Rural Entrepreneurship: Examining the Challenges and State of Rural Small Businesses (House Small Business Committee hearing, July 26, 2023)
Summary
The printed record of a House Committee on Small Business hearing, Rural Entrepreneurship: Examining the Challenges and State of Rural Small Businesses, held July 26, 2023, Small Business Committee Document Number 118–022, printed in 2024. The committee met at 10:02 a.m. in Room 2360 of the Rayburn House Office Building with Chairman Roger Williams presiding. Four witnesses testified: Kendell Culp of the Indiana Farm Bureau, Rensselaer, IN; Jennifer Cassaday of Byrd's Pecan Delights, Adrian, MO; Matt Splitter of Splitter Farms, Sterling, KS; and Josh Phillips of Spawn Fly Fish, Ilwaco, WA. The appendix adds material from the Guam Chamber of Commerce, the Washington State Microenterprise Association and a letter from AcreTrader founder Carter Malloy. The committee adjourned at 11:33 a.m.
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
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“Rural Entrepreneurship: Examining the Challenges and State of Rural Small Businesses (House Small Business Committee hearing, July 26, 2023).”
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RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: EXAMINING THE
CHALLENGES AND STATE OF RURAL SMALL
BUSINESSES
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
UNITED STATES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
HEARING HELD
JULY 26, 2023
Small Business Committee Document Number 118–022
Available via the GPO Website: www.govinfo.gov
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
52–686 WASHINGTON : 2024
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
ROGER WILLIAMS, Texas, Chairman
BLAINE LUETKEMEYER, Missouri
PETE STAUBER, Minnesota
DAN MEUSER, Pennsylvania
BETH VAN DUYNE, Texas
MARIA SALAZAR, Florida
TRACEY MANN, Kansas
JAKE ELLZEY, Texas
MARC MOLINARO, New York
MARK ALFORD, Missouri
ELI CRANE, Arizona
AARON BEAN, Florida
WESLEY HUNT, Texas
NICK LALOTA, New York
NYDIA VELÁZQUEZ, New York, Ranking Member
JARED GOLDEN, Maine
KWEISI MFUME, Maryland
DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota
GREG LANDSMAN, Ohio
MORGAN MCGARVEY, Kentucky
MARIE GLUESENKAMP PEREZ, Washington
HILLARY SCHOLTEN, Michigan
SHRI THANEDAR, Michigan
JUDY CHU, California
SHARICE DAVIDS, Kansas
CHRIS PAPPAS, New Hampshire
BEN JOHNSON, Majority Staff Director
MELISSA JUNG, Minority Staff Director
(II)
CONTENTS
OPENING STATEMENTS
Page
Hon. Roger Williams ................................................................................................ 1
Hon. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez ............................................................................. 2
WITNESSES
Mr. Kendell Culp, Vice President, Indiana Farm Bureau, Rensselaer, IN ........ 5
Ms. Jennifer Cassaday, Owner, Byrd’s Pecan Delights, Adrian, MO .................. 7
Mr. Matt Splitter, Owner, Splitter Farms, Sterling, KS ...................................... 8
Mr. Josh Phillips, Owner, Spawn Fly Fish, Ilwaco, WA ...................................... 10
APPENDIX
Prepared Statements:
Mr. Kendell Culp, Vice President, Indiana Farm Bureau, Rensselaer,
IN ................................................................................................................... 38
Ms. Jennifer Cassaday, Owner, Byrd’s Pecan Delights, Adrian, MO .......... 31
Mr. Matt Splitter, Owner, Splitter Farms, Sterling, KS ............................... 44
Mr. Josh Phillips, Owner, Spawn Fly Fish, Ilwaco, WA ............................... 42
Questions for the Record:
None.
Answers for the Record:
None.
Additional Material for the Record:
Guam Chamber of Commerce Partners in Progress ...................................... 46
Washington State Microenterprise Association (WSMA) .............................. 48
Letter from Carter Malloy, Founder & CEO, AcreTrader to Hon. Roger
Williams ......................................................................................................... 53
(III)
RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: EXAMINING
THE CHALLENGES AND STATE OF RURAL
SMALL BUSINESSES
WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2023
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:02 a.m., in Room
2360, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Roger Williams [chair-
man of the Committee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Williams, Stauber, Meuser, Mann,
Ellzey, Molinaro, Alford, Scholten, Thanedar, Davids, and Pappas.
Also Present: Representative Moylan.
Chairman WILLIAMS. Good morning. I now call the Committee
on Small Business to order.
Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a recess of
the Committee at any time.
I now recognize myself for my opening statement.
Welcome to today’s hearing that will focus on the challenges fac-
ing main street in rural America.
I want to thank our witnesses for being here today and I under-
stand that all of you traveled a long way to share your stories.
There are probably more important things that you could be accom-
plishing back home and at work but I am extremely grateful that
you chose to give us your time to tell us about your businesses and
backgrounds so we can hear directly from all of you.
Entrepreneurs in rural communities are responsible for bringing
life, jobs, and economic advancement on their hometowns. How-
ever, in Biden’s America rural entrepreneurs face a series of
unique challenges that make running their businesses more dif-
ficult than they need to be. Small businesses across America are
facing unprecedented economic challenges, high taxes, and unnec-
essary regulatory burdens. To make matters worse, according to
the Congressional Budget Office, inflation in rural areas was over
double that in the urban areas.
Unfortunately, the obstacles do not stop here. Workforce issues
and the inability to obtain affordable capital is making it more
challenging to keep operations moving forward. While there are
certainly headwinds for all rural entrepreneurs, I remain confident
that they will overcome these obstacles.
In the meantime, this Committee will be looking at the federal
resources that are available to rural business owners to ensure
that they are making the intended impact. The challenges of a
(1)
2
business owner in Weatherford, Texas, where I am from faces very
different than those in Washington, D.C. While no entrepreneur
needs the government to be successful, we must ensure that if we
are spending taxpayer dollars to help our nation’s job creators they
will be able to be utilized by all people regardless of where they
are located.
So Congress is currently working on the new Farm Bill that will
provide certainty for our nation’s farmers and ranchers for their
next 5 years. These businesses feed American and it is important
that we are listening to their concerns as this bill is being devel-
oped.
And I am glad we have some of our witnesses here today that
will be able to give us their perspectives on the challenges they are
seeing in their rural communities. There is no doubt rural small
businesses are resilient and will not stop in the face of adversity
and hardship, and I am confident that their hard work and unre-
lenting spirit of all of you and entrepreneurship that happens our
rural small business owners exhibit can be a shining example for
all of our nation’s job creators. And where there are gaps, we need
to understand where federal, state and local assistance programs
can help.
So I look forward to our discussion today as we shed light on the
challenges facing rural America while highlighting success stories
that give hope to entrepreneurs across the country.
So I ask unanimous consent to waive Representative Moylan
from Guam onto the Committee for the purpose of asking questions
in today’s hearing.
And without objection, so ordered.
So with that, I will now yield to Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez for an
opening statement.
Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for
holding this important hearing.
As somebody who lives in rural Washington, the importance of
supporting our rural entrepreneurs is an issue close to my heart
and vital to our economic prosperity. Too often when we think of
places with robust entrepreneurship, rural areas are left out of that
discussion. Yet, small companies are the foundation of rural econo-
mies delivering essential services to residents fostering job creation
and stimulating economic growth. Unfortunately, rural businesses
also often face disproportionate challenges when starting and scal-
ing their operations.
In my home county, Skamania County, and many others across
the country, rural businesses lack the capital that is easier to ob-
tain in major cities, the high-speed broadband connection that keep
them competitive, the clean water that keeps them healthy, and
the workforce to grow their enterprise.
The disparity in rural areas extends beyond just entrepreneur-
ship—from access to healthcare, to neglected infrastructure, to food
and banking deserts—rural communities are consistently at a dis-
advantage. Often, being rural literally means being further away
from some of the essential services which makes the small and
local businesses that much more important.
If your car breaks down or your phone screen shatters, most peo-
ple cannot go 2 or 3 hours in the city to the nearest dealership or
3
Apple store. Instead, you have to rely on your local mechanic or
electronic shop. And yet, many manufacturers are trying to stop
the ability of these shops to provide basic services to rural resi-
dents, which is why I came to Congress to support right to repair
legislation.
Despite existing resources, rural towns may lack the support to
navigate complex grant programs or interact with federal agencies
and that basic infrastructure is invaluable to nurturing an entre-
preneurial ecosystem that creates economic growth and resilience.
It is our duty here in Congress to meet the needs of our rural
entrepreneurs and unleash the power of our federal programs and
investments. And we are taking significant steps to do just that
with historic funding for broadband, fiber, and water system
projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, energy mod-
ernization with the Inflation Reduction Act, and shifts in focus to
place-based local strategies.
Last year’s Democratic majority led the way to a brighter future
for rural America. But our work is far from over. My partners on
both sides of the aisle and I are working hard to make sure that
these infrastructure and energy laws are implemented effectively
and that rural areas get our fair share.
I am especially proud to cosponsor the bipartisan Supporting
Small Businesses in Career and Technical Education Act of 2023,
which would empower hardworking Americans to join the trades
and train them to start their own small businesses.
As we move forward with landmark investments in our commu-
nities, I remain committed to ensuring that rural America is not
left behind.
With that, I would like to thank all the witnesses for joining us
today. We look forward to hearing your testimony.
With that, I yield back.
Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back.
And now I will introduce our witnesses.
Our first witness with us here today is Mr. Kendell Culp. Mr.
Culp is the vice president of the Indiana Farm Bureau located in
Rensselaer. I am from Texas so that is hard to say. Rensselaer, In-
diana. Mr. Culp was also recently elected in 2022 to the Indiana
House of Representatives and serves on the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Technical Advisory Committee. He previously serve
as the Jasper County commissioner, president of the Indiana Asso-
ciation of County Commissioners, and vice president of the Indiana
Farm Bureau. And we know in Texas the power of the county com-
missioner, so you are a big deal in Indiana. So good job. Mr. Culp
is a graduate of Purdue University. Mr. Culp, thank you for joining
us today and we look forward to today’s conversation.
Our next witness with us today is Mr. Matthew Splitter. I am
former baseball player and when I hear splitter it scares me to
death. Mr. Splitter is the owner of Splitter Farms located in Ster-
ling, Kansas. Splitter Farms began in 1876 when Wilhelm Splitter
moved to Central Kansas. Five generations later, the family still
farms the same land and Mr. Matthew Splitter returned to the
family farm when he was just 24 years old and a new graduate.
Mr. Splitter has served on multiple boards, including the Central
Prairie Co-op Board of Directors and the Kansas Corn Association
4
Board of Directors, as well as currently serving on the FCC’s Fed-
eral Advisory Commission, a Precision Ag Connectivity Taskforce.
Mr. Splitter is a graduate of Kansas State University. I am a TC
Horn Frog. Okay? Where you earned a bachelor’s degree in agri-
culture, agricultural operations, and related sciences. He also re-
cently attended Texas A&M’s Executive Program for Agricultural
Producers in 2020. So Mr. Splitter, thank you for joining us today,
and we look forward to hearing a conversation with you also.
I now recognize my colleague, Representative Alford from the
great state of Missouri, to briefly introduce his constituent who is
appearing before us today.
Mr. ALFORD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Our next witness here with us today is Jennifer Cassaday. Ms.
Cassaday is the owner of Byrd’s Pecan Delights located in Bates
County, Missouri, which I was just at last week with about I think
50 other small business owners who wanted to come learn about
the Small Business Administration and how we were making posi-
tive changes. She brought along some bourbon roasted pecans
which I may pass around here on the dais and let you have a few,
Chairman.
She founded her business, Byrd’s Pecan Delights in 2014, fol-
lowing in the footsteps of her grandparents who opened a shop
after buying a pecan farm in 1964. Relying on farm fresh pecans
for many of their products, Ms. Cassaday now knows firsthand the
challenges that rural small businesses can face such as droughts
which we are facing today, extreme drought, rural delivery routes
and lack of resources. A lot of people do not think about these
things. In true entrepreneurial spirit, Ms. Cassaday does not only
own and operate Byrd’s Pecan Delights but she also serves as the
president of the Adrian Chamber of Commerce. She is here with
her husband, Jeremy, who is also a small business owner and a
Harley rider. Good guy. Ms. Cassaday, thank you for being a rich
part of America’s fabric joining us today, and hopefully we can
learn something from your experiences that we can make some
positive changes in America.
And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Chairman WILLIAMS. Representative Alford yields back.
I now recognize Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez to briefly introduce our
last witness appearing before us today.
Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to welcome Josh Phillips, the owner of Spawn Fly
Fish, a growing small business in Ilwaco, Washington. Mr. Phillips
started his business at home in 2017 creating lifelike molded fish
heads as lures for flyfishing. He soon acquired a building in Ilwaco,
branched out to kayaks and other flyfishing equipment, and built
an ecommerce brand that is globally distributed. Today, Spawn Fly
Fish is a full-scale brick and mortar store. Before becoming an en-
trepreneur, Mr. Phillips was a substitute teacher and a profes-
sional soccer player where he captained the Portland Timbers sec-
ond team. You know, we joke in D.C. and in my office that here
on the East Coast they have marble and museums and on the West
Coast at home we have the woods. And we are very grateful for Mr.
Phillips’s leadership in ensuring and fighting for public access to
the woods and our rivers. He is active in his local community and
5
sharing his rural small business knowledge and experience with
other local small business owners and the high school. He holds a
bachelor’s degree in business administration from Gonzaga. Thank
you so much for being here with us today, Mr. Phillips, and thank
you to the rest of the panel. I look forward to hearing and our dis-
cussion today.
I yield back.
Chairman WILLIAMS. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez yields back. And
I want to thank you for that. And we appreciate all of you again
being here today.
So before we are recognizing the witnesses, we will do some
housekeeping. I would like to remind them that their oral testi-
mony is restricted to 5 minutes in length. And if you get a little
long you are going to hear me do this (tapping of gavel). Okay?
That means you are done. Okay? And if you see the light turn red
in front of you it means your 5 minutes is coming up. Okay?
So I want to now recognize Mr. Culp for your 5-minute opening
remarks.
STATEMENTS OF KENDALL CULP, VICE PRESIDENT, INDIANA
FARM BUREAU; JENNIFER CASSADAY; OWNER, BYRD‘S
PECAN DELIGHTS; MATT SPLITTER, OWNER, SPLITTER
FARMS; JOSH PHILLIPS, OWNER, SPAWN FLY FISH
STATEMENT OF KENDELL CULP
Mr. CULP. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Members of the Com-
mittee. I appreciate the opportunity to be here to speak to you this
morning about the challenges that rural communities and small
businesses are facing. As the Chairman introduced myself, I am
Kendell Culp and I testify before you this morning as vice presi-
dent of Indiana Farm Bureau. I am also a Member of the Board
of Directors of the American Soybean Association and I am proud
to represent House District 16 in the Indiana General Assembly in
my first term.
I live and farm near Rensselaer, Indiana. That is a town of about
6,000 people. That is located in Jasper County in the northwest
quadrant of the state of Indiana. I farm with my father and my
wife and my son on our family farm. We raise corn, soybeans, beef
cattle, and hogs. We also operate Culp Family Farms meat sales
as well as a catering service.
Now, in the past, as you said, I served as Jasper County commis-
sioner for 18 years, been on our local drainage board, and served
on our county’s Economic Development Board. Because of these
past associations, I believe I can offer a unique perspective to the
challenges that we face today in rural communities.
First of all, our rural communities face several challenges and
the 2020 Census certainly highlighted how dire that situation is
across rural America. Rural communities have seen a decline in
population in the last many years while our friends in urban and
suburban area has seen growth.
According to the 2020 Census, 53 percent of Indiana’s countries
lost population which mirrors the exact percentage we have seen
across all of the United States. That is a problem that certainly
6
must be addressed before our rural communities begin to dis-
appear.
I am sure it will come to no surprise to the Committee to know
that the workforce challenges are the forefront of every industry,
every community, and every business whether large or small. Jobs
cannot get filled, shops and restaurants are having to cut back and
reduce their hours of operation, and small business that are so im-
portant to rural American in many cases are closing for good. Now,
I have seen this happen in my own hometown. Last year, two small
family businesses closed because the next generation chose not to
move back to their hometown where they were born to continue on
that family business.
Now, in order to attract, small businesses in small communities
need access to reliable broadband. Today, internet access is a must
for small businesses, and without that reliable connectivity, they
will miss out on opportunities needed to survive and to grow their
business.
Now, like several other counties in Indiana, Jasper County was
a childcare desert and young families that needed that childcare
were forced to drive up to 45 minutes to find that service. Now,
with the help of a few local folks, our communities, local govern-
ment, and businesses, Appleseed Childhood Education opened its
doors earlier this year to 70 slots for children to be served in our
community for quality childhood education. And really, it showed
that if a community comes together and pools their energy and
pools their resources that we can tackle an issue and come to re-
solve.
Finally, we must focus also on quality of life amenities. When po-
tential new families come to communities, they want to know do
we have high quality educational opportunities in your community?
Do we have access to healthcare and emergency services? Is there
adequate and affordable housing in your community? And do we
have the road, water, and utility infrastructure needed to support
those residences and those business? All these questions must be
addressed if we are going to attract and retain workforce in our
communities.
Now, I have identified some of the challenges that we face in our
communities but what can Congress do to help? Well, first of all,
I would encourage Congress to work together and pass a bipartisan
2023 Farm Bill on time so that we cannot lose access to the pro-
grams that we really need. The Farm Bill impacts the well-being
of all Americans, and while it is not the fix for everything, the chal-
lenges that our rural communities are facing, the rural develop-
ment title of the Farm Bill offers programs that can add tools that
communities need as they plan for future and future growth.
In conclusion, I want to thank you today for the opportunity to
testify. Rural communities are the backbone of this nation and in
many cases agriculture, along with those small businesses, are the
economic drivers of those communities. If farmers have a good year
they are going to spend dollars in their hometown and that benefits
main street businesses and they will flourish as well. Open discus-
sions like this will allow us to find solutions to the challenges that
we face. I truly love living and working in my rural community and
it is my greatest honor to serve my constituents in my district. I
7
look forward to answering your questions today and discussing
some of the challenges of our communities. Thank you.
Chairman WILLIAMS. Perfect.
I now recognize Ms. Cassaday for her 5-minute opening remarks.
STATEMENT OF JENNIFER CASSADAY
Ms. CASSADAY. Thank you.
I am here representing businesses in a town of about 1,700 peo-
ple. Adrian, Missouri is located about 60 miles south of Kansas
City, right on the I-49 border. We are a town of people who back
each other up and support each other every which way we can. It
is a town primarily made up of farmers, teachers, and other busi-
ness owners who understand what it means to work for everything
you have.
Business owners in the area work 24/7 to keep their doors open
trying to fulfill a dream. Each one of them have a story to share
about why they became entrepreneurs and why they continue to
strive for success with their business. Each one of them will prob-
ably also tell you that it is one of the hardest things they have ever
done. At least that was the most common reply I got when I was
asking their thoughts on running a business in 2023.
I first opened my business back in 2014 at a very small location
a few blocks from where it is now. Four years ago I moved into a
building that we renovated because it was located right off the
interstate. I then completely revamped my business plan. We still
sell our pecans that we raise as a family on about 600 acres of
pecan trees, but we also offer a full breakfast, lunch, dinner menu.
We make our own homemade ice cream. We sell gourmet coffee and
it is also a bakery as I am a certified pastry chef by trade. Within
6 months of opening at this location, we went up against COVID,
followed by supply shortages, wage increases, and inflation.
At times it feels like the odds are stacked completely against us
as business owners. I recently had to purchase a van in order to
travel an hour to the city to get supplies to supplement having it
delivered because I could simply save money. I am able to save
$300 to $400 a week by doing this but I have to use up an entire
day of not being at my business to do it.
I will say I love what I do and I am fortunate enough to have
family, friends, community, and not to mention a great staff that
backs up my dreams as if it is their own. Even though I cannot pay
them what they well deserve, and I cannot afford to offer insurance
or other benefits because as a small business owner there is also
no breaks on that unless you have large amounts of employees.
Our profit margins allow for very little spending because we also
cannot price things where they need to be in order to take care of
everything or else we price ourselves out of the market. For exam-
ple, I buy my supplies at the same place restaurants in Kansas
City buy their suppliers but I cannot sell it on the menu for the
same as what they sell it for.
If we drive away our local commerce, then we have to rely more
and more on the outside commerce to come into our town, which
is what our focus has been here lately. Our reality that we accept
and embrace is that if we rely on the population of 1,700 within
our town then our businesses just will not survive right now.
8
Unfortunately, this means we have to advertise at a large radius
to get more people to travel to come and see us or come off the
highway. This takes billboards and large amounts of advertising.
In the city, the marketing philosophy is how to bring people off the
street, but in rural America the concept is a bit more broad and
it is how do we convince people to drive the 20, 30, 60 minutes to
come to our town or exit off the interstate. Just having a sign listed
under the Food this Exit, Missouri Department of Transportation
charges $2,000 a year. And it is higher depending on the traffic so
it is usually just larger businesses and chains that can even afford
that. Advertising with travel magazines and similar entities cost
upwards of $1,000 plus a year, and that is a lot of money when try-
ing to balance daily sales and with the higher cost of everything.
At the end of the day, there just is not anything left to work with.
We need some barriers to be broken down so small businesses
can succeed and not feel like it is impossible to be successful. The
more sales tax that comes through a small city the better it can
survive. It helps the schools. It helps the community. It helps those
who cannot pay their bills. It helps on the federal level as well but
then it also helps the city to function and to thrive on its own two
feet. And it takes those tax dollars to do that. We are not fans of
big chains but our small town, even if we were, they would never
set up shop because we do not have the population to support it.
That means the commerce has to fall completely back on small
businesses. And when small businesses cannot survive, small
towns in rural America will continue to fall.
Chairman WILLIAMS. Thank you.
And I now recognize Mr. Splitter for his 5-minute opening re-
marks.
STATEMENT OF MATT SPLITTER
Mr. SPLITTER. Thank you, Chairman, and the entire SBA Small
Business Committee.
It is an honor to be here before you today as a fifth generation
farmer from Central Kansas. If I told you that farming was in my
blood I would lie. I was adopted before I was born so this is kind
of living the true American dream.
In 2010, my wife Janna and I had the opportunity to take over
our family farm. My father had just passed away and we came
back to a farm that was 1,200 acres and one seasonal employee.
As we sit here today, we farm over 10,000 acres in Central Kansas
and we have six to eight full-time employees.
As I wrap up in m11th year of full-time farming, we can reflect
back on all the challenges and the success stories that we have
had. Our growth has been contributed mostly to relationship build-
ing. A lot of retiring farmers, neighboring farmers, and custom
work. Lots of sleepless nights and just lots of prayers got us to
where we are today.
I would like to talk a little bit about the challenges, the opportu-
nities, and the quality of life. There are micro and macro chal-
lenges that face today’s young farmers. One of the largest chal-
lenges that face young farmers today is access to capital. Regula-
tions placed on lending institutions make it difficult to access nec-
essary funding that allows a small farmer and a young farmer to
9
plant their crop. With little to no collateral, the ability to borrow
is significant limited. Other resources, such as USDA/FSA loans
are great alternatives but they are cumbersome and time con-
suming. In today’s fast-changing markets, time is of the essence.
Same is the case for rural Main Stret and small businesses. Capital
is hard to come by and very complicated to work through. Very
cumbersome and very slow.
Most recently, supply chain issues, inflation, regulatory uncer-
tainty, and weather—we just came out of the worst drought that
I have seen and I have not been farming very long but it has been
a tremendous drought through Central Kansas—makes producing
the world’s safest and most affordable food supply very difficult.
Inflation continues to wreak havoc on our farm equipment pur-
chasing and borrowing. Daily, we struggle procuring parts for
equipment, seed, and fertilizer for crops regardless of the price. We
just cannot get them. More specifically, equipment costs on our op-
eration were up 12 percent from late 2021 to early 2023. Seed costs
were up 7 to 12 percent from 2022 to 2023. Fertilizer prices have
fluctuated from 25 to 70 percent increases year on year. Although
prices were up, commodity prices were also higher. It helped offset
some of those costs. The 2022 growing season was extremely dry.
We had 33 percent of our average rainfall and were unable to raise
even our average production number. Our wheat harvest that we
just got out of about 12 days ago was about 30 to 40 percent of our
average. To me, it feels like some federal regulations are trying to
put family farms out of business while we should be working to-
gether to be the world’s gold standard in agriculture.
More challenges that rural Americans face, not just agriculture
producers, are access to healthcare, quality education, childcare,
high speed internet access, quality housing. The list goes on.
Although there are multiple challenges, there are multiple oppor-
tunities as well. There are great opportunities for entrepreneurs in
rural America. The need for main streets to stay vibrant and cater
to the local economy remain. We need local businesses where we
can shop and socialize without having to travel out of our commu-
nity.
With the realization that working remotely is more widely ac-
cepted, moving to rural areas has become more attractive. The
push and implementation of rural broadband access will allow em-
ployees and employers to connect regardless of geographical loca-
tion.
In the 2017 Census, the average age of the farmer was 57-1/2
years old. The land is not going anywhere and the opportunity still
exists for young farmers to begin. Kansas State University’s Office
of Farm and Ranch Transition is helping link beginning farmers
with retiring farmers. This program allows for mentorship while
searching for the next generation to farm. It is a one-of-a-kind pro-
gram providing young entrepreneurs a chance to follow their
dreams.
Up to this point we have been very proud to say all of our em-
ployees are long-time and lifelong Members of our local commu-
nities. The wages that we pay to our employees stay local. Their
children go to or have gone to the local public schools. They shop
local. Tax dollars stay local. They use medical services that are
10
local and support may organizations. They are volunteers in their
4-H clubs, Members of the volunteer fire department, and they vol-
unteer their time at church. Our closest friends are doctors, nurses,
schoolteachers, engineers, work in the tech sector, veterinarians,
bankers, coaches. My time is running up. I am going to talk faster.
Restaurant owners, neighboring farmers. But they have all chosen
to be in rural America.
Our county, Rice County, Kansas, has 9,400 people and four
stoplights, one of which works after 6:00 p.m. We are the epitome
of rural America and we deserve recognition.
Again, thank you for inviting me to speak before you and I look
forward to answering any questions and being a resource for fur-
ther policy discussion.
Chairman WILLIAMS. Thank you, Mr. Splitter. Great story.
I now recognize Mr. Phillips for his 5-minute opening remarks.
STATEMENT OF JOSH PHILLIPS
Mr. PHILLIPS. Chairman Williams, Ranking Member
Gluesenkamp Perez, I am delighted to stand before you today and
share my story.
My name is Josh Phillips, and I am the owner and president of
Spawn Fly Fish, a thriving fly shop located in Ilwaco, Washington.
This quaint town over 2,000 miles away embodies the essence of
rural America where challenges are plentiful. However, my com-
pany has committed to not only achieving success in our commu-
nity, but also inspiring success in rural communities nationwide,
despite the obstacles we face.
Having grown up visiting Ilwaco my entire life, and moving there
full time several years ago, I have personally witnessed the strug-
gles endured by its community. Limited housing, scarce job oppor-
tunities, and the subsequent talent drain from rural areas are all
too familiar to us. Driven to make a difference, I embarked on a
journey to bring a growing ecommerce business to Ilwaco, show-
casing the power of hard work and determination.
While our venture focuses on fly fishing, it is our unwavering
passion to the community that has garnered recognition and suc-
cess in rural America. Recognizing the need for stability in rural
communities, I seized the opportunity to create a foundation of sup-
port and empowerment using the tools at hand. Spawn Fly Fish
was born out of a deep commitment to providing exceptional prod-
ucts and fostering a sense of community among fly fishing enthu-
siasts.
To ensure the success of our business, we made a commitment
to rural America by building a thriving community around our
brand through a brick-and-mortar storefront. We understand the
significance of supporting local economies and garnering job oppor-
tunities within our community. By sourcing materials locally and
collaborating with other small businesses in the area, we not only
bolster the regional economy but also forge strong relationships
that continue to improve the overall growth and vitality of rural
America.
In addition to our dedication to the local community, we are also
advocates for environmental sustainability. Recognizing the deli-
cate balance of our ecosystems and the importance of preserving
11
the natural resources that enable outdoor recreation, Spawn Fly
Fish is dedicated to preservation. We donate a percentage of profits
to conservation groups and aim to create lifelong stewards of the
environment.
Through our unwavering commitment to our rural community,
Spawn Fly Fish has emerged as more than just a thriving business.
We have become a beacon of hope, fostering a strong sense of com-
munity and inspiring success. Our entrepreneurial spirit exempli-
fies the resilience and determination that define our great nation,
serving as an inspiration for others in rural communities. By dem-
onstrating that success can be achieved outside of urban centers,
our small fly shop paves the way for the revitalization of rural
economies and the empowerment of local talent.
However, life as a small business owner in a rural community is
incredibly challenging. After 6 years, we are still completely owner-
operated without any employees. The lack of available housing
makes it difficult for us to attract talented staff, and this housing
issue also affects us as owners. To address this, I had to advocate
to the local city council to allow for single-floor occupancy in the
commercial district, enabling one of my partners to move to Ilwaco
and help operate our business together.
The obstacles we face go beyond housing. Our financial situation
is a constant battle, as rural communities often experience high
turnover of businesses and lack of banking options. Securing sim-
ple lines of credit and business loans becomes a lengthy and chal-
lenging process, forcing us to rely on credit cards for operating ex-
penses.
In addition, essential services such as gas, water, groceries,
internet, and health services are all limited and come at a pre-
mium cost in rural communities. This further strains our financial
resources.
Many rural communities like ours rely on tourism, and many of
these communities’ tourism opportunities, including ours, involve
outdoor recreation. At the forefront of recreation in Ilwaco is fish-
ing. The need for funding and proper management of these fish
populations and the watersheds that they live are vital to our com-
munity’s survival. Not only are recreational activities like fishing
experiencing limitations, but the places where these actives occur—
public lands—are being restricted. Limited access to public land
has becomes more of an obstacle, hindering our ability to fish and
recreate in the places that we love. When someone visits our com-
munity to recreate, every single person in this community wins.
Despite all the challenges, we remain committed to the future of
rural communities. We understand that if we lose the people who
care about these areas, our rural communities will lose their es-
sence and vibrancy. Therefore, we persist in our efforts to overcome
these obstacles, seeking solutions and support to ensure the long-
term sustainability of our business and others like it.
In closing, I extend my gratitude to the Committee Members for
your time and consideration. It is an absolute honor to have the op-
portunity today to share my experience and offer insights into what
it takes to build, sustain, and inspire small business in rural Amer-
ica. I am ready to answer any questions and champion the pros-
perity of rural communities. Thank you.
12
Chairman WILLIAMS. Great job on the timing and great stories
from all of you.
Let me just say you are going to see Committee people moving
in and out. There are a lot of hearings going on so they will be com-
ing in and out as you see that.
Now we will move to the Member questions under the 5-minute
rule, and I recognize myself for 5 minutes.
As the Chairman of this Committee, I have repeatedly discussed
my personal experiences as a small business owner. Many people
know that I own car dealerships back in Texas but what they may
not know is that I also run a Black Angus calf-cow operation and
pecans. Not nearly as large as yours. And I can tell you that I
know the price of fertilizer and what it has done. And the struggles
that so many people have faced, we have faced in many cases first-
hand that all of you talked about here today.
So with out of control inflation and a brown bale of hay that usu-
ally runs 40 to 45 bucks is now $95 in a business with such tight
margins, these changes can be detrimental to long-term success.
So Mr. Splitter, I would like to ask you. Do you have any exam-
ples of how inflation is hurting your farm? And how have you had
to adjust operations to compensate for those higher prices?
Mr. SPLITTER. Compensation for higher prices—consolidation in
agriculture is just tough. Access to a competitive market is really
tough as well. But as inflation goes, because we are young farmers,
young business, we do not have cash reserves to go back to. What-
ever the interest rate does, it does. We still have to pull on a line
of credit. We are probably doing a little bit more marketing on our
grain side, extending ourselves out a little bit so we can lock in
some grain prices. Whenever we are making a big purchase of fer-
tilizer, seed, or chemical, we are offsetting it with a futures price
as well on the board. We are being just more aggressive in that na-
ture.
Chairman WILLIAMS. My second question, over the last few
years business owners across the country have faced economic un-
certainties. We have talked about that. But one thing is certain;
main street is resilient and ready. And I have always said that
small business owners will do whatever they can to survive and are
willing to make tough decisions in order to keep doing what they
love. So unlike the government, the private sector will find ways
to keep their doors open with our money.
So Ms. Cassaday, as the president of your local chamber in Adri-
an, Missouri, a town as you said of less than 2,000 people, you
have a unique perspective on the local business in your area. So
what challenges do you face operating in a rural community? And
what efforts do you take to attract people and businesses to come
to the community?
Ms. CASSADAY. Well, we get together and we do things like try-
ing to plan events. But really the biggest thing that I think hurts
a lot of us directly is with this inflation. You know, I have to con-
stantly look at how I am going to price all of my items on my
menu, what we sell. But then you feel like you are constantly rais-
ing prices, raising prices, raising prices. And then you listen to cus-
tomers get frustrated at, you know, well, I could go somewhere else
and get this so much cheaper. Well, we know that but we are kind
13
of backed into a corner and do not have much option and we are
still struggling to keep our doors open. So I am still not able to
price things where they need to be but——
Chairman WILLIAMS. And it is difficult to pass it on to cus-
tomers.
Ms. CASSADAY. It is very difficult to pass it on to customers
right now.
Chairman WILLIAMS. You have got help from both sides here.
Ms. CASSADAY. Yeah, because the inflation is, I mean, they are
hurting our customers.
Chairman WILLIAMS. Yeah.
Ms. CASSADAY. They are paying higher amounts at the grocery
stores and everywhere that they go. So, of course, they are looking
for cheaper items and we cannot compete with the bigger chains
and what they have to offer.
Chairman WILLIAMS. Mr. Culp, as you know, many small busi-
ness owners are unaware of the government resources that are out
there or find the application process to burdensome to even want
to get involved in it. What are you hearing from businesses about
this problem about able to access, and what have you done on the
state and local level to bring the community together to find solu-
tions and create a better economic environment in Indiana?
Mr. CULP. Well, that is a concern. I hear that over and over
again from small businessmen. I mean, I have participated on an
energy grant program to have energy savings on my farm and so
I had to hire a consultant to do the application for me. And then
there is follow up. Every year there is additional documents that
have to be filed. If you do not go that route of hiring someone else,
if you forget to do that or file that on time then you are liable to
repay all of that and lose your grant. So that certainly is a big
issue. We need to make sure that there is less of those regulations.
And in some cases there is just not a knowledge that that even ex-
ists.
And I can tell you at the state level we do that. We just passed
a budget in Indiana and we have dollars available for different pro-
grams to support and to help the growth of those businesses. And
we think as legislators that we have done our job and we say, well,
we have taken care of that problem because we have delegated or
we have appropriated those dollars. What we do not do is follow
up to see did those dollars get to where they were supposed to go,
to the right groups, the right communities to help them. And so we
are really relying on others to make sure that the application gets
done and in many cases it does not reach the right location.
Chairman WILLIAMS. Thank you. My time is up.
I now recognize Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez for 5 minutes of ques-
tions.
Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Phillips, could you share your experience in finding capital
for your business?
Mr. PHILLIPS. I can. Yes.
As a growing ecommerce brand we have had extreme struggles
finding local banking options. With limited options, we have turned
to credit cards, which every bank in America will sign a small busi-
14
ness up for. This has posed a massive challenge on us as a small
business.
Also, the other need for capital, as a small business we have not
been able to look far out into the future so we have relied on reac-
tionary options such as online lending platforms which come at a
premium, although turnover is very fast, further burdening a small
business.
Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. What was the main reason you
opted not to pursue a loan from the SBA?
Mr. PHILLIPS. The main reason is not that I do not understand
how to check each box. The main reason is that as a small business
owner, when we are not doing one task, another task is being im-
pacted. So for me to check each box means that the daily oper-
ations of our small business are not being fulfilled, which in turn
hurts our small business and does not allow us to operate the way
that we need to to support our local community.
Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Would you agree that more in-
vestment is needed to make the SBA’s loan application process
more accessible and straightforward for small business owners?
Mr. PHILLIPS. I would agree, yes, so that we have time to do
what we need to do to survive.
Chairman WILLIAMS. So in the past, so in some parts of your
district I know we can count the number of banks on one hand.
How much harder does the lack of a physical bank make getting
loans and investments for small businesses?
Mr. PHILLIPS. It does make it extremely challenging. We bank
with Chase, and the nearest Chase is over 2-1/2 hours away. Like
you heard earlier, these times that we are not in the physical loca-
tion of our small business, again, restrict us from operating. A day
to visit a bank takes 2-1/2 hours one way, an hour meeting, and
2-1/2 hours back. That day is essentially over.
Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. So, when there are just one or two
banks and, you know, a 3-hour drive, how does that affect the
favorability of the loans and fees a client could get, would you say?
Mr. PHILLIPS. It does not really give us an option as a small
business. Or in turn, like I stated earlier, it lends our ability to
venture elsewhere which in turn is the internet.
Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. You know, almost every commu-
nity I visit—and in my community—housing is the issue we hear
over and over and over from small business owners. Like, we can-
not find housing for the people we need to hire. And so, I thought
your solution was really interesting of lobbying. And you know, we
talked about the headache and the struggle to get your property re-
zoned so that you were able to, you know, it is so funny to go into
your business and there is like a coffee cup. You know, someone
is living there. So, I wonder if you could talk about your experience
finding housing, navigating, and the necessity of, you know, zoning
flexibility.
Mr. PHILLIPS. Yeah. Our housing on the coast of Washington
is extremely limited, which has possessed a ton of challenges. As
Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez just stated, a business owner of mine occu-
pies the back space which was previously unallowed. We had to ad-
vocate for single-floor occupancy to our city council. And there was
a lot of hesitancy against it. But through constant communication,
15
our dedication to our community, we were able to get that passed
and in turn allow for my partner to move to Ilwaco to benefit our
local community.
Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Thank you so much.
Ms. Cassaday, thank you for staying in business. Thank you for
fighting the fight. I know that, you know, you would have a lot less
heartache doing something else. And so thank you so much.
And I saw on your Facebook page that you are out recruiting
high schoolers and looking for work. And I wonder if you could sort
of talk about the mutual value of bringing in young people and
having meaningful work in their local communities, your efforts to
find them. Just, yeah, talking about your labor market.
Ms. CASSADAY. Well, when it comes to teenagers, I think I look
at my teen staff as my kids. I kind of become their mom because
this younger generation, you know, they rely on texting and I have
to teach them how to work a landline. So if that tells us where we
are starting at with this. So, yeah. It is just teaching them a lot
of life skills. They do not know how to count money. You know, we
are working through a lot of very basic things with these younger
staff Members.
Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Well, thank you so much for doing
that work. The apprenticeships are so necessary and thank you sin-
cerely to all of our witnesses.
Ms. CASSADAY. Thank you.
Chairman WILLIAMS. Next, I recognize Representative Meuser
from the great state of Pennsylvania for 5 minutes.
Mr. MEUSER. I appreciate that very much, Mr. Chairman. And
certainly, thank you to all our witnesses for making the trip and
being here with us today.
So Mr. Culp, I would very much like to start with you. And con-
gratulations and everything that you are doing serving as a rep-
resentative of the Farm Bureau and many other roles that you
play.
So as far as small business goes, are taxes helpful, higher taxes?
Is that something that helps small business?
Mr. CULP. Not at all, actually.
Mr. MEUSER. It adds cost. It adds cost.
Mr. CULP. No. No.
Mr. MEUSER. Do you think you pay your fair share?
Mr. CULP. Absolutely.
Mr. MEUSER. Okay. So, yeah. And higher taxes make American
businesses and certainly American farms less competitive. And
then you make less because you are paying higher taxes. Then
there is a negative return on that investment since you are making
less because you cannot reinvest in your business, and therefore,
tax revenues will go down.
How about regulations? Have regulations from the federal gov-
ernment, or state government for that matter, been helpful to you?
Mr. CULP. Regulations are not helpful.
Mr. MEUSER. Okay. So what about workforce? What do you
think has caused the great decline? I mean, COVID, obviously, but
since then?
Mr. CULP. Well, COVID highlighted it but, I mean, with the re-
tirement of the baby boomers, and we just do not have the skilled
16
workforce available. We have issues right now where we have
young folks—a real example is a local drive-in. I got a call from
them at a neighboring town. A local drive-in hires high school kids.
And so I did not realize but there are regulations on the number
of hours they can work depending on their age and then depending
on if it is a school year or not. And here are kids that are 14, 15,
16 that want to work but there are government regulations that
say they can only work to 9:00 p.m. and so they are not able to.
Mr. MEUSER. So, you know, access to capital has come up from
a few of you. The massive spending that took place over the last
couple of years, did that benefit you? Did you see any of that
money, $5 trillion?
Mr. CULP. No.
Mr. MEUSER. You did not see anything; right?
Energy costs, obviously, that is an added burden. Causes infla-
tion.
Mr. CULP. Have gone up.
Mr. MEUSER. As did the spending.
And I know broadband is something that we have handled hor-
ribly, both the federal and state government, rural broadband, so
that needs to be micromanaged in order so you have the right ac-
cess to it.
Has the federal government, particularly over the last 2 years,
done anything—and we have this Farm Bill coming out—done any-
thing that has been positive for you? And Ms. Cassaday, I am going
to come to you in a second.
Let me just divert to you if you do not mind. You are chamber
president. You have your small business and everything else. You
mentioned insurance. You cannot afford insurance, small business.
There is something called association health plans, AHPs that used
to exist. Farmers used to love them, particularly in Pennsylvania.
But my colleagues on the democrat side just wiped them out. I
mean, democrat governors hate them. Colleagues here hate them
because largely, the only thing I can figure is they want you to go
into Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act.
Ms. Cassady, comment to me on why you think AHPs, if you are
familiar with them, have been eliminated.
Ms. CASSADAY. I am not super familiar with them.
Mr. MEUSER. Okay. It allows all of your chamber Members to
buy in a group so as their insurance rates, healthcare rates and
such would come down. But they have been eliminated.
Ms. CASSADAY. Right.
Mr. MEUSER. It has really greatly negatively affected small
businesses as well as farms in Pennsylvania.
But just going through the list, has the federal government over
the last couple of years done anything except create barriers as you
mentioned that has been helpful?
Ms. CASSADAY. Correct. Yeah. I mean, we are constantly com-
batting all of the inflation. You know, it seems like every time I
turn around there is something else that costs more money. It is
more money. It is more money.
Mr. MEUSER. It is crazy.
Ms. CASSADAY. Which means there is less——
Mr. MEUSER. Crazy.
17
Ms. CASSADAY. We are doing a terrible job. Right.
Mr. Splitter, let me ask you. You brought up access to capital a
couple of times and then you said regs are putting you out of busi-
ness. Hopefully, this Farm Bill, I am sure the SNAP program, the
majority of the Farm Bill, of course, has positive effects on your
business. It needs to be continued. It is important. None of us
argue that. Let’s talk about access to capital. Are you using credit
unions? Are you using SBA? Are you using community banks?
Mr. SPLITTER. We are using a community bank that specializes
in agriculture.
Mr. MEUSER. Do you understand that the SEC, the FDIC and
the Fed want to increase the deposit requirements of these commu-
nity banks?
Mr. SPLITTER. We have been made aware of that.
Mr. MEUSER. Yeah, what do you think of that?
Mr. SPLITTER. Thankfully, we are past that point in our oper-
ation but if we had been facing those regulations 10 years ago, we
probably would have had to file bankruptcy.
Mr. MEUSER. Look forward to getting from you, your testi-
monies were great, anything at all that you can provide that we
need to stop doing or do a lot better I would love to see it. Thank
you.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Chairman WILLIAMS. I next recognize Ms. Scholten from the
great state of Michigan for 5 minutes.
Ms. SCHOLTEN. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. And thank you
to our incredible panel of witnesses for being here today.
I am from the great state of Michigan where we have large
swaths of beautiful rural area, especially in my district. So ensur-
ing that we support rural small businesses is so critical to me. It
is not just about enabling the spirit of entrepreneurship but mak-
ing sure small and rural towns have reliable infrastructure, like
broadband internet, water, and access to childcare. All these things
that we have been talking about today I consider to be the founda-
tions of a critical infrastructure on which to build small businesses
in rural communities.
Mr. Culp, my first question is for you. In your testimony you dis-
cuss the importance of attracting and maintaining a strong work-
force. Can you talk a little bit more about how workforce issues
compound in rural areas with other issues like childcare deserts or
access to broadband internet?
Mr. CULP. Absolutely. We are located in northwest Indiana. We
are about 45 minutes you could go north or south to a more metro-
politan area. And so we have young families that maybe come in
and they get a job, they interview for the job, they get a job. Our
hospital was a good example of this. And so the professional that
is getting hired is fine to live there. The spouse comes and says,
well, where is the retail? Where is the entertainment opportuni-
ties? Where are the food venues? Right? Where are the walking
paths? And you see all of these quality of life and quality of place
amenities that sometimes are not there. And if they went 45 min-
utes either way in our case they would have an abundance of all
of those. And so what happens then, not only do they want to live
there but it is like, oh, we have a lot more employment opportuni-
18
ties there as well and you lose those people. They just will not
come because you cannot offer those quality of life issues.
So I would have said 10 years ago, or 15 years ago as a county
official, those really are not county government issues but I have
really changed my tune on that because we have got to attract peo-
ple to our communities to live and to work because we need that
workforce whether it is professional or other. And to get that we
are going to have to have things that attract them. And so the
things you have listed certainly fall into those categories.
Ms. SCHOLTEN. Thank you so much.
Mr. Phillips, my next series of questions are for you. And I want
to talk a little bit about the relationship of water to your business
in particular as well. I am proud to represent miles of beautiful
Lake Michigan shoreline, a year-round angler myself and serve on
the Water Subcommittee on our Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee here in Congress. We know how important clean water
is to so many businesses, but especially one like yours.
The fish who you rely on for your revenue depend on clean water.
We have got a beautiful map in my office of how far the boundaries
outstretch. I represent a lot of fish. That is the joke in my office.
What is the best way in your opinion for the federal government
to protect this vital input for the rural small businesses who need
it?
Mr. PHILLIPS. The biggest factor in this is that although I do
make a living on fish, it is not just myself that benefits from clean
water. The entire community surrounding my business also bene-
fits. When somebody comes to our rural town they gas their boat
up. They stay in a hotel. They eat at a restaurant. It is not just
one individual when it comes to fish. It is the community at-large
when you are talking about communities that rely on clean water
for outdoor recreation. So in saying that, it is not just about me;
it is about our community as a whole when you are talking about
clean water. And knowing that I think is very important that it is
not just about a fly shop in Ilwaco. It is about everybody.
Ms. SCHOLTEN. Yeah. It is clear you have a firsthand knowl-
edge, understanding of just the greater economy that a business
like yours supports around it.
And quickly, you know, just as a follow-up, would you have cho-
sen Ilwaco to locate your business in if its water infrastructure was
polluted, contaminated?
Ms. PHILLIPS. No, I would not have. The ability to get out and
escape, per se, the challenges that we all have as business owners
is something that revitalizes myself, as well as allows us to market
our products to a larger audience, to communities across the na-
tion.
Ms. SCHOLTEN. Yeah, thank you so much.
I yield back the remainder of my time.
Chairman WILLIAMS. Yields back her time.
And now I recognize Representative Mann from the great state
of Kansas for 5 minutes.
Mr. MANN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the time. thank you
all for being here. And Mr. Chairman, thank you for having this
important hearing this morning.
19
I represent the big 1st District of Kansas which is 60 primarily
rural counties in western, central, and the eastern part of our
state. We have hundreds of thousands of small businesses in our
district. About 80 percent of the folks in our district work in small
businesses. They really drive, as we know, the economy and cer-
tainly the economy in my district.
Mr. Splitter, first question is for you. I have been to your farm.
Great seeing you. Thank you for testifying this morning. Great to
see your wife here as well.
In your testimony you talked about federal regulations and how
they are trying to put family farms out of business and that we
should be working together to be the world’s gold standard for agri-
culture here in this country. I could not agree more with you. Can
you share more about how regulations and federal policies have
negatively impacted your farming operation?
Mr. SPLITTER. On our operation, one thing that we always go
back to is trust the science. Trust the experts. When we are sick
at our house we do not go to Google; we go to the doctor. Ethanol
is a big deal for us. We live 6 miles from the local ethanol plants
and what better story can rural America tell than ethanol produc-
tion? You know, a green plant is producing fuel and that green
plant can be grown every year, again, and again, and again. Why
are we limiting access to ethanol production? That just seems
mindboggling to me.
I have been trusting the science. EPA regulations on some herbi-
cides, chemicals that we use. Atrazine in particular is the most
studied chemical of all time and it has been proved to be safe in
the doses and in the volumes that have been set forth by the EPA.
But yet, we routinely, routinely, routinely bring it up for review.
So in our house we trust the science.
Mr. MANN. I could not agree more. And you look at the history
of the chemicals used in agriculture today. Let’s trust the science.
Not the political science but the real science. Clearly, these things
are safe. They have been proven over decades and we need to give
some certainty to our ag producers.
You mentioned in your testimony as well about Kansas State
University’s Office of Farm and Ranch Transition, their program
which links beginning farmers with retiring farmers in an effort to
find and mentor the next generation of farmers. Can you speak
more about the opportunities this program to young entrepreneurs
and future farmers in your experience interacting with that par-
ticular program?
Mr. SPLITTER. Yeah. That program came into existence prob-
ably about 5 years ago. And we had already gone through two farm
transitions. One after my father had passed away, so I was never
able to be mentored by my father in a formal setting. Of course,
all fathers mentor their children. But it was in 2015, we were on
the verge of bankruptcy and I went to a local farmer who was not
considered competition to me and just asked for mentorship. That
took a lot of swallowing my pride. I did not know really where else
to turn. And so we went into a long-term relationship where we
were able to take over his farm so him and his wife could retire.
That was part of our farm growth. It was not really a strategy as
much as a resource for us to just grow as human beings and an
20
operation. But that office is doing exactly what we did. It is match-
ing an older generation, or an older generation that does not maybe
have an heir to come back to the operation, and instead of going
through the community and asking for applications, it is kind of
like a dating service for farmers. It has worked. The success stories
are just tremendous out of that office.
Mr. MANN. It is fantastic. And I think that is an example for
not just agriculture but all of our small businesses to be looking at
how do we continue them on when there are not heirs or when the
next generation does not necessarily, for whatever reason it does
not make sense for them to carry on.
Last question would be for you, Ms. Cassady. Can you talk to us
a little about access to capital and what barriers do you face when
trying to access capital for your business?
Ms. CASSADAY. There are several barriers. And you know, even
just opening up a business, I have talked with the local bankers
and, you know, we have very small banks in a small town. And I
was told that to get an SBA-backed loan is pretty well impossible.
You will just be drowned in paperwork and it seems to be never-
ending. And so the businesses, if you want to open up a business
you have to get more creative and, you know, I had to rely on rel-
atives and other people to help back my business in order to make
it come into existence.
Mr. MANN. I think that is great for this Committee to hear, Mr.
Chairman. Here we spend tens of billions of dollars on these SBA
loan programs, yet the regulations and the ability to access them
are so burdensome you are being advised to not even pursue them.
Ms. CASSADAY. Right.
Mr. MANN. Which is something that, you know, has been a focus
of this Committee and something as Members of Congress we all
need to keep front and center.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With that I yield back.
Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
I now recognize someone else from Kansas. We have got every-
body from Kansas here today. Ms. Davids for 5 minutes.
Ms. DAVIDS. Well, maybe about half the population because
there is like six of us in the room. Seven, eight. There is like 10
of us. Half the population.
Thank you, Chairman. And to everyone on the Committee. And
to our witnesses for joining us today.
I am excited to have this conversation, partly because there are
some Kansans here, but also because I serve on both the Small
Business Committee and the House Agriculture Committee. And so
definitely appreciate some of the comments that we have heard
today because as you can imagine there is a lot of overlap between
the two Committees, especially recognizing that particularly in
Kansas we have a lot of family farms. I think we might have some
of the highest numbers of family farms still in the country. And
then in the 3rd District specifically we have a lot of smaller farms
and family-run small businesses. Certainly, we have already heard
from Mr. Splitter in Lorraine, Kansas, which is actually further
away than Ms.—I am sorry. It is so funny. When I go down to visit
my family in Waynesville, Missouri, I am going to stop by. I am
going to go down 49 and I will stop by your shop, Ms. Cassaday.
21
So in Lorraine, Kansas, they are having a fifth generation family
farm testifying here today. Mr. Splitter, I really, really appreciate
it because you are certainly highlighting some of the issues that we
talk about a lot on this Committee. And as we have been dis-
cussing the 2023 Farm Bill, I know quite a bit of the conversation
has centered on trying to figure out how to address the digital di-
vide that exists. And when we think about the federal government
announcing recently broadband grants from the bipartisan infra-
structure law, I was definitely happy to see that Kansas was going
to be one of the states to get the federal support to improve that
middle mile infrastructure, broadband infrastructure, because if we
have taken anything away from today it is that we have to abso-
lutely be thinking about this holistically. Everything from sup-
porting our rural communities through passing the Farm Bill, to
addressing how the operation of a modern farm or agriculture oper-
ation happens. You know, the technologies that are being used.
And I think that we have seen tons of progress over the past few
years to ensuring that all Kansans have access to broadband but
certainly there is still a lot more work to do. So I am really glad
to hear, Mr. Splitter, some of the comments that you made and
then in your testimony I know you have addressed some of that.
This is for anybody on the panel who wants to respond, but Mr.
Splitter, I would love for you to kick us off here. If you could talk
a bit about how much of an obstacle having reliable, fast, afford-
able internet access is to running your operation. And what does
successful implementation of those federal broadband dollars mean
to you? Like, what do you want to see happen with that?
Mr. SPLITTER. Technology is a huge part of our operation. Just
absolutely huge. Actually, as we have been sitting here today my
phone has just been going crazy because we are 110 degrees and
all my equipment is telling me that it is too hot. So we are commu-
nication from the farm in Central Kansas to my phone in D.C.
today telling me the updates, the live updates of what is happening
with some of our equipment today.
We may just be a technology business that is masked as a farm
for how much data that we do. We reconcile everything to the dec-
imal point and a lot of that is done in real-time on the fly from the
operators in the cab of the tractor, sprayers, planters, whatever it
may be.
We have one person that we can access high speed internet from
and it is not even high speed. There is, and this is a guess, prob-
ably $20,000 worth of investment of hardware on our end to put
a receiver above the tree line and then shoot the signal back to us
and then across our whole operation. Not every acre but just our
farmstead, our 5-acre farmstead.
So broadband is just tremendously important to us on our oper-
ation. And it really freaks out my family when the internet stops
working in the middle of an afternoon. Business cannot get done.
The kids cannot be quiet because their iPads quit. All jokes aside,
it is just tremendously important that we have access to it. And re-
liable. Not even access; reliable access.
Ms. DAVIDS. Yeah. And I just realized I took too much time ask-
ing my question. I just really appreciate all of you coming in. And
in a lot of ways, highlighting how complex making sure that rural
22
communities are being supported can be because of the multitude
of issues that you all are facing. So thank you so much for being
here today and I yield back.
Chairman WILLIAMS. Yields back. I now recognize Representa-
tive Stauber from the great state of Minnesota for 5 minutes.
Mr. STAUBER. Well, thank you, MR. Chair. And I have read
parts of your testimony. To the witnesses, thanks for being here.
As my colleague from Kansas just talked about, he talked about
broadband and the importance of it.
I just came from a Natural Resources hearing where there was
a piece of legislation that removed the NEPA requirements for lay-
ing broadband in rural American and already pre-disturbed ground
like where wires are already in the ground, where wires are al-
ready on the poles. They are talking about more NEPA to do that.
So you have got electrical wires. Some of my colleagues on the
other side of the aisle want to do a NEPA review to put broadband
wires on an already generated electrical line. NEPA, 4-1/2 years on
average it takes. Can you wait 4-1/2 years? That is on average. It
is more like 9 or 11 or a mine in Minnesota it is 20 years. I do
not think you can wait that long. You want it now. And I think we
have the opportunity with the investment and the need for rural
broadband. I said this, rural America, I represent Northeast Min-
nesota. It is rural and it is beautiful. But the constituents that we
serve that are in rural America deserve the same priority as those
living in the metro areas. As rural business owners, small business
owners, you deserve the exact same attention that somebody does
in your bigger cities in your respective states. No more, no less. But
you deserve the same. It has to be fair. And the frustrating thing
for me, and I think on both sides of the aisle we have democrats
and republicans that represent rural America. There is no daylight
between us that represents rural America.
As my colleague from Kansas just said, we have to get this done.
We have to have the return on investment. And I think there is
an urgent need to do that because we want you to succeed. Not just
give lip service from the respective state capitals or our nation’s
capital. We have to make sure that this investment gets to where
it needs to get and soon. Rural health, your small businesses, rural
health, telehealth, telemedicine, our schools, our grocery stores, our
small businesses like you, our farmers, we need to make that in-
vestment.
Mr. Culp, in your statement you highlighted the decline in popu-
lation in rural communities and the importance of reliable
broadband access. How do you believe improved broadband infra
structure can positively impact rural small businesses and attract
new workers to live and work in our rural areas
Mr. CULP. Well, it is going to be vitally important, obviously,
with our workforce issues. And just the connectivity. You know, we
learned during the pandemic that our home served as our school,
as our doctor’s office, as our churches; right? Everything is there.
But the connection is broadband. And I heard them talk about we
need to have broadband focusing on the middle mile, but in the
rural areas we have got to have it to the last mile. Just like when
they brought rural electrification out into the rural areas, the same
thing. In our areas, actually, local government, our county is work-
23
ing with our local RMC, our electric provider, and they are pro-
viding the broadband. It seems like a natural entity to do that be-
cause they are used to taking those services out to the last mile.
Broadband, obviously, needs to be just the same priority.
Mr. STAUBER. In your opinion, what is holding up the success-
ful implementation of rural broadband to make sure that it is reli-
able for you?
Mr. CULP. Well, most of it is cost. It is very expensive. It has
a very long payback. You have to remember, if you are taking it
out, you might be running 5 miles of line and maybe only servicing
three or four households. And so it is not cost effective. And that
is where the grant programs come in. Broadband is one issue that
is very unique because you have federal, state, and local dollars
and governments all working together to collaborate to make sure
that we get that broadband out to the rural areas.
Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Culp, if you go back 70, 80 years, the U.S.
Postal Service said every mailbox mattered. Every rural farm
mattered. They got their mail. Now, we have to look at this as an
opportunity. Every inbox matters.
Mr. CULP. Absolutely.
Mr. STAUBER. You know, that is going to be so important that
we do this in a bipartisan fashion.
So I see my time is up. Mr. Chair, thanks for holding this hear-
ing. It is extremely important that we hear from the business men
and women that have the boots on the ground. And I yield back.
Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
I now recognize Representative Thanedar from the great state of
Michigan for 5 minutes.
Mr. THANEDAR. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I want to thank
you and the Ranking Member for all this very, very meaningful
discussions and the witnesses who are here helping.
You know, being an entrepreneur myself, having run small busi-
nesses, knowing the struggles small business owners have in terms
of running their businesses, making payroll every 2 weeks, these
discussions are very, very vital. And Chairman, I appreciate your
leadership and the bipartisan nature by which we are really doing
our best to help small businesses.
Ms. Cassaday, in your testimony you discuss the struggles your
business had during the COVID pandemic. Ms. Cassaday, I see
that during the pandemic Byrd’s Pecan Delight received a PPP
loan and EIDL loan; is that right?
Ms. CASSADAY. That is correct.
Mr. THANEDAR. How important was this assistance from the
federal government to the survival and recovery of your business?
If you can help me understand.
Ms. CASSADAY. Sure. It was very vital because, you know,
when we shut down, rural areas, I mean, we were told that we had
to go curbside as a restaurant. Well, when you are in a rural area
that was very limited. And so without that assistance I would not
have been able to keep my doors open.
Mr. THANEDAR. Now, do you think there are enough programs
and resources are there to serve everyone who needs such help?
Ms. CASSADAY. Not in the rural areas. I do not think that the
other rural businesses are even aware of anything that SBA has
24
to offer or, you know, they do not get to take these classes on mar-
keting or get to understand what all the different loans are that
are available because in SBA, I mean, the resources for rural areas,
it just is not there.
Mr. THANEDAR. And you know, listening to you all, I see that
worker shortages are adversely impacting rural America as men-
tioned by you. Finding a reliable and skilled workforce is essential
to rural entrepreneurship, especially in growing profits and
unleashing innovation.
Mr. Splitter, my question to you is do you think reforming our
immigration system can help you attract workers in rural commu-
nities, especially streamlining the visa process for seasonal workers
here on H2A or H2B visas?
Mr. SPLITTER. I cannot speak too much about that. Currently,
we utilize all local employees. We have been very fortunate to be
able to find skilled and quality employees locally. But I think the
H2A program, bringing in helpers, seasonal helpers, is something
that we will be looking at very closely into the future. So anything
to streamline it would be helpful.
Mr. THANEDAR. While access to capital continues to hinder
small businesses across our country, in rural or in urban areas,
many of the small businesses in my district struggle with finding
capital to grow their business or establish new small businesses. As
a result, finding a solution to this problem is something we all
share on this Committee.
Mr. Culp, what can the federal government do in conjunction
with local entities to provide more access to capital in the form of
loans and grants to small business owners?
Mr. CULP. Well, and besides just small business owners you
have small farmers and small agricultural businesses. So the farm
credit system obviously is a function of the federal government.
Very effective to getting those dollars, those capital dollars out. I
utilize that service and purchases that I have made as well. I think
it is important that when you look at young entrepreneurs begin-
ning, it is very important that they have access to capital because
they do not have the assets always to back them up. I know we
used in our county, we looked at using ARPA dollars to start a re-
volving loan fund for small startup businesses in our community.
And it was met with a lot of support and enthusiasm. We are not
talking about a big industry being built. Sometimes you just need
a few thousand dollars or $10,000 to get somebody jumpstarted and
then over time you could have a low interest payback. We set that
up working with local financial institutions. And those are the type
of programs I think that you need to institute. But a lot of those
can even be done locally, not at the federal level.
Mr. THANEDAR. Thank you.
And I yield back.
Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
I now recognize Representative Alford from the great state of
Missouri for 5 minutes.
Mr. ALFORD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to our wit-
nesses for being here today. I know you come up here on your own
dime and your own time and I really appreciate your investment
in America.
25
Rural small businesses know the needs of rural communities bet-
ter. And when they succeed, our communities succeed, our states
succeed, our nation succeeds. And I see firsthand. In Missouri’s 4th
Congressional District, and I am honored as Sharice Davids, my
colleague from Kansas, to sit on both Ag and Small Business. We
see how these tie together in this symbiotic relationship. We are
working hard on the Farm Bill right now. It is so important to our
rural communities. And sir, you mentioned rural broadband. We
have got to get that right.
The SBA also has an office of Rural Affairs but little information
is available on what that office is doing and how it is focusing on
rural small business. Five years ago, in April of 2018, the Depart-
ment of Ag and Small Business Administration signed a memo-
randum of understanding to enhance collaboration. Ms. Bette
Brand, former Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development was
not able to be here today because she was in a car accident. We
are praying for her recovery. She wrote that the memorandum of
understanding strength and coordination between USD and SBA
but we do not know what came of it.
So this leads into my questions. One of my favorite questions of
all time is Cool Hand Luke. And one of the best lines is, ‘‘What we
have here is a failure to communicate.’’ And I think that is what
has happened.
Ms. Cassaday, I was in your business a week ago. How many
people did we have there, 40, 50 people?
Ms. CASSADAY. There was, yeah, probably every bit of 45 to 50.
Mr. ALFORD. A lot of them small business owners. And they
were asking, how do we get help?
Have you interacted with anyone from the Office of Rural Affairs
for the Small Business Administration?
Ms. CASSADAY. I do not know about the Rural Affairs. We do
have a location that is located about 1-1/2 hours away from us and
she said that she did have some resources that could help us.
Mr. ALFORD. That is in Appleton City, the lady?
Ms. CASSADAY. Well, this one is out of Sedalia, actually. I had
a nice long discussion with her but she said that her funding is so
tight that she has a hard time getting out and even letting people
know about the information in the rural areas.
Mr. ALFORD. I think one of the common themes there from
what I heard and what you were hearing as well is people just did
not know where to turn to for help.
Ms. CASSADAY. That is correct.
Mr. ALFORD. How do they access the information, the encour-
agement, and the money? Is that what you heard?
Ms. CASSADAY. That is absolutely what I heard. Yeah.
Mr. ALFORD. Mr. Culp, have you had any interaction with the
Small Business Administration’s Office of Rural Affairs?
Mr. CULP. I have not. I did not even know that existed, actually.
Yeah.
Mr. ALFORD. What we have here is a failure to communicate.
How about you, Mr. Splitter?
Mr. SPLITTER. No, I have not.
Mr. ALFORD. How about you, Mr. Phillips?
Mr. PHILLIPS. In terms of Rural Affairs I was not aware.
26
Mr. ALFORD. Well, we have got to fix that. We have got to fig-
ure out what is going on. And we are going to be working on that.
Next month I will be introducing a Small Business Administration
Rule Performance Report Act. This bill will require two reports ac-
tually. One will be a report from the SBA on the activities of the
Office of Rural Affairs. We are going to give it another try to see
if we can get this information. And the second report is going to
be on what was accomplished under the memorandum of under-
standing. I actually pronounced it correctly this time.
Ms. Cassaday, in your written testimony you talked about some
of the unique challenges you face—rural deliveries and procuring
supplies, having to drive to Kansas City, it takes you all day. What
are some of the other challenges that you are facing? Because it is
you and your husband. I forget how many employees you have
but——
Ms. CASSADAY. I have 11.
Mr. ALFORD. Eleven employees. This is a great business. How
are you keeping it together in Adrian, Missouri with the challenges
that you face?
Ms. CASSADAY. Well, some days not very well and other days
we fare better.
I will tell you that our biggest issue is the inflation and the cost
of supplies. The amount o of money that goes out is my supplies
is my biggest one. My payroll is my next bill that I pay. They are
the two highest things that I am dealing with in my business.
Mr. ALFORD. Well, I hear that from farmers who are small busi-
ness owners, and small business owners like yourself, it is food,
fuel, and fertilizer for our district. And I blame Joe Biden for that.
For demonizing fossil fuels, targeting the fossil fuel industry, but
putting the crosshairs on the backs of the American people. He has
done it. He owns it. We are going to have to make some changes.
We have got to get back to reducing inflation and making busi-
nesses more profitable, increasing our communication between the
SBA, and that is our job here to make that happen.
Thank you, and I yield back.
Chairman WILLIAMS. I now recognize Representative Molinaro
from the great state of New York for 5 minutes.
Mr. MOLINARO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I appreciate
not only the hearing but the witnesses today.
It is without question certainly that small businesses like yours,
but of course all across this country, have been dealing with the
frontline of great burden, whether it is the high cost of fuel and
electric, inflation, taxes, and labor shortages, there is little question
that all of you just really cannot catch a break. But you continue
to thrive and that is important.
It is true not only where you are from but where I am from in
New York, I know it is hard to believe but there are rural parts
of the state of New York. A lot of rural parts of the state of New
York, and I represent 11 counties that are both small cities and
mostly rural communities.
In my district, for instance, the average family farm or average
farm is less than 200 acres and farmers are already dealing with
excessively high input costs, labor costs, and in New York, sadly
27
electric and tax costs. Add to that the rising cost of diesel and fer-
tilizer and we know agriculture is really being pounded.
Mr. Splitter, I wanted to jump right in on some of what you have
spoken about. I know that you understand all too well the chal-
lenges that family farms face. You talked a little bit about that al-
ready under our current economic environment. In your testimony
you specifically talked about the difficulties associated with access-
ing the farm loan programs and some other USDA resources.
In your perspective, so we spent a lot of time asking you generi-
cally what are the things that are important to you. What can we
do? What can this Committee do to ensure family farms, businesses
like your own are connected to those resources? I think you men-
tioned, maybe it was Ms. Cassaday that said we do not even know
some of these services that exist. What is the thing this Committee
can do to really impress upon SBA to be more accessible to all of
you?
Mr. SPLITTER. I think just going back to that, I did not know
that there was access to any kind of help or assistance from SBA
for farming, for agriculture. Of course, we know about FSA and
USDA and those resources but there was no education to us or
anything out there that would lead me to believe that SBA was
there to help with the agriculture sector.
Mr. MOLINARO. We appreciate that. I think we hear that con-
sistently. The SBA is a smaller entity in the federal government
but more outreach and more connection with small business is
critically important. If not that also obviously guarding taxpayer
dollars to make sure they get to you and not to those who seek to
defraud the American taxpayer as we learned more and more about
last week.
You all have talked a little bit about access to high speed inter-
net. I always like to say high speed internet as opposed to
broadband because there are multiple ways to move high speed
internet to communities like the ones you live in and work in and
the ones I represent.
I am proud of serve on the House Agriculture Committee. This
is obviously a major topic of conversation as we tackle the Farm
Bill and we are hopeful that we can continue to broaden access.
Mr. Culp, in your testimony you mentioned how access to reliable
internet, of course, is a must for small businesses, not only to
thrive and survive but to access new opportunities. So we can all
agree on that. The question generally is how do we do that? I am
proud to sponsor and have introduced the Reconnecting Rural
America Act to ensure rural and technologically underserved com-
munities have access to reliable broadband and high speed internet
services.
But building off the investment of the last infrastructure bill,
what else can we do? I heard one of my colleagues talk about
NEPA as an obstacle which it is. I know in communities like my
own, providers speak to the high cost of the ready cost to get poles
installed. In states like New York, whatever regulation the federal
government has, New York likes to heap on about 10 times more
than that. What other steps can we take to broaden access of high
speed internet?
28
Mr. CULP. Well, fortunately, I am from a state that has really
reduced regulation in Indiana but——
Mr. MOLINARO. Well, they must be sending it to us.
Mr. CULP. Even at the local level, and this is the partnership
I talked about earlier, we granted all of our county road rights-of-
way, we granted access to our local provider to access and to use
our rights-of-way to either hang lines or to bury lines in that with
no permitting, no cost at all. That was something that actually we
even started a program where basically all of that cost, all of that
investment is abated. So that is all taxable property for the local
government. We abated that because we wanted to encourage
them, everything they can do to get that in because whether it is
a farm or local, or a small business, you think about, as isolated
as some of our rural communities are, the way that they are going
to sell their product is to advertise that on the web. They have to
have a website. They have to get that information out so people
have to access that instead of what used to be we just had our local
residents, did business with them and supported them. We have to
think bigger, and to do that we have to have that broadband and
that far-reaching internet access.
Mr. MOLINARO. I appreciate it. My time is up.
Mr. Chairman, I just would echo one of my colleagues. Access to
high speed internet is sort of the last frontier if you will that
should be accessible to small businesses and farms and we have got
to do more to make sure that happens. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman WILLIAMS. Gentleman yields back.
I now recognize Representative Ellzey from the great state of
Texas for 5 minutes.
Mr. ELLZEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this very
important hearing, and to all of you for spending your own time
and treasure to come up here.
You know, this is an interesting town. I think that is being pret-
ty generous. As we are having this very important hearing on the
fundamentals of what you do in your businesses to provide the
foundation of life in this country which is food, there are very few
people here paying attention to this hearing. But there is a line
wrapped around the block downstairs talking about UFOs, which
at the end of the day is not going to feed the population of this
country or of the rest of the world. In a time we have got Russia
going back on a deal on Ukraine, 40 percent of the world’s wheat
coming from the Ukraine, they are going back on a deal to provide
food for the rest of the world, it is exceedingly important that the
bread basket of the United States and you all small business own-
ers and farmers are able to do your job the best you can to unleash
the economy of this nation and feed the rest of the world.
I come from the 6th District of Texas, which is growing increas-
ingly rural, a lot of farmers and ranchers and business folks just
like you all. And just like you all, they do not talk a whole lot. You
cannot have a business like yours and not have common sense or
efficiencies in order to make a living to provide for your families
and for your communities. So as I listen to you all, and it is inter-
esting to hear how we talk at length because we are elected to do
so, you all have very spare words that you use to describe what you
do. And that, I think, represents how important it is. You do not
29
have time to mess around with flowery words and things like that.
You have got a job to do. So thank you for coming up here and
doing your jobs.
So part of the problem of what exists up in this town is agencies
that do not exist to help you; they exist to provide jobs for people
up here in Washington, D.C., who do not know come here from sic
‘em about what it is that you do.
So we have heard increasingly in a number of hearings about the
SBA having a noble cause but in reality the regulations that they
follow do not help you do your jobs. And that is why we rely on
small community banks and state agencies that will help you do
your jobs, like in Network Kansas or the original capital access
program in Texas.
So I think that is really interesting. I would like to see more
partnerships with the federal government and the SBA with the
states who know their customers, which is you, to help you do your
jobs. But when we talk about community banks based on big bank
failures on the West Coast, banks too big to fail, we are going to
use a sledge hammer to affect all the banks in the country, most
notably the community banks which keep your businesses afloat.
So there is a mismatch in common sense and efficiencies from up
here in what you do.
So in the 2-1/2 minutes I would have left, Representative Culp,
I would like to ask you a question. And if you are not ready yet
that is just fine and I will go down the road.
What is one thing that you would do, since you are a state rep,
what is one thing you would like to see the SBA or the federal gov-
ernment do to make your job easier to provide a living and food for
the people that you support?
Mr. CULP. To have a program that offers financial support for
entrepreneurial businesses, small businesses, to make sure that
they can continue to operate in their community.
Mr. ELLZEY. So does that mean less red tape?
Mr. CULP. It would be less red tape and easier access to that
financial support.
Mr. ELLZEY. Thank you.
Ms. Cassaday?
Ms. CASSADAY. Yes. I think that just getting the information
out there to the rural areas. You know, I have learned over the last
couple of weeks that SBA can offer classes on marketing and help-
ing businesses with their budgets and they can do these different
things but nobody in my town that I came across was aware that
this even existed or was even a possibility. And I am being told
that by funding that, the offices that we could reach out to, they
do not have the time or the resources to come out to our rural
areas unless we invite them out. But how are we going to invite
them if we do not even know they exist?
Mr. ELLZEY. Got it. And I hear the same thing from my veteran
friends about the VA.
One thing I would like to note, as we talk about broadband, in
my district we do not even have cellular. We do not have LTE. We
do not have 5Gs. In some places it is completely sparse, much less
broadband. So we need to improve our capabilities to even get cel-
lular out in my district.
30
So Mr. Splitter, same question to you.
Mr. SPLITTER. Get help to those who need it. I mean, when we
were desperate for help it was not there. The other thing I think
Washington can do is get out of my way. Let me do my job. You
know, let me provide the safest, the most secure, the most bounti-
ful food supply that this world can see.
Mr. ELLZEY. Well, Mr. Phillips, I was going to ask you the ques-
tion. I am about out of time and I think Mr. Splitter hit that nail
on the head.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Thank you for your time.
Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
And I want to say to all of you thank you for being here. I would
like to just say a couple of things. I think one thing I hope you rec-
ognized with this Committee, you do not see it on TV when you
watch Washington but I think you can see there are things we
agree on, that these hearings can be bipartisan. And I think this
has shown that today that we are all interested and many of us
who sit up here are doing a lot of what you are trying to do and
make things happen.
I made some notes. D.C. You know, I always tell people D.C. can
create a job but it cannot create net worth. And that is what we
do as small business owners and you all do. We need to streamline
the SBA. We need fewer regulations. We need to bring inflation
down. We know to do that. Bring costs down. Broadband we talked
about. We need to hire a workforce so we can get the job done. And
we need access to capital. I mean, that is everything we agree with
on this and we are going to do everything we can to make it hap-
pen.
So I would like to thank all of you today for being here, for your
testimony, and for appearing today. We know, as said earlier, you
came on your own time and it is hard to be away from your busi-
ness. I would tell you my phone has been ringing right now. My
daughter is back home wanting to talk to me about my business.
So being away is a big deal.
Without objection, Members have 5 legislative days to submit ad-
ditional materials and written questions for the witnesses to the
Chair which will be forwarded to the witnesses. And I want to ask
the witnesses if that happens to please respond promptly on that.
So if there is no other further business, without objection, the
Committee is adjourned. Thank you.
[Whereupon, at 11:33 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]
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