State of the Small Business Economy in the Era of COVID-19 (House Small Business Committee hearing, February 4, 2021)
Summary
The printed record of a House Committee on Small Business hearing, State of the Small Business Economy in the Era of COVID-19, held February 4, 2021, Small Business Committee Document Number 117–002. Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez and Ranking Member Blaine Luetkemeyer gave opening statements. Four witnesses testified: Dr. Robert W. Fairlie, Professor of Economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz; Sharon Pinder, President and CEO of the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council, Silver Spring, MD; Stephen Schoaps, Owner of Strother Cinema, Seminole, OK; and Karen Kerrigan, President and Chief Executive Officer of the SBE Council, Vienna, VA. The appendix carries their prepared statements and additional material from NFIB, Brookings, NAFCU and others.
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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“State of the Small Business Economy in the Era of COVID-19 (House Small Business Committee hearing, February 4, 2021).”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/state-of-the-small-business-economy-in-the-era-of-covid-19-house-small-b8040498a2/
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STATE OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMY IN
THE ERA OF COVID-19
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
UNITED STATES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
HEARING HELD
FEBRUARY 4, 2021
Small Business Committee Document Number 117–002
Available via the GPO Website: www.govinfo.gov
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
43–321 WASHINGTON : 2021
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HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
NYDIA VELÁZQUEZ, New York, Chairwoman
JARED GOLDEN, Maine
JASON CROW, Colorado
SHARICE DAVIDS, Kansas
KWEISI MFUME, Maryland
DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota
MARIE NEWMAN, Illinois
CAROLYN BOURDEAUX, Georgia
JUDY CHU, California
DWIGHT EVANS, Pennsylvania
ANTONIO DELGADO, New York
CHRISSY HOULAHAN, Pennsylvania
ANDY KIM, New Jersey
ANGIE CRAIG, Minnesota
BLAINE LUETKEMEYER, Missouri, Ranking Member
ROGER WILLIAMS, Texas
JIM HAGEDORN, Minnesota
PETE STAUBER, Minnesota
DAN MEUSER, Pennsylvania
ANDREW GARBARINO, New York
YOUNG KIM, California
BETH VAN DUYNE, Texas
BYRON DONALDS, Florida
MARIA SALAZAR, Florida
SCOTT FITZGERALD, Wisconsin
MELISSA JUNG, Majority Staff Director
JUSTIN PELLETIER, Majority Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel
DAVID PLANNING, Staff Director
(II)
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CONTENTS
OPENING STATEMENTS
Page
Hon. Nydia Velázquez ............................................................................................. 1
Hon. Blaine Luetkemeyer ....................................................................................... 3
WITNESSES
Dr. Robert W. Fairlie, Professor, Department of Economics, University of
California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA ............................................................ 6
Ms. Sharon Pinder, President & CEO, Capital Region Minority Supplier
Development Council, Silver Spring, MD .......................................................... 8
Mr. Stephen Schoaps, Owner, Strother Cinema, Seminole, OK .......................... 10
Ms. Karen Kerrigan, President & Chief Executive Officer, SBE Council, Vi-
enna, VA ............................................................................................................... 11
APPENDIX
Prepared Statements:
Dr. Robert W. Fairlie, Professor, Department of Economics, University
of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA ................................................. 48
Ms. Sharon Pinder, President & CEO, Capital Region Minority Supplier
Development Council, Silver Spring, MD ................................................... 58
Mr. Stephen Schoaps, Owner, Strother Cinema, Seminole, OK ................... 65
Ms. Karen Kerrigan, President & Chief Executive Officer, SBE Council,
Vienna, VA .................................................................................................... 67
Questions for the Record:
None.
Answers for the Record:
None.
Additional Material for the Record:
NFIB Research Center Study .......................................................................... 76
PPP Report ........................................................................................................ 123
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) ................................................... 146
ACA International ............................................................................................ 149
Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program ......................................................... 151
Engine ............................................................................................................... 157
Hispanic Business Enterprises (HBE) ............................................................ 162
National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) ........... 190
(III)
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STATE OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMY
IN THE ERA OF COVID-19
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:01 a.m., in Room
2360, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Nydia M. Velázquez
[chairwoman of the Committee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Velázquez, Golden, Crow, Davids,
Mfume, Phillips, Newman, Bourdeaux, Delgado, Houlahan, Kim of
New Jersey, Craig, Luetkemeyer, Donalds, Fitzgerald, Garbarino,
Hagedorn, Kim of California, Meuser, Salazar, Stauber, Van
Duyne, and Williams.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Good morning. I call this hearing to
order. I want to thank everyone for joining us today for our first
hearing of the 117th Congress. I welcome all our new Small Busi-
ness Committee Members, and welcome back those of you return-
ing to the Committee from the 116th Congress.
I want to make sure to note some important requirements. Let
me begin by saying that standing House and Committee rules and
practice will continue to apply during hybrid proceedings. All Mem-
bers are reminded they are expected to adhere to these standing
rules, including decorum.
House regulations require Members to be visible through a video
connection throughout the proceeding, so please keep your cameras
on. Also, please remember to remain muted until you are recog-
nized to minimize background noise.
If you have to participate in another proceeding, please exit this
one and log back in later. In the event a Member encounters tech-
nical issues that prevent them from being recognized for their
questioning, I will move to the next available Member of the same
party, and I will recognize that Member at the next appropriate
time slot, provided they have returned to the proceeding.
For those Members physically present in the Committee room
today, we will also be following the health and safety guidance
issued by the attending physician.
This past year, COVID-19 sparked a once-in-a-lifetime crisis for
American small businesses. As we meet today, entrepreneurs na-
tionwide are holding onto their businesses for dear life. According
to the research published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New
York, the number of active business owners fell by 22 percent from
February to April 2020, the largest drop on record.
(1)
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That same research showed minority owned businesses faced the
worst outcome. This pandemic has hit minority owned businesses
the hardest. COVID has caused a 41 percent decline in Black-
owned businesses, a 32 percent decline in Latino-owned businesses,
and 26 percent decline in Asian-American-owned businesses.
As we start the new year, it is not clear that conditions have im-
proved. As the virus has continued to spread, small businesses are
increasingly pessimistic in their outlook for 2021. The NFIB Small
Business Optimism Index declined 5.5 points in December to 95.9
percent points, a level not seen since 1973.
Even more troubling is that 20 percent of firms consider them-
selves to be at risk or distressed. The pandemic has hit small busi-
nesses that rely on large gatherings and foot traffic especially hard.
According to the New York State Restaurant Association, more
than half of all restaurants in New York City are in danger of clos-
ing forever.
While small businesses in hospitality, retail, travel, leisure, en-
tertainment, and others that rely on foot traffic for revenue strug-
gle, big businesses strive. Profits soared for large corporations like
Amazon, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Best Buy, Costco, and others,
who gained market share and saw their stock prices rise accord-
ingly.
Forty-five of the fifty most valuable publicly traded U.S. compa-
nies turned a profit between April and September 2020, one of the
most tumultuous economic periods in modern history. We need to
be thinking about big and bold policies that provide small busi-
nesses with the resources they need to make it through this crisis
and grow in the future.
In December, Congress passed a bill reopening the Paycheck Pro-
tection Program, allocating new funding for EIDL advances, and
creating the Shuttered Venue Grants Program. These initiatives
will save jobs and help businesses stay afloat, but that relief pack-
age was only a down payment on the stimulus the small business
economy needs. Small businesses are still in a crisis, and we must
do more.
Looking forward, we must enact bold relief measures under the
Biden administration that reflect the dire reality main street firms
are facing. Small businesses have made it clear they need more di-
rect and flexible cash infusions. Throughout this pandemic, small
business owners told our Committee they couldn’t afford to take on
additional debt during this uncertain time.
Programs like the targeted EIDL advances will provide small
business owners with desperately needed relief without weighing
down their balance sheets. We will hear testimony today about the
benefits of advances and other grants and if more funding is re-
quired.
In addition to capital, small businesses also need access to cus-
tomers. The U.S. Federal Government is the largest consumer glob-
ally, purchasing over $500 billion in goods and services each year.
The Federal Government can play a unique role in supporting
small businesses by using the Defense Production Act and Buy
American policies to increase the customer base of the small busi-
nesses’ economy.
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Our nation’s recovery depends on the well-being of small busi-
nesses and their employees. These are uncertain times for Amer-
ican entrepreneurs, and this Committee must help lead to the
other side of this crisis. Members of this Committee serve as the
voice of small businesses in the House, and we must work tirelessly
to support them.
Today’s hearing will give us a clear view of the small business
economy’s state and the work we need to do going forward.
Ladies and gentlemen, the hard work we have been engaged in
over the past 11 months on behalf of America’s entrepreneurs con-
tinues to date. I am looking forward to carrying on that work in
a bipartisan manner with our new Ranking Member, Mr. Blaine
Luetkemeyer of Missouri.
Let me be the first to welcome you back to this Committee. With
that, Mr. Ranking Member, you are recognized for your opening
statement.
Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Thank you, Madam Chair.
And, again, I look forward to working with you. I think there is
a lot of common ground here where we can make a lot of progress
for our great small business folks back home and across this coun-
try.
Appreciate you holding this kickoff hearing. As the Committee
begins the 117th Congress, there are few topics more important
within our jurisdiction than examining the small business economy
during this unprecedented global crisis. It is my hope that we con-
tinue to explore all facets of this significant issue in a bipartisan
manner and work efficiently to support and ensure all small busi-
nesses, entrepreneurs, and innovators rebuild and return to eco-
nomic independence.
While this emergency period is unparalleled, we know that, prior
to COVID-19, small businesses were operating at historic levels. In
2018 and 2019, optimism reached record heights for small business
owners, and the unemployment rate was decreasing sharply and
eventually hovered around 3.5 percent. And, if small business have
confidence, they are more comfortable taking prudent risks and in-
novating new ideas. These are the characteristics that drive our
economy forward.
Our pre-COVID-19 small business environment was constructed
through progrowth policies that focussed on tax reform and a vig-
orous deregulatory environment that allowed small businesses to
reinvest their hard-earned dollars into their business’ employees.
Instead of concentrating on mountains of paperwork, small busi-
nesses were free to focus on their own goods, services, customers,
and employees.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 and accompanying protective measures
struck at the core of the small business community. A once busy
Main Street became dormant due to the crisis at hand and the bur-
densome shutdown measures instituted by State and local govern-
ments.
As a response, Congress and the former administration devel-
oped tools that could deliver assistance to small businesses quickly.
One program that has been especially effective is the Paycheck
Protection Program, known as the PPP.
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According to the Small Business Administration, by the time
PPP expired on August 8, 2020, it had assisted over 5 million small
businesses. In total, these loans provided over 2, or—excuse me—
$525 billion to small businesses from coast to coast and assisted in
saving over 50 million jobs.
As the emergency period wore on, Congress worked to install the
PPP with more flexibility and further enhancements. In the latest
COVID-19 relief bill, signed into law in December 2020, the PPP
was reauthorized with $284 billion.
This second round of funding was tailored and targeted to ensure
small businesses and other eligible entities that were truly im-
pacted by COVID-19 received the relief they needed. Just last
month, the PPP program was officially relaunched, and I look for-
ward to working in a bipartisan manner to ensure that the pro-
gram continues to reach small businesses across the country that
were hardest hit by the pandemic.
Beyond PPP, the December COVID relief bill extended the Eco-
nomic Injury Disaster Loan Program and reformed the EIDL Ad-
vance Program. Additionally, it extended debt relief program for
existing and new 7a, 504, and micro loans. It also created the Shut-
tered Venue Operators, SVO, Grant Program for venues, theatres,
and museums.
In total, the December COVID relief bill delivered $325 billion—
targeted dollars to the Nation’s smallest and hardest-hit businesses
and industries. Ensuring that programs are operating effectively
and efficiently remain paramount on this Committee.
The best way, in my judgment, to get these businesses back on
their feet is to allow them to open up. Let them get back to busi-
ness. It works. In Missouri, my home State, we opened up in mid-
May. For 2020, we wound up with a 5 percent increase in revenues
over 2019—2019—that is right—and 2020 had more revenue com-
ing into our State coffers than we did in 2019. We have a 4.4 per-
cent unemployment rate today and have 200,000 open jobs in our
State as a result of that.
As these small businesses worked to try and create—as we work
to try and create an environment for small business to rebuild, cre-
ate jobs, and expand in the future—i.e., get back to work—I am
concerned that this administration is taking steps to institute a
regulatory environment that heavily burdens small businesses.
By rescinding the commonsense administrative action that re-
quired repeal of two regulations for every one created, there is con-
cern that heavyhanded regulations are returning. This regulatory
environment combined with conversations surrounding increasing
the minimum wage are warning signs for America’s job creators.
Our Nation’s small businesses are more fragile than ever before,
and additional rules and regulations are counterproductive to the
recovery. These hard-working men and women are the backbone of
this great Nation, and, when they succeed, so does our economy.
I look forward to working with all of my colleagues to ensure our
Nation’s environment is rich with opportunities for growth. I would
like to thank all the witnesses for joining us today, and thank you,
Madam Chair.
With that, I yield back.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. The gentleman yields back.
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I would like to take a moment to explain how this hearing will
proceed.
Each witness will have 5 minutes to provide a statement, and
each Committee Member will have 5 minutes for questions. Please
ensure that your microphone is on when you begin speaking and
that you return to mute when finished.
With that, I would like to introduce our witnesses.
Our first witness today is Professor Robert Fairlie, Professor of
Economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Professor
Fairlie has testified before Congress numerous times on policy
issues related to small businesses, and we are thrilled to have him
before us today.
Most recently, Professor Fairlie was instrumental in research re-
garding the impact of COVID-19 on business owners of color, which
has helped guide and will continue to guide congressional policy-
making. We look forward to hearing more about this important re-
search and the implications it has on federal relief efforts.
Our second witness is Ms. Sharon Pinder. Ms. Pinder is the
President and CEO of the Capital Region Minority Supplier Diver-
sity Council, a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to link cor-
porations and government agencies with competitively viable mi-
nority business enterprises.
Prior to joining the council, Ms. Pinder served for 3 years as the
Director of the Mayor’s Office of Minority and Women Owned Busi-
ness Developments for the city of Baltimore, where she was respon-
sible for the city’s minority and women business programs.
In 2014, the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, recognized
Ms. Pinder’s dedication to small businesses by naming a scholar-
ship, the Sharon Pinder Award for Entrepreneurship, in her honor.
Welcome Ms. Pinder.
Our third witness is Mr. Stephen Schoaps. Mr. Schoaps is the
owner of Strother Cinema, a neighborhood theatre with two
screens, in Seminole, Oklahoma. As with virtually all other thea-
tres, music venues, and museums, Strother Cinema was forced to
close during the pandemic. As a shuttered venue owner, he is also
looking forward to seeing the newly enacted Shuttered Venue
Grant Program that will be implemented by the SBA.
We look forward to hearing about his experiences with these pro-
grams, especially the role that the EIDL advance played in helping
keep his business afloat.
Welcome, Mr. Schoaps.
I would now like to yield to the Ranking Member, Mr. Luetke-
meyer, to introduce our final witness.
Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Our next witness is Karen Kerrigan. Ms. Kerrigan is the Presi-
dent and chief executive officer of the Small Business and Entre-
preneurship Council, also known as SBE Council.
Founded in 1994, the SBE Council advocates for small busi-
nesses, entrepreneurs, and start-ups. In addition to advocacy, SBE
Council produces educational resources and significant research for
our Nation’s job creators.
For more than two decades, Ms. Kerrigan has been a prominent
voice in supporting small businesses, whether providing informa-
tion on access to capital, discussing funding revenues, or leading on
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regulation and tax reform, Ms. Kerrigan has proven herself to be
a distinguished advocate for small businesses everywhere. She is a
frequent television commentator on small business growth and has
participated in and led small business events at the White House
and numerous Federal agencies.
She is also no stranger to Capitol Hill, where she has testified
before various committees before, including this one. Ms. Kerrigan
is a graduate of the State University of New York in Cortland and
a member of several Federal advisory boards.
Ms. Kerrigan, we thank you for your smart approach and under-
standing of the entire small business ecosystem, especially during
this time of COVID-19. Welcome back to The Committee. We look
forward to your testimony.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. I now recognize Professor Fairlie for
5 minutes.
STATEMENTS OF DR. ROBERT W. FAIRLIE, PROFESSOR, DE-
PARTMENT OF ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA,
SANTA CRUZ, SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA; SHARON PINDER,
PRESIDENT AND CEO, CAPITAL REGION MINORITY SUP-
PLIER DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, SILVER SPRING, MARY-
LAND; STEPHEN SCHOAPS, OWNER, STROTHER CINEMA,
SEMINOLE, OKLAHOMA; AND KAREN KERRIGAN, PRESIDENT
AND CEO, SBE COUNCIL, VIENNA, VIRGINIA
STATEMENT OF DR. ROBERT W. FAIRLIE
Mr. FAIRLIE. Thank you, Chairwoman Velázquez, Ranking
Member Luetkemeyer, and members of the Committee. It is an
honor to testify before you on the state of small business economy.
I am a professor of economics at the University of California, Santa
Cruz, and have studied entrepreneurship, racial inequality, and
small business policy for over 25 years.
I have been asked to discuss the findings of my research on the
impacts of the pandemic on small business owners. As you know,
obtaining up to date and accurate information on the effects of the
pandemic has been extremely difficult. I have spent the past 8
months compiling and analyzing data to investigate what happened
to small business owners, especially minority business owners.
From the middle of March to early April, most States imposed
shelter-in-place restrictions that closed nonessential businesses. In
my research, I found that the number of active business owners in
the U.S. plummeted by 3.3 million, or 22 percent, between Feb-
ruary and April of 2020. No other 2- or even 12-month window of
time has ever shown such a large change in business activity.
For comparison, from the start to the end of the Great Recession,
the number of active business owners dropped by only 5 percent.
African American businesses were hit the hardest, experiencing a
41 percent drop in business activity, Latinx business owner activity
fell by 32 percent, and Asian business owner activity dropped by
26 percent. Unfavorable industry concentrations and the smaller
scale of minority owned businesses were partly responsible.
Job losses were also much higher for minority workers. Black un-
employment hit a peak of 17 percent, and Latinx unemployment
hit a peak of 18 percent. Although many of the closures turned out
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to be temporary, any month of closure reflects lost income to the
owner of the business. But the owner still has to pay rent and
other bills.
It has been especially difficult to figure out how much small busi-
nesses lost in sales and revenues in the pandemic. Using taxable
sales data from the California Department of Tax and Fee Admin-
istration, we found average losses of 17 percent in the second quar-
ter of 2020. Normally, year-over-year growth is in the range of 3
to 4 percent.
Sales losses were the largest in businesses affected by mandatory
lockdowns. For example, we found that hotels lost 91 percent, res-
taurants lost 61 percent, and clothing stores lost 56 percent.
At the same time, online sales grew by 180 percent in the second
quarter of 2020. Without a strong online presence, many small
businesses will not have the resources to weather a prolonged re-
covery. Recent Census Bureau surveys indicate that only 15 to 20
percent of small businesses have enough cash on hand to cover 3
months of operations.
One of the stated goals in the CARES Act was to prioritize serv-
ing underserved markets and businesses owned by socially and eco-
nomically disadvantaged individuals. Did the PPP and EIDL pro-
grams, which were the key components of the CARES Act, get dis-
tributed to minority communities?
Using data on 15 million individual loans, we found that funding
from these relief programs both flowed to minority communities
and away from minority communities. If anything, we found a posi-
tive relationship between PPP loan receipt for business in the mi-
nority share of the population.
There is some evidence, however, that the first round of funds
flowed disproportionately to nonminority communities. When focus-
ing on PPP loan amounts per employee, we also found a dispropor-
tionate flow to nonminority communities. In contrast, EIDL loans
and advances in both number and amounts were provided to mi-
nority communities.
In my continual work tracking how small businesses are doing
in the recovery, I recently found some alarming trends. From April
to October, there was constant month-to-month improvements in
business activity. But, in November and December, that pattern re-
versed. Over those 2 months, small business activity dropped by 6
percent.
The losses I have described here are especially alarming for two
vulnerable groups: African Americans and Latinx. Prior to the pan-
demic, business ownership and revenues were already low for both
groups. But, perhaps more importantly, there is a huge wealth gap.
Half of Black families in the U.S. have less than $10,000 in total
wealth, and half of Latinx families have less than $25,000 in total
wealth. White levels of wealth are 7 to 18 times higher. Many mi-
nority business owners will simply not have the financial resources
to weather prolonged closures.
I would like to turn to discussing what could help move us for-
ward.
First, consumers need to feel safe again. The number one priority
for helping small businesses is to get the vaccine out faster, ena-
bling customers to go back to small businesses.
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Second, more financial assistance is needed for small business
owners, especially during the next few months. In particular, rent
relief and protection could be crucial for survival.
Third, we need to slow down the extensive shift to online shop-
ping that occurred in the pandemic and is likely to continue. Small
businesses need to have more of an online presence. Aid in the
form of web page assistance could be useful. Search engines could
prioritize local businesses instead of online retailers and big-box
stores.
Fourth, the Federal Government needs to collect more data on
race and their relief efforts. Demographic information was only
partially and unevenly collected in the first two rounds of the PPP
program, and there was much criticism for this omission.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Doctor——
Mr. FAIRLIE. Additionally, collection of information——
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Professor Fairlie, your time has ex-
pired, and maybe during the question-and-answer period, you will
be able to expand on any point that you were not able to.
Mr. FAIRLIE. Yeah, I am finished. Thank you for the oppor-
tunity to present.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. I now will recognize Ms. Pinder for
5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF SHARON PINDER
Ms. PINDER. Good morning, Madam Chairwoman Velázquez
and Ranking Member Congressman Luetkemeyer and the distin-
guished members of the Committee of Small Business, and I cer-
tainly have to recognize my favorite Congressman, Congressman
Kweisi Mfume. Thank you for your service to our country, and
thank you for this opportunity to speak with you today.
I am Sharon Pinder, president and CEO of the Capital Region
Minority Supply Development Council and operator of two centers
funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business
Development Agency. We operate the MBDA Business Center,
Washington, D.C., and the Federal Procurement Center, the only
one of its kind in this country.
There is an old economic adage that says, ‘‘When America
catches a cold, minority businesses catch pneumonia.’’ Well, now it
is worse. America has COVID-19, and both minorities and their
businesses are dying at dramatic rates. Just like many minority in-
dividuals have preexisting health conditions, well, most minority
businesses faced preexisting discriminatory conditions that show
up in ways like access to capital, lack of access to opportunities,
mentorship, et cetera.
PreCOVID, there were 1.1 million minority owned businesses
employing 6.3 million people, generating more than 1.8 trillion in
revenue annually. Then, in 2020, the world came to a halt, and the
data that we, I think, were all talking from, the National Bureau
of Economic Research, looking at between February and April, Afri-
can Americans experienced the largest loss.
Madam Chairwoman talked about the 41 percent with African
American-owned businesses, Latinx businesses, 32 percent Asian
businesses, et cetera. But my organization and our sister organiza-
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tions across this country live this every day, and what we know to
be true is that our businesses need a lifeline.
And, as we examine and reflect upon the state of minority busi-
nesses due to COVID-19, we have to factor in, layer in the social
injustice piece. Black-owned businesses were especially impacted
by this.
Ladies and gentlemen, the failure of our minority small busi-
nesses places our country at risk why? Because minority businesses
are poised to become the majority population. We need to plug up
the cracks in our economic foundation and preserve our place in
the future global marketplace.
I can spend hours talking about issues with PPP and all those
things, but I would like to spend my remaining time talking about
some solutions.
We ask that Congress look at some existing assets through a dif-
ferent lens. The Defense Production Act statute is one of the coun-
try’s most powerful laws for Federal intervention in national com-
mercial activity. Title III of the act establishes the President’s au-
thority to invest in specific industries.
The idea of investment in business development would be crucial,
for example, in jump-starting minority businesses in manufac-
turing. There could be a no-interest loan like those provided to
businesses to ramp up for defense work.
A quick example. In the State of Maryland, through the CARES
Act, we recently implemented funds to—for COVID-19 small busi-
ness relief grant and loan program. Governor Hogan allocated $5
million that was allocated or dispensed by Meridian Management
Group. But the loans were from 25,000 to 150,000, 0 percent inter-
est the first year, and 2 percent of the remaining 5 years. The re-
maining fund I told you was 5 million. There was $20 million on
request. There is a need. There is an identifiable need.
Title IV of the Defense Production Act includes a section that es-
tablishes preference for small business contractors. Showing a pref-
erence for minority businesses as a subset of small business by ex-
panding the use of sole source programming provisions of the 8a
program will put more money into those minority businesses that
compete in both the Federal and private sector.
Let’s look at—further at existing assets. How about Buy Amer-
ican. We are excited about President Biden’s Buy American execu-
tive order. The concept of Buy American has been around since
1933, but the executive order includes all Federal procurement
now. That is huge. We hope that it will be implemented with—in
a manner that is advantageous to minority businesses.
With the Buy American executive order, we propose a strategy
that involves OEM teaming up with foreign manufacturing compa-
nies to produce and manufacture goods and services in partnership
with U.S.-based minority businesses.
Such a joint venture could introduce a pathway for foreign busi-
nesses who want to move their organizations to the U.S., an ave-
nue to do so, and at the same time provide resources and increase
support to the development of minority businesses.
Madam Chairwoman, minority and small businesses are in need
of an economic vaccine. The Capital Region Minority Supply Devel-
opment Council is a national minority supply development council
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and networks stand ready to support your House Small Business
Committee in its work to help build small and minority businesses.
My written testimony goes into or provides more detail.
Again, I appreciate the opportunity to have this discussion.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Thank you, Ms. Pinder.
I now recognize Mr. Schoaps for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF STEPHEN SCHOAPS
Mr. SCHOAPS. Thank you, Chairwoman Velázquez, Ranking
Member Luetkemeyer, and distinguished members of The Com-
mittee. My name is Steve Schoaps. My wife and I own Strother
Cinema, a small, two-screen movie theatre in Seminole, Oklahoma.
Seminole is a small town in rural Oklahoma that has been hard-
hit by COVID-19, like many other small towns across America.
We are an integral part of our community, and it has amazed me
that, with everything going on in our town and across our country,
people call me or talk to me everywhere I go asking if we are okay,
and when are we going to open the theatre again? I guess I didn’t
understand how many people cared about us and the service we
were providing our community. Now I do.
We are hurting, like most other theatres across America, from
small-town, single-screen theatres to megaplexes in the big cities.
The pandemic has basically wiped out our business. According to
estimates from the National Association of Theatre Owners, 75 per-
cent of movie theatre companies will be insolvent before this spring
unless they receive financial aid. Ninety-five percent have experi-
enced revenue losses greater than 70 percent. Nationwide, 63 per-
cent of jobs in theatres have been lost to furlough or permanent
layoff. And, in Oklahoma, we have lost 45 percent of the jobs in
movie theatres.
It started out that people were just scared to go to the movies,
but we put in place comprehensive cleaning procedures and social
distancing policies that made our auditoriums and lobbies safe. But
then the movies stopped coming. The film slate coming from Holly-
wood dried up through studio closures and the studios’ reluctance
to take chances with movie assets that are worth billions of dollars.
Comparing our theatre’s 2019 revenues to the same time period
in 2020, we have seen a 92 percent reduction in revenue. We have
been forced to reduce our staffing to almost nothing and have re-
sorted to selling popcorn and concessions to go. We have even start-
ed renting out our theatre to video gamers who play on the big
screens.
We have been able to survive, but not without the help of the
programs that Congress and the SBA have developed to help us.
The most important thing that we needed to figure out was how
to stay afloat without taking on too much new debt. Given the scale
of our losses and the reduced film slate for 2020 and 2021, taking
on more debt will impact our ability to recover. That is why busi-
nesses like ours are especially in need of and grateful for grant pro-
grams provided by Congress and the SBA, including our forgivable
Paycheck Protection Program loan and the upcoming Shuttered
Venue Operators Grant Program.
In particular, I would like to highlight the help provided to us
through the EIDL grant program, which we received as part of our
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EIDL loan applications. While the loan application was being eval-
uated, we received a $10,000 grant. We were able to use the money
to pay a myriad of ongoing expenses, including rent, utility bills,
workers compensation insurance, property and liability insurance,
technology vendors, our security system, and property mainte-
nance, along with many other things.
These expenses have continued unabated during the pandemic
and could not be deferred or suspended. Being able to stay current
with our vendors also helped prevent a secondary crisis among the
businesses that support our theatre, which helps ensure that they
will survive the pandemic too.
We were very challenged when we learned that the EIDL grant
would count against our PPP forgiveness. The COVID relief bill
that was passed in late December helped us again by fixing the
EIDL grant issue, and that will mean a lot when we receive that
money back from our bank.
Small businesses are running on razor-thin margins and, for
small-town theatres, surviving is what it is all about. In many
towns like ours, we are one of the few entertainment options left
available locally, and one of the more important communal gath-
ering places, and that means a lot to our community.
Congress’ help and the help of the SBA have been an integral
part of our survival this past year and will be again this year. We
would love to just go back to the businesses we ran in 2019, but
that is not going to happen.
With social distancing, our capacity has been reduced by half.
And, in other States, it is reduced even more. Movie studios will
be slow to release big films this year, and their streaming services
will gobble up what used to be our bread and butter.
Cleaning and maintaining theatres will cost more well into the
future until we get through the pandemic, and people’s attitudes
about large gatherings will have a damaging effect on our business.
We are just trying to make the changes necessary to survive in the
future. The challenges we faced in 2020 and the challenges yet to
come will be daunting, but we can overcome them. We just need
your help for a little while, and so far you have been there when
we have needed you.
Thank you for everything you have done and are doing for small
businesses and, in particular, the movie theatre industry, and
thank you for your time today.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Schoaps. Thank you
for your willingness to share your story with us. Quite insightful
and compelling.
Now Ms. Kerrigan is recognized for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF KAREN KERRIGAN
Ms. KERRIGAN. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Chairwoman
Velázquez. Thank you for your invitation to participate in this im-
portant hearing today on the state of small business in an era of
COVID-19.
The work of the House Small Business Committee has been so
vital to entrepreneurs, small business owners, and their employees
over the course of the pandemic last year, and we deeply appreciate
the engagement and hard work of each and every Committee mem-
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ber. And I welcome all the new members as well. We look forward
to working with you.
Chairwoman Velázquez and Ranking Member Luetkemeyer, we
are very grateful for your leadership. We look forward to another
round of working with you on developing and advancing solutions
that will help our small businesses and entrepreneurs lead the way
in digging the economy out of the significant jobs and small busi-
ness hole we are facing.
As you well know, America’s entrepreneurial sector is more im-
portant than ever, and SBE Council is hopeful and optimistic that
our Nation can rebound if policies and programs continue to pro-
vide relief and support for small businesses and to help our entre-
preneurs transform and grow their businesses.
Obviously the sudden onset of the pandemic, severity and long-
term nature of shutdowns and restrictions, followed by continuous
uncertainty about the course of the disease and when and if eco-
nomic normalcy will return has shocked and deeply wounded our
small business ecosystem. Countless small businesses have been
lost. More will be lost, and this devastation will take some time to
dig out of, particularly in certain areas of the country and in busi-
ness sectors that have been hit the hardest.
Yet, despite the vast hardship on Main Street, there have been
innumerable stories of survival and resiliency. Many small busi-
ness owners and their employees have discovered new tools, new
markets, and new methods for operating in the COVID-19 econ-
omy. Moreover, there has been a surge in the number of individ-
uals who are pursuing entrepreneurial activity according to the
U.S. Census Bureau business formation data on high-propensity
business applications—these are likely employers—over 1.5 million
employer applications were filed last year, which is an increase of
16 percent compared to 2019. So this is really great news. The en-
trepreneurial spirit is alive and well.
So we really do need to be thinking about and addressing policies
that will not only support existing small businesses get through the
challenging months ahead and to the other side of the pandemic,
but also those that encourage individuals to move forward with
their intention of starting a business and being successful in that
endeavor in order to breathe life into America’s small business eco-
system.
When I hear from small business owners directly or review their
current challenges and concerns in a number of regular surveys
produced by organizations and media platforms—and I have high-
lighted some of those in my written testimony—one message comes
through very clearly.
First, small business owners can’t afford to withstand any new
shocks or costs. And, second, more revenue capital is desperately
needed.
Of course many small businesses continue to struggle to pay
their bills. An Alignable January 2021 Rent Poll revealed 33 per-
cent of small business owners reported that they could not pay
their rent in January. The number is higher for minority owned
businesses at 48 percent.
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The year-end Q4 2020 MetLife U.S. Chamber survey found that
half of small businesses see their operations continuing for a year
or less before having to permanently shut down.
Now, hopefully with the added PPP boost and other programs
running smoothly, an acceleration in vaccine output and distribu-
tion, and States and localities restarting economic activity, these
will all help to shift small business optimism and outlook in a posi-
tive direction—more of a positive direction than what was conveyed
in the surveys in my written testimony.
Small business owners may be the optimists among us, but they
are exhausted. They need a period of stability and continued sup-
port, and our organization looks forward to working with all of you
on common-ground areas that will help restore this sector, help it
recover, and bring our economy back to robust and sustainable
growth.
So I look forward to our discussions and your questions and talk-
ing about what these solutions are for moving forward.
Thank you so much.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Thank you, Ms. Kerrigan.
Now I will begin by recognizing myself for 5 minutes.
Professor Fairlie, I would like to address my first question to
you.
Thank you so much for the type of research that you have done
demonstrating the negative impact of COVID-19 on underserved
businesses, particularly Black, Latino, and Asian Americans. It
was that data and that type of research that validated the anec-
dotal stories that we were hearing from businesses that were not
able to get any access to the PPP program or EIDL program given
the fact that they didn’t have preexisting relationships with finan-
cial institutions, and that gave the argument to us to insist——
And, by the way, former Secretary Mnuchin and the Adminis-
trator both recognized that, yes, there was a disparity when it
came to underserved communities.
That gave the basis for us to insist in the December relief pack-
age to set aside not only PPP for underserved community and mi-
nority businesses, but also for mission-based lenders.
Has your research given you any opportunity to look at the im-
pact that these programs and targeted relief programs have had on
the businesses that we intended to help?
Mr. FAIRLIE. Yes. So that is one of the things that I definitely
want to start looking into. I looked the other day when I was pre-
paring for this testimony and the data have not been released yet.
So we have no information on that.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Okay. Mr. Schoaps, I understand
that you—but, Mr. Fairlie, is it your estimated guess that more
businesses that were left behind during the first tranche of money
will have a better opportunity now to access the PPP program and
the EIDL program?
Mr. FAIRLIE. Yes, I do think so. One of the things that I found
in my research is that the EIDL program did reach minority com-
munities, and that was promising. The first round of the PPP pro-
gram did not, right? That was the one that had the problems with
the established banks, as you mentioned.
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So I think there is just much more awareness, there is much
more emphasis on fintech and also on, you know, kind of small
local community banks. And I think that it will make a difference,
it will help.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. The latest data that was provided to
us by the Small Business Administration demonstrated the large
number of smaller loans that were made after the second—the De-
cember relief package.
Mr. Schoaps, I understand you received a few SBA relief prod-
ucts, including PPP, EIDL loan, and EIDL advance. Can you elabo-
rate on the value to you and your business of receiving the EIDL
advance?
Mr. SCHOAPS. The EIDL advance was integral in us surviving.
It came at a time that the PPP money was running out. It came
at a time when we were looking, waiting to hear about our EIDL
loan. And the EIDL grant program was tremendous for us.
Now, we were thrown for a loop when we found out that it was
going to go against our PPP forgiveness. However, that has since
been corrected in the December COVID relief bill.
But no, it has been integral. It helped us pay our rent, our—all
the expenses that we had kind of piling up at a time when there
was no revenue coming in whatsoever.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. How was your experience with SBA
when seeking the EIDL loan and advance?
Mr. SCHOAPS. Our experience with the SBA was phenomenal,
to be real honest. When I filed for my PPP loan, my banker said,
hey, you need to maybe consider this EIDL program. Go and fill
out an application and see if you qualify, and even if you don’t
qualify there is a possibility you can get this grant they have.
And so I went online, filled out an application, and it was—I
didn’t think much about it. I didn’t think I had much hope of get-
ting it. And just one day I happened to be looking at my bank ac-
count and there was $10,000 in there from the EIDL grant pro-
gram. And we used that immediately to pay bills that were there.
I thought it was a simple operation. We went online, filled out the
application, and it was just an easy, easy situation. The SBA has
been nothing but great on that program.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Schoaps.
My time has expired, and I recognize the Ranking Member, Mr.
Luetkemeyer, for 5 minutes.
Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Thank you, Madam Chair.
I would like to begin with Ms. Kerrigan. One of the things that
is in the new budget bill that is being promoted by the administra-
tion is the increasing of the minimum wage.
This morning, I would like to enter into the record, Madam
Chair, the NFIB Research Center study, Economic effects of enact-
ing the Raise the Wage Act on small businesses and U.S. economy.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Without objection.
Mr. LUETKEMEYER. The summary on the front here says it is
going to cost 1.6 million jobs and have a real output loss of more
than $2 trillion to our economy. And this is by the National Fed-
eration of Independent Businesses, which is that is the effect on
small businesses.
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So, Ms. Kerrigan, my question to you is, what is your thought
process on the doubling, basically the doubling of a minimum wage
with regards to how small businesses are going to be affected, what
kind of response they will have, especially since you mentioned in
your testimony that the small businesses cannot withstand any
more new shocks for costs?
Ms. KERRIGAN. Thank you, Congressman. Gosh, this is going
to be very, very harmful for many small businesses, particularly
those who have been hardest hit by the pandemic, you know, and
in those certain sectors, you know, the restaurant industry, et
cetera.
And you are right, I mean, right now, you know, with many
small businesses being in a position where they are struggling to
pay their bills, they can’t pay their rent. I also noted in my written
testimony that revenues starting in 2021 are down, you know, over
40 percent. Forty percent of small business owners report their rev-
enue, you know, is down this year, even compared to last year.
Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Okay. I would like to interrupt just a sec-
ond here, if I could.
Ms. KERRIGAN. Sure.
Mr. LUETKEMEYER. What would be the response for the small
business folks in order to survive? Are they going to lay off people,
go to automation, just close up altogether? What, in your judgment,
would you see happening along that line?
Ms. KERRIGAN. All of the above. I mean, I do think there are
going to be small business owners who are just—who grinded it out
up to this point who are exhausted who really can’t take the cost,
and they will throw in the towel for sure. I mean, we are seeing
that already, given a lot of the uncertainty.
So, I mean, definitely, the workers’ hours will be lost, jobs will
be lost. I don’t know how much they could pass on, you know, to—
you know, to consumers and stay competitive, you know, particu-
larly when they are competing with bigger enterprises.
Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Okay. I apologize. I have got some more
questions and I have got to move on here very quickly. My time
is limited.
Dr. Fairlie, you talk about in your testimony sales losses are
largest in businesses affected by mandatory lockdowns. I will just
give you some statistics very quickly here. Due to COVID
lockdowns, Florida and New York, roughly the same population, 19
to 21 million each, Florida has roughly 20,000 people that died due
to COVID, New York 39,000 people, and yet Florida is open and
New York is not.
I indicated in my opening testimony how Missouri, my own home
State, opened up mid May and wound up with a positive revenue
growth for the year, and we now have 4.4 percent unemployment.
New York’s own survey during the September-November period
show that less than 1.4 percent of COVID deaths came from res-
taurants and bars and hair and personal care was one-tenth of 1
percent.
Lockdowns are killing us, and I think your testimony here indi-
cates that. I would like for you to elaborate on that just a little bit
more, if you would, please.
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Mr. FAIRLIE. Well, it is one of the arguments that I have made
is that if we can get the vaccine out faster, distribute it more, you
know, evenly across the population and get people, customers to
feel comfortable to go back, then we can open up businesses and
get going again.
I mean, if you are comparing New York to Florida, it is very dif-
ficult to compare the two, right? New York has very densely popu-
lated areas. It is a very expensive place to live. You have got multi-
families living in the same households. So it is just much more of
a vector for spreading the disease than in Florida, which is much
more spread out.
Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Well, we can talk about that later.
But, Mr. Schoaps, very quickly with you. Good to hear that the
program has worked for you. One of the things that I am concerned
about is the regulators coming in and pressuring the creditors,
your creditor to foreclose on people who are falling behind on their
loans, on their debts, and then by doing that just decimating entire
industries within the communities, costing jobs.
What kind of relationship do you have with your banker and
creditor? Is this something that would be concerning to you if the
regulators came in and forced them to do something different?
Mr. SCHOAPS. I don’t really think it would. I have spent many
years even before owning a small business developing my relation-
ship with my banker. And if there was one thing I would—and I
heard you talking about minorities and their relation with banks.
I really think somebody needs to help mentor small business
owners in developing that relationship with their bank. I have lit-
erally had my banker call me and say, look, if you have any prob-
lems or issues, you need to let us know so we can help you out.
We have some other things we can do.
And so I think that relationship with your bank is one of the key
things, and I would really like to see more businesses build those
relationships with their bankers. Of course, I am lucky. I live in
a small town. A small town banker might be my neighbor. And
so——
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Schoaps.
Mr. SCHOAPS. Yes.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Thank you so much. Time has ex-
pired.
Now we recognize the Chairman on the Subcommittee on Under-
served, Agricultural, and Rural Business Development, Mr. Golden
from Maine.
Mr. GOLDEN. Thank you, Madam Chair.
I wanted to direct my first question to Ms. Pinder, and then if
I have some time left over we will take it from there.
Ms. Pinder, I am from Maine. I live in a community, Lewiston,
Maine, which is about 36,000 people. Immediately across a river di-
viding two communities is Auburn of about 18,000 people. So we
are talking about, you know, a population of roughly 55 to 60 thou-
sand people, perhaps not as large as many an urban area out
there, but in the State of Maine this is about as urban as it gets.
We are one of the more rural States that you could look at.
In Lewiston, we actually have a large amount per capita of re-
cent immigrants from Western Africa as well as over the past dec-
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ade of Somali Americans, many of whom have turned to entrepre-
neurship and starting their own businesses, and many of their chil-
dren now graduating from our schools and coming of an age where
they might look to start their own businesses or take on these ex-
isting businesses.
I wanted to ask, in an area like this—I know it is not as urban
as Washington, D.C. or New York City or many other, you know,
big urban areas, but in one like this that I have described, how
might you think the Federal Government could support economic
development? I know you have talked about the Defense Produc-
tion Act and the Buy American executive order. Feel free to talk
further about those, but if you have other ideas beyond those, we
are all ears.
Ms. PINDER. So, Congressman, you are asking what resources
are available to provide support to some of those businesses? Is
that——
Mr. GOLDEN. Absolutely. As we are thinking about the COVID
response as well and the things that the Biden administration are
looking at doing to support small businesses, what do you think we
should be looking at on this committee?
Ms. PINDER. Well, in reference to what you were talking about
your constituents going into entrepreneurship, part of what they
can take advantage of are some existing programs that are in
place. We have a national network of—we exist all over the coun-
try, and so there is access from our MBE Centers as well as our
Minority Supplier Development Council that your constituents can
access as well. There are existing resources, such as PTAP and
things of that nature that can do that.
But at the end of the day—and the businesses I am assuming
you are talking about are mostly doing startups at this particular
point in time. And so as a result of that, looking at how to support
that, you know, maybe there is information they can receive from
SBA loans as we are talking about it, you know. Information of Pell
grants to students to attend colleges and things of that nature
might help.
But what I was proposing, in terms of us looking at some exist-
ing assets through the Defense Production Act and things of that
nature, looks at how do we then take some policies that are in
place that kind of help and look at innovative kind of ways to kind
of help our businesses, in terms of their growth.
You know, where are the opportunities? It is all about opportuni-
ties, right? Where are some of the opportunities, whether it is in
the Federal sector—we support primarily the private sector, but
identifying where those opportunities are and then helping with re-
moving the barrier to the access of capital. That is kind of what
is key.
Mr. GOLDEN. On that, Ms. Pinder, you might have some advice.
Many of our community members who came from, many of them
from Kenyan refugee camps, these are Somalia Americans, you
know, many of them have issues with access to capital due to
issues with lending on interest.
Are you aware of other resources that are out there to help a
small business family like this in accessing capital?
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Ms. PINDER. Yes. And what I can do, Congressman, is provide
you with that, with some information after this session. I certainly
can forward that information to you, because those kind of startups
are really prevalent across the country, and I certainly can provide
that.
Mr. GOLDEN. That would be very helpful.
Madam Chair, I am sure I am getting pretty close here, and I
don’t want to put someone in the situation of having just seconds
to respond, so I will yield my time.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Thank you. The gentleman yields
back.
Now we recognize the gentleman from Texas, Vice Ranking
Member of the committee, Mr. Williams.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Thank you, Chairwoman.
Mr. Schoaps, you touched on the Shuttered Venue Operators
Grant program in your testimony. I was proud to be the Republican
lead on the Save Our Stages Act in the House, which I am sure
you know is what this program is based off of.
The Shuttered Venue program recognizes that businesses like
yours were some of the first to close and will be the last to reopen,
as COVID-19 caused some problems. Other aid programs, such as
Paycheck Protection Program, do not meet the unique needs of
these highly affected industries. The SBA must swiftly implement
this program to deliver much-needed relief to small businesses like
yours that you own.
So I would say, Mr. Schoaps, I would like to give you the oppor-
tunity to speak directly to the Small Business Administration on
how your business is impacted every single day this critical pro-
gram is not accepting applications.
Mr. SCHOAPS. Well, thank you first of all, Congressman, for
supporting and sponsoring the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.
Every day that that grant application process isn’t open causes con-
sternation for everybody in the theater business especially. We
are—a lot of us are closed. If we are not closed, we are running at
losses, at best.
And I think every day we don’t have that application process
open, the more worry comes into our lives about the future, wheth-
er we are going to survive or not. You know, I sit down with my
wife almost every night and we say, well, how many more days do
you think we can last? How many more? Are there weeks? Is it
weeks or days?
And I think the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant is the hope we
have for the future, and I think that that is one thing that we need
to get that application process open as quickly as possible. I know
it is an involved thing, but——
Mr. WILLIAMS. Well, we hear you, and we are going to make
some noise to get that money to you.
Many Americans are under the false notion that they must go to
a 4-year college to be successful and make it in America. I person-
ally do not think this is true and believe our country would be bet-
ter off if more people utilized trade schools so we could have more
plumbers, contractors, welders, et cetera, in the workforce. Once a
person learns a skill, they can translate that knowledge into cre-
ating their own small business.
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Ms. Kerrigan, what role do you see career and technical edu-
cation opportunities playing to help hardworking Americans over-
come the economic devastation of COVID-19?
Ms. KERRIGAN. I think they are critical, I mean, absolutely crit-
ical, you know, particularly given, you know, where we see some
of the growth. Actually, the bright spots are in the economy now,
you know, in terms of home improvement and in terms of those
other type of services that are really, you know, on the uptick, you
know, versus some of the other sectors. So, obviously, there is a
skills gap, and this type of training is going to be critical for these
workers, moving forward.
And you are right. I mean, you know, in terms of spurring entre-
preneurship, you know, I think it also is very vital. I mean, it is
these individuals, these new individuals that enter into these pro-
fessions that actually see things in the marketplace, talk to con-
sumers maybe that their current employer does not. So there is
more competition, more vibrancy, more innovation in those indus-
tries.
But yes, moving forward, vital. And I agree with you in terms
of the 4-year very expensive college education not being necessary.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Thank you. In other words, we have enough
lawyers. Thank you.
COVID-19 has caused a massive shift in consumer preference
from brick-and-mortar retail stores to online shopping. This does
not seem like a temporary trend. It is likely to persist long after
the pandemic. Unfortunately, there are so many rural areas across
the country, including my district, that do not have access to high-
speed internet.
This is setting these small businesses up for failure, simply be-
cause they do not have access to the necessary infrastructure to
succeed. I plan on pushing for rural broadband to be in any infra-
structure program that may come to the floor.
So, Dr. Fairlie, in the brief time that we have, can you talk about
how increasing rural broadband funding would help small busi-
nesses.
Mr. FAIRLIE. Yes, I fully agree. I think anything and everything
we can do to help small businesses have more of an online presence
is crucial, right? I mean, you just see big box stores, you know, the
online retailers have done incredibly well, right? That was talked
about in the very beginning, that their revenues are up. Their
stock prices are up.
Small businesses, of course, are not seeing that. And that I think
is, you know, everything we can do. Broadband access I think is a
crucial issue, especially for rural small businesses.
Mr. WILLIAMS. Thank you. I yield my time back.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. The gentleman yields back.
The gentleman from Colorado, Mr. Jason Crow, Chairman of the
Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce De-
velopment, is recognized.
Mr. CROW. Thank you, Chairwoman. And thank you to all the
witnesses today. You are very insightful, and I appreciate you tak-
ing time. I know how busy you are doing your normal work, so we
appreciate your insights.
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I just wanted to start by clarifying something. There was discus-
sion earlier about the impact of minimum wage on the pandemic.
And I certainly understand some of those concerns, but also, just
to be clear, the Raise the Wage Act doesn’t actually immediately
take effect after enactment. There is a delay after enactment, and
then is a gradual increase over a 5-year period. So I think we have
to be very careful about how we frame this, in terms of its impact
on businesses during the pandemic. So I wanted to start with that.
And I represent a community where one of the biggest challenges
that our small businesses face right now is that people can’t actu-
ally afford to live in the community and can’t actually afford to pa-
tronize the businesses and help them grow as well. So we have to
I think address this with a level of sophistication and look at the
multiple dynamics going on here.
So, with that said, I would like to start with Ms. Pinder. Ms.
Pinder, I represent one of the most diverse districts in the country.
Nearly 20 percent of the residents in my district were born outside
of the country, and I have over 150 languages spoken. So I am very
concerned and very attuned to the issues of underserved commu-
nities and their lack of access to capital.
So, as you might know, we changed the PPP program and some
of these relief programs to dedicate money to CDFIs, to help drive
that money to those areas of need. So I would appreciate your com-
ments on what are still the barriers for underserved communities
in accessing CDFI money and money that is allocated to try to get
to those businesses in great need.
Ms. PINDER. I think that the second round, there were all those
problems that were identified with the first round of PPP and
EIDL loans and all those kinds of things, because of the rush to
get out and that kind of thing.
But I think that the intentional nature of looking at how to place
or push the money down to intermediary types of organizations or
CDFIs was a good one, because we have to be intentional about it.
There has to be organizations or resources that are, if nothing else
to describe this, boots-on-the-ground kind of approaches.
And understanding where those communities are—I mean,
where those businesses are and being able to market and commu-
nicate the existence of the resources, because that has been one of
the biggest barriers of entry for achieving this money throughout
the cycle. It is where are the resources, where can I identify those
resources, and then the government or private sector organizations
that have taken this on being intentional about making the infor-
mation known.
Mr. CROW. Just to follow up on that last point, Ms. Pinder, what
would be an effective way—and I know I am kind of putting you
on the spot here a little bit, but what would be a really effective
way to get that information, that last piece you just mentioned, get
that information known and communicate what is available to
some of these communities?
Ms. PINDER. I think you have to meet people where they are,
right? And so if you are looking to increase awareness in particular
communities, what are those—the knowledge of where the CDFIs
are? How do you use means to advertise that information? And
whether it is through our churches or through organizations that
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exist in those communities, I think that is how you meet people
where they are.
Mr. CROW. Thank you. I appreciate that very much.
Professor Fairlie, you had also touched on this in your written
testimony about the changes between the first round of funds, re-
lief funds, and the second round of funds.
So the same question for you, if I may: What are some of the bar-
riers that you have determined and seen from your research on get-
ting CDFIs connected to those underserved communities?
Mr. FAIRLIE. Well, I think that, you know, the big problem in
the first round is that it was mainly established banks that were
providing the funds, and those were going out to mostly non-
minority businesses.
And it was the second round of PPP funds that—where they real-
ly targeted, you know, trying to get this fintech into local banks,
CDFIs, you know, those types of organizations that really made the
big difference, right? In the research that I show, you can just see
this incredible difference between this positive relationship with
nonminority communities overall in the U.S., and then it switches
around, totally, you know, reverses in that second round.
So I think it is really important. I think that we need to be ag-
gressive. We need to go out and talk to small business owners, you
know, get that information out to them so that they know about
these programs, so that they know to apply.
Mr. CROW. Thank you. Madam Chair, I yield back.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. The gentleman yields back.
The gentleman from Minnesota, Mr. Hagedorn, is recognized for
5 minutes.
Mr. HAGEDORN. Thank you, Madam Chair.
I would like to expound a little bit about these lockdowns that
our Ranking Member, Mr. Luetkemeyer, brought up. In our State
of Minnesota, our Governor, Tim Walz, has held onto emergency
powers and made all sorts of arbitrary decrees, and in so doing his
central government planning has really affected our small busi-
nesses. It has crushed a lot of them, put some of them out of work,
out of business permanently. And you look at—some of them just
didn’t make sense. You had big box stores, corporate stores open,
small businesses closed.
And then you get into the rural areas that I represent down in
southern Minnesota and you have border communities, and the
Minnesotans were just across the border going to Iowa, South Da-
kota, or Wisconsin to purchase their goods there, go dine, and go
to a bar or restaurant. And then we were hurt.
Now we are trying to open back up, but the effects of these
lockdowns are really hurting small businesses. You have a situa-
tion where we don’t have enough labor. Part of that is because the
schools are still closed throughout most of Minnesota with regula-
tions that don’t make sense. Even the CDC says it is okay to get
the teachers and everybody back in school for in-person learning.
That would free up the parents to be able to go out and do work
again in the community, work for our small businesses.
And then at some of the border communities, the employees have
literally gone to neighboring States and taken full-time jobs there,
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knowing that those States will remain open when Minnesota’s
opening and closing.
So I guess to Ms. Kerrigan, what are your thoughts about that?
I would like to hear any other experiences that you have learned
along the way and just how devastating some of these lockdown or-
ders have been to small businesses across the country.
Ms. KERRIGAN. Well, they have been very, very, very dev-
astating, obviously. You know, from the beginning of the pandemic
or very shortly thereafter, you know, we said that, yeah, this is a
very difficult challenge for the country, unprecedented, but still
small businesses could operate safe and smart. They had every in-
centive to do so.
And you are right. I mean, sort of the inequities in allowing sort
of the larger stores to remain open and closing the smaller stores
that could have sold some of these goods that were provided by the
larger stores and, in effect, herding a larger amount of customers
into bigger stores, you know, didn’t make sense from our members’
perspective.
So—and what we are seeing now, Congressman, is you do see
businesses just in these locked down States, I mean, really picking
up—you know, picking up and moving, moving to other States. I
mean, it was the trigger for them, actually, to move to more busi-
ness-friendly States, you know, to lower cost States, and to States
that—you know, where there was a little bit more flexibility, you
know, in terms of these policies.
So I don’t know if I have one simple answer for you. I mean,
hopefully with the vaccines and now we are seeing the big drop in
the disease. I mean, we are on a course here where economic activ-
ity can, you know, open up and get back to normal, whatever that
might be, you know, the next 6 months or so.
Mr. HAGEDORN. Sorry to cut you off. I want to get over to—
thank you for that. And that has been our experience with busi-
nesses and others going to neighboring States like South Dakota
that have been more open.
Mr. Schoaps, I have a real quick question for you. Being in the
business that you are, in the movie theater business in a small
community, we have communities in my district in Madelia and
Kasson that have small theaters that haven’t been able to reopen.
In some of our rural communities, obviously, we need infrastruc-
ture for folks to be there, jobs and everything else, good, obviously,
healthcare and education. But quality of life, things to do, enter-
tainment, that is really important in a community the size of
yours. I think it is what, you have about 7,000 people. And I see
that. What is your thought about that?
Mr. SCHOAPS. Well, I have to agree with you. I can’t tell you
the number of people that have come up to me and asked when we
are going to open. They come knocking on our door when they see
us in the theater. They want us to open.
But it goes back to what you were talking about just a minute
ago. As long as L.A. and New York are locked down, they represent
25 percent of the revenue that goes into movies, movie theaters in
the country. And movie studios will not put out their movies, their
big movies, if they know that L.A. and New York are locked down.
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So yes, it is quality of life. Movie theaters are a big thing in
small towns, simply because it is a gathering place. It is a place
where—it is a reach out to the rest of the world from a small rural
community.
Mr. HAGEDORN. Thank you very much. I appreciate the time.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Now we recognize the gentlelady
from Kansas, Ms. Davids, Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on
Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access.
Ms. DAVIDS. Thank you, Chairwoman.
I am definitely cognizant of the fact that it was about a year ago
that the Small Business Committee held our first hearing on how
the emerging, at that time emerging pandemic might impact small
business. And, obviously, so much has changed in that time.
I have been honored—hold on a minute. The buzzing is hap-
pening in my office.
I have been really pleased to be able to speak with a lot of small
business owners in the Third District in Kansas. And, first of all,
I appreciate folks taking time out of their business schedules just
like you all have here today to share experiences and perspectives.
And, you know, I think that what we are hearing now and what
I have heard at home is that, obviously, small businesses are in a
fight for their lives. And they are getting innovative and using
every tool at their disposal to keep their doors open and employees
paid. And there is obviously a lot of work to do, continue to do to
provide the capital and resources and relief that our small busi-
nesses are going to need.
You know, I know we talked about the EIDL or heard about the
EIDL loan earlier. A small business owner in my district was able
to apply for and receive the funds almost immediately within a day
of applying. And it really saved her business, and she was able to
continue to operate. So know that when these programs are work-
ing effectively, they can save jobs. They can save businesses.
And I also know that some of the issues that we are facing are
because we don’t have the necessary funds or programs available
for people to get a second drawdown on the PPP, and so we are
going to continue to work on that.
And then finally, I want to mention that when it comes to the
supply chain and our small manufacturers and medium size manu-
facturers, I have introduced the SUPPLIES Act because I know
that there are so many businesses, particularly in Kansas, who are
eager to shift their production over to things like personal protec-
tive equipment, testing supplies, and even to help with the vaccine
rollout. I know a lot of healthcare workers are still struggling to
get all of those things.
So I am glad to see that the American Rescue Plan includes $10
billion of funding for domestic manufacturing, for emergency med-
ical supplies and this sort of thing.
So, Ms. Pinder, I would love to hear you speak a little bit to the
opportunity to utilize small businesses and particularly minority-
owned businesses when it comes to the implementation of the De-
fense Production Act. I know you mentioned that in your testi-
mony, and would just love to hear you talk a little bit more about
that.
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Ms. PINDER. Thank you, Congresswoman. One of the things
that I talked about is how do we then take existing assets and see
how we leverage them in order to help support what you are talk-
ing about, because you are right, there is this plethora of need that
is out there, and how do we identify, specifically for those busi-
nesses that are hurting the most.
So traditionally, assets like the Defense Production Act and like
Buy American has not really looked at or leveraged how we then
translate some of that that perhaps we could leverage with, say,
minority and women and small businesses.
We take, for example—I talked about the title, Title 3, that the
President has authority to invest in specific industries. What you
talked about, people pivoting during that time, well, what if we
could take something of that nature. And the goal of Title 3, for
example, is expand domestic capacity for supplies, but if, indeed,
that can be done and implemented in mind with supporting minor-
ity and smaller businesses.
I think those are the kind of things that we need—that Congress
can take a look at. It is all about implementation, right? So how
do we implement it to make sure that that is indicated in those ef-
forts.
Ms. DAVIDS. Thank you, Ms. Pinder. We will probably follow up
more after this.
I will yield back to the Chairwoman.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. The gentlelady yields back.
The gentleman from Minnesota, Mr. Stauber, is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. STAUBER. Thank you, Madam Chair.
And at our first meeting of this year, I do not mean to kick
things off in such a negative way, but I believe this situation calls
for it.
Small businesses were crushed at the hands of their State and
Federal Governments. Speaker Pelosi put politics ahead of our
country. For months, she made her partisan wish list items a pri-
ority over the millions of Americans who were suffering. It was un-
acceptable.
So now here we are a new Congress, and yet we have not heard
any fresh ideas on how to help America’s small businesses. Instead,
we have the tired old ideas. One of them is known to close small
businesses across this Nation.
Ranking Member Luetkemeyer brought this up in his comments,
the $15 minimum wage. When asked, one of the witnesses stated:
Jobs will be lost, small businesses will close.
President Biden’s relief plan shows just how out of touch he is
with the hardworking small business owners of America, and it is
frustrating. It is unconscionable that a relief package took so long.
Americans and small business owners everywhere deserve better.
Now to our witnesses. I want to thank you all for being here
today. Your testimony will provide much-needed clarity on policy
proposals that can actually deliver effective targeted relief to our
small business owners, who are the engine of our economy.
As the government has rolled out relief programs, mistakes were
clearly made. Lenders wrongly doled out PPP loans to individuals
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who should not have qualified. The SBA created ongoing guidance,
some making loans out of compliance at a moment’s notice.
Ms. Kerrigan, in your opinion, where have our relief programs
failed our small businesses?
Ms. KERRIGAN. Well, I will start with the good news, that, you
know, over the course of time there have been lessons learned.
And, you know, based on this current PPP round, you know, there
are many things that have been done right.
But I will agree with you in terms of there was the need for
speed back, you know, in the summer, where the economy had
some momentum, where small businesses saw some light, you
know, at the end of the tunnel, and yet Congress left town in Au-
gust without acting and without extending the PPP program,
where there was actually money that was left in that program.
So, you know, getting small businesses that money that they
needed to weather what we went through in the fall and what we
are going through currently I think would have been very, very im-
portant to save a lot of small businesses, save jobs. And that is one
area, you know, that I will recognize.
And then just again, you know, I think there just needs to be the
continuous sort of reevaluation of the program and for the SBA and
for the Congress, you know, to act on recommendations I think a
little bit more quickly, in terms of getting—making it more flexible,
reducing complexity, and providing more certainty both for, you
know, small business owners and the lenders, particularly as we
move through and into the forgiveness period.
So, I mean, again, I know it was a big lift, getting this money
out the door. A lot of small businesses benefited. But there could
have been things done along the way that could have helped a lot
more small businesses, and particularly reaching those in the mi-
nority and disadvantaged communities as well.
Mr. STAUBER. I appreciate those comments, and I agree with
you, that need for speed. Once the investments ran out at the end
of August, it was unacceptable that our small businesses across
this Nation had to wait almost 4 months before the additional re-
lief.
Ms. Kerrigan, a second question: Can you identify any issues in
our relief program that have made small business owners reluctant
to spend money they have received or reluctant to turn to the gov-
ernment for aid at all in the future?
Ms. KERRIGAN. You know, I think some of those issues have
been resolved, in terms of, you know, some tax issues. You know,
I still think there can be additional flexibility in the PPP program.
You know, many business owners just don’t think that program
is for them, particularly as it relates to, you know, the 60/40 split,
60 percent for payroll, 40 percent for other expenses, particularly
if they are in high-cost areas and have high overhead.
Mr. STAUBER. Thank you. Ms. Kerrigan, my time has run out,
and I appreciate all the witnesses. And I yield back.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. The gentleman yields back.
Now we recognize the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Con-
tracting and Infrastructure and Vice Chair of the committee, Mr.
Kweisi Mfume from Maryland.
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Mr. MFUME. Madam Chair, thank you very much. And I appre-
ciate the opportunity. I assume we will have an opportunity also
in a second round to expand on everything that we don’t get a
chance to cover here, so I look forward to that.
A couple of quick things. I want to thank the witnesses, all of
whom I am sure have busy schedules and lifestyles, for making
time available. This sort of discussion helps those of us, as law-
makers, get a sense of the divergence of thought and where some
of the urgent matters are that we can apply ourselves to right
away.
I must admit, having served on this committee in the eighties
and the nineties, that this issue that continues to come up about
the minimum wage is a little perplexing to me. I appreciate the
Ranking Member introducing it and the response that was given,
but for me it is a little like déjà vu. The answers are the same as
they were many, many years ago, that it would cause job loss and,
of course, businesses would be forced to close, and that would be
the end of small businesses as we know them.
In fact, in 1988, the Federal minimum wage was at $3.35. Today,
33 years later, it is at $7.25. So it has taken us 33 years to give
Federal workers a minimum wage increase of $3.90. Thirty-three
years is a long time, and in the interim, businesses did not go out
of business. Cost in some instances were passed along to con-
sumers.
But the issue here is one of a lesson, and I think the lesson is
that we will continue to see an increase in the efforts to try to
make sure that people have a livable wage or a minimum wage
that reflects where we are in society.
I want to associate myself to the remarks of Mr. Crow and reit-
erate the fact that this is not something that takes place next week
or next year. So I know we are in the middle of COVID, but it
might be a little bit of a mischaracterization to use that backdrop
to place this issue as if it is going to happen right away. It doesn’t
really completely happen until 2025. So, for the record, I just
thought I would rhetorically ask myself the question, if not now,
when? So when has been a long time coming.
I do want to go back to Mr. Fairlie’s remarks and Ms. Kerrigan’s,
as you have sort of given us a 30,000-foot view of what is going on
as a result of the impact the pandemic has had on small businesses
in general and minority businesses in particular.
In just a couple of minutes, could either or both of you—and I
don’t have much time—just indicate, from your perspective, when
do things get better? Do they get better when we open up, or do
they get better when we are able to get rid of the disease?
Ms. KERRIGAN. Where I start, I think it is both. I think we can,
you know, move in kind of a parallel track. And when we open up,
I think that will definitely help small businesses. But certainly, the
whole vaccination issue and getting rid of the disease, you know,
will give consumers the confidence, you know, to go to stores and
to, you know, get back to sort of, quote/unquote, normal economic
activity.
But, again, Congressman, I just have a lot of optimism for all
these new entrepreneurs. That is the opportunity in the market-
place, based on where consumer trends are going right now. And
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to the extent that we can encourage those entrepreneurs to move
forward to innovate and keep our economy competitive, no matter
what the normal may look like, the new normal moving forward,
I think is vital.
Mr. MFUME. Thank you. And Professor Fairlie?
Mr. FAIRLIE. I think that we need three things: One, we need
to get that vaccine out. We need to get it out faster. We need to
get it out evenly across the country. So there are some equity
issues about that, of course. That is really important.
Customers need to feel comfortable. They need to feel like they
can go into a small business and not worry about getting the
coronavirus. That is essential. And, of course, once that happens,
we can start opening up everything, which is really important.
But the third thing, though, that I would not underestimate is
this kind of trend toward shopping online. People are just becoming
much more accustomed to doing it. I don’t think it is going to go
away forever. And small businesses somehow need to have more of
an online presence.
And so I gave some ideas there about how search engines could
prioritize small businesses in their local area instead of just the big
box stores or bigger online retailers. That would be one way that
we could do that.
Mr. MFUME. Thank you. Thank you very much. Mr. Schoaps, I
really empathize with your situation out there in the Midwest. To
see a 92 percent reduction in your revenue in 1 year is sort of
unfathomable, and I can only imagine what you and your wife are
up against, in terms of swimming upstream.
I am glad to know that the December stimulus bill, in which we
did correct this whole issue of the EIDL loans, helped you to some
extent, and that I look forward to President Biden’s current stim-
ulus bill——
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Excuse me.
Mr. MFUME.—in terms of pushing you a little further down the
road in terms of your own survival.
I want to underscore two things, one of which dovetails on what
the professor just said. Innovation is one of the biggest enemies
that many small businesses face. We saw it with the newspaper in-
dustry a couple of decades ago. We are seeing it now with movies,
as it relates to Netflix and On-Demand and Pay-Per-View, which
affects both television and other losses.
Madam Chair, were you trying to——
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Yes. Your time has expired. We are
discussing with the Ranking Member in a minute if we are going
to go to a second round, and then you will have an opportunity to
have Mr. Schoaps answer your question.
Mr. MFUME. Thank you very much. Actually, it is he and Ms.
Pinder. So I will await the decision of the Chair and the Ranking
Member.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Thank you.
The gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Meuser, is recognized for
5 minutes.
Mr. MEUSER. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses. I appreciate your being here with
us. The PPP, the Paycheck Protection plan, was very much of a
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success. Nationwide, there were 5.5 million, approximately, small
businesses received loans. $557 billion in forgivable loans were
issued, with an average of approximately $100,000. So that was
really the sweet spot. That was the intent. In Pennsylvania, my
home State, it was very much the same sort of metrics, 200,000
loans for $22 billion, so about $110,000 per business.
The EIDL loans were also very successful, the Economic Injury
Disaster Loan, particularly in Pennsylvania. The SBA worked ex-
tremely hand in hand with me and with us. 3.6 million loans for
$200 billion, which works out to be about $6,000 each, which,
again, was right on the mark.
Nevertheless, that is about a trillion dollars. And with another
$3 trillion that was put into the economy, that is $4 trillion thus
far over the past year. And yet, one in four small businesses still
predicts they are going to go out of business within the next 6
months, and most of them are restaurants. So it is almost that
there is almost no amount of money that is going to buoy and allow
small businesses to survive except the free marketplace itself.
So, Ms. Kerrigan, I will start with you, please. You know, there
is some talk here about business planning and how somehow gov-
ernment is supposed to provide innovative ideas. Anybody who has
been in the private sector for more than we will say a year knows
that that is ridiculous. Entrepreneurs figure those things out on
their own.
What government does is create a competitive business environ-
ment for small business and large business to do their thing and
be competitive and deliver the best products and services at the
lowest prices.
Nevertheless, Ms. Kerrigan, I would like to ask you about access
of capital outside of all of the forgivable loans and all and the addi-
tional that we are going to provide. I am not sure there is—in fact,
I am sure there is no alternative to a safe and smart opening that
is driven by the entrepreneurs and the small businesses them-
selves, where their ideas are applied, to assure that their cus-
tomers and their staff are safe, yet they stay open.
And I would like to get your comment on that, Ms. Kerrigan and
Mr. Schoaps. Am I saying it right? Mr. Schoaps.
But first just a quick answer on access to capital. Do you have
any suggestions for us as to what we should be looking for outside
of the EIDL and the PPP and standard lines of credit that banks
have or that businesses have?
Ms. KERRIGAN. Well, you know, one of the areas that we have
been very involved with since the Obama administration is the
whole area of investment crowdfunding. And we are beginning to
see a big surge in that. Obviously, investment crowdfunding was
made legal. It took 4 long years, you know, for the rules to be writ-
ten on that.
But now I see this huge surge in investment crowdfunding I
think which is really great. It is truly democratizing access to cap-
ital. Minority-/women-owned businesses are tapping into this cap-
ital. And what I think the beauty of it is is it leverages local capital
and local investors.
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And there are new rules now at the SEC that are going to lift
the limit from $1 million to $5 million and some other things that
will strengthen equity crowdfunding.
I think we could work with some tax credits there. I mean, the
U.K. has, with investment crowdfunding, put together actually a
fund where if an individual raises, you know, up to $250,000 or
more—I forget what the actual cap is—that through a fund the
government will match that, that it will have to be paid back.
So I think what we need to start looking at is ways that we can,
on the capital formation front, tie the capital and, you know,
leveraging what I think is a lot of capital out there. And invest-
ment crowdfunding is the way to do that, one of the ways to do
that.
Mr. MEUSER. Thank you. I would love to follow up with you, if
I can, afterwards and discuss that further.
Quickly, Mr. Schoaps, I have very little time, what would a $15
minimum wage do to your business right now?
Mr. SCHOAPS. It would, as most small businesses, it is going to
hurt somewhat. It is not going to force us to close. It will force us
maybe to raise prices, to look at ways and cutting back in other
areas. It is not going to close us, but it will put some more hard-
ships on us.
But at the same time, I would—we hire mostly entry-level stu-
dents, the young people. I would like to see some kind of maybe
a minimum—some tier of minimum wage that addressed that kind
of entry-level position.
Mr. MEUSER. Thank you very much. I am out of time. Madam
Chair, I yield back. Thank you very much.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. The gentleman’s time has expired.
Now we recognize the gentleman from Minnesota, Mr. Phillips,
Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and
Regulations.
Mr. PHILLIPS. Thank you, Madam Chair. Greetings to my col-
leagues and to our witnesses.
I want to address a couple things quickly that a couple col-
leagues have brought up, starting with the fact that Governors
around our country, both Democrats and Republicans who imposed
lockdowns did so to save American lives, in the absence of a strong
Federal response or even support or guidelines.
I know how economically painful it was. I can attest to it first-
hand. But I simply ask my colleagues and remind all of us it is in-
cumbent on us in this committee to now help small businesses re-
cover. So I invite everybody to invest our time and energy in repair
and revert rather than regression.
Relative to the $15 minimum wage which has come up a number
of times today, I own a chain of small coffee shops. And we pay a
$15 minimum wage, not because we have to, but because I want
to. I know the implications, how it helps employees and how chal-
lenging it is for owners.
But I think it is fair to say that we all, Democrats and Repub-
licans, share the same objective. We want more prosperity for ev-
erybody, especially those who work hard and are trying to make
ends meet.
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I think we should balance these minimum wage increases with
the EITC, earned income tax credit, so we don’t reduce employ-
ment, we don’t further hurt businesses, especially in rural areas.
And I invite my colleagues, anybody who is interested, to speak
with me about that, because I want to work together.
Now, the numbers and stories we have heard today from our wit-
nesses are staggering and painful, to say the least. We know that
businesses that survive the crisis are going to have to adapt in a
post-COVID world and with higher relative costs and with less
working capital than ever.
We know how many small businesses entered the crisis with low
financial resilience. About a third were either operating at a loss
before COVID or breaking even. So we know it is going to only get
worse over the coming weeks and months before it gets better.
So, as briefly as possible, I want to ask each of our witnesses to
simply share with me and our committee how we on the Small
Business Committee can most impact small business recovery mov-
ing forward, particularly for businesses in rural areas, minority-
owned firms and women-owned firms.
Perhaps we can start with you, Mr. Fairlie. What is the best
way? Where do you want to see us focused?
Mr. FAIRLIE. I think the best way is to really promote trying
to get the vaccine out, right? I think that that is the key. That is
going to make customers feel comfortable going back into small
businesses. And, as I mentioned before, the online presence part I
think is crucial.
Mr. PHILLIPS. Thank you. Ms. Pinder.
Ms. PINDER. I believe that capitalization is I think the most im-
portant thing that can be done. And so I talked about no-interest
loans, zero-interest loans, being cognizant of the need versus the
demand of it. And providing capitalization I think is the greatest
thing that can happen.
Mr. PHILLIPS. And, Ms. Pinder, do you believe existing pro-
grams, either amplified or in their current form, are enough, or do
you think it is incumbent on us to consider new programs?
Ms. PINDER. I think it is incumbent upon you to consider new
programs and look at existing programs to see how you can lever-
age it there. Like the Defense Production Act, you know, how do
you do investments? Just new ways and innovative ways of how we
make investments in businesses that are pivoting, businesses that
are trying to survive, but, you know, bringing them to the table
and understanding it is not a cookie-cutter approach, but how do
we approach that need, based on industry or based on whatever
that need may be.
Mr. PHILLIPS. I appreciate it. Thank you.
Ms. Kerrigan.
Ms. KERRIGAN. Well, access to capital I think is vital. And I
agree if we could supercharge and work with the existing frame-
work of programs, whether it is SBA loans or with investment
crowdfunding and the platforms that exist there, I think it would
be really important to do so.
Look, technology is so important, and making sure that the SBA
resources in the programs are really focusing on technology. And
we are going to move into a 5G world, right? So things are going
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to change again, and our businesses are going to have to pivot and
adapt again. There are a lot of opportunities out there.
And lastly, you are right, access to broadband, that has been one
of our top issues. If you don’t have access to broadband, you don’t
have access to the tools or opportunity. So that I think is a very
important piece to focus on.
Mr. PHILLIPS. And one more quick question, Ms. Kerrigan: Are
you familiar with any countries, any nations around the world that
support their small business kind of ecoculture, if you will, in ways
that we can learn from?
Ms. KERRIGAN. Well, I think there is a lot on the microloan
front. I mean, certainly over in the U.K. they are—you know, how
they are supercharging investment crowdfunding there, both
through the tax credit and also a match program, I think is some-
thing we can learn from. It has been highly, highly successful.
So we have a regulatory framework there. You know, they have
this great program. I think if we can look at that and perhaps emu-
late that or least to explore it, I think it would be really important,
particularly during the recovery period.
And the fact that, you know, we are going to have to leverage
private sector capital, you know, we are going to have to do that
in order to get through this—to move to full recovery.
Mr. PHILLIPS. I appreciate it.
And with our limited time that we have left, Mr. Schoaps, any-
thing that you want to add, anything that you haven’t shared that
would be helpful to the SBA that we can be focused on and help
the rebirth of small business?
Mr. SCHOAPS. Well, I think one of the main things is somehow
we have got to get the communication out to small business owners
of what is available. When I first got my EIDL loan, I mentioned
it to several of my friends in the community. They didn’t know
what it even was. I think that we have got to somehow get that
information out to the people that are in need.
And then I have to go back to what Dr. Fairlie said. The number
one thing that would help us is to get the vaccine widely distrib-
uted and to get us at least people believing that we are going to
get back to normal.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Time has expired.
Mr. PHILLIPS. I am grateful. Thank you.
Mr. SCHOAPS. Thank you.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. The gentleman yields back.
The gentleman from New York, Mr. Garbarino, is recognized for
5 minutes.
Mr. GARBARINO. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you to all
these witnesses that we have today.
Mr. Schoaps, I just had some questions for you. Can you share
with The Committee how many employees you had before the
COVID-19 pandemic and how many you have now?
Mr. SCHOAPS. Yes. We averaged about 12 employees before the
epidemic, and—the pandemic—excuse me—and, right now, we
have my wife and I, and that is it.
Mr. GARBARINO. Okay. And, before the pandemic, what was
the average age of your employees other than your wife, not includ-
ing your wife and yourself?
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Mr. SCHOAPS. Probably about 17 to 18.
Mr. GARBARINO. And the average wage you paid those employ-
ees?
Mr. SCHOAPS. Average wage was $8 an hour.
Mr. GARBARINO. $8 an hour. We have heard a little bit about
today how the increase of the minimum wage could be $15 an hour.
That won’t happen until 2024, but it starts—it goes up to $9.50
this year. That would be a pretty big increase from $8 an hour.
Would that prohibit you from bringing employees back this year,
especially if you didn’t have access to the PPP?
Mr. SCHOAPS. No, it would not. We would—we are going to
bring them back—we are going to open our business one way or the
other. We are going to bring employees back. If it means our costs
go up, we will have to figure out a way to increase our revenue to
offset that, and our community will have to understand that it may
include a price increase, it may include other things that we try to
do to supplement what we do right now.
Mr. GARBARINO. Do you think you would—do you have to com-
pete with other major chains—I know—I believe you are a small
business—like Regal or AMC, or United Artists theatres? Do you
have to compete with them? Are there any near you?
Mr. SCHOAPS. We have one about 20—we have one 20 miles
away and one 15 miles away, and I don’t think—we are really not
in competition with them. We employ mainly local high school,
local junior college employees, and they want to stay locally. So I
really—we are not in competition for employees, no.
Mr. GARBARINO. But my question is, if you had to increase—
if you had to increase ticket prices or the costs of your concessions
to cover the increase in minimum wage this year to $9.50 and then
all the way up to 15, would—are you concerned that your cus-
tomers would go to other major chains because it might be cheaper
for them to go there?
Mr. SCHOAPS. I am always concerned that our customers are
going to go to the major chains, because they can offer more than
we do even with—not even counting the minimum wage issue.
They will be under the same minimum wage requirements we are,
and I think that, yes, of course I am always concerned about my
competition. However, I think that we have a—in a small town, we
have a very loyal following, and I think we will be able to get
through it.
Mr. GARBARINO. One more question. Did you have—have you
tried to bring back any of the 17- or 18-year-old employees since
you were allowed to reopen? Have you tried to hire anybody back
and they have refused to come back?
Mr. SCHOAPS. No, we have had no one refuse. As a matter of
fact, we had everyone eager to come back.
What has happened was we opened back in—I think it was June
or July, we opened, tried to open, and there was just no product.
Movie theatres are a specialized small business because, without
the movies there, we have nothing to sell. And, without the new
movies being released by Hollywood, we had nothing really to
present. We tried using old, classic movies, old blockbusters, and
that just did not pay the bills. We were forced to close down again.
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But, even now, we—when we are talking about possibly opening
again in a month or two, we have already contacted our employees,
and nearly all of them are eager to come back.
Mr. GARBARINO. Okay. Thank you very much.
And, Ms. Kerrigan, I have a question for you. It is something
that I have heard back in my home State of New York, and I am
wondering if it is something you have heard in your dealings, that
the PPP and the extension of the increased unemployment insur-
ance, $300 or the $400 a week extra, are counterproductive because
they compete with each other.
Businesses want to bring employees back, but employees don’t
want to come back because they are making more on unemploy-
ment. That is something I have heard a lot in New York. Is that
something that you have come across?
Ms. KERRIGAN. I think, initially, you know, at the beginning of
that program and, you know, somewhat into 2020, as we moved to
a more normalized environment and with the economy opening up
and I think with employees thinking about sort of, again, you
know, the long-term prospects, you know, after these programs are
done, it has become less of an issue right now in terms of more em-
ployees wanting to go back to work, and then of course—and em-
ployers, you know, offering them incentives to do so.
So, I mean, I can ask more of our small business owners about
that now in terms of the current state of play where they are and
what their issues are, and I will be more than happy to get back
with you on that.
Mr. GARBARINO. Thank you very much.
Ms. KERRIGAN. To see how that stacks up in terms of some of
their other concerns and whether it is still a major issue.
Mr. GARBARINO. Thank you very much. I yield back.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. The gentleman yields back, and now
we recognize the gentlelady from Georgia, Carolyn Bourdeaux, for
5 minutes.
Ms. BOURDEAUX. Okay. Thank you so much, Chairwoman
Velázquez, and thank you to the witnesses here for testifying on
behalf of our small businesses.
I am from Georgia’s 7th Congressional District. It is a very, very
diverse community. Twenty-five percent of the people in my district
were born outside of this country. And we have a vast swath of
small businesses, many of which are women and minority owned,
and they have really struggled during this past year to try to stay
afloat.
I just want to cut to the chase, though, and get to some ques-
tions. One, and this could be for Ms. Pinder or Mr. Fairlie. We have
talked a lot about issues of disparity in terms of getting out the
PPP loans, the outreach through the EIDL program, and things
like that. But one of the things that has come to our attention is
disparity in the administration of the funds, and one of our con-
cerns is that it seemed from a quick survey that we did of some
of our small businesses that a lot of the Black, other minority
owned businesses were having to pay back the loans, whereas some
of our White businesses seemed to be more likely to be able to find
ways to get the loans forgiven.
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And I wanted to see if that was something, Mr. Fairlie, that you
have come across in your research, and for Ms. Pinder, something
that you are hearing from minority communities about as a par-
ticular issue, and, if so, what we might do to address that?
Mr. FAIRLIE. I guess I can go first.
So, in some of—I haven’t actually researched this directly myself,
but I know that there are a couple of projects that have looked at
discrimination in terms of, you know, when you have a minority
lender coming in or a nonminority lender coming into a bank to get
a PPP loan, but there was definitely some issues there.
And I think that that is really important, right, is that, if we
don’t have kind of an equal system from the very beginning, from
getting information, from going into a bank and asking for help, or
into going into somewhere else or looking into a fintech, that is a
real problem, and I know that there is some evidence that that did
occur early in the stages of the PPP program.
Ms. BOURDEAUX. Thank you.
Ms. PINDER. Congresswoman, we can certainly validate that
that is absolutely true. Part of what we have been doing at the
council and our MBDA centers is addressing issues our minority
businesses have found themselves in relative to obtaining PPP
loans, and then just a whole mystery around the payback of them,
right? And, because it is a revolving door, the rules kind of shifted
in midstream. It is very hard to get a handle on it.
And so those things that were problematic in terms of how we
were able to even get the loans—we have had to make phone calls
to banks to ask them to look at—to consider these particular com-
panies, but we also saw a difference when money from—whether
it was State level or money that was done from foundations or pri-
vate-sector organizations, that they were much more successful in
getting directly to the folks that were having the problems with the
Federal funds.
Ms. BOURDEAUX. Okay. I just think this might be an area for
further investigation and trying to understand sort of what has
happened out there and sort of what is happening as these pro-
grams are going through the process.
One other question that has come up a lot is we have a lot of
small businesses that have—they need to make investments to im-
prove ventilation to make their businesses appropriate for COVID
and to allow them to stay open and operate in these situations. I
know that some local governments gave grants to small businesses.
But do any of you all have a sense of the needs out there to make
further investments in getting their operations to be COVID safe?
And I will start with you, Ms. Pinder, since I know that you have
that—a very good perspective from the minority communities.
Ms. PINDER. I am sorry, Congresswoman. You said—what was
the last part of your question?
Ms. BOURDEAUX. Do you have any sense of the additional kind
of infrastructure needs that small businesses have to make sure
that their businesses are safe and able to reopen at least partially
safely right now?
Ms. PINDER. But, you know, part of it is just an education proc-
ess of how do you safely reopen your businesses, right? It is also
from the legal perspective, what is your liability around when your
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employees come in? Do you require them to have vaccinations? So
a lot of it—what I am finding and what we have found is just an
education program or education perspective of what are the rules?
And so there is absolutely the need to prepare our businesses or
provide those resources so that our businesses can understand
what they are liable for, how they can assist, how they can then—
you know, what are the compliance efforts that they have to under-
take in order to get that done? And, for some businesses, it is actu-
ally also where can they reside, because they can no longer afford
their places of business.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Time has expired.
Ms. BOURDEAUX. Thank you.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Thank you.
Ms. BOURDEAUX. Thank you.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. The gentlelady from California, Mrs.
Kim, is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mrs. KIM of California. Thank you, Chairwoman Velázquez and
Ranking Member Luetkemeyer, for holding this very timely hear-
ing. I also want to thank the witnesses for taking the time to join
us to share your experience and your relevant and important data.
As a small business owner myself, I am thrilled to be part of this
Committee, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to
support our small businesses during and after pandemic, because
small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and cannot be
forgotten.
You know, in my district, California Authority 9, which is a sub-
urban district, 99.8 percent of California businesses are employing
over 7 million workers. Unfortunately, COVID-19 shutdowns in my
State of California have increased the number of small businesses
closing, and I have witnessed many of them myself in my district.
More than 19,000 California small businesses have shut down
permanently due to COVID-19, and every small business that
closes takes away jobs, causing economic stress to families and
communities.
Obviously all industry are badly hurt during the shutdown. So
I want to ask—but, you know, all industries, but retailers in par-
ticular. So I would like to ask a question for Dr. Fairlie.
In your testimony, you mentioned trends in shopping habits, es-
pecially the mood towards online shopping. Do you believe small
businesses are prepared for this trend to become permanent, and
can you elaborate on some of the recommendations you mentioned
in your testimony?
Mr. FAIRLIE. Yes. I would be happy to. I think that it is a trend
that is not going to go away. I mean, I think that there—there
could definitely be some pent-up demand where people are really
excited when the vaccine is rolled out more completely and they
want to go back to downtowns, they want to go to those vibrant
communities, different shops, restaurants.
But I think that there is also this other, you know, trend hap-
pening, which is we are just more used to buying things online. We
are used to that convenience of having, you know, UPS deliver a
package to our house. And often, almost—well, I don’t know if
often, but very likely that package is not from a small business;
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that package is from a big-box store or an online retailer. And so
we need to do more to get small businesses online.
You know, we talked a bit about broadband access could be es-
sential for rural businesses and businesses in other areas that
don’t have good internet access. Certainly web page assistance
might be another thing that the Federal Government can help out
with.
And then of course, you know, anything that can help, you know,
with search engines or any other kind of information that allows
customers to find small businesses and buy from them online.
Mrs. KIM of California. Thank you.
As small businesses recover from this emergency, what should
Congress concentrate on in order to create a small business envi-
ronment that focuses on entrepreneurship and innovation?
This question is for Dr. Fairlie.
Mr. FAIRLIE. Okay. I wasn’t sure if it was to me.
I think there are a lot of, you know, different ways. Certainly,
you know, we have talked about financial capital as being one of
the most important. I think that is kind of crucial, especially for
firms that are creating innovative products that are kind of ex-
panding on what we already have, that are giving America real
strength, right? And so that can be crucial, as that kind of funding
that helps them with scientific discoveries and innovative products.
Mrs. KIM of California. Thank you.
I have a question for Ms. Kerrigan. As Congress discusses next
steps when it comes to COVID-19, what recommendations do you
have for this Committee?
Ms. KERRIGAN. Well, when I talk to business owners, I mean,
what they are really looking for is a period of certainty and policy
stability. You know, last year was very, very tough in terms of the
uncertainties, and, you know, obviously sort of the massive revenue
reduction that they saw last year. So, to the extent that we can
have a—sort of a period of stability, policy stability and certainty,
I think that is very, very important.
I mean, obviously the whole issue that we talked about in terms
of capital formation, access to capital, that will remain to be an
issue, not only for existing businesses, but also for the start-ups
and the new entrepreneurs that we see—just, you know, the surge
in new business applications that we saw last year and that con-
tinue to this day, is what can we do to support them? Again, it is
policy stability. It is, you know, access to capital.
And I have to say, you know, in terms of——
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Ms. Kerrigan, I am sorry, but we are
running late, and the gentlelady’s time has expired.
Mrs. KIM of California. Thank you.
Ms. KERRIGAN. I am sorry. Okay.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Thank you.
Now we recognize the gentlelady from Texas, Ms. Van Duyne. Is
she here?
Ms. VAN DUYNE. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman
Velázquez and Ranking Member Luetkemeyer, for holding this im-
portant hearing today.
As a former mayor and businesswoman, I have spent my career
with people from a wide array of backgrounds and experience who
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fought tooth and nail to grow their businesses only to see their
doors closed forced by the heavy hand of government due to
coronavirus pandemic.
Since being sworn into office one month ago, I have been fortu-
nate enough to speak with a number of small businesses and fran-
chise owners in north Texas to learn more about their experiences
in the face of the global health crisis and their struggles due to
government restrictions that followed.
Just last week, I held a roundtable discussion to hear from these
businesses in our community. Many expressed similar concerns,
but one thing they all had in common, similar to what Mr. Schoaps
has referenced in his testimony today, is that they are doing all
that they can, everything in their power, to ensure their businesses
weather the storm.
While loan programs, like the Paycheck Protection Program and
the Economic Injury Disaster Loans Program, were critical in keep-
ing their businesses operational, the pandemic has brought forth
new challenges. And, over time, it became clear that these pro-
grams needed additional resources and support to uplift small busi-
nesses and entrepreneurs.
In north Texas, our economy is made better by the innovation
and entrepreneurial spirit small business owners provide. In talk-
ing to the business owners in my community, I learned that they
are hurting and needing help. They are scared that the powerful
few in Washington will make politically expedient decisions that
may force them to permanently close their doors.
Instead of calls to hike the Federal minimum wage to $15 an
hour, which will kill many small businesses, we should be dis-
cussing how to improve programs, like the Paycheck Protection
Program, that could keep them open past the pandemic.
Unfortunately, this administration stands ready to hand down
destructive policies that will force north Texans out of business and
demand many change the standards of who they hire.
I hope the calls for unity thus far are not shallow. Small busi-
nesses needed us to come together as a Congress, as a House, and
as a Committee to fix the programs, keeping them alive, address
their unique situations, and reopen the stores, the restaurants, and
service centers that keep our communities running.
I look forward to working with this Committee to oversee the
programs that have aided so many small businesses thus far and,
as we move past this pandemic, advancing legislation that will
allow America’s entrepreneurs to prosper once again.
I thank all of the witnesses being here today.
And, for Ms. Kerrigan, an October report from the Government
Accountability Office concluded that the streamlined process that
the SBA implemented to administer COVID-19 loans has increased
susceptibility to fraud and abuse. Are there any activities or pro-
gram features that you believe we should be examining more close-
ly in our congressional oversight of these programs?
Ms. KERRIGAN. Yes. And—yeah, that is a big issue, and obvi-
ously of concern. I actually read the recent SBA’s IG report that
was released on this very issue, and they have some very good rec-
ommendations in that report in terms of what can be done on the
front end to ensure that there is not—in terms of the money does
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not get disbursed to people who may be or businesses who may be
ineligible, and things that they can work on with Treasury—for ex-
ample, the do-not-pay data source that they have over there—
again, to sort of, you know, catch this fraudulent activity before the
money goes out the door.
So I was happy to see that SBA IG report, the recommendations,
and also the SBA following through on some of those recommenda-
tions, but more oversight and follow-up definitely needs to be done.
Ms. VAN DUYNE. All right. I appreciate that.
One of the biggest concerns for small business owners that the
pandemic has exasperated has been providing healthcare to some
of our frontline workers. Our smallest businesses employ low-wage
workers and can’t afford to pay for healthcare, especially with reve-
nues dropping. But, due to the pandemic, workers are scared to go
to work without that safety net.
So, Ms. Kerrigan, I am going to ask: How would you like to see
the issue of small business healthcare addressed for our smallest
of small businesses?
Ms. KERRIGAN. Well, to the extent that you can provide the in-
centives and support to the workers themselves in order to access
health coverage, to allow for more, you know, flexibility, one size
doesn’t fit all, certainly when it comes to healthcare. And I do
think some of the initiatives of the last administration, you know,
have been helpful. I do believe, you know, the pooling initiative,
you know, for allowing small businesses to leverage their numbers
in terms of accessing healthcare, was very important.
But one other critical thing that I see is that we want to be able
to incentivize. When it comes back to vaccines, employers, you
know, are looking not to mandate, but to incentivize employees to
get the vaccine, and we joined a group of our allies in sending a
letter to the EEOC to make sure that proper guidance is put out
there, that we are not running afoul of any laws. And so those——
Mr. MFUME. [Presiding.] The gentlewoman’s time has expired
unfortunately. Thank you so much. I do anticipate there will be a
second round, but I don’t want to get in front of the Chair on that.
She will be back momentarily.
So, Ms. Kerrigan, if you would suspend, I would like to acknowl-
edge Ms. Craig, who has been in the cue and who is up next, to
be recognized.
Ms. Craig.
Ms. CRAIG. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Thank you for yield-
ing.
Before I get to my question, I just want to welcome new members
to the Small Business Committee. Looking forward to working with
all of you. I have been proud of the work on a bipartisan basis that
we have been able to accomplish. And I am happy to serve on this
Committee with members of the Minnesota delegation as well.
Thank you again to our panelists for being with us today and for
your insightful testimonies.
As I am sure is true for all of my colleagues, many of the issues
discussed today have greatly impacted my constituents.
I would like to address my question to Dr. Fairlie first. Thank
you for your important research and specifically addressing the
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negative impacts that COVID-19 has had on minority owned busi-
nesses.
In your testimony, you touched on the issues that restaurants
have faced as well amid the pandemic. We are seeing the con-
sequences of government-ordered shutdowns on, in particular, hos-
pitality and restaurants.
On top of the financial losses and shutdowns, people are anxious
to know that it is safe before they return to restaurants, and that
is not going to happen until vaccines are more broadly available in
each of our communities.
The combination of these issues has devastated the restaurant
industry, and the relief grant program for restaurants to address
these unique challenges was widely supported by my colleagues on
this Committee last Congress, including Chairwoman Velázquez.
As we roll out vaccinations, do you believe a targeted relief grant
program, which would go to independent restaurants, similar to
last Congress’ RESTAURANTS Act—120 billion would go to the in-
dustry in grant—would that assist the recovery of these smallest
and hardest hit Main Street businesses, help them to stay open,
and accelerate the recovery of our Main Street businesses?
Mr. FAIRLIE. Yes. I think it could help a lot. I think it is impor-
tant that we save our restaurants. Certainly, you know, just going
around my own town, I have seen a lot of them closed up, and they
have closed up permanently. You know, they have put up signs
saying that they are done. They—you know, they are not going to
reopen at any point in time.
And it is sad, right? You sort of—like we really experienced these
downtowns as part of, you know, what makes America great, and,
you know, is that being able to go and walk through a town with
a lot of diverse restaurants and shops, we need to provide that as-
sistance to them. And I think directed assistance, especially finan-
cial assistance, so that they can weather the next couple of months
to get that vaccine out is crucial.
Ms. CRAIG. Well, we see that light at the end of the tunnel for
sure.
I want to open this up to, I guess, any of our panelists here just
as we circle back around to this topic of the second round of Pay-
check Protection Program forgivable loans obviously did a much
better job of assisting minority owned businesses. But one of the
challenges that I saw in our community is that minority owned
businesses don’t always have access to the same information. There
are language barriers, et cetera.
So any thoughts on how we can encourage, really, at the local
level—how the Federal Government can support making sure that
the communication and the dollars are getting to these minority
owned businesses?
Ms. KERRIGAN. Congresswoman, I can start out with that.
One of the things—it has been great to, by the way, engage with
the SBA already early on in the administration where they are al-
ready having this discussion about how you use local organizations,
community organizations, sort of a navigator approach to actually
reach those types of businesses, because many of them don’t think
they are eligible. They are unaware of the program. They have
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technical issues to overcome in terms of the financials and all those
other things that they need to apply for these loans.
So I think there is—and they have some good models that they
shared of how this worked in certain areas of the country, and I
think using that nationwide, I think, would really be beneficial——
Mr. MFUME. Ms. Kerrigan, I am sorry, but the gentlewoman’s
time has expired. I don’t want to always have to interrupt you. It
is——
Ms. KERRIGAN. I am sorry.
Ms. CRAIG. I am sorry. I would have done that for you. I
thought I had 20 seconds left, so apologies to the Chair.
Ms. KERRIGAN. All right.
Mr. MFUME. Don’t worry. We will roll it over with interest, Ms.
Craig, trust me.
Ms. CRAIG. Okay. Thank you.
Mr. MFUME. The Chair would like to recognize the gentleman
from Florida, Mr. Donalds.
Mr. DONALDS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First of all, to the panelists, thanks for taking the time out of
your day. This is obviously a very important subject matter facing
our country through a very important time.
I am not going to get into speeches. I want to just kind of get
right to it in the interest of time. This actually—my first line of
questioning is really for Professor Fairlie.
Professor, I was going through some of your testimony here, and
the one thing, especially with respect to the closure rate of minority
owned businesses, specifically Black-owned businesses and even
Latin-owned businesses, in your research, did you take into account
the actual location of these businesses, like where they actually re-
side around the United States, or does your research pay no def-
erence to that?
Mr. FAIRLIE. I did look into kind of regional differences, and I
found that it was pretty consistent across, you know, broader re-
gions of the country. I wasn’t able to look at—there is a lot of con-
cern that urban areas were hit the hardest, right, in terms of clo-
sures and also customers being very careful about going back to
small businesses when things started to reopen. Unfortunately we
don’t have the data on that, and that was difficult.
But the kind of thing that I did look at with the California tax
data is different types of businesses, and that is where, you know,
the numbers were just devastating. You know, 91 percent of hotels
closed down. More than 50 percent of clothing stores, more than 50
percent of restaurants closed. A lot of those are owned by minori-
ties and immigrants in California, and so that is the real concern,
is, you know, what is happening there.
Mr. DONALDS. A quick follow-up on that point. So, you know,
since you have such rampant closures obviously in the State of
California, could you specifically attribute that to the emergency
regulatory environment put in place in California by Governor
Newsom and, with respect to that, local city councils and local
mayors in the State of California?
Mr. FAIRLIE. Well, it is attributed to two things, yes. One is the
mandatory shutdowns for a lot of nonessential businesses. But the
other is customers. Customers were nervous about going to busi-
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nesses. Often they were very nervous about going to small busi-
nesses, small restaurants, places where they thought they might
catch the disease.
And so that is where, you know, as I mentioned before, this kind
of shift to online shopping has occurred, that, you know, individ-
uals are worried about it, they are waiting to get the vaccine, they
are waiting for this to get under control before they start to go back
to small shops and small restaurants and back to kind of down-
town areas.
Mr. DONALDS. My last question really is more so for the panel.
I could get into $15 minimum wage, but I think it has been covered
pretty extensively here, and I—you know, I think it is pretty clear
in the record of what happens when you make major shifts to your
minimum wage in a short period of time, even in normal economic
circumstances, not to mention the current economic circumstances.
But what I would—my last question is really for the overall
panel. Does the overall panel think it is appropriate for emergency
regulatory orders to be essentially cast across an entire State with
no reflection on whether it is an urban area, suburban area, or a
rural area? And do you think that the impacts on suburban or
rural areas in particular provide just as many disastrous impacts
to small businesses as they would in an urban area?
Anybody can answer that one.
Mr. SCHOAPS. Well, I think that the effects of the COVID pan-
demic across the State—in our State, rural or urban, has been ter-
rible, of course. I don’t think the shutdowns would have affected us
any more than they would have in a rural area or an urban area.
So I don’t—I don’t really think there is any difference there. It is
going to affect all small businesses the same.
Ms. KERRIGAN. I would just say on that, the one-size-fits-all ap-
proach, you know, that is—I mean, obviously that is a—that is a
big problem, both when it comes to government index regulation,
and certainly when it comes to this, is that it would be—would
have been ideal if local governments and localities were given a lit-
tle bit more flexibility and authority, you know, to make decisions
based on local conditions.
So, anyway, one size fits all is—you know, obviously hurt a lot
of small businesses in areas where the pandemic situation was
much different than it was, say, in urban areas.
Mr. DONALDS. All right. I will yield back the rest of my time.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. [Presiding.] The gentlelady yields
back.
Now I will recognize the gentlelady from Florida, Ms. Maria
Salazar.
Ms. SALAZAR. Thank you very much.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Five minutes.
Ms. SALAZAR. Thank you, Chairwoman Velázquez, and thanks
to all of you, and to all of the panel—the panelists that are willing
to donate their time to enlighten us.
I come from Miami, Florida, district number 27, where 70 per-
cent of the constituents are minorities, 80 percent of my businesses
have less than ten employees, and 70 percent have less than five
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people. So obviously the impact has been brutal, specifically for the
minority owners.
For that reason, I promised my constituents something that is
very unusual, but I think very necessary as time passes—some-
thing called a prosperity center, and what is the prosperity center
going to do?
Well, basically three things. Helping everybody find a new job or
find a job, helping my constituents to learn some—learn something
new. If they lost their job at the restaurant and they wanted to be-
come a welder or an electrician, I could help them find those
courses.
And, third, and for me the most important, the one that is closest
to my heart, is to become a client of the Federal Government. I am
sure that you guys are aware that the Federal Government has
$175 billion available to be bought from goods and services made
by minorities or for minority businesses.
So what we are going to be offering in the prosperity center is
a variety of services that includes roundtables, job fairs, job train-
ing courses, offering the constituents computers, personal guidance
for my staff, for them to be able to regain their economic lives.
So my question is for the overall panel: If you were to be in my
shoes, what else would you be offering in that prosperity center in
order to help those small business owners get back on their feet?
Ms. KERRIGAN. Well, I will just start by saying information is
power, education is power, and I applaud you, you know, for put-
ting this center together.
Ms. SALAZAR. Yep.
Ms. KERRIGAN. I would say that there are a lot of self-em-
ployed minority businesses, individual entrepreneurs that do not
know they are eligible for PPP, EIDL programs, and that type of
support. And, also, there is a lot of tax credits and tax incentives
as well. To the extent that you can provide the technical informa-
tion and the training to access these programs——
Ms. SALAZAR. Yep.
Ms. KERRIGAN.—I think would be vital.
Ms. SALAZAR. So, when you tell me tax credits and technical
training, could you please expand on that?
Ms. KERRIGAN. Well, yeah. So, you know, in the CARES Act
itself and in the year-end package, there—for PPP and both for in-
dividuals, there are—well, let’s start with tax credits. There is tax
credits for employers, but also there is tax credits for self-employed
people. With PPP, there is rules for employers, and then there is
rules for self-employed people.
Ms. SALAZAR. I want to stop you there for a minute. So what
you are telling me is that the government will pay the employer
to hire the employee?
Ms. KERRIGAN. Well, no. To maintain—well, and to hold on,
you know, to their employee, right, so the employee retention tax
credit, that they held onto that employee despite a drop in reve-
nues, okay?
Ms. SALAZAR. Correct. So that means that the person keeps the
job. So that is what we want.
Ms. KERRIGAN. That is exactly right. And so—and those tax
credits became even more valuable, and they have been extended
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through June 30, I believe, of this year. But, also, individual self-
employed people have access to these tax credits as well.
But they—again, many of these entrepreneurs and small busi-
ness owners, they just need the technical expertise and the ac-
countants and, you know, the people to help them get through
these very complicated—not that it is complicated, but just the
forms that they need, the financials that they need in order to take
advantage of these programs.
Ms. SALAZAR. So the information is power, like you said, so now
we got to another layer where we are going to be providing them
sort of accounting for legal guidance so they——
Ms. KERRIGAN. Correct.
Ms. SALAZAR.—know how to find their way through the maze.
Ms. KERRIGAN. Through the maze, and then all the way, if it
is a PPP loan, through the forgiveness process as well.
Ms. SALAZAR. Now, you kind of—that is one of the most impor-
tant information that we could provide, PPP loans, or the info that
comes with it, and where to look for opportunities—for tax opportu-
nities?
Ms. KERRIGAN. That is right. There is a lot of them in, as I
said, the CARES Act, and then things that were put in at the year-
end package as well that was signed into law.
Ms. SALAZAR. We are going to make the Kerrigan Prosperity
Center Division. Thank you.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. The gentlelady’s time has expired.
Now we are going to go to a second round.
Professor Fairlie, so much has been discussed here regarding the
impact that the minimum wage increase will have on small busi-
nesses. I would like to relate for the record here that, since nearly
70 percent of our economic activity comes from consumer spending,
raising the minimum wage will put money back into consumers’
pockets, back into our main streets, and back into our economy.
In fact, the Boston Federal Reserve data demonstrate that rais-
ing the minimum wage leads to increased spending on groceries,
household necessities, and at local restaurants. Many of the busi-
nesses are saying that they need foot traffic, and that they need
consumers to walk through their doors.
The reality is that, unless we successfully vaccinate most of the
people in this country, consumers will not feel safe going into a res-
taurant, going into a mall, and spending their money.
There has to be synergy between being successful at vaccinating
most of the people in this country and increasing the minimum
wage so that we increase consumer spending. The people that are
going to benefit from increasing the minimum wage are not going
to go to Florida or Arizona and purchase a second home. They are
going to go into the grocery store. They are going to go into the gas
station or local restaurant. Small business owners see and know
that this is the reality.
So, Mr. Fairlie, do you see any interconnection between being
successful in terms of a national strategy of addressing and crush-
ing the pandemic, the virus, and also infusing money into people’s
pocket so that they will go out and spend?
Mr. FAIRLIE. Yes. I mean, I think that, you know, one of the
issues that we have been discussing in this conversation is about
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increasing the minimum wage, but the fact is the minimum wage
has gone down over time. If you adjust it for inflation, what we
have done is we have let it slip. And so the goal here is to bring
it back to where it was in the past.
It is one of the only things the Federal Government does that is
not indexed for inflation. You know, some other benefits are often
indexed for inflation, but the minimum wage is not. And, when you
look at the numbers, someone getting paid at the next round, you
know, a little over $9 an hour, you multiply that by a full-time
worker over the entire year, they are still under the poverty line—
the Federal poverty line.
So there is issues there about, you know, well, what is a reason-
able amount of money that someone should get in a job? And, if
they do get that reasonable pay, then they will put that money
back, as you are saying, in the local economy. They will spend it.
That will increase their income, and it will just shift some income
over to these—you know, these low-wage workers.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Thank you. Thank you.
Now I recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. Luetkemeyer.
Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Thank you, Madam Chair.
And I would like to thank the witnesses today, too, for hanging
in there. I appreciate your time and your expertise. You have been
great.
This responds to a couple of comments that were made by some
of the members. A couple of them talked about the fact that the
Raise the Wage Act was phased in, and I mentioned that, or at
least I—in the report that I asked to put into the record, which is
an NFIB Research Center report, it is a report on the Raise the
Wage Act, which is phased in. But the report takes into account
the phase-in of the minimum wage, and still winds up with 1.6 mil-
lion jobs being cut and a real output loss of $2 trillion.
You know, I understand the need for the minimum wage, and I
think, to me, it is a testimony on the lack of an economy. When
you see the economy going down or stagnating, that is the time
whenever there is the need for—that is where the argument can
be made, anyway, for the need for a minimum wage. When the
economy is growing, you don’t need a minimum wage.
We had 1.2 million more jobs right before the pandemic hit. They
needed people to fill them, and we didn’t need a minimum wage.
Why? Because there was a competition for the workers. The wages
were going up. That statistically shows that, across the board,
every demographic was improving wage-wise as well as with unem-
ployment numbers going down.
So we can have an argument on the minimum wage for a long
time. I am more than happy to get into that.
Dr. Fairlie mentioned in response to my question a while ago
with regards to the lockdowns, do populations live differently be-
tween New York and Florida? I didn’t have time to really go into
a response to that.
But my response to it is: Yes, they live in a—perhaps a little dif-
ferently the way they are spread across their State, but Florida
had or New York had twice as many people die from COVID as
Florida did, and yet their own survey—New York’s own survey
shows that the cause of the cases of COVID were not from busi-
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nesses. 1.4 percent from restaurants, less than 1 percent from per-
sonal hair care folks.
That is my point, is that the lockdowns were minimally effective,
at best, with regards to keeping COVID cases down, and yet the
suffering by the small business community is devastating, as given
by my State, Missouri, which did not lock down anytime after No-
vember, or mid-May. Some communities did. Some of them didn’t.
But, in the process, we have got a 5 percent increase in revenues
and a 4.4 percent unemployment rate.
So that is my point in making this, is that it goes back to leader-
ship in the States and the devastating effect that it has on small
businesses and the jobs that are there for those small businesses.
With regards to my question to Mr. Schoaps with regards to his
banking relationships, I appreciate his comment. Obviously he has
got a good relationship with it—with his banker, but perhaps part
of it could be because, in the first COVID bill and the second bill
as well, we had provisions in there to suspend the TDR, troubled
debt restructuring rule, which helped banks and credit unions be
able to accommodate more lenient terms for their customers with
regards to how they can approach this, with regards to the regu-
lators not going in and forcing the banks to foreclose on people.
So I think—you know, Ms. Kerrigan, I have gone on here a little
bit, but I wanted to clarify some of those things, because I think
it is really important to understand the precise problems that we
are talking about here and the solutions that were in the CARES
Act, for instance, with regards to the troubled debt restructuring
rule and CECL, for instance.
So can you explain to me what you have seen or what you think
is happening here with regards to the small businesses being
worked with as a result of the TDR extension and banks and their
customers?
Ms. KERRIGAN. I think that a lot of the changes that have been
made to PPP have just been very, very important for small busi-
nesses, really responded, you know, to many of their needs. And so,
you know, we, you know, applaud the Congress and this Commit-
tee’s leadership, you know, for making that happen.
And moving forward, I mean, I think it is just really important
that we continue to identify [inaudible] as well as opportunities,
you know, in this next round as it goes out the door to make other
changes, and maybe—as they may be needed where we are in the
pandemic right now. So—and I look forward to working with you
on those.
Mr. LUETKEMEYER. My time expired. Thank you.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. The gentleman’s—the gentleman
yields back.
I now will recognize the gentleman from Maryland, Mr. Kweisi
Mfume, for 5 minutes.
Mr. MFUME. Thank you, Madam Chair. At this time, I will not
take the whole 5 minutes. You were very gracious.
I would like to go back to the point I was making with respect
to innovation and finding a way to create more capital opportuni-
ties, and I didn’t get a chance to get to Ms. Pinder. And, Ms.
Pinder, thank you very much. It is good to see you again. I appre-
ciate, whether it is this Committee or other Committees, your will-
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ingness always to come before members of the House and to share
your perspective.
Some of the numbers you gave are a bit startling. I guess for
those of us who have watched this closely, maybe not as startling,
but the number of minority owned businesses that are Black,
Latino, Asian, that have pretty much gone under, those that are
facing severe budget drains, and those, quite frankly, looking for
capital—innovative capital initiatives coming out of the govern-
ment.
The Mentor Protege Program is something that I originally want-
ed to talk to you about, but hearing your testimony, I wanted to
go into your suggestions that we look at the Defense Production
Act, which the current administration is looking at; specifically,
Title III with respect to targeted investment initiatives that would
create the kind of wave under the small businesses that we are
talking about that will allow them to sail into the future.
I assume you have got some specific ideas there, and if you could
take a moment to talk to the Committee about some of the things
you think that we ought to be arguing for and making a case for
under the Defense Production Act, specifically Title III, as this ad-
ministration looks at enacting that. That would be very helpful.
Ms. PINDER. Thank you, Congressman.
I think that part of what we can examine is showing a pref-
erence—using that vehicle by showing a preference for sole source
provision and 8a.
I am having some audio issues. Can you hear me okay?
Mr. MFUME. I can hear you.
Ms. PINDER. Okay. By expanding use of sole sourcing with pro-
vision under 8a, I mean using that act to do that.
It is an opportunity to look at, as we—as we talked about busi-
nesses pivoting as a result of COVID, the manufacturing industry,
of which, under the Defense Act, has supported in the past, you
know, can we take the opportunity to help engage minority busi-
nesses in manufacturing? An idea that we have been discussing is
looking at maybe some foreign investments in order to do that,
looking at companies that would want to invest in U.S., having
that partnership, whether it is through teaming agreements and
joint ventures, with minority businesses, and having that as an
entre into the manufacturing world.
And so it is looking at that and looking at Buy American as to
how do we pivot some of these companies to help with—I am
sorry—to help with supporting our minority businesses.
The other thing that I think we need to take into consideration,
Congressman, is the partnering with the private sector. You know,
my organization, the Capital Region Minority Supply Development
Council, which is part of a national network, is—you know, I think
that partnership in with—with private-sector organizations can
help in writing what some of our businesses are doing with support
of capital.
I do apologize. I am having all kinds of issues here.
So that is—that is basically what I was talking about.
Mr. MFUME. Okay. Okay. Thank you.
Before you conclude—and the Chair will interrupt in just a sec-
ond, because time is running out. You had mentioned Title IV also
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of the Defense Production Act, which concerns me, because I think
it is something a lot of people are not looking at, and what you
have talked about specifically was reworking the 8a program.
If you could get back to the Committee in writing with some of
your thoughts, suggestions, or ideas are in terms of rewriting or re-
working that 8a program, that would be very, very helpful, and I
would appreciate it.
Ms. PINDER. No. I appreciate the—I appreciate the opportunity.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Gentleman’s time——
Mr. MFUME. Madam Chair, I yield back.
Chairwoman VELÁZQUEZ. Thank you. Oh, he left?
Okay. Well, thank you again to our witnesses for the testimony.
We appreciate all you have shared with us. As Congress continues
to debate additional COVID relief for small businesses, it is clear
the time to act is now. Big and bold relief is needed, and it should
be targeted to small firms and industries that need it the most.
As we continue to vaccinate more and more Americans, we move
closer to the end of this crisis, but we are not there yet. Until that
happens, small businesses will struggle to return to pre-pandemic
performance, and they will need our support.
That is why targeted EIDL grants for micro businesses left out
of PPP, supporting those hardest hit sectors of the small business
economy, and improved entrepreneurial development and govern-
ment procurement programs are so vitally important.
I ask unanimous consent that Members have 5 legislative days
to submit statements and supporting materials for the record.
Without objection, so ordered.
If there is no further business before the Committee, we are ad-
journed.
[Whereupon, at 12:35 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
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APPENDIX
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 49 here 43321.002
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 50 here 43321.003
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 51 here 43321.004
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 52 here 43321.005
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 53 here 43321.006
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 54 here 43321.007
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 55 here 43321.008
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 56 here 43321.009
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 57 here 43321.010
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 58 here 43321.011
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 59 here 43321.012
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 60 here 43321.013
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61
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 61 here 43321.014
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 62 here 43321.015
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63
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 63 here 43321.016
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 64 here 43321.017
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 65 here 43321.018
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 66 here 43321.019
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 67 here 43321.020
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68
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 68 here 43321.021
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SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 69 here 43321.022
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70
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 70 here 43321.023
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71
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 71 here 43321.024
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72
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 72 here 43321.025
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73
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 73 here 43321.026
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74
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 74 here 43321.027
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75
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 75 here 43321.028
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76
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 76 here 43321.029
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77
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 77 here 43321.030
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78
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 78 here 43321.031
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79
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 79 here 43321.032
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80
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 80 here 43321.033
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81
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 81 here 43321.034
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82
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 82 here 43321.035
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83
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 83 here 43321.036
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84
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 84 here 43321.037
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85
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 85 here 43321.038
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86
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 86 here 43321.039
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87
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 87 here 43321.040
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88
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 88 here 43321.041
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89
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 89 here 43321.042
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90
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 90 here 43321.043
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91
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 91 here 43321.044
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92
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 92 here 43321.045
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93
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 93 here 43321.046
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94
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 94 here 43321.047
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95
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 95 here 43321.048
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96
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 96 here 43321.049
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97
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 97 here 43321.050
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98
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 98 here 43321.051
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99
SBD026 with DISTILLER Insert offset folio 99 here 43321.052
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100
Insert offset folio 100 here 43321.053
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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101
Insert offset folio 101 here 43321.054
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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102
Insert offset folio 102 here 43321.055
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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103
Insert offset folio 103 here 43321.056
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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104
Insert offset folio 104 here 43321.057
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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105
Insert offset folio 105 here 43321.058
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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106
Insert offset folio 106 here 43321.059
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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107
Insert offset folio 107 here 43321.060
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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108
Insert offset folio 108 here 43321.061
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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109
Insert offset folio 109 here 43321.062
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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110
Insert offset folio 110 here 43321.063
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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111
Insert offset folio 111 here 43321.064
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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112
Insert offset folio 112 here 43321.065
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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113
Insert offset folio 113 here 43321.066
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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114
Insert offset folio 114 here 43321.067
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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115
Insert offset folio 115 here 43321.068
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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116
Insert offset folio 116 here 43321.069
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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117
Insert offset folio 117 here 43321.070
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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118
Insert offset folio 118 here 43321.071
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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119
Insert offset folio 119 here 43321.072
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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120
Insert offset folio 120 here 43321.073
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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121
Insert offset folio 121 here 43321.074
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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122
Insert offset folio 122 here 43321.075
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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123
Insert offset folio 123 here 43321.076
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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124
Insert offset folio 124 here 43321.077
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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125
Insert offset folio 125 here 43321.078
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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126
Insert offset folio 126 here 43321.079
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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127
Insert offset folio 127 here 43321.080
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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128
Insert offset folio 128 here 43321.081
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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129
Insert offset folio 129 here 43321.082
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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130
Insert offset folio 130 here 43321.083
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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131
Insert offset folio 131 here 43321.084
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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132
Insert offset folio 132 here 43321.085
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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133
Insert offset folio 133 here 43321.086
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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134
Insert offset folio 134 here 43321.087
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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135
Insert offset folio 135 here 43321.088
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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136
Insert offset folio 136 here 43321.089
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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137
Insert offset folio 137 here 43321.090
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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138
Insert offset folio 138 here 43321.091
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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139
Insert offset folio 139 here 43321.092
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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140
Insert offset folio 140 here 43321.093
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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141
Insert offset folio 141 here 43321.094
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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142
Insert offset folio 142 here 43321.095
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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143
Insert offset folio 143 here 43321.096
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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144
Insert offset folio 144 here 43321.097
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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145
Insert offset folio 145 here 43321.098
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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146
Insert offset folio 146 here 43321.099
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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147
Insert offset folio 147 here 43321.100
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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148
Insert offset folio 148 here 43321.101
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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149
Insert offset folio 149 here 43321.102
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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150
Insert offset folio 150 here 43321.103
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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151
Insert offset folio 151 here 43321.104
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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152
Insert offset folio 152 here 43321.105
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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153
Insert offset folio 153 here 43321.106
SBD026 with DISTILLER
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154
Insert offset folio 154 here 43321.107
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00158 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
155
Insert offset folio 155 here 43321.108
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00159 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
156
Insert offset folio 156 here 43321.109
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00160 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
157
Insert offset folio 157 here 43321.110
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00161 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
158
Insert offset folio 158 here 43321.111
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00162 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
159
Insert offset folio 159 here 43321.112
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00163 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
160
Insert offset folio 160 here 43321.113
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00164 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
161
Insert offset folio 161 here 43321.114
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00165 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
162
Insert offset folio 162 here 43321.115
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00166 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
163
Insert offset folio 163 here 43321.116
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00167 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
164
Insert offset folio 164 here 43321.117
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00168 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
165
Insert offset folio 165 here 43321.118
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00169 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
166
Insert offset folio 166 here 43321.119
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00170 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
167
Insert offset folio 167 here 43321.120
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00171 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
168
Insert offset folio 168 here 43321.121
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00172 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
169
Insert offset folio 169 here 43321.122
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00173 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
170
Insert offset folio 170 here 43321.123
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00174 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
171
Insert offset folio 171 here 43321.124
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00175 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
172
Insert offset folio 172 here 43321.125
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00176 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
173
Insert offset folio 173 here 43321.126
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00177 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
174
Insert offset folio 174 here 43321.127
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00178 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
175
Insert offset folio 175 here 43321.128
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00179 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
176
Insert offset folio 176 here 43321.129
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00180 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
177
Insert offset folio 177 here 43321.130
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00181 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
178
Insert offset folio 178 here 43321.131
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00182 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
179
Insert offset folio 179 here 43321.132
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00183 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
180
Insert offset folio 180 here 43321.133
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00184 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
181
Insert offset folio 181 here 43321.134
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00185 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
182
Insert offset folio 182 here 43321.135
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00186 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
183
Insert offset folio 183 here 43321.136
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00187 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
184
Insert offset folio 184 here 43321.137
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00188 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
185
Insert offset folio 185 here 43321.138
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00189 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
186
Insert offset folio 186 here 43321.139
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00190 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
187
Insert offset folio 187 here 43321.140
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00191 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
188
Insert offset folio 188 here 43321.141
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00192 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
189
Insert offset folio 189 here 43321.142
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00193 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
190
Insert offset folio 190 here 43321.143
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00194 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
191
Æ
Insert offset folio 191 here 43321.144
SBD026 with DISTILLER
VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:44 Aug 17, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00195 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6011 F:\DOCS\43321.TXT DEBBIE
File and source
- File
- CHRG-117hhrg43321.pdf
- Size
- 121,494,101 bytes
- SHA-256
- 2b56822befaece43428b8a8c6b65ebe4a0bb62432a6b7670546b869a68d5eb94
- Our copy
- CHRG-117hhrg43321.pdf
- Original
- www.govinfo.gov