation Park. As
part of its work in placing foster children, the agency developed an
algorithm which through the identification of a field of dominant
characteristics was able to match foster children with foster par-
ents in homes. Match.com for foster kids. The effectiveness of these
matches was validated by research conducted by KU’s distin-
guished School of Social Welfare. What followed was the develop-
ment of ECAP, Every Child A Priority, a software platform. It was
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
7
an innovative solution that reduced replacement of foster kids, the
cost of multiple placements, and in the process improves the lives
of children. A new small business was born.
Today, Foster Care Technologies has engineered over 25,000
placements in numerous states and counties across the country.
The company was created, capitalized, and managed by the KU In-
novation Park and its small team of professionals. These resources
were funded in part through the SBA and the Growth Accelerator
Fund competition.
Over the last 6 years, the Innovation Park has received over
$200,000 through the Accelerator Fund competition. We have an-
other pending grant today. We have used those funds to provide
impact assistance to entrepreneurs who discover new technologies
and then commercialize them. Innovating, producing jobs has be-
come a catalyst for creating small businesses. Small businesses like
ClaraBio Tech, another company that was created in the laboratory
of former KU professor of chemical and petroleum engineering who,
through her remarkable career, has become a prolific inventor.
ClaraBio’s technology helps enable medical breakthroughs using
exosomes by solving the critical issues of purification and isolation.
The applications of this technology are enormous, including early
cancer detection. And with the help of the Innovation Park and our
tea, the company recently achieved a major capital raise. The
Growth Accelerator Fund competition was part of this important
underwriting, giving the company resources and funding to acquire
that capital.
The Accelerator Fund’s unique attributes serve small businesses
like Foster Care Tech and ClaraBio. The fund is valuable because
of its flexibility and minimal burden on entrepreneurs themselves.
It is valuable because it is relatively free of restriction, allowing
multiple uses with minimal tracking and reporting. And the Accel-
erator Fund competition is valuable because it supports organiza-
tions like the KU Innovation Park who work closely with early
stage companies and develop intimate understanding of their needs
and potential, usually at critical junctures in the company’s life
cycle. Companies like Foster Care Tech and ClaraBio are alive
today in part because of the Growth Accelerator Fund competition.
Thank you to each of you for recognizing the value of small busi-
ness and the innovations that lie at the heart of their creation.
They are worthy of your support and I thank you.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Epp.
Mr. Johnson, we are going to go ahead and go over to you. You
are now recognized for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF BENJAMIN ROBERT JOHNSON
Mr. JOHNSON. Thank you very much. Good afternoon, Chair-
woman Davids, Ranking Member Meuser, distinguished members
of the Committee. My name is Ben Johnson, Chair of the Innova-
tion Advocacy Council, a National Coalition for Innovation Based
Economic Development. I am honored to join you here today.
My work with small businesses started 17 years ago in Southern
Indiana. Coaching entrepreneurs and making loans to businesses
like painting, landscaping, catering services that lifted families out
of poverty. And for the last 16 years in St. Louis, I have seen how
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
8
growing an industry cluster around a community’s innovation
strengths can help transform a regional economy.
But today I represent a broader network. The IAC is the policy
arm of SSTI, which represents more than 150 organizations across
44 states, including state and local economic developers, univer-
sities, nonprofits, and small businesses, all dedicated to creating a
better future through science, technology, innovation, and entrepre-
neurship.
Based on the successes of our members, I would like to present
three principles that drive impactful economic development, espe-
cially through tech-based small business growth.
One, job creation is best fostered through locally designed strate-
gies that capitalize on unique regional strengths. Two, the needs of
innovation-based businesses, and therefore the tools and talents
necessary to support their growth, are different than traditional
microenterprise or so-called main street businesses. And three, pro-
grams specifically targeting innovation businesses, like SBA’s
growth accelerators and regional innovation clusters, are necessary
complements to other existing supports for traditional small busi-
nesses, especially in rural communities and among women and mi-
norities.
On principle one, my full-time job is with BioSTL, a consortium
of 50 corporate, philanthropic, academic, and public sector leaders
dedicated to leveraging St. Louis’s research and industry strengths
in medical and agricultural sciences. We capitalize on those
strengths to build homegrown startups, attract innovation from
across the globe, and harness entrepreneurship to foster a wholly
inclusive ecosystem bridging urban and rural economies.
In other communities, the strategies and sectors differ based on
the assets and history and geography and population and even per-
sonality of each region. While the shorthand often is to build the
next Silicon Valley, successful regions recognize there is only one
Silicon Valley and the right mix of business supports and the right
organizations to deliver them vary depending on the needs of the
unique market.
Second, innovation-based businesses create high-quality jobs and
result in a higher standard of living. They modernize and diversify
regional economies and they solve global challenges, like feeding a
growing population, curing disease, addressing climate impact, and
ensuring national security. But they are different. They vary in the
type of support they need to mature a technology from idea to mar-
ket. In capital raised, they often take longer to reach revenue and,
so, traditional models of bank and even SBA financing often do not
apply. And they vary in that their industry-specific networks must
be deeper and more defined than the broad networks generally ap-
plicable to all types of business.
Third, I do not envy my peers at the SBA and its resource part-
ners. They must be generalists—triaging all types of businesses
from pharma companies to flower shops, and that is where innova-
tion focused programs augment the resources of SBA. Programs
like the SBIR and SBA’s Fast Program and especially growth accel-
erators and regional innovation clusters provide communities with
the perfect complements to SBA’s array of other activities. They
are designed specifically to address the needs of innovation busi-
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
9
nesses. Recognizing there is no national economy; rather, a com-
bination of regional economies that differ in their strengths and
needs and no one type of organization positioned to support all the
needs of all types of business. Growth accelerators, as you heard,
catalyzes a wide array of small business supports. Clusters aug-
ments SBA’s broad activities with specific, deep domain expertise.
Allowing regions to define their own unique clusters enables
growth of distinct and diverse communities across the country—
from advanced wood products in rural Appalachia, Southeast Ohio;
to smart grids in Chicago; and unmanned aerial systems and man-
ufacturing in Kansas; to defense in Minnesota. Clusters are a
unique glue that bring people together, that align business sup-
ports in a system and that augment the programs of SBA. But
these programs need additional support and direction from Con-
gress. Flexibility in the growth accelerator program to allow for a
wider range of project types. And, clusters should be fully author-
ized, especially because a recent interpretation from SBA narrowed
the eligible applicant organizations. Congress should provide clar-
ity to establish a broad range of eligible applicants and allow free-
dom for regions to define their own types of support.
Thank you for the opportunity and I look forward to more discus-
sion and to questions. Thanks.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Johnson.
The Chair will now recognize Dr. Burks for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF GABRIEL R. BURKS
Mr. BURKS. All right. So I am Dr. Gabriel Burks, Vice President
of FrostDefense and Biotech, Inc. and post-doctoral research asso-
ciate in the Department of Material Science and Engineering at the
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. I am delivering this tes-
timony today on behalf of FrostDefense Envirotech Inc. positioning
for more programs and Federal investments that support innova-
tion and entrepreneurship.
We are a national science foundation, SBIR phase one funded
startup company who specialize in the development of polymer and
analytics-based solutions to mitigate early spring frost damage in
vineyards and other fruit crops. Late spring frost causes more eco-
nomic losses to agriculture than any other climate-related hazards,
costing growers more than $10 billion annually. And to quote one
of our vineyard partners, ‘‘We need a frost prevention and risk
management technology like we need water for our vines and
trees.’’
Our solution offers growers a nontoxic, biodegradable and envi-
ronmentally—sustainable compound that delays bud break and in-
creases the freeze resistance of tender fruit tissues while leaving a
negligible carbon footprint.
So more generally speaking, I have three points for this testi-
mony. The first being innovation is expensive and we can look no
further than TVs and how their cost has changed drastically over
the past 10 years. But just as televisions have, the cost for innova-
tion also drops over time as the technology becomes better and
more developed.
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
10
Point two. Tech startup success is elusive with failure rates as
high as 63 percent but it has been shown that with proper supports
the chances for success are greatly increased from these startups.
And the third point is that pivoting for early stage tech startups
frequently equates to success but funding and resources must be as
flexible as the startup environment itself to serve the greatest ben-
efit. What most people do not realize is that all great ideas require
refinement and polishing to become viable solutions for society and
that the problems that society faces today tend to be extremely
complex.
To give an example, our company tackles this problem mini-
mizing the impact of frost on delicate fruit crops. One of the first
questions we might have to ask is what crop? Every crop has a
unique nutritional requirement, growing topography, growth rate,
and response to environmental stimuli. Even without a singular
crop type, in our case grapes, each variety also has great variance
in those same factors.
Another question we might ask is what frost? How do we know
when and where a frost will occur in a given crop? And what con-
stitutes a frost for the plants? Some crops can be more or less toler-
ant to these frost events than others.
And then the third question, what product addresses these
issues? You know, if it is a material solution like ours, you know,
what is it made of? How long will it last on the shelf? Who will
manufacture it and does it meet the regulatory requirements?
And so the final, and probably most important question is, who
is going to answer all these questions and where are they going to
have the space and resources to answer them?
So our team is extremely interdisciplinary in that it compromises
a plant physiologist, a polymer scientist, atmospheric scientist,
statisticians, agronomists, a systems engineer, a civil engineer, a
data specialist among many others. And this list does not include
our team of accountants, business managers, regulatory experts,
attorneys, and other critical business experts.
Our major successes as a company have come as a direct result
of timely funding and support from several sources including uni-
versity incubator, private and Federal.
The University of Illinois Enterprise Works AWARE Proof of
Concept Award, which is an SBA-funded initiative, enabled us to
pivot at a critical time in our development. At the time of the
award, our company had recently completed a field trial where we
did not obtain the results that we expected but we did discover
what we thought would be several key factors for our success going
forward. AWARE Funding allowed us to quickly test our new
hypotheses over a 3-month time period and develop a new version
of our product that would be field tested again shortly after and be
found to be a success. This success will go on to serve as the back-
bone for our petition for new funding.
The startup world moves fast and this funding was available to
us quickly and was sufficient for our necessary technology pivot.
Without this funding, we may not have been able to develop and
quickly test our new product ideas. We have a viable product today
and have been able to stay on schedule with our company growth
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
11
because we were able to change and test our product within a
timeline synergistic with the grape growing season.
Technology startups have traditionally been leaders in new job
creation and the competitive salaries. If our company successfully
moves on to phase two of the NSF SBIR program, our business will
entail the creation of upwards of 20 new tech jobs with nationally
competitive salaries. And when we move on to commercialize our
product, this number will likely double.
So finally, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we all have
had to conduct business but our funding and infrastructure sup-
ports have given us a means to adjust to the circumstances of po-
tential new partners.
So with that, this testimony positions for more programs and
Federal investments that support innovation and entrepreneurship
for the sake of successful tech startups and the prospects of new
job creation.
So thank you all for your time and the opportunity to share with
you today.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Dr. Burks.
Next, I will recognize Mr. Maguire for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF JEFFREY MAGUIRE
Mr. MAGUIRE. Chairwoman Davids, Ranking Member Meuser,
and members of the Committee, I am honored to have the oppor-
tunity to testify today on innovation’s impact on jobs.
My name is Jeffrey Maguire and I am a managing partner at
Clearly Clean Products, LLC, which is based in Schuylkill County,
Pennsylvania and has nine locations. Our company invents and
manufacturers 100 percent recyclable food trays, most notably the
roll over wrap tray. This patented tray is made from recyclable
PET plastic and its rolled edge does not tear the overwrap film on
packaging for meat, poultry, produce, and seafood. Our goal is to
provide a sustainable option to foamed polystyrene, more commonly
known as Styrofoam.
When we began, we were told it would be like David versus Goli-
ath. We invented an ecofriendly overwrap food tray that the indus-
try said was impossible to manufacture up against an entrenched
industry of big named companies. Fast forward to today and we are
blessed with growing from three people to more than 200 people in
less than 5 years and we are forecasting our sales to double in
2022 creating even more jobs.
What is at the heart of our growth? Innovation. And what is at
the heart of innovation? Patents. These Goliaths I mentioned are
now imitating our product and we have been forced to take legal
action to defend our patents. Time and money that could have been
spent on innovation is instead being spent on protecting our pat-
ents from others who seek to capitalize on them. We won our first
case but now our patents are being challenged at their very core
at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office via an IPR, by a large
company with extensive resources. We are confident in our numer-
ous patents and will continue to fight the good fight but not all
small businesses can. What would be helpful is a policy that re-
quires a company challenging the validity of a patent being an IPR
to pay for the patent owner’s legal fees if that challenge fails. With-
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
12
out this safeguard, small businesses are forced to dig deep and de-
fend what was theirs all along and innovation suffers.
Another challenge we face is difficulty hiring employees. We
would hire 50 people today if we could but we cannot. The supple-
mental unemployment and stimulus checks are keeping people
home. We are competing with the government and cannot afford to.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we started employees at the high-
er end of the pay scale. Now, our daily debate is whether we raise
our rates to an unsustainable level to attract new employees or we
stop growing.
We recently learned that one large company in our area has in-
creased its wages to $25 an hour. Other large companies will likely
follow suit. Small businesses like ours are caught between the gov-
ernment and the deep pockets of big business. In the future, when
we face a similar situation, we recommend policies that including
funding for small businesses to provide supplemental wages to the
employees who continue to work. This would help stimulate the
economy by providing bonuses to the working.
What do the current policies do to small business? They force us
to automate which means less jobs. They force us to raise prices,
which means inflation. And they force us to throttle back growth
which is no one’s interest. And yes, innovation suffers.
We firmly believe that Congress should enact a comprehensive
solution to address the deteriorating infrastructure in the United
States. However, that solution should not undue the competitive
gains made through the Tax Cut and Jobs Act. The ability to write
off capital expenditures such as equipment has been key to our suc-
cess. But why is real estate treated differently? If the depreciable
life for manufacturing plants and warehouses was reduced from 39
years to 10 years, then small businesses could accelerate deprecia-
tion which would enable quicker reinvestment.
With many small businesses, Federal taxes are paid at a per-
sonal level. Increases in personal tax rates decrease the dollars
available for reinvestment. So when Congress increases the per-
sonal tax rate, it punishes small businesses and once again, inno-
vation suffers.
In short, innovation flourishes when creativity meets investment
and investment flourishes when policies enable growth. Increased
taxes, paying workers to stay home, and legal fees associated with
protecting already awarded patents are all counter to growth and
disproportionately impact small businesses. We need to ask our-
selves, are we a country that wants to leave innovation in the
hands of the rich and powerful, or do we want to encourage fair
competition and nurture small business? I know the SBA and this
Committee believe the latter. Our only hope is that future policies
continue to foster innovation and enable growth so that small busi-
nesses can not only compete with Goliath, but just like David,
maybe one day even defeat Goliath.
Thank you very much for your time.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Maguire. Thank you to
all of our witnesses for your testimony today.
So I am going to start by recognizing myself for 5 minutes. And
Mr. Epp, I am going to come to you first. Thanks for being here
today. I have got a couple of things to bring up. I think I will start
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
13
off by just saying Rock Chalk, Jayhawk. And then we will move on
to something you obviously know a lot about. Venture capital fund-
ing is often centralized in coastal hubs leaving a lot of entre-
preneurs outside those markets struggling to raise capital. I am cu-
rious about the approach that KU Innovation Park has taken to ad-
dress that challenge. You talked about it a little bit in your opening
remarks but would love to hear a little bit more.
Mr. EPP. Thank you, Chairwoman.
We do what many other early stage organizations do. We try to
cluster investors that are interested. We have small investor
groups. For instance, the Foster Care Technologies example that I
provided. We assembled a small group of impact investors for that
company and it fits very well for them. But a shortage of capital
is a problem for us and we are constantly looking at new opportu-
nities and new ways to raise capital for these small companies. One
of the things that the State of Kansas has that is extremely valu-
able to us is called the angel tax credits which allow an investor
to discount significantly its investment over a period of time and
help the startup company at the same time.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Mr. Epp, I am sorry. Can we pause for
just a second? Is anybody else having a hard time hearing? Okay.
Can we put back, yeah. Can we put back like 30 seconds on his
time and see if we can fix this echo? I do not know if that is what—
I would call it something like a Darth Vader effect. Maybe, Mr.
Epp, can you say something real quick?
Mr. EPP. Yeah, my sound is really quite good. I mean, I can hear
all of you very well. I do not have a problem, so. And I think I have
not changed anything with my microphone, so I do not know what
is happening.
Let me make just one other comment, Chairwoman Davids and
then I can be done. When you think ahead about the role that SBA
might play in helping the early stage companies, some type of a
venture fund or creating some type of incentive for venture funds
would be very, very helpful because it can be seen for some of these
very early age companies, and each of the witnesses today, Mr.
Johnson, Dr. Burks, and Mr. Maguire all referenced that and I
think that is extremely valuable.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Epp.
And actually, I am going to come to Mr.—sorry, Dr. Burks next.
I would love to hear a bit about the experience you all had partici-
pating in a growth accelerator and how that participation impacted
your business long-term from what you can see so far.
Mr. BURKS. Right. Right. So being affiliated with the University
of Illinois incubator has been tremendous in the sense that it has
given us a home to conduct innovation, a place where we can do
research, and the staff here is phenomenal. They surround you by
business professionals and all these resources and, you know, their
events and development, professional development seminars that
are in alignment with early phase startup growth. So just being in
that environment really helps accelerate our own growth. And then
when we interact with other companies—if we want to form a new
partnership or if we need to reach out to figure out manufacturing
needs, just having a place that is solid and foundational for us is
super, super key.
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
14
And then with that, things like the SBA-funded Aware grant.
This proof of concept award, it came from this incubator space. So
all these opportunities to continue to push the idea forward. So if
you do have a setback, it is not like you are alone. If you have an
idea and you are alone, you are at home and then it goes away and
you lose this whole company idea. But when you are supported by
an incubator, you know, if you have a setback, you know you have
someone there to say, oh, you failed here or something went wrong
here. Do not worry about it. We have these resources or access to
these resources and people that can kind of keep you going because
as a startup, you know, there are all kinds of hurdles that come
up but you do not know are going to come up and so being able
to pivot and adjust to those different hurdles quickly is extremely
important and extremely valuable for us.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. And then Mr. Johnson, I just was curious
from your perspective. You know, I often talk about the strong en-
trepreneurial ecosystem we have here in the Kansas City metro
area. You spent a decent amount of time speaking about what a
robust regional ecosystem can look like. I am just curious in this
last like 45 seconds if there was anything else you wanted to add
around that, you know, from your perspective of having been a
practitioner and now working also on policy stuff?
Mr. JOHNSON. Yeah. I think what you heard in my testimony
and more in the written testimony is each region is unique. The In-
novation cluster in St. Louis is different even than our neighbors
in Kansas City, which is different than peers across the country.
So, programs like the regional innovation clusters that allow re-
gions to define what their strength is on their own, not a size fits
all Federal model but where there is Federal partnership with local
communities, that is where I think we democratize, for lack of a
better term, the clustering that we typically see on the coasts or
in metropolises and we bring that to the heartland. We bring that
to rural communities. We better engage women and minority com-
munities left behind in the tech economy. And so regional innova-
tion clusters is unique and really can help drive innovation-based
job growth.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Johnson. My
time has expired.
I will now yield to Ranking Member Meuser for 5 minutes.
Mr. MEUSER. Well, thank you again, Madam Chairwoman. And
certainly, thanks to all the testifiers. All of your opening state-
ments were very interesting and appreciated.
So Mr. Maguire, I will start with you. Good seeing you again,
Jeff.
So with your testimony, you talk about a difference related to the
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. And of course, with small businesses, it
was a 20 percent small business deduction and clearly it creates a
more competitive atmosphere for small businesses.
So if that Tax Cut were to be repealed, what impact would that
have on you and your employees?
Mr. MAGUIRE. Congressman Meuser, all of the tax cuts that are
proposed that really impact small businesses will impact the
amount of money that we have to reinvest into our expansion. So
everything that we have taken advantage of from the accelerated
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
15
depreciation we have reinvested back into the business. And if
those tax rates increase or some of these items change, then the
amount of capital that we have available to reinvest has decreased
because we will be using more of that money to pay taxes.
Mr. MEUSER. The bonus depreciation is of particular concern to
you and we discussed that earlier today. Could you elaborate a lit-
tle bit on how advantageous that was to your company?
Mr. MAGUIRE. Sure. Over the last year we added five produc-
tion lines to our facility in Frackville. And through the rules that
were available to us, we depreciated all of the cost of those assets
against our income taxes. And that allowed us to invest it was up-
wards of $7.5 million in those lines to sit there and continue to
grow our company. And since this Committee is talking about inno-
vation, the only way to innovate is to have the available resources
to innovate and to sit there and move forward. So that was the
most key component of what was in the tax cut law for us because
it allowed us to expand our company as quickly as we have.
Mr. MEUSER. You obviously have some real smart people but
that ability to invest in that technology, that was my next question.
That had a great impact on your ability to innovate and be on the
cutting edge with your products.
Mr. MAGUIRE. Absolutely. I mean, we are in a sustainable part
of the economy. I mean, we are trying to provide recyclable trays
to food packaging companies. You will see them if any of the rep-
resentatives go or Congress people go to their local grocery store,
you will see it in the Chicken aisle or in that part of the grocery
store. But those tax advantages were very helpful in allowing us
to grow and then grow as quickly as we did. And without them, we
would have reduced our growth and stopped moving forward be-
cause it would have been impossible for us to sit here and go out
and obtain the capital that we needed to deal with the sales be-
cause every bank is going to sit there and look at you as how much
are you selling, how much can you afford, and they were very help-
ful. We greatly appreciate them.
Mr. MEUSER. Well, that is great. Well, it is imperative that we
do not let those get repealed.
And I was also interested in what you had to say about patents
and the legal fees being the responsibility of those who were trying
to infringe upon your patents. So hopefully that is something we
can work on as well.
I appreciate it very much. Do you want to say anything more
about the patents?
Mr. MAGUIRE. No. Well, I would tell you this. Patents for small
business are really important for growth. I mean, both of the
startups that I have bene working with, we had patents that we
leveraged to sit there and grow our business. And if someone chal-
lenges your patent, if a plaintiff challenges your patent, I do not
mind if they win and I am fighting, you know, and I lose, I will
pay my fees if I lose. But if they challenge me and we win and
their claim was not acknowledged.
Mr. MEUSER. Basically a tort situation. All right, thank you.
A quick question I would like to just ask Dr. Burks if I could.
Doctor, can you just tell us what you think the biggest need for
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
16
startup companies or growing companies? You had a lot to say
there. Maybe you can just offer a quick comment on that.
Mr. BURKS. I would say the biggest need, I think one of the big-
gest challenges we faced early on is, so because we saw a very big
scientific or take problems, sometimes putting the initial teams to-
gether. You know, people, you know, you can get people to work
sometimes volunteer. You may give away some equity to get them
to volunteer to work with you but just getting those people in the
beginning to even solve that problem or to get to a viable product,
sometimes that can be kind of cumbersome. So assistance early on
is important. And I would also add that the having the ability to
pivot, like the fund allowed us to do, just that flexibility. So these
different startup markets go quick and sometimes you need the
money on some timeline that is not on that funding timeline. And
so having the ability to get something quickly in and out and really
continue to push forward and stay on schedule could be really, real-
ly important.
Mr. MEUSER. Madam Chair, I am past my time. Dr. Burks, it
sounds like red tape is not your friend, and as more of a
businessperson, I can appreciate that very. So thank you very
much, and I yield back
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, the gentleman yields back.
The Chair will now recognize Rep. Newman for 5 minutes.
Ms. NEWMAN. Thank you, Madam Chair and thank you Rank-
ing Chair for putting this discussion together. Always really help-
ful.
So a couple of things. By the way, Mr. Maguire, I agree with you
on your patent situation. It is okay to challenge things but then do
not penalize people on the back end. So I am with you on that.
Secondly, as we all know in the proposed increase for the largest
of large businesses, it does not include small business just as a
friendly reminder to everyone. So that is a good news report from
my office.
And then thirdly, what I would like to address with perhaps Dr.
Burks is you made some interesting comments and I think this is
so relevant. Being a former small business owner, getting the right
people in the right jobs is critical. Right? And then knowing where
to go and knowing where to go for the right resources, not just fi-
nancial but expertise. Those are really critical things. So this is a
blended question for Mr. Johnson and Dr. Burks. What if we ex-
tended the Community Navigator program that is currently in PPP
and EIDL and some of the other SBA programs into an RFIC des-
ignated line item where, in fact, these incubator and business
groups could get funding to give companies like yourself expertise
in very specific areas. And sometimes it is HR. Sometimes it is ac-
counting. Sometimes it is legal. Sometimes it is in innovation. So
I will go to Dr. Burks first. Is that something that you think would
be useful coming from that type of organization?
Mr. BURKS. I think that kind of supplement would be tremen-
dous. So in a way, the incubator space does that. Right? So we get
help in paying to for business management. So we have personnel
who can take care of so many different things and help us out. So
from what I am hearing, it sounds like what you are saying is an
extension of that but we may need a person to do some type of ma-
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
17
terial development. A supplement to help us pay for these things
that are expensive early on definitely helps us. And by the time we
become sustainable as a business, hopefully we are able to cover
those costs on our own but in the beginning it is a pain to pay
those when you are trying to accrue funds.
Ms. NEWMAN. Right. Right. So Mr. Johnson, if we were to pro-
pose something like that from this Committee, would that be help-
ful to give an addition line item for this group of what formerly was
navigators but expanded to be other types of experts that are avail-
able to your members and your affiliates?
Mr. JOHNSON. Yeah, I think the Community Navigator model
is promising as a hub and spoken model to connect with SBA re-
sources. For us in St. Louis, the regional innovation clusters pro-
gram was sort of that original hub and spoke, Community Navi-
gator program within our innovation cluster. Through the RIC pro-
gram, BioSTL and our partners were able to support more than
2,000 entrepreneurs in their journey of starting their business,
helping create 500 jobs and raising more than a billion dollars in
capital, and we did that through a range of activities. Partnering
to support Black would-be entrepreneurs with the Family Work-
force Centers of American in urban/suburban St. Louis suburb,
Wellston. Connecting small businesses at the intersection of bio-
sciences and IT and advanced manufacturing with St. Louis Makes
and ITEN. Working with our innovation community, Cortex, on
providing small business training and counseling. And then launch-
ing a network of growers and producers in rural communities to
connect urban and rural communities—ag innovation in urban St.
Louis with the growers and producers in rural Missouri who are
bringing those to market. All of that connected with our partners
at the SBDCs, the veteran business outreach centers, the women
business centers, navigating community resources in an area of
unique strength in St. Louis for us medical and agricultural
sciences. So I think with the Community Navigator model being
promising, I think authorizing and bringing additional resources to
something like the Regional Innovation Clusters Program that has
been, not just promising but, effective in meeting communities is
a unique opportunity.
Ms. NEWMAN. I agree. And maybe I tis just a model that has
worked very well and we need to scale. So good food for thought
from my office and I appreciate all of the guests that shared their
thoughts today. And thank you to Dr. Burks and Mr. Johnson for
your thoughtful answers.
And I yield back, Chairwoman.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you. The gentlewoman yields back.
The Chair will now recognize Rep. Young Kim for 5 minutes.
Ms. YOUNG KIM. Thank you Chairwoman Davids and Ranking
Member Meuser. I want to thank the witnesses for being with us
today.
My district is California’s 39th District and the suburban area in
North Orange County, LA and San Bernardino counties. And this
is the area that I represent and that is home to a robust startup
and entrepreneur community.
In 2020, the LA area startup ecosystem had approximately $3.5
billion in early stage funding for new startups. But in contrast, the
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
18
average startup ecosystem globally received about $431 million in
early stage funding for new startups. And in Orange County, early
stage venture capital investment has grown from $107.5 million in
2010 to $404.2 million in 2019. Unfortunately, the administration’s
proposal to increase taxes on long-term capital gains will likely
disincentivize investment on our entrepreneurs. So I am concerned
that the proposal to increase the marginal tax rate will punish
small businesses categorized as pass through entities such as sole
proprietorships. It is worth noting that 95 percent of businesses file
their taxes as pass-through entities.
So let me pose this first question to Mr. Johnson. If the Biden
administration’s proposal is enacted, the U.S. could have the high-
est top capital gains tax rates among OECD countries. So can you
describe what a higher capital tax rate would do to early stage
funding?
Mr. JOHNSON. Thank you very much, Congresswoman Kim.
Tax rates are important, as are programs and investments into en-
trepreneurship ecosystems. The Kauffman Foundation and the na-
tional Start Us Up Coalition in their American’s New Business
Plan outlines the both/and of policies that create an environment
to provide opportunity for entrepreneurs, a level playing field, re-
duced red tape tax issues, funding the right kinds of capital at the
right time, the knowledge of how to start a business and the types
of supports that we are talking about here today with the SBA, and
support for the opportunity to take a risk. From our entrepreneurs,
we do not often hear about tax issues being their top issue. It cer-
tainly is most likely an issue. We heard from Mr. Maguire about
the challenges he has faced. What we more often hear, what really
bubbles to the top, is that they need support. They need help in
developing their business model and de-risking their technology,
turning that idea into a new product, into new jobs, in connecting
with sources of capital, being able to compete globally for capital
and bring it into their community. So the policy environment, it
needs to be a both/and, how do we reduce regulation? How do we
reduce red tape? How do we balance taxes with investments and
supports in ecosystems.
Ms. YOUNG KIM. Thank you, Mr. Johnson. I want to stay on
the topic. And let me pose the same question to Mr. Maguire.
Would you agree that a higher capital tax rate puts our entre-
preneurs and startups at a competitive disadvantage compared to
other countries? And can you cite an example?
Mr. MAGUIRE. Well, absolutely. I mean, I do not care if you are
a Republican or a Democrat, no one wants higher taxes. We all
needed to decide what the balance is for everyone out there. If you
are asking me if the capital gains rate will impact investment in
companies, absolutely it will. Will it stop investment in other com-
panies? No, it will not. I mean, we are still going to go out and
work hard to sit there and try to make our businesses successful.
What I think is more important is what you said before, 95 percent
of taxable entities. Once you start messing with taxable gains and
the personal income tax rate you are going to impact every small
business. I do not care if it is a barber shop or if it is Clearly Clean
products. You will start impacting them negative.
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
19
Ms. YOUNG KIM. Sure. I know I have got a little time left. So
Mr. Maguire, I really appreciate your testimony as you talked
about the difficulty in hiring employees but I also give you a lot
of kudos from growing from a very small three employees to over
300 employees and that is because of your innovation and cre-
ativity. But I also wanted to talk to you about the recent CPI that
rose to 5.4 percent In June compared to a year ago. This is the
highest inflation numbers in 13 years. So can you tell us how the
increase in prices and inflation impacts your small business?
Mr. MAGUIRE. You are going to see inflation. I do not think
anyone on this Committee should sit there and not thing we are
going to see inflation. In our business, specifically, we are seeing
between 15 to 30 percent increases in our raw material costs and
in some of our supplies that are required to sit there and put our
product out there at market. It is coming. Third quarter, fourth
quarter you are going to see it. I do not think there is any getting
away from it. Your CPI, where it is at right now is not where it
is going to be in the fourth quarter and the first quarter of 2021.
Ms. YOUNG KIM. Well, thank you. I see my time is up, so I
yield back.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you. The gentlewoman yields back.
The Chair will now represent Rep. Chu from California for 5
minutes.
Ms. CHU. Thank you so much.
Mr. Epp, I am so glad to hear of the success that your Innovation
Park has had as a growth accelerator, and I want to ensure that
startups and small businesses that are growing in these accelera-
tors also have access to private investment. That is why 2 weeks
ago I reintroduced H.R. 4256, the Investment in Main Street Act
with my colleague, Representative Garbarino. This legislation
would enable banks to dramatically increase their share of the cap-
ital and surplus that can be invested into SBA certified SBIC or
small business investment companies from 5 percent to 15 percent.
Last year, SBICs made nearly $5 billion in leverage and invest-
ments for over 1,000 small businesses. Unlike many private ven-
ture capitalists, SBICs are backed by the SBA, and last year made
one quarter of their investments in underserved businesses show-
ing that these SBICs are well-suited at funneling capital to the
businesses who need it most.
So can you talk about the importance of private investment for
the startups you work with and how SBICs can help them grow
and succeed?
Oh, can you unmute? Please unmute.
Mr. EPP. Can you hear me now, please?
Ms. CHU. Yes.
Mr. EPP. I switched to another channel because I was having
trouble before using my phone which is why you saw the mute en-
gaged there. Is the sound better now than it was before?
Ms. CHU. Yes, it sounds much better. Yes.
Mr. EPP. Okay, thank you. And thank you for your support, Rep-
resentative Chu and for the work that you are doing, particularly
with the legislation that you have proposed. I think that is ex-
tremely helpful.
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
20
Small company investors are always looking for match funding
and they often do not want to be first in. And so any kind of sup-
port that can be provided in this kind of way can be extremely
helpful because it kind of opens the gate. It kind of opens the floor
gates. And once one investor is in with some match funding or
whatever, it is very easy to attract—well, not easy but it is easier
to attract other investors. So the focus on venture capital and kind
of creating a unique package with Federal funding around creating
those venture clusters and those venture packages is very, very ef-
fective. And thank you.
Ms. CHU. Well, thank you for that.
Mr. Johnson, in April, I reintroduced my legislation, H.R. 2680,
the Providing Real Opportunities for Growth to Rising Entre-
preneurs for sustained success, the Progress Act. This legislation
would support the smallest businesses, those without any employ-
ees by helping them expand and incentivizing third-party invest-
ment, the legislation would create a refundable payroll tax credit
for nonemployer firms that hire their first full-time employee and
an investment credit to encourage third-party capital investment
into nonemployer firms. Nonemployer firms are much more likely
to be owned by women, and female entrepreneurs on average stat
out with roughly half the capital as male entrepreneurs.
So could you talk about how incentivizing third-party investment
into the smallest of businesses and helping startups to hire their
first full-time employee can improve outcomes for innovative small
businesses?
Mr. JOHNSON. Thank you very much and thank you for your
support of the Progress Act.
With the entrepreneurs that we support and serve, we see that
hurdle of hiring the first employee is often one of the largest chal-
lenges, accompanied with de-risking technologies and trying to
bring talent on the team as Dr. Burks referenced, that paving the
way to hire the first employee is a big gap. And so anything that
can help bring a hire to an individual sole practitioner is impor-
tant. We know from data that all new job growth in the country
over the last decade is from new businesses, businesses that are
less than 5 years old and helping them start a hiring process, help-
ing them grow can be really critical. For us, as an example, we
used our RIC dollars and our growth accelerator dollars to support
an entrepreneur, Jennifer Silva, a cofounder of Senti-AR, helped
secure $2.25 million in SBIR funding that was then able to be le-
veraged and matched with more than $3 million in private venture
capital that enabled them to grow the team, de-risk the technology,
and bring to market a new, real-time augmented reality in the op-
erating room to help with invasive surgery, in particular cardiac
arrythmia when you have an irregular heartbeat. And that hurdle
to be able to leverage those dollars to hire the first people to the
team, to bring on sales and regulatory expertise was really critical.
Ms. CHU. Thank you. I yield back.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you. The gentlewoman yields back.
The Chair will now recognize Rep Van Duyne from Texas for 5
minutes.
Ms. VAN DUYNE. Great. Thank you.
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
21
I have been having a hard time with my volume so I am hoping
that you guys will be able to hear me. If not, I can dial back in.
But I want to thank you, Chairwoman Davids and Ranking
Member Meuser for holding this hearing today.
This past Tuesday, the Labor Department reported its highest
12-month consumer price index increase since August 2008. In ad-
dition, in June, the National Federation of Independent Businesses
found that the number of small business owners raising prices was
the highest since 1981. A third of small businesses are facing sup-
ply chain disruptions. Nearly half of those businesses have job
openings they cannot sell.
As a former small business owner and entrepreneur, I can tell
you that no counseling or training can overcome tone deaf settle-
ment policies. Innovators must understandably cross a high bar to
succeed but the federal government should not raise that threshold
by threatening higher taxes and paying a qualified work force to
stay unemployed.
I want to reiterate that point for those who have never run a
business before. It is incredibly difficult t run a business with thin
margins when you cannot hire workers, and much needed dollars
are sent to Federal coffers instead of reinvestment in innovation.
At the beginning of 2020, the small business economy saw record
levels of optimism and production. And my Republican colleagues
and I understand that the best way to support innovation and en-
trepreneurship is getting the government out of the way. Unfortu-
nately, this point seems to be lost on the current administration.
There is no doubt that COVID-19 was a disaster for small busi-
nesses. In a time of crisis, the federal government responded but
this pandemic is ending and we need to empower Americans to
transition back to back. The government cannot continue to hold
businesses and the workforce back through their failed policies.
The strength of the American economy is in its innovate and the
key to innovation is in the American people. If we want to spur in-
novation, the simple solution is to get government out of the way
and let people prosper.
And with that, I want to thank Mr. Maguire for his testimony
today. You talked about your company’s rapid growth in hiring. Do
you think that that growth would have been possible in today’s
labor market? And do you think that the economic environment
today compared to what it was before the pandemic is more or less
friendly to small business innovation?
Mr. MAGUIRE. Well, with COVID-19 it has been an extremely
difficult challenge. So, you know, it was easier to hire before the
pandemic. And in 2018, there is no doubt about it. We have gone
through an incredible phase in trying to deal with our situation
and trying to have the appropriate people on the production line
to make things work but there is no doubt that it has been more
difficult, much more challenging right now. And the current situa-
tion, you know, I do not see it getting better for the next 6 months.
Ms. VAN DUYNE. In your testimony you had said something I
found really interesting. Innovation flourishes when creativity
meets investment. When you think about the tax proposals coming
from this administration, how do you think they would affect not
only your margins but small business capital at large?
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
22
Mr. MAGUIRE. Oh, it is going to be extremely difficult because
most small businesses are self-funded. I mean, you may sit there
and think that small businesses have the ability to go out and get
resources and all of the other panelists that are talking, it is in-
credible. The opportunities that you provide to entrepreneurs is
phenomenal. I applaud every one of you, and Dr. Burks, I applaud
you the most. But I wills It there and will come back to you and
I will tell you, it is extremely hard. and you will not be able to
build a business in the environment that taxes are increased be-
cause we took every penny of our savings and put it back into our
business. And that is really how most small businesses work. I
mean, you work, you try to make a profit, you use that profit to
build your business and you continue to do so. And if you change
the rates and if you change some of what is going on out there, it
is negatively impact small businesses and there is no two ways
about it.
Ms. VAN DUYNE. So without sacrificing ay of the waste, this is
for Mr. Epp, without sacrificing any of the waste, fraud, and abuse
protections that need to be required, how can we eliminate some
of the paperwork burden for small businesses participating in
SBA’s innovations programs?
Cannot hear you. Mr. Epp? Can anybody else hear him?
Mr. EPP. Can you hear me now?
Ms. VAN DUYNE. I can hear you.
Mr. EPP. Can you hear me?
Ms. VAN DUYNE. Yeah, I can hear you.
Mr. EPP. Can you hear me now?
Ms. VAN DUYNE. Yes.
Mr. EPP. I am sorry. I am still trying to figure all this out.
You know, as I mentioned, that is one of the really very good at-
tributes about the accelerator growth competition is the minimal
restrictions on it, the minimal paperwork that is required. I am
sorry to be so picky but more of that.
Ms. VAN DUYNE. All right. Thank you. I yield back my time.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you. The gentlewoman yields back.
The Chair will now recognize Mr. Evans.
Mr. EVANS. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you,
Ranking Member.
The question I would like to ask is to Dr. Burks. Access to capital
is a persistent issue for small businesses and entrepreneurs, and
particularly for Black businesses and women. What types of fund-
ing have you utilized?
Mr. BURKS. Good question. As a startup, you usually use as
much as you can find but we have been able to utilize funding from
the University of Illinois. Probably our largest supporter is Federal.
The National Science Foundation SBIR funding, so we are in that
pipeline. We are a phase one SBIR funded company at this point
and we are in advanced review for NSF SBIR phase two. Those are
the largest funding sources that we have received thus far. We
have also received the Proof of Concept Award through the Illinois
incubator which is an SBA funded initiative. And for certain as-
pects of like development we have gotten support from private
vineyards. So vineyards who believe in our product. You know, the
problem we are trying to solve is extremely huge, so the vineyards
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
23
that could benefit from our product being a success, they have been
giving us resources, whether it is manpower, whether it is access
to data, whether it is equipment and to space on their farms to do
work. We had an international partner who we could not pay for
but they put the money up to fund us to do a field trial at their
site internationally. So I would say those are our primary sources.
But without the government funding, particularly the SBIR, I
mean, none of this would be probably possible because that has
funded salaries, that has funded initial material costs, that has
funded personnel. It just goes on and on what it has funded. And
it has given us the ability to be housed in this incubator in a way
because we have to pay rent to the incubator for our laboratory
space and so that has paid for all of that. So the NSF SBIR has
been tremendous and huge as part of our funding.
Mr. EVANS. Let me follow up a little bit. How does this work?
Can you talk a little bit about it?
Mr. BURKS. How does what work?
Mr. EVANS. How does the Committee, in terms of the funding
issue, how does it work? As you said, you are housed in the incu-
bator. How does it work?
Mr. BURKS. So it is a long process but the incubator recognized
our idea as something that had a lot of potential, so that gave us
access to the incubator. And in the beginning the incubator has
funds available to house us there. And then from there you con-
tinue to grow your pot for other funding and then that is where the
NSF funding came into play. We also had NSF I-Corp, which in-
volved going out to do customer discovery, figuring out what the
customer needs are. There was funding involved in that to kind of
also help offset costs of being in the incubator. But then in our
world for like material tech startups, you know, if you get the NSF
SBIR it is a huge, like that is like you kind of made it in a way.
And so from there you use that funding to continue to develop your
efforts in this incubator. And the hope for the incubator is that
they can give you all the resources that you need so that you can
eventually fly away on your own and be able to be a self-sustaining
business. So we have to apply. And so the NSF SBIR has a vetting
process where basically we submit our idea in an organized, sci-
entific way and it is vetted by other scientists for its technical fea-
sibility and then after that it is kind of vetted from a financial
standpoint to see if it is financially suitable, like our money and
things like that add up and we are a responsible company in our
accounting practices. So, but it is nice because it is scientifically
vetted first, which means there is a higher likelihood that what we
are proposing is going to be technically successful going forward.
And then as we all know, all the business owners here know, you
know, just because you are a good scientist does not make you nec-
essarily a good businessperson. So then there is this leap that we
also have to make to become good businesspeople or to hire good
business people or to have good business advisors to help us grow
in that capacity as well.
Mr. EVANS. I would like to thank you, Dr. Burks.
I yield back the balance of my time, Madam Chair.
Mr. BURKS. Thank you.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you. The gentleman yields back.
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
24
I want to start off by saying thank you to all of our witnesses
today. I definitely appreciate you being here. Your compelling testi-
mony has certainly helped shed light on the importance of SBA’s
innovation initiatives. And of course, as always, input from stake-
holders, folks like you, it is critical as we make our innovative eco-
system more inclusive and prolific here in this country. Obviously,
we have more work to do if our country is going to reclaim the title
of world’s most innovative. Small businesses are going to play a
critical role in achieving that and that is why we have to work to-
gether on this Committee to ensure the SBA programs have the
support that they need to guide entrepreneurs and ensure that
they have the support they need to support the entrepreneurs with
what they need. So, I am looking forward to working with members
on this Committee to ensure that these programs are operating at
their full potential and serving small businesses effectively.
And with that I would ask unanimous consent that members
have 5 legislative days to submit statements and supporting mate-
rials for the record.
Without objection, so ordered.
And if there is no further business to come before the Committee,
we are adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 2:28 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
25
APPENDIX
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 25 here 45124.001
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
26
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 26 here 45124.002
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
27
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 27 here 45124.003
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
28
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 28 here 45124.004
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
29
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 29 here 45124.005
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
30
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 30 here 45124.006
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
31
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 31 here 45124.007
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
32
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 32 here 45124.008
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
33
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 33 here 45124.009
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
34
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 34 here 45124.010
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
35
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 35 here 45124.011
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
36
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 36 here 45124.012
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
37
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 37 here 45124.013
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
38
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 38 here 45124.014
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
39
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 39 here 45124.015
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
40
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 40 here 45124.016
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
41
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 41 here 45124.017
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
42
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 42 here 45124.018
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
43
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 43 here 45124.019
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
44
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 44 here 45124.020
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
45
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 45 here 45124.021
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
46
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 46 here 45124.022
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
47
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 47 here 45124.023
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
48
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 48 here 45124.024
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
49
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 49 here 45124.025
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
50
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 50 here 45124.026
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
51
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 51 here 45124.027
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
52
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 52 here 45124.028
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
53
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 53 here 45124.029
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
54
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 54 here 45124.030
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
55
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 55 here 45124.031
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
56
Æ
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 56 here 45124.032
VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:49 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6011 F:\DOCS\45124.TXT DEBBIE
File and source
- File
- CHRG-117hhrg45124.pdf
- Size
- 24,104,286 bytes
- SHA-256
- 194b5eec3672bf8156c8d9dfcef6a4ee90cbe336b31df0bbc910341480425a3a
- Our copy
- CHRG-117hhrg45124.pdf
- Original
- www.govinfo.gov