Utilization of Small Contractors in the Infrastructure Plan (House Small Business subcommittee hearing, June 10, 2021)
Summary
Printed record of a hearing of the House Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure, held June 10, 2021, titled Utilization of Small Contractors in the Infrastructure Plan, Small Business Committee Document Number 117–017. Opening statements came from Hon. Kweisi Mfume and Hon. Maria Salazar. Witnesses were Sheila Ohrenberg, national president of Women Construction Owners and Executives; Ralph Thomas III, executive director emeritus of the National Association of Minority Contractors; Josh Bone, executive director of ELECTRI International, testifying for the National Electrical Contractors Association; and Dr. Annie Mecias-Murphy of JA&M Developing Corp., testifying for the Associated Builders and Contractors. The appendix prints their prepared statements and answers to questions from Hon. Scott Fitzgerald.
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“Utilization of Small Contractors in the Infrastructure Plan (House Small Business subcommittee hearing, June 10, 2021).”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/utilization-of-small-contractors-in-the-infrastructure-plan-house-smal-3cd30d814b/
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UTILIZATION OF SMALL CONTRACTORS IN THE
INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON CONTRACTING AND
INFRASTRUCTURE
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
UNITED STATES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
HEARING HELD
JUNE 10, 2021
Small Business Committee Document Number 117–017
Available via the GPO Website: www.govinfo.gov
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
44–750 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
TROY CARTER, Louisiana
JUDY CHU, California
DWIGHT EVANS, Pennsylvania
ANTONIO DELGADO, New York
CHRISSY HOULAHAN, Pennsylvania
ANDY KIM, New Jersey
ANGIE CRAIG, Minnesota
BLAINE LUETKEMEYER, Missouri, Ranking Member
ROGER WILLIAMS, Texas
JIM HAGEDORN, Minnesota
PETE STAUBER, Minnesota
DAN MEUSER, Pennsylvania
CLAUDIA TENNEY, New York
ANDREW GARBARINO, New York
YOUNG KIM, California
BETH VAN DUYNE, Texas
BYRON DONALDS, Florida
MARIA SALAZAR, Florida
SCOTT FITZGERALD, Wisconsin
MELISSA JUNG, Majority Staff Director
ELLEN HARRINGTON, Majority Deputy Staff Director
DAVID PLANNING, Staff Director
(II)
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CONTENTS
OPENING STATEMENTS
Page
Hon. Kweisi Mfume ................................................................................................. 1
Hon. Maria Salazar ................................................................................................. 3
WITNESSES
Ms. Sheila Ohrenberg, National President, Women Construction Owners and
Executives (WCOE), President, Sorella Group, Kansas City, KS .................... 7
Mr. Ralph Thomas III, Executive Director Emeritus, National Association
of Minority Contractors (NAMC), Attorney, Law Offices of Ralph C. Thomas
III PLLC, Washington, DC .................................................................................. 9
Mr. Josh Bone, Executive Director, ELECTRI International, Washington, DC,
testifying on behalf of the National Electrical Contractors Association
(NECA) .................................................................................................................. 10
Dr. Annie Mecias-Murphy, Co-Owner & President, JA&M Developing Corp.,
Pembroke Pines, FL, testifying on behalf of the Associated Builders and
Contractors in her role as the Treasurer and Board Member of the Florida
First Coast Chapter ............................................................................................. 12
APPENDIX
Prepared Statements:
Ms. Sheila Ohrenberg, National President, Women Construction Owners
and Executives (WCOE), President, Sorella Group, Kansas City, KS ..... 30
Mr. Ralph Thomas III, Executive Director Emeritus, National Association
of Minority Contractors (NAMC), Attorney, Law Offices of Ralph C.
Thomas III PLLC, Washington, DC ............................................................ 35
Mr. Josh Bone, Executive Director, ELECTRI International, Washington,
DC, testifying on behalf of the National Electrical Contractors Associa-
tion (NECA) ................................................................................................... 42
Dr. Annie Mecias-Murphy, Co-Owner & President, JA&M Developing
Corp., Pembroke Pines, FL, testifying on behalf of the Association
Builders and Contractors in her role as the Treasurer and Board Mem-
ber of the Florida First Coast Chapter ....................................................... 53
Questions and Answers for the Record:
Questions from Hon. Scott Fitzgerald to Ms. Sheila Ohrenberg and An-
swers from Ms. Sheila Ohrenberg ............................................................... 61
Questions from Hon. Kweisi Mfume and Hon. Scott Fitzgerald to Ms.
Annie Mecias-Murphy and Answers from Ms. Annie Mecias-Murphy ..... 63
Additional Material for the Record:
Direct Steel LLC ............................................................................................... 73
(III)
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UTILIZATION OF SMALL CONTRACTORS IN
THE INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2021
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON CONTRACTING AND INFRASTRUCTURE,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 1:01 p.m., via Zoom,
Hon. Kweisi Mfume [chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Mfume, Newman, Andy Kim,
Hagedorn, Stauber, Meuser, Salazar, and Fitzgerald.
Chairman MFUME. Good afternoon, everyone. I would like to
call to order this hearing today of the Subcommittee on Infrastruc-
ture and Contracting.
And I would like to thank, first of all, all of the Members on both
sides of the aisle who thought it important enough to be with us.
There is a lot going on today, and I can appreciate that.
Without objection, the Chair is authorized, as most of you know,
to declare a recess at any time.
And let me begin by saying that standing House committee rules
and practices will continue to apply during the remote proceedings.
All Members are reminded that they are expected to adhere to
those standing rules, including decorum, when they are partici-
pating in any remote event such as this.
With that said, the technology that we are using today requires
us to make small changes and modifications from time to time to
ensure that Members can fully participate in these proceedings.
House regulations require Members to be visible through a video
connection throughout the proceeding, so I would respectfully ask
that everyone keep their cameras on. If you have to participate in
another proceeding, please exit and then log back in later at a time
convenient for you.
In the event that a Member encounters technical issues that pre-
vent them from being recognized for their questioning, I will then
move to the next available Member of the same party, and I will
recognize the other Member at the next appropriate time slot, pro-
vided, that is, that they have returned back to the proceeding.
Should a Member’s time be interrupted by technical issues, I will
recognize that Member at the next appropriate spot for the remain-
der of their time once the issues have, in fact, been resolved.
And in the event that a witness loses connectivity during testi-
mony or questioning, I will preserve their time as staff seeks to ad-
dress the technical issue. In that event, I may need to recess the
(1)
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proceedings to provide time for the witness then themselves to re-
connect.
And, finally, please remember to remain muted until you are rec-
ognized in order to minimize the amount of background noise that
oftentimes accompanies these Zoom meetings.
In accordance with rules, staff has been advised to mute partici-
pants only in the event if there is inadequate background noise—
or overwhelming background noise, I should say. And should a
Member wish to be recognized, they then just should unmute them-
selves and seek recognition at, of course, the appropriate time.
At this time, the Chair would like to recognize himself for an
opening statement.
Infrastructure helps to form the foundation of our nation. Every
day, Americans across the country rely on infrastructure to com-
mute to work, to access clean water, and to communicate with one
another. But despite infrastructure’s fundamental importance to
our country, it has become an afterthought in many respects over
the past several decades.
The U.S., as we all know, is the wealthiest country globally, but
we are ranked 13th worldwide when it comes to the quality of our
infrastructure. Fortunately, there is a wide consensus, which is bi-
partisan, that the current state of American infrastructure is, in
fact, unsustainable.
That is why in April, President Biden introduced the American
Jobs Plan. The plan would revitalize the American infrastructure
through major investments and federal funding over the next dec-
ade.
The job plan would fix highways, repair bridges, improve air-
ports, water ports, expand transit and rail into new communities.
It would also eliminate lead water pipes and improve high-speed
broadband, upgrade our schools and federal buildings, and so
much, much more.
By all accounts, this plan, we believe, truly represents a new vi-
sion for America, one through which by rebuilding with purpose we
take care of the environment, further enhance equity, and create
the basis for a stronger economic future.
In this respect, an investment in infrastructure would be a sig-
nificant benefit to small firms. Small businesses, as we all know,
rely on infrastructure systems daily to increase their access to con-
sumers and suppliers, to boost business operations, and create new
demand for their goods and for their many services.
Infrastructure investment would also be a boon for the millions
of small businesses that directly and indirectly support the devel-
opment, modernization, and the maintenance of many facets of in-
frastructure.
In the construction industry alone, it is estimated that there are
3 million small businesses employing over 82 percent of all U.S.
employees in that one sector. Put simply, an investment in infra-
structure is indeed an investment in small business.
Currently, there are an array of federal measures in place to en-
sure small businesses can participate in the procurement process
and receive their fair share of contracting dollars. For instance, a
governmentwide goal requires that 23 percent of all eligible con-
tracting—or prime contracting dollars be spent with small busi-
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nesses, while other goals exist for specific subsets of small contrac-
tors at the prime and at the subcontracting level.
Other policies include the creation of contracting programs ad-
ministered by the SBA that reserve contracts for underserved small
businesses through set-aside and sole-source opportunities.
And, finally, there are contracting programs implemented at the
State and local level whenever federal assistance is involved, such
as the case in the Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged
Business Enterprise Program.
The DBE Program is designed to enable women and minority
small firms to compete for federal contracts led by State and local
agencies. It is the Department of Transportation’s most important
tool for remedying many of the effects of discrimination and lev-
eling the playing field for transportation-related projects.
All of these programs are the well-being of the small business
community and help, obviously, guarantee that small businesses
will have a seat at the table when it comes to contracting.
And so in light of the American Jobs Plan and the thousands of
contracting opportunities it will create, I hope that today’s hearing
gives us a chance to look closer at these programs which I believe
are crucial to maximize small business participation and con-
tracting at the local, state, and federal level.
I am also looking forward to hearing from our expert witnesses
on ways that Congress can leverage infrastructure investment to
meet the needs of small businesses across our country.
I would like now, if I might, to yield respectfully to the Ranking
Member of this Subcommittee, Ms. Salazar, the gentlewoman from
the State of Florida, for her opening statement.
Ms. Salazar, you are recognized.
Ms. SALAZAR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Wonderful to see you
and the rest of my colleagues. And holding this hearing is ex-
tremely important because we are at a critical time of economic re-
covery from the pandemic and our small business should be driving
this recovery.
Infrastructure is the vehicle. In south Florida, we understand
this dynamic, that our economy is linked to miles of coastline. One
of America’s largest ports is in District No. 27. We have major U.S.
highways and an international airport in my district.
Infrastructure is fundamental to our daily lives. We rely on it to
go to work and to provide for our families. We spend valuable time
going from place to place, from here to there. When it works, it im-
proves our lives and it makes it a lot more enjoyable. But when
highways are congested or public transit is delayed, it is not only
frustrating, as I am sure you know, but it hurts our productivity
and our economic growth.
I think we can all agree that our aging infrastructure needs a
major upgrade, and we must maintain our focus on improving the
nation’s core infrastructure system. I urge my colleagues across the
aisle to work with us towards this goal.
Where we disagree, I believe, is on the definition of infrastruc-
ture. Unfortunately, President Biden’s plan is not about infrastruc-
ture at all, or very little. For example, the plan the President has
proposed expands Medicaid coverage for home care. Medicare is
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fantastic for my constituents, but it has nothing to do with infra-
structure.
It puts billions and billions into social justice and violence pre-
vention programs. That is fantastic, but it has nothing to do with
infrastructure.
It provides $12 billion to college infrastructure. I think education
is key—the more you learn, the more you earn—but it has nothing
to do with infrastructure.
$180 billion for research and development. For what? I don’t
think research has anything to do with infrastructure.
With only a fraction of those moneys related to infrastructure, it
makes it really hard for us to understand and to agree with this
bill the way it has been presented.
These issues may be fine for Congress to consider at another
time, but we need to be honest with the American people, with
your constituents and mine. The administration is trying to fool us
into believing that this wish list, which we agree with but has
nothing to do with infrastructure, should be part of this bill.
Now, to small business and contracting. If the goal of today’s
hearing is to discuss the utilization of small contractors in the
President’s package, we must understand the barriers that are im-
posed on small business owners.
Small business operates best when the government does not
stand in the way. Most things work best when government does not
interfere. However, unfortunately, this package subjects the small
business to an extended new set of rules, restrictions, restrictive
labor rules, like the PRO Act, and other regulatory requirements
that would end independent contracting, the franchise industry,
and sharing the economy the way we know it now.
In addition to these job-killing regulations, the President has
proposed to pay for this multi-trillion dollar plan on the backs of
the small businesses through tax increases. At least 1 million small
businesses will get a tax increase through this proposal.
The foundation of any infrastructure project is the construction
business—and we have a lot down here in Miami—and the major-
ity of the builders and the contractors or people that build build-
ings are small businesses.
In the construction industry, we have a labor shortage, as you
know, and there are already difficulties hiring workers, not only in
construction, but in welding and electricians, all types of manufac-
turing-related jobs.
According to the Associated General Contractors of America, 81
percent of construction firms are having trouble finding people.
There are more jobs than hands. And 72 percent anticipate labor
shortages to be the big hurdle this coming year.
I think, Mr. Chairman, that I look forward to hearing the testi-
monies of the witnesses today, and I would love to work across the
aisle and make this a reality for all Americans.
I yield back.
Chairman MFUME. Thank you very much, Ms. Salazar.
The Ranking Member yields back. We appreciate your comments,
and as I said before, obviously, appreciate your participation in this
hearing.
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I would like to take a moment, if I might, to do a couple things.
All Committee Members have opening statements, I assume, and
if they are prepared, we would ask that they be submitted, without
objection, for the formal record. Obviously, those statements take
longer than 5 minutes, and so the revise and extend provision
would apply here.
I would also like to take a moment to explain how this remote
hearing will proceed. Each witness will have 5 minutes to provide
a statement, and each committee Member will receive 5 minutes
for questions. Please ensure that your microphone is on, not like
mine a moment ago, and that when you begin speaking, and after
you finish, you return to the mute option.
I would like to now introduce our witnesses, as they are prepared
to give their testimony. And, again, on behalf of all Members of
this Committee, we appreciate your willingness to be here today.
Our first witness is Ms. Sheila Ohrenberg, the president of
Women Construction Owners and Executives. She is also president
of Sorella Group, Incorporated, a specialty contractor offering full
carpentry service and product supply and installation nationwide.
Under Ms. Ohrenberg’s leadership, Sorella Group has earned
multiple awards, including the American Subcontractor 2012 Asso-
ciated Member Award, and Kansas City American Subcontractor
2013 Subcontractor of the Year Award.
Welcome to you, Ms. Sheila Ohrenberg. Thank you for being a
witness, and thank you for being here.
Our second witness is Mr. Ralph Thomas III, who is the execu-
tive director emeritus of the National Association of Minority Con-
tractors. He is also a contracts litigator, who focuses his practice
on legal issues affecting small businesses. And for more than a dec-
ade, Mr. Thomas has served as the associate administrator for the
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at the Na-
tional Aeronautics and Space Administration in Washington.
He received his JD from Harvard Law School and his bachelor’s
of arts degree with honors from the University of California at
Berkeley.
Mr. Thomas, we welcome you as well, and we will get to you in
just a moment.
Our third witness today is Mr. Josh Bone. Mr. Bone is the execu-
tive director of ELECTRI International, a foundation established
by the National Electrical Contractors Association in 1989, dedi-
cated to conducting research and educating electrical contracting
industry workers and businesses.
Mr. Bone also served as the director of industry and innovation
for NECA. He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering
from Southern Poly Tech State University.
Welcome, of course, Mr. Bone, to you as well.
And now, I would like to yield back to our Ranking Member, Ms.
Salazar of Florida, to introduce our final witness.
Ms. Salazar.
Ms. SALAZAR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to welcome our final witness, who is also from south
Florida, my district, Mrs. Annie Mecias-Murphy. Mrs. Mecias-Mur-
phy is the co-owner and president of JA&M, a developing corpora-
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tion. This is a family-owned operation, started by Mrs. Mecias’ fa-
ther over 45 years ago.
Under her leadership, the company has grown into a very well-
established and dependable company, earning the trust of many cli-
ents in the private and in the public sector.
Her government clients extend over several departments and
communities, like the Broward County Aviation Department,
Miami-Dade County, the Florida Division of Highway Safety and
Motor Vehicles, and the City of Miami.
As a testament of her outstanding leadership, her company has
won the Excellence in Construction Award given by the Associated
Builders and Contractors of East Coast Chapter in 2017.
Mrs. Mecias herself was honored as one of the top 50 women
business leaders in Florida, and in 2014, she was named VIP
Woman of the Year for her outstanding dedication to her profes-
sion. She has also been selected this year as one of the top 100
leaders in construction by the World Real Estate and Construction
Forum.
Giving back to her community and investing in the lives of young
people in my district, having taught in high school and university
for more than 20 years, she also serves on the board of Boys and
Girls Club of Broward County.
In addition to her many professional and personal achievements,
Mrs. Mecias serves as a treasurer and board member of the South
Florida Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, or ABC,
whose on behalf she is testifying today. ABC is a national construc-
tion industry trade association representing over 20,000 members.
Mrs. Mecias, thank you for being here with us, for your partici-
pation, and we look forward to hearing your testimony.
I yield back now, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman MFUME. Thank you, Ms. Salazar.
And, Mrs. Mecias, welcome again to you, and thank you, like the
others, for being here with us today.
We will begin now our testimony from the witnesses, and the
Chair will recognize Ms. Ohrenberg for 5 minutes. Please feel free
to proceed.
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STATEMENTS OF MS. SHEILA OHRENBERG, NATIONAL PRESI-
DENT, WOMEN CONSTRUCTION OWNERS AND EXECUTIVES
(WCOE), PRESIDENT, SORELLA GROUP, KANSAS CITY, KS;
MR. RALPH THOMAS III, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR EMERITUS,
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MINORITY CONTRACTORS
(NAMC), ATTORNEY, LAW OFFICES OF RALPH C. THOMAS III
PLLC, WASHINGTON, DC; MR. JOSH BONE, EXECUTIVE DI-
RECTOR, ELECTRI INTERNATIONAL, WASHINGTON, DC, TES-
TIFYING ON BEHALF OF THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CON-
TRACTORS ASSOCIATION (NECA); AND DR. ANNIE MECIAS-
MURPHY, CO-OWNER & PRESIDENT, JA&M DEVELOPING
CORP., PEMBROKE PINES, FL, TESTIFYING ON BEHALF OF
THE ASSOCIATED BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS IN HER
ROLE AS THE TREASURER AND BOARD MEMBER OF THE
FLORIDA FIRST COAST CHAPTER
STATEMENT OF SHEILA OHRENBERG
Ms. OHRENBERG. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Ranking
Member, and Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for holding
this hearing today.
As a small business owner and the president of Women Con-
struction Owners and Executives, I appreciate your commitment to
ensuring that all categories of small business owners will benefit
from the major infrastructure package being debated.
I am Sheila Ohrenberg, the president of Sorella Group. I founded
the company in 2006 in my hometown of Kansas City, Kansas. It
has grown considerably over the past 15 years to a full service,
merit shop, carpentry company, performing private and public
work in 23 States, including 5 significant new airports and addi-
tions.
I am pleased to be representing WCOE, one of the only national
associations representing women owners in the construction indus-
try.
Eleven women started WCOE in 1983 with a goal to help our
members grow and prosper. We are dedicated to creating a level
playing field for women-owned firms in the construction industry.
Our membership is comprised of nonunion, union, small- and me-
dium-sized companies that perform work and provide supplies in
every aspect of construction. We are all eager to assist, maintain,
modernize our crumbling infrastructure.
This plan is essential to every business. The past 16 months
have been challenging for everyone, especially small businesses. An
infusion of federal infrastructure projects would generate con-
tracting opportunities for small businesses that would create back-
log, jobs, company growth, thus improving our communities.
We anticipate direct federal contracts as well as grants and fed-
erally assisted programs that go to State and local governments.
These programs make up many of the set-aside and DBE contracts
that are vital to WCOE members.
Small businesses are absolutely necessary to our economy, but
women-owned small businesses, minority, and veteran-owned busi-
nesses continue to face barriers to success. This is true in federal
and private marketplace.
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The federal contracting programs Congress has put in place to
provide greater opportunities for small business are still necessary
today.
The cost of financing, bonding, and insuring projects is dispropor-
tionately high for small businesses, especially women business
owners. WCOE members share stories of many of the same bar-
riers faced by women that started our organization almost 40 years
ago.
The WOSB program 5 percent goal was implemented in 1996.
This goal has only been met in 2015 and 2019. That is twice in 25
years, despite the fact that approximately 13 percent of construc-
tion companies are women-owned.
The 2021 CSR report details the WOSB program usage has in-
creased, but the WOSB set-asides and sole-source awards are still
not meeting the goals. I think we can do better.
We can create incentives to meet the goals and consequences for
never meeting them. We can make up for the 23 years that we
missed the goals by increasing the statutory goals above 5 percent
for WOSBs.
We can require more transparency through the SBA Procure-
ment Scorecard by including how many WOSB programs are
awarded, along with the value of the contracts by each agency, bet-
ter coordination of agency resources for women business owners.
And this can be done by including the bill being introduced next
week by Representative Meng. This will ensure the Interagency
Committee on Women’s Business Enterprises meets regularly.
A bold infrastructure package will be a great vehicle to increase
contracting opportunities for disadvantaged businesses for whom
the playing field is not yet level. The robust funding and the cur-
rent programs alone are just not enough. We need to protect the
stability of our small businesses.
WCOE works alongside other construction industry coalitions for
legislation contracting reform. We need to ensure payment protec-
tions for all construction projects by requiring payment and per-
formance bonds, including private-public partnerships.
We need to pass House bill 2949, the legislation would exclude
the threshold for construction contracts that must be bonded under
the Miller Act.
Change order reform is necessary. Did you know that change or-
ders do not typically get paid till the completion of the project? It
is costly and can be detrimental to small businesses.
These programs should not be viewed as the cost of doing busi-
ness. They should not be viewed as a burden. And the program
should be designed to educate, train, and advance women that were
willing to take the leap into business ownership and the American
Dream.
WCOE hopes to continue to work with you to support future gen-
erations of women business owners.
I appreciate your time.
Chairman MFUME. Thank you very much, Ms. Ohrenberg. We
appreciate your time, and we will obviously be getting back to you
with questions, comments, and observations in just a moment.
The Chair would like to recognize Mr. Thomas now for 5 min-
utes.
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Mr. Thomas, feel free to proceed.
STATEMENT OF RALPH THOMAS III
Mr. THOMAS. All right. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and other ladies
and gentleman of the Committee.
And, Mr. Chair, it is nice to see you again. It seems like decades
ago I testified before other Committees and Subcommittees that
you Chaired, so welcome back.
Chairman MFUME. [Inaudible.]
Mr. THOMAS. My name is—and my name is still Ralph C.
Thomas III, and I am testifying today on behalf of the National As-
sociation of Minority Contractors. We are a group that was formed
in 1969, and that makes us 52 years old and the oldest trade asso-
ciation representing minority contractors in the U.S. We have chap-
ters and affiliates all over the country, and we represent the inter-
ests of, not only our members, but the 100,000 minority contractors
across the United States right now.
Now, the inclusion of minority contractors or DBEs, disadvan-
taged business enterprises, in the rebuilding of America’s infra-
structure is particularly important to ensuring that America is op-
erating at the full, productive capacity of its citizenry. Needless to
say, NAMC and minority contractors look very much forward to
playing a significant role in the upgrading of this nation’s infra-
structure.
Now, my full testimony is already in the record, so I am not
going to repeat that, but I will summarize very quickly some of the
topics that we are interested in and why we are interested in it.
First of all, we really are interested in this new plan because of
the benefits that it offers minority contractors. The federal infusion
of funds—of new funds to build roads, bridges, highways, airways,
et cetera, minority contractors are already involved in that. That
is what we do, but we need more of it. We need to build our capital
base so that we can do more.
We have a vehicle right now through the U.S. Department of
Transportation, the DBE Program, the Disadvantaged Business
Enterprise Program, which requires 10 percent of the transpor-
tation project funds to be expended with disadvantaged business
enterprises.
In order to make this new capital infusion work, we have got to
do better in the program. Right now, 23 of the 50 States are not
meeting the 10 percent floor, and we need—but we are very en-
couraged by the comments of Secretary Buttigieg.
In a recent hearing that he testified in, he said he is going to
make this a much more robust program, that he is going to make
it a priority, and he is going to ensure that contractors, disadvan-
taged businesses, can do a wider range of contracts.
Now, we are also interested in the workforce part of this infra-
structure plan. The DOT had a workforce element in it in 2017, but
for 2018, it doesn’t. And that has hurt us. It is said that for every
billion dollars that DOT spends on workforce development, that
13,000 jobs are created. So we are interested in that.
We think that the impact of a successful program—a successful
DBE program that will get us more capital, will be good for ex-
panding, first of all, doing better—we can hire better people. We
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can make more investments on technology and equipment. We can
hire better people, and that has so much of a social impact in terms
of a happier group of people. You know, we can hire more people.
So we look forward to working closely with, not only the DOT
and the Secretary, but also with this Committee to hammer out
any kinks that we see in implementing DBE inclusion in this new
infrastructure plan.
Thank you.
Chairman MFUME. Thank you very much, Mr. Thomas. And we
appreciate your testimony, and we recognize that there is a fuller
set of that in the remarks that you submitted, to be revised and
extended.
But let me just say, it is good to see you also. It has been many,
many years. And when you say it seems like decades, it is because
it was decades. It was the late eighties and the early nineties that
you would come before this Committee and others and give testi-
mony, and I was happy to be one of the Chairpersons and happy
always to receive it. Thank you, sir, very much for your remarks.
I would like to now turn and yield to Mr. Bone, who has been
patiently waiting.
Mr. Bone, you are recognized for 5 minutes, and you may feel
free to proceed.
STATEMENT OF JOSH BONE
Mr. BONE. Thank you, Chairman Mfume and Ranking Member
Salazar, the Members of the Subcommittee, for inviting me to tes-
tify on behalf of ELECTRI International and the Electrical Con-
tractors Association, NECA. We greatly appreciate the opportunity
to submit a statement for the record to the Subcommittee on Con-
tracting and Infrastructure.
My name is Josh Bone. I am the executive director of ELECTRI
International. ELECTRI is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization es-
tablished with support from NECA. Our mission is to help elec-
trical contractors, large and small, meet today’s demands and to-
morrow’s challenges by transforming our commission research into
useful education, talent-initiative programs, as well as practical
publications.
The work for ELECTRI is simplified by NECA’s network of 4,000
contractor members consisting of nearly 3,200 small businesses.
NECA is the voice of a $170 billion electrical construction industry
that brings power, light, and communication technologies to build-
ings and communities across the U.S.
ELECTRI, along with NECA, recognizes the key role small busi-
nesses will play in any infrastructure package. It cannot be stated
strongly enough, the infrastructure of this country is deteriorating.
Thankfully, Congress and the current administration have shown
a clear and urgent understanding of this need.
To that end, we view the American Jobs Plan as a culmination
of generations’ worth of conversations on how to address our aging
and lacking infrastructure. That said, this plan is the first step of
many in moving the country forward.
There is no question, after the volatility created by COVID-19
pandemic, small businesses must be prioritized by any infrastruc-
ture package. Across the construction industry, we have witnessed
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small contractors building their businesses around niche markets
to be more competitive, whether it be in areas like the creation of
microgrids, electrical vehicle charging stations, low-voltage tech-
nologies, or otherwise.
Small contractors need to stay at the forefront of advancing tech-
nologies in order to remain competitive. Although this has yielded
positive growth for small businesses, many still face what seems to
be an insurmountable challenge: access to capital. The risks posed
by lack of capital is compounded with negative factors, such as de-
layed payment practices and fluctuating material costs.
First and foremost, delays in payment are rampant in the con-
struction industry, especially to subcontractors. This has the capa-
bility of crippling small businesses that are unable to balance their
books and anticipate exposure for upcoming projects. Small con-
tractors need prompt payment support and enforcement when it
comes to working on larger projects like those identified by the
American Jobs Plan.
In addition, the risk assumed by small business contractors can-
not be understated, with many subcontractors recounting stories of
offering their homes as collateral for various loans or bonding.
The recent fluctuation in material costs has presented new chal-
lenges. The main concern for electrical contractors is the rising cost
of copper, which has increased nearly 90 percent since this time
last year.
There is no denying that the broad federal investment offered by
the American Jobs Plan will not stretch as far when construction
materials cost exponentially more. To make matters worse, a small
business contractor typically holds their estimated price to a con-
tract owner for 90 days, while material suppliers hold that esti-
mate to their contractors for 7 to 10 days; in some cases, less.
Many of our industry electrical contractors never stopped work-
ing throughout the pandemic. Because of this, our workforce de-
mands never slowed. Our industry must hire and train over
100,000 electricians to meet the workforce demands across the
country.
The gold standard for meeting this need was established over 70
years ago by NECA and the IBEW. The National Joint Apprentice-
ship Training Program, the NJATC, today invests over $100 mil-
lion annually and receives no direct federal funding.
The program’s rigorous training methods require 8,000 hours of
on-the-job training and 900 hours of classroom time, and this is
what it takes to create a qualified and capable journeyperson.
In my time at ELECTRI, I have had the pleasure to travel this
country and meet the small business owners employing the men
and women of the electrical construction industry who should, and
hopefully will, be tasked with rebuilding this nation.
In the face of constant risk, competition, and an overwhelming
workforce need, they come to work every day, striving to succeed.
Efforts like the American Jobs Plan and others proposed by Con-
gress offer these businesses a promising future.
On behalf of ELECTRI International and NECA, I want to thank
you again for the opportunity to testify at this very important hear-
ing. I applaud the Committee’s unwavering efforts to support and
advocate for small businesses across the country.
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Thank you.
Chairman MFUME. Thank you very much, sir.
I am going to ask staff to do not mute me unless I mute myself,
because trying to find the unmute button can be problematic, obvi-
ously, from time to time.
I am going to thank again and welcome Mrs. Mecias-Murphy for
being with us. I know the Ranking Member properly introduced
her, but I want to thank her.
It is always hard being the caboose on a train, but it is your
time, and we hope that you will proceed accordingly. You are recog-
nized for the next 5 minutes. Go right ahead.
STATEMENT OF ANNIE MECIAS-MURPHY
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. Chairman Mfume, Ranking Member
Salazar, and Members of the U.S. House Small Business Sub-
committee on Contracting and Infrastructure, thank you so much
for holding this hearing on the utilization of small contractors in
the infrastructure plan and inviting me to be with you today.
My name is Dr. Annie Mecias-Murphy, and I am the co-owner
and president of JA&M Developing Corp. We are a family-owned
construction business and contractor, performing work in the pri-
vate and public sectors, serving the south Florida market. JA&M
is a small- and women-owned business with 26 full-time employees.
I am testifying today on behalf of the Associated Builders and
Contractors, a national construction industry trade association es-
tablished in 1950, that represents more than 21,000 members
across the country.
I am currently on the ABC Florida East Coast Chapter board of
directors, serving as the treasurer.
It is because of the construction industry that I am able to be
here to share my story with you today. I was born to immigrant
parents who chose to flee religious and political persecution by the
Cuban Government just 90 miles from Florida. It is because of
their bravery and a belief in greater freedom that I have the oppor-
tunities I do in this country, to own and operate a business in the
construction industry.
When my father came to this country in 1969, he entered the
construction workforce with nothing except the clothes on his back.
Construction was part of our daily lives while I was growing up.
While my initial focus was a career in education, eventually
earning my doctorate in philosophy and working in the teaching
and counseling field for close to 15 years, I assisted my father with
his construction company. However, it wasn’t until 2005 that my
siblings and I founded JA&M. It was then that our family came to-
gether to work full time in the construction industry.
Today, I would like to share how a significant investment in
America’s infrastructure would impact my small business and
other businesses like mine in the construction industry.
I also would like to provide a word of caution to the Sub-
committee and to urge Congress to avoid enacting restrictive poli-
cies referenced President Biden’s American Jobs Plan, like the Pro-
tecting the Right to Organize, or the PRO Act; government-man-
dated project labor agreements, or PLAs; and just a one-size-fits-
all approach to our workforce development. The inclusion of these
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policies and others like them would significantly limit the success
of any potential infrastructure bill, as they would prevent qualified
merit shop contractors from participating in rebuilding their com-
munities.
Finally, I would also like to highlight the negative impact that
proposed tax increases from the majority in Congress and the
White House would have on small- and family-owned businesses.
As a small business in the construction industry, an ongoing
challenge that we have is hiring the skilled workforce we need to
be competitive. And we are not alone, as there are hundreds of
thousands of open construction jobs right now.
Any infrastructure proposal should make it easier for private em-
ployers to train tomorrow’s construction workforce through a vari-
ety of workforce development options, including industry-tested and
recognized craft training programs and registered apprenticeship
models.
Unfortunately, President Biden’s American Jobs Plan urges Con-
gress to tie infrastructure investments funded under this plan to
the restrictive policies that I referenced before, which would limit
the pipeline of workers entering the industry.
I would call on Congress to reject these policies as the current
shortage of workers would only be exasperated by an increase in
the money spent on infrastructure. Importantly, Congress must re-
alize that most small businesses in the construction industry are
not signatory to a construction union.
These policies are likely to increase costs, reduce job creation, de-
crease the number of infrastructure projects, and discourage the
merit shop construction industry and their skilled local workforce
from competing for taxpayer-funded construction projects.
I urge Congress to consider investing in America’s infrastructure
and ensuring that small construction businesses are not excluded
from the competitive bidding process for federal infrastructure
projects.
While I do appreciate the conversation taking place and a public
commitment to infrastructure improvements, it is my under-
standing that only a small percentage of the funds in the American
Jobs Plan are allocated toward the construction of physical infra-
structure.
The construction industry can help lead America’s economic re-
surgence, and Congress should not allow this to become a missed
opportunity.
So in conclusion, construction is an industry that gave my family
its start. It was our shining light of opportunity, and continues to
provide for my family and my employees.
It has been an industry that has allowed us also to give back,
to improve the life of others, and to become a supporting role in
our local community. The industry has responded to the skilled
work shortage by increasing wage rates and improving benefit
packages.
In Florida, we are fortunate to participate in partnerships be-
tween the Associated Builders and Contractors and groups like the
Boys and Girls Clubs where we can speak to students about the
benefits of a career in construction.
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Through an all-of-the-above approach to pre-apprenticeship and
apprenticeship programs, we continue to work to expand the num-
bers of people educated and upskilled in the trades.
The American Dream and construction industry, they go to-
gether. It is through construction that we can provide for our fam-
ily, create jobs for workers, and give back to our communities.
If enacted, I cannot imagine what this plan would mean for all
the families that depend on JA&M, let alone all the millions of
families around the country that depend on small business for their
survival.
I plead with you to help us preserve the construction industry for
the next generation. Without you, there may not be a future for
countless potential craft professionals.
I thank you for your time and consideration of this testimony as
a representation of a small, merit shop contractor, and I look for-
ward to answering any questions you may have.
Chairman MFUME. Thank you very much, Mrs. Mecias-Murphy.
I appreciate your comments. And the fact that we have divergent
views on this bill that all of us are looking forward hopefully to the
same bright future, a future with good results, is what drives this
committee.
This is really sausage-making in the process, so it is not pretty,
but we will find a way to make the sausage hopefully, eventually,
and to deliver something very important on infrastructure.
I want to thank all of you who have shared your time with us.
And I want to begin the questioning by recognizing myself for 5
minutes.
And I would like to start with Ms. Ohrenberg. I read in your tes-
timony that a single million dollar contract is different from 40
$25,000 contracts. Now, they both equate to the same dollar
amount.
My assumption is, and I hope you can expand on this, that there
are inherent benefits in wielding million dollar contracts for small
businesses that sometimes people in the larger society may not un-
derstand and what that does to enhance the growth of a small
business, as opposed to 40 $25,000 contracts that you referenced.
Ms. OHRENBERG. Correct. So one single project is going to re-
quire, from an internal office staff, a project manager. So if you
break those all up into 40 different contracts, you have to have 40
different project managers.
It takes as much resources, from an office perspective, to manage
one $25,000 project as it does a million dollar project, from an ac-
counting, from project management, superintendents. So if we have
to divide our staff up against 40 jobs instead of just one job, then
we have to have 40 times more staff, and that is very difficult for
a small business to be able to staff that many types of projects.
Chairman MFUME. And does it enhance bonding requirements?
Does it create, in addition to that, a better perception with primes
or with the government?
I am just trying to get to the heart of understanding all of it. I
do recognize the need to hire a bunch of different people for project
management, but are there some inherent benefits there also?
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Ms. OHRENBERG. A $25,000 project is not likely going to re-
quire a bond, but a larger one would. So you would be building
your bonding capacity by having larger projects.
Chairman MFUME. Thank you.
And, Mr. Thomas, if I can come to you, I want to go specifically
to Amtrak and to kind of get your experience that you have had
representing contracting opportunities with Amtrak. They are set
to get quite a bit of support under this program. Can you talk
about that for just a moment?
Mr. THOMAS. [Inaudible.]
Chairman MFUME. I think you are muted.
Mr. THOMAS. Thank you. Thank you. So I said all that for noth-
ing. No. Oh, well.
What I mean is, you know, I was executive director of this orga-
nization in the eighties, in 1985. And there was a big, big project
with Amtrak, $2.2 billion to our project, and we had DBEs on the
contract, a lot of our members. And a study was done to test the
effectiveness, and, you know, it was a great report. It was docu-
mented that we performed within budget and on time. The goal
was 15 percent. The actual action was 17.8 percent. We got very
good reviews, and that is what you can do when you have the lead-
ership.
The leadership at the time of Amtrak and DOT, they were com-
mitted to the project, and it did well. The excuses like, ‘‘we can’t
find them,’’ was just not made available. And so if we can have
that same kind of commitment today, I think we can have the
same results.
Chairman MFUME. So was the ‘‘we can’t find them’’ statement
meaning, we can’t find minority contractors qualified?
Mr. THOMAS. Exactly. Well, it is the same excuse that we have
heard since I have been involved in the business, and it is not
something that can’t be resolved. You know, they used to do the
same thing at NASA. You know, at NASA, it is the most techno-
logical agency that there is probably in the world. And we also got
those excuses until we came up with a solution that worked for a
while.
We would measure—we would get the needs of the prime con-
tractors, what they said they needed, and we would send them to
our list of contractors, of small, disadvantaged business contrac-
tors. And they would send their qualifications to these prime con-
tractors in the form that they ask it to be presented, and that re-
solved that problem right away.
At one point for one project, they told us to stop sending them,
you know, so——
Chairman MFUME. Okay.
Mr. THOMAS.—so they are there. You can—you know, if you do
it right, you know, you will get the right person.
Chairman MFUME. Okay. Maybe we can come back to that. My
time has expired.
Mr. Bone and Mrs. Murphy, perhaps in the second round, I will
have an opportunity to pose a question to both of you. But right
now, I am going to yield to the Ranking Member, Ms. Salazar of
Florida, who is recognized now for 5 minutes.
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Ms. SALAZAR. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I am
very happy that you are willing to invite the other side of the aisle,
the minority party, to create the sausage. So we really want to
make it big, fat, and good for everybody to eat.
Chairman MFUME. Okay.
Ms. SALAZAR. So I wanted to, first of all, recognize Mrs. Mecias
and thank you once again for being here with us. I have a couple
of questions, and I also, within my 5 minutes, I would like to ask
the other witnesses or the other guests.
You know, Mrs. Mecias, that the Biden administration is pro-
posing to favor unionized workers over nonunionized workers. In
other words, the people that are not part of a union could be dis-
criminated by people like you in the construction industry.
So I would like you to explain to us, give me an example, what
would this look like for a small business entrepreneur, minority-
oriented company like yours. What would this look like if this part
of the provision were to be accepted?
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. Thank you, Representative Salazar. It
pretty—what it does to my company, in particular, and a lot of
small businesses, it basically completely takes us out from being
able to bid, from the opportunities to be able to bid on any one of
these projects. Most than 80 percent of the workforce is nonunion.
We are a merit shop company, and therefore, we wouldn’t even
qualify at all.
Ms. SALAZAR. That bad?
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. Yes.
Ms. SALAZAR. All right. Now, what about the other side? You
know that your company is a very good example for what you ex-
plained to us the other day, that under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,
that truly helped people like you and your employees, and one of
them, you were explaining to us, that was able to purchase their
first home because of the extra cash in their pocket, thanks to that
law.
Now, if we see the opposite happening and you see, as you men-
tioned in your statements, that there is the possibility of taxes in-
creasing, give me, once again, a scenario, what would that look
like? What would that be—what type of effect will that have in a
small business, minority owner, entrepreneur like you are?
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. So, first of all, I would just like to ex-
plain, the excitement that comes across my desk when I get an em-
ployee verification form, which has not just been one, it has been
close to four employees that have purchased their first home, and
that to us is just super exciting.
Ms. SALAZAR. That is the American Dream.
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. Yes, yes. What would—I mean, we
have been able to give health insurance benefits and 401 benefits
for the first time since our company opened. We weren’t able to do
that before. And actually give higher bonuses.
Ms. SALAZAR. Okay.
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. If this tax increase were to occur, we
most likely would have to let go some of our employees, and I am
not sure if we would be able to offer the incentives that they so
well deserve if——
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Ms. SALAZAR. Thank you. I am going to cut you off because I
want to—we got your answer. But I want to go to Ms. Sheila and
Mr. Ralph Thomas.
Just briefly, we sponsored, along with other Members of the
Committee, a bill, H.R. 3065, the Expanding Contracting Opportu-
nities for Small Business Act. And this bipartisan bill—and I am
very proud to be part of it—would praise the maximum threshold
for sole source from $5 million to $8 million for general contracts
and from $7 million to $10 million for manufacturing contracts.
What do you think about this, this initiative?
Mr. THOMAS. Are you addressing me first?
Ms. SALAZAR. Yes, sir, absolutely. We have 45 seconds. You can
have it all.
Mr. THOMAS. Okay. Well—so, well, that—well, a lot of the
smaller businesses would love that, you know, in terms of because
it would create more opportunities. If you make the sole source
higher, then that means there will be more competition. So the
smaller companies would like that as well as the—you know, we
have a problem with manufacturing businesses, but, you know, in
terms of—there is a shortage of them. But for those that exist, I
am sure they would prefer the ability to do more work. And the
higher the sole source limit is, then they can compete for more
projects.
Ms. SALAZAR. Thank you.
I yield back. My time is up. I will talk to you later on today. I
have a couple of other questions, but my time is up.
Yield back to you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman MFUME. [Inaudible.]
Ms. NEWMAN. Mr. Chairman, I think you are on mute.
Chairman MFUME. Okay. Thank you.
I am going to make my second request to staff, do not mute me.
Allow me to mute and unmute myself. It is hard sometimes locat-
ing the button I need. I don’t know if I can be any clearer than
that.
Thank you very much for yielding back, Ms. Salazar.
The Chair would like to recognize the distinguished gentlewoman
from Illinois, Ms. Newman, to proceed for the next 5 minutes. Go
right ahead, please.
Ms. NEWMAN. Well, thank you, Chairman Mfume, and thank
you, Ranking Member Salazar. Good to see everybody today. I hope
everybody is enjoying the summer.
I thought I would start by congratulating everyone, all of our
guests. You have all been through a heck of a year and really came
out on top, so congratulations.
Mrs. Mecias-Murphy, I have run a couple small businesses, so
God bless, and thank you for employing folks. And we all have had
challenges but excited to move forward.
I did want to correct the record on a couple comments that were
made. So I sit on the T&I Committee, and I am from the labor
movement. I am a former small business owner, ran a couple of
companies, as well as was a management consultant to both For-
tune 500 companies down to sole proprietor, so the whole spectrum
of folks, right, and got in the muck of it with process and ops and
facilities and on and on and on.
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So, with all that, I just wanted to come back to you. At 4:15 this
morning, we finished the Surface Transportation Act, which is sep-
arate from the American Jobs Act.
So I wanted to tell you—Annie, Sheila, Ralph, and Josh—that we
have a robust, over $500 billion plus act that is separate from the
American Jobs Act, which will include fixing bridges, fixing roads,
and making sure that housing goes up well, and that things are
funded across our nation that are civic infrastructure projects. So
look forward to that and enjoying all of that. I am excited the jobs
that that will produce.
Now, the American Families Act, let’s just do a quick fact-check
on that, because we just got a fact sheet on that, so why don’t we
just share a little bit about that.
So in the American Jobs Act, it includes housing, as well as tran-
sit agencies, rail, fixing roads and bridges, civic infrastructure, ret-
rograde housing, and on and on and on. So it is an infrastructure
bill, largely, and a jobs bill. I just wanted to clear that up for every-
body.
So moving on, also with regard to the PRO Act, so given that I
have been actively involved in 30 years and have worked with over
50 municipalities in this nation, around labor movements, I just
want to assure you, Mrs. Mecias-Murphy, that in no town of those
50 did we have any negativity attached to PLAs and that kind of
thing. In fact, the exact opposite happened.
In right-to-work—in those 33 right-to-work—or States, rather,
actually, the health incomes go down, incomes go down, the overall
income and tax income in a State goes down in all 33. So I just
wanted to clear that up for everybody.
Now, Ralph, I have a couple questions for you. I am very excited
about what you said. I love workforce training. So wanted to find
out, can you share—by the way, congratulations on 52 years, way
to go. Can you share a little bit about what would be helpful to you
in terms of workforce training and development immediately to
help your organization?
I loved your NASA analogy, and I am very well aware of how
that program works, so tell us more about what you would like to
see happen.
Mr. THOMAS. [Inaudible.]
Ms. NEWMAN. Ooh, you are on mute, Mr. Thomas.
Mr. THOMAS. Okay. How is that?
Ms. NEWMAN. Great.
Mr. THOMAS. Yes, yes. Well, the first thing has already hap-
pened. I mean, what we see—I don’t know if this is in the program
that you just agreed to——
Ms. NEWMAN. Yeah.
Mr. THOMAS.—but we were happy to see projected more funds
for workforce development. Because we have to draw upon—and we
have to have it be diverse, because those are the employees that
we are dependent upon to draw from. And where there is no move
toward workforce development—and I don’t think there has been in
DOT since 2017 when it wasn’t re-funded——
Ms. NEWMAN. Yep.
Mr. THOMAS.—that leaves us in a bind, because where are we
going to get the people from, you know. And so we would like to
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see that. We would like to always be involved in that, in terms of
apprenticeships, in terms of—we like to be involved in the ground
floor, so that we can determine, you know, what the fields are that
are going to be developed so that we can, you know, get our folks
into those programs, into those programs and graduated from those
programs. I mean, because that provides the best—workforce devel-
opment provides the best training that I am aware of, so——
Ms. NEWMAN. We are at the end of our time. And Mr. Mfume,
if I may at this time at the end, I would love a couple more ques-
tions if you have time. Thank you.
And I yield back.
Chairman MFUME. Thank you. Thank you. Absolutely. Gentle-
woman yields back.
The Chair would like to recognize the distinguished gentleman
from Minnesota, Mr. Hagedorn.
Mr. HAGEDORN. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. And I
know it is not your decision, but I think we have a solution to this
mute/unmute issue and it is, let’s start meeting in person, again,
and doing our job in Washington in our Committee room. You
know, we are watching NHL and NBA games played indoors with
10-, 20,000 people. I think we can squeeze 30 or 40 into a Com-
mittee room and do our job in person. That is just my opinion.
Of course, I support infrastructure—roads, bridges, locks, dams,
trucks, rail, and pipelines. And I think, actually, the majority
might have to explain to us how they are for infrastructure, but
they want to shut down things like Keystone Pipeline. But that is
very important to our district in southern Minnesota, infrastruc-
ture. I am all for it. We have farmers that need to move their
grain. We have the Mayo clinic and other institutions of medicine
that receive samples and tissues from all around the world every
day. Small businesses and manufacturers, of course, depend upon
infrastructure and transportation to do their businesses and, hope-
fully, we can get together and have a bipartisan bill in order to
focus on those types of things.
So Dr. Mecias-Murphy, I am going to throw out a couple of ideas
about how we can have some good government policies moving for-
ward, and maybe you can address them. One is the in the area of
the labor shortage. Some Members of Congress in my State, includ-
ing Representatives Emmer, Stauber, Fischbach, and myself have
written Governor Walz and said, you need to forego that extra $300
a week federal unemployment compensation and get back to reg-
ular order when someone doesn’t seek work or they refuse work
outright, they lose their benefits. They lose that compensation. You
need to push them into the workforce. That is the first idea.
The second is, a bill that I have introduced, the American Work-
force Empowerment Act, H.R. 2691, which would enable families to
use 529 savings accounts for people not just to go to 4-year college,
but also go to vocational school and get certificates, go do those pro-
grams, and get into the trades and purchase equipment and tools
and things like that which would be necessary. We think that
would be good to help our skilled workforce.
What are your thoughts about those two ideas?
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. So you have just hit an area aside from
construction that is just something that I am super passionate
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about. Our involvement and our partnership with the Boys and
Girls Clubs and ABC allows us to work on apprenticeship level be-
cause, as you know, kids in middle school and high school, they are
not always being said, Hey, the trades are a viable option. It is
something that can really work for you and can give you a good liv-
ing. It is a good first option.
So what we have been able to do is able to go into the Boys and
Girls Club, have different trades, different member companies from
ABC go in there and be able to show and expose the students. I
know not everybody has had the privilege to be able to see on a
daily basis growing up what the construction industry is like, but
going into these clubs and working with the middle and high school
students and being able to expose them, taking them on field trips,
providing internships for them has allotted exposure to them.
And over the last couple of years, there has actually been close
to 40 students that have graduated, and have actually been hired
with some of our member companies. An example, actually, is a
crane company. An 18-year-old just to start training was paid $20
an hour. And that is just to start training. And as they went up,
a crane operator can make high as $30, $40 an hour, depending on
their experience.
So anything that is going to help that aspect, especially with the
pre-apprenticeship, it is a little bit longer piece. But we have also
extended it to the family, to the parents of these kids that may not
have jobs that could actually start on the labor level, and labor
level starts at the $15 an hour.
Mr. HAGEDORN. That is great. I have to reclaim my time——
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. So sorry about that.
Mr. HAGEDORN.—and I appreciate that very much what you
are doing. I would also like to point out that we talked a little bit
about—the witnesses did—about material cost and copper was
mentioned. And I think, you know, one of the things that goes on,
we are driving up the cost of things because they are in short sup-
ply, because the environmentalists, extremists won’t let us go and
get the copper and things like that in America.
In Congressman Stauber’s district, he is on this call right now,
up in northern Minnesota, they have a large supply of the nickel
and copper for the United States right up there, but he is having
a hard time, you know, getting through and getting those mines
open.
So I just want to commend Congressman Stauber for fighting for
his constituents and getting mining in America going. I certainly
support you, Congressman Stauber, every step of the way. O thank
you for what you are doing.
I yield back.
Chairman MFUME. Thank you very much. The gentleman yields
back.
The Chair recognizes, ironically, Mr. Stauber, for the next 5 min-
utes. Feel free to proceed. Thank you.
Mr. STAUBER. Well, thank you, Mr. Chair. And there are times
I have trouble with my mute button too, so if we can be in the
same class. I appreciate Mr. Chair and our Ranking Member for
holding this important meeting. I also want to thank the witnesses
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for being part of the discussion. Your success and your conversa-
tions are very vital to all of us as we craft good legislation.
Line 3 is a 340-mile pipeline replacement taking place in north-
ern Minnesota. Construction of the new Line 3 will not only help
in our efforts for energy independence, but will supply countless
jobs to small contractors in an area desperate for economic develop-
ment and modernize our energy infrastructure for the future.
This project should be celebrated, yet just this week, thousands
of dangerous protesters, led by Democrat Party stalwarts like Jane
Fonda, are being bussed in from Hollywood and other coastal elite
cities and are causing harm to small contractors seeking to simply
do their jobs. In fact, nearly 50 union workers had to be evacuated
from their work site, including employees of the entire Native
American-owned and operated pipeline contractor Gordon Con-
struction.
Dr. Mecias-Murphy, could you describe the danger and damage
that protesters would pose to your construction business if they
showed up to your sites and chained themselves to equipment,
punctured tires, damaged windshields, and other equipment? What
would that do to your small business?
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. Thank you, Representative Stauber, for
that question.
First of all, when I read about that, I—it just truly really surged
in me just so much concern, and my heart really went out to that
business. If that would have happened to our business, first of all,
with safety being such an important and critical factor that for our
employees and for everyone around us, the first thing, obviously,
that would have come to mind is the concern for safety by these
protesters having gone in, having trespassed, having damaged
property, and having tied themselves to this equipment. But put-
ting that piece aside to a small business, I think folks might not
realize that sometimes a day of delay or just that—that the woman
is saying, Oh, it is just a day; it is not a big deal. In the construc-
tion industry with so many overlapping pieces and parts of the puz-
zle, that can delay you 2 weeks, 4 weeks. And what that does, espe-
cially for a small business, is that in your cash flow, you are having
to pay for all these different things, putting them up to speed to
try to have them work where they need to be back to the time that
you lost.
And, then, not only that, put aside the small business piece, you
have workers that can’t go into work. You have then workers who
can’t get paid because they aren’t working. Their families aren’t
getting fed or paying their bills. You have done a domino effect
where maybe folks have been trying to prove a point. What they
have actually done is hurt the people that they are saying that
they are trying to help. They are affecting families and commu-
nities.
Mr. STAUBER. So what I hear you saying is, it is devastating
for the small company; it is devastating for the workers; it is dev-
astating for the families, and it is devastating for the communities?
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. Absolutely. Yes, sir.
Mr. STAUBER. Thank you. Thank you. To me it is actually
laughable to me that we are here today to discuss Joe Biden’s in-
frastructure plan, and how it will, quote, help small contractors.
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President Biden and his administration canceled thousands of jobs
already on the Keystone XL Pipeline earlier this year, in fact, with-
in 5 hours of his inauguration.
It is the actions of this administration that empowers these ac-
tivists currently doing damage in my district and others through-
out the country.
If President Biden wants to demonstrate that he is serious about
America’s infrastructure future, he will call on these activists to
stop their protesting at once so that our small contractors can get
back to work.
And I yield back.
Chairman MFUME. The gentleman yields back.
The Chair is deciding to do a second round and unless we are
joined by other members, it should probably go faster than the first
round, but I would like to begin and recognize myself for 5 minutes
and go to Mr. Bone.
Mr. Bone, do recruitment strategies change based on the seg-
ment of the population that you are trying to attract? And I appre-
ciate all the work that you are doing with ELECTRI. Can you tell
us what strategies would you recommend in this bill as it goes for-
ward to recruit men—women, I should say, and minorities at a bet-
ter and higher rate than we have previously done?
Mr. BONE. Absolutely. Thank you, Chairman Mfume. Yes, to be
successful, you have to use different methods to recruit. For me, I
have had the privilege in my career to work more closely with mi-
norities and women in construction as a construction technologist.
A lot of the thought leaders in the industry that have adopted new
technologies have had that opportunity in our industry. So—and
today, one of the things I have found for women in the industry,
is they bring a lot of great skill sets, and there is a lot of new tech-
nologies that enable them and empower them to work in this in-
dustry. I think there is a lot of misconceptions around the fact that
this industry is a male-driven industry. And we need to start at
early ages educating young girls in middle school, high school, and
even in the community and technical colleges, that this industry is
changing. We are adopting technology.
What once was a very strenuous job today with exoskeletons and
equipment, and moving work off-site looks more like a manufac-
turing floor today on any—for a lot of these companies. So we are
doing a lot more off-site construction to help us deliver projects on
time and within budget.
Chairman MFUME. Thank you, Mr. Bone. And no matter what
kind of a bill we come up with, the electrical construction industry
is going to be significantly impacted.
Mr. BONE. Absolutely.
Chairman MFUME. Can you take a minute to talk about the im-
portance of unions in electrical construction and throughout that
industry?
Mr. BONE. Yes. Now, ELECTRI is not affiliated with any
unions, but our friends at NECA have worked closely with IBEW
labor partners for over a 100 years without a single strike. So
NECA and our contractors take great pride in the skill level and
commitment of the workforce that we bring to the table.
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I just, last week, was in Jacksonville, Florida, visiting a JTC that
had opened up a new systems integrator lab that takes these new
technologies, provides hands-on training installing new tech-
nologies like that are linked to software that connect sensors and
intelligent equipment that can help us invest in infrastructure that
is more sustainable, and it creates new types of skills and jobs that
are—that we can use for many years going forward.
So it makes our—for small businesses that get involved with this
it provides an opportunity for them to create jobs that have long-
lasting impact to their small businesses.
Chairman MFUME. Thank you, sir.
And Mr. Thomas, I want to slightly change the conversation and
go from the electrical industry back over to transportation. We
don’t know what is going to eventually come out of this Committee,
out of this Congress, but we hope that we are going to have a bill,
and whatever that bill is, I would like for you, based on your expe-
rience and counseling in serving small firms across the country,
what is, in your opinion, the biggest obstacle going forward that
has to be addressed in that bill to increase participation by minori-
ties in transportation projects.
Mr. THOMAS. Yes. We have to take a stronger approach to com-
pliance and enforcement. As I said, we have a 10 percent goal floor
for all the States, and 23 percent are not meeting it. Many of them
ask for waivers and, you know, whatnot, and, you know, by saying
they are not there. What we need to do is find something that, you
know—I think a lot of organizations like those here should be fund-
ed, to some extent, for the purpose of identifying eligible small con-
tractors, whether they be minority, or women, or otherwise dis-
advantaged, to identify them for the prime contractors and the
agencies.
Chairman MFUME. Thank you.
Mr. THOMAS. Thank you.
Chairman MFUME. Thank you, Mr. Thomas. I am almost at the
end of my time.
I do want to get over to Ms. Mecias-Murphy one more time and
ask, what role do you think, Ms. Murphy, that the SBA contracting
programs and DBE Program ought to play now as we obviously
move toward infrastructure, but also, as we see businesses trying
to recover from this year-long pandemic? Any thoughts on those
lines?
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. From hearing the conversations, I
would say that it is just making sure that whatever laws are in
place and goals, that they are followed.
Chairman MFUME. Okay. I appreciate it. At some point in time,
maybe not here, but later, I would like to get all of you to comment
on the Prompt Payment Act and what prompt payment has done,
and is not doing with respect to small businesses, but my time is
expired.
So let me, again, recognize the Ranking Member, Ms. Salazar, of
Florida.
Ms. SALAZAR. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I think my
next question is for Mr. Bone. I was following your testimony, and
I am also very concerned, as you are, about the delays in payments
to subcontractors. I mean, if you don’t get the money, you may go
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under in a month or two. And I would like for you to expand a lit-
tle bit more on your suggestion regarding sending payment notices
and getting paid on time, if you can expand on that a little bit fur-
ther.
Mr. BONE. Absolutely. Capital is king in the construction indus-
try. It is how businesses survive, and small contractors have lim-
ited amounts of capital. And what we have to ensure that when
you are a sub to a sub to a sub, and that happens very frequently
in these flow down policies on the larger projects that it becomes
even tougher to get paid.
So the ability to fund your business and work off that capital to
pay your people is extremely tough for the smaller businesses that
flow down in that work. So the larger contracts that do sub out to
these small arsenal of contractors, it makes it much tougher for
them.
Ms. SALAZAR. So what do you suggest? What can we do in order
to help that sub of the sub of the sub, the one that has the small
business, entrepreneur that has three employees and needs that
money right away?
Mr. BONE. We need to have opportunities to work with contracts
directly with those that are paying. So that it doesn’t have to go
through the process of a general contractor through the sub and
working back up through that flow. Representative Salazar, that is
the challenge that we face. So if it is—if we are waiting on pay if
paid or paid when paid, that language is what impacts our small
contractors more than anything else. We need to have the ability,
once we can prove we have done the work in a fair way, that the
contracts can ensure that our small contractors are being paid
promptly.
Ms. SALAZAR. And I would like to ask the same question to Ms.
Mecias. Just give me a scenario, an anecdote, where you have felt
exactly what Mr. Bone is describing?
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. Absolutely. You have the—especially
on federal contracts, you have a paid when paid clause and some-
times it is 60, 90, 120 days. And for a small business, that is com-
pletely detrimental. You have—I think in Florida, the sunshine—
there is Prompt Payment Act and the whole piece is that you get
paid promptly, but it is more of a theory than really a practice.
Ms. SALAZAR. A reality. Uh-huh. So, in which way Congress
could help that very small business owner get paid on time in a
fair fashion, the way that it needs to be done? Because from what
I am understanding here is that someone is taking advantage of
the small guy. So in which way—and specifically minority business
owners, that I am sure don’t have the protections that the big gen-
eral contractors have, so what can we do with the last—we have
a minute and a half, so I will yield to you.
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. So I can only speak from personal ex-
perience and my personal experience, usually the contractors that
I have worked with, we will get paid within 5 days of payment. So,
it is not on that end. Unfortunately, it is on the whole paperwork
bureaucratic component that gets stuck up on that level.
Again, I am not at the time one with all the answers, but prob-
ably a quicker way of going through those leaps and hurdles and
trying to be a little bit more considering the small business, and
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the businesses and realizing that the quicker they are able to do
that processing, and be conscientious of that, and having a certain
timeline to do that, realize how big it really affects small busi-
nesses. And that really draws up the cost, because any federal
project that you know you are going to bid, you realize that you
have that in the back of your mind, that I am not going to get paid
for 60 or 90 days. So it does drive up the cost to the taxpayer as
well.
Ms. SALAZAR. I see. Very good point. Thank you.
I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman MFUME. Thank you very much. Gentlewoman’s time
has expired.
I want to recognize Ms. Newman, but Ms. Newman, if you would
hold on for just a second. This whole issue of prompt payment,
which I think Mr. Bone referenced that we should just follow exist-
ing laws on this, underscores an important point. In 1996, when
the regs were written on this, enter the Prompt Payment Act. Any
agency that fails to pay within the required time would be liable
for the delinquent payment. So obviously if we know that the big-
gest hurdle and detriment to Black businesses, Latino businesses,
Asian businesses, women businesses is the lack of access to capital
and credit, prompt payment does play an extremely crucial role,
and it is maybe something that the full Committee on Small Busi-
ness decides to look at, and if not, I could try to find some way for
us to be able to do that, because it is a law that just has to be en-
forced.
I am going to stop my filibuster, since I am on the House side
anyway, and yield to the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois,
Ms. Newman, and thank her for hanging around to the end.
Ms. NEWMAN. Well, thank you for putting together this great
conversation today, and, Chair Mfume, I will gladly volunteer to
work with you on that topic. I am a big fan of paying people on
time, and having it be predictable. I am seeing a thumbs up from
my friend, Ms. Salazar. So maybe all three of us could get together
and have a coffee over that. So look forward to that.
Couple of things—first of all, Mr. Bone, thank you so much for
highlighting that. I think that is critical. But this goes—this, actu-
ally, proves my point about PLA. So interestingly—this is a fun lit-
tle data point—is that more than 80 percent of the time when there
is a PLA in place, that it requires whoever is engaged in the party
system, so whether there is a subcontractor, a contractor, a fran-
chiser, whatever it is, it requires a very specific payment chro-
nology and cadence on top of that federal law Mr. Mfume has
talked about.
So PLAs are really good at enforcing those types of things, par-
ticularly when there is a union involved. And, by the way, I might
remind everybody that when you have a PLA, it doesn’t prevent
you from having nonunion help, it just requires and protects those
that are engaged in unions, and so that they have better benefits
and pay, et cetera, and that is safer.
I also might add on PLA-based construction sites that more than
60 percent of those engagements, whether it is a GC contractor or
PLA/GC contractor, it is usually somewhere in the range of 66 (ph)
to 65 percent safer, there are fewer accidents, people are paid on
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time, and they tend to be not be overbudget, and they tend to be
on-time projects. So I understand there is some confusion around
PLAs, but it is not the boogie man as was suggested.
So I guess I am going to turn it over to Ms. Mecias-Murphy and
tell me the top three things that frustrate you about PLAs.
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. Sure, Representative Newman. Thank
you for the opportunity to speak on that. I would say the biggest
part—it is not really that we are, you know, that I am antiunion
by any means; it is just basically that a lot of the mandates they
are not as good. They restrict someone like a merit shop company
to be able to bid on certain projects if these things aren’t in place.
That is number one. We just want fair all across the board.
Ms. NEWMAN. Uh-huh.
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. Not—to this day, we are still in a coun-
try that is free, and, you know, we could pick whether we want to
be part of a union or not.
Ms. NEWMAN. Sure.
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. So with that being said, a high concern
is, especially as the Representative from Minnesota had mentioned,
and that concern, there is new possible concerns regarding these
labor union—again, I don’t want to get into all the weeds piece. I
want to kind of stay very——
Ms. NEWMAN. Yeah. I—just to be clear, I just need—so I
haven’t—the first reason why PLA is bad. So if you can go back to
your first reason.
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. So the noncompetitive. Not being able
to compete—being able to be on a fair playing field as far as it re-
lates to this proposed bill. The second one, and with that is the
missed opportunities. The second one is if there is a—if there is a
project and there is a protest under this new act, even though it
may not deal with me as a subcontractor, those labor unions can
actually go on any one of my jobs and actually do that as well. And
that is a concern because that can really hurt my company person-
ally, and those that work for us as well.
Ms. NEWMAN. So you are saying that you don’t want anyone to
ever protest on any business ever?
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. That is not what I said. That is not
what I said.
Ms. NEWMAN. Okay. I am not sure how that syncs up with your
right to protest and your freedom of speech.
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. No. I just said that that could really
hurt our company. That is all.
Ms. NEWMAN. But it would anybody. So any business where
someone feels the need to protest, they have that right to do that,
as long as they are not physically harming people. So I guess that
is just a freedom of speech right to protest situation, not nec-
essarily, no one is targeting you, in other words.
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. So the third point is the increased cost
that typically having unions on the job tend to have. I have seen
that in different projects in Florida. I don’t know. Maybe in your
State, or your area, it is a little bit different and maybe in your
experiences. But in Florida, the jobs have definitely gone up a lot
higher by using unions. You do have a more limited, especially in
Florida—and, again, I can only talk about Florida. It is a right-to-
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work State. More than 80 percent of the workers are nonunion, so
there is more competitive, and it does allow to have better pricing;
otherwise, when you have the PLAs and those agreements, there
are certain amounts that are required.
So that is all I am saying as——
Ms. NEWMAN. Okay. I just want to remind, for the record, that
right-to-work States, all 33 States, health outcomes are much far
worse, lower incomes overall, and lower wages. So I just want to
end with that, but thank you very much.
And I yield back.
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. Sure. Our offices can get back to you
as well, Representative Newman, with any additional questions
that you or the Committee may have.
Chairman MFUME. Thank you very much. The gentlewoman
from Illinois yields back.
The Chair recognizes the distinguished gentleman from Pennsyl-
vania, Mr. Meuser.
Mr. MEUSER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Happy to be with the
Committee here today, and thank you to the witnesses. I am, in
fact, joining a little bit late, but I did catch that exchange, which
I found fascinating. Ms. Murphy, I am going to ask you, and you
probably didn’t come here to get inquisitioned about whether or not
you are antiunion, but I will say that is certainly what it sounded
like. I, myself, am a Republican in a non-right-to-work State, Penn-
sylvania, and I am always favorable to the trades.
I think our unions have some great apprenticeship programs,
and prevailing wage is something that we are all for, prevailing
wage plus when it is plus-plus, that tends to get in the way of
projects. So anything that is antigrowth and antidevelopment, I
think is certainly a matter of discussion. And I think the trades—
and it certainly sounded like you were trying to get this out, was—
deserve a seat at the table just like those who choose not to be part
of a trade or a union at that particular time. And PLAs, by the
way, are one of the [inaudible]. It is not an inclusionary propo-
sition, which is the reason that many companies have an issue
with it.
So I would just ask in the PRO Act, to have it remove States’
rights such as the right to work is just unfair. States should be the
ones who determine such things and the idea that the PRO Act
calls for a secret ballot, or looks to remove the secret ballot, is quite
interesting as well, because we are not talking about fairness here;
we are talking about some other tactics that are simply inappro-
priate.
So I appreciate where you are coming from, but at the same note,
we have got to figure out how businesses can move forward, wages
can stay high, and it is a very inclusionary atmosphere. But I will
just ask you related to the PRO Act, and this might be repetitive,
how will that affect your business if the PRO Act were to pass?
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. Thank you, Representative. So I would
like to maybe focus on the taxes piece about the increase in taxes,
maybe, again, in this aspect as well, especially with all the benefits
and the growth that we have seen in the last couple of years.
I guess the biggest piece about the Act is the taxes piece also,
that that concerns me. Because with—it just brings a lot of uncer-
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tainty to my company of what that would look like. Will I be able
to continue with the employees that we do have? Will we be able
to still provide the benefits that we do have?
And those are high—those are high concerns, as well as—I agree
with you on the secret ballots and all those other things, which
kind of surprised me. I didn’t really understand why that would be
in this kind of bill. All we are asking is for, like what you said, a
seat at the table and fairness all across the board for everyone.
Mr. MEUSER. Let me ask you this, Ms. Murphy: The idea of the
tax reductions that took place a couple of years ago had about a
20 percent reduction for small business. I have many friends who
have small businesses, and most of them told me they were able
to bring in more inventory, they were able to hire one or two more
people, they were able to expand their business. They did not say,
Hey, this is great. I am going to be making an extra $20,000 a
year.
What was your experience? What did you do with the tax relief
that took place?
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. I immediately went back and it went
back into the employees. We were able to hire double the amount
of employees that we had before then. We were able to also give
raises, give very high bonuses, and be able to provide healthcare
and 401 plans for the first time.
Mr. MEUSER. So you are a passthrough business, of course. If
that was changed, and that is a lot of talk, of course, about raising
the income tax, as well as eliminating small business relief, would
that reverse things for you, or how would you handle that, particu-
larly after recovering out of COVID?
Mrs. MECIAS-MURPHY. Yes, it would definitely affect our busi-
ness financially in a huge way, especially since with COVID, even
though the construction companies were still working, there was a
3- to 4-month delay. Let’s say we had projects that we were work-
ing on during COVID and we continued with those projects. But
then, there was a lot of bidding and a lot of projects got held, be-
cause the building departments were closed, plans weren’t being re-
viewed, or what have you.
So it is kind of now—I would say there is probably a 4- to 6
months that there weren’t any new projects being awarded, and
that had an effect as well, especially with COVID, and that would
just add on top of that situation.
Mr. MEUSER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I yield back.
Chairman MFUME. Absolutely. The gentleman from Pennsylva-
nia’s time has expired.
In fact, all time has expired. And I want to personally, again,
thank all of our witnesses for being here today to have comments
on what we consider to be a very, very important subject, particu-
larly our new witnesses in the persons of Mr. Bone, Ms. Ohrenberg,
and Ms. Murphy, and our old friend, Mr. Thomas, who has joined
us, again, before this Committee.
We all agree, I think, that we have got to find ways to put the
funding of whatever we come up with as a Congress so that it
works for small businesses. Those businesses over the centuries
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helped to build this country. It is critical now, I think we will all
agree, that they have to help be a part of the rebuild.
It is my hope that this hearing shed light on existing programs
to ensure the participation of small firms in that procurement proc-
ess.
And as we consider infrastructure proposals, we have got to work
also to expand contracting opportunities, and provide small busi-
nesses with the resources they need to complete them.
So at this point, I would like to ask unanimous consent that
Members have 5 legislative days to submit statements and sup-
porting materials for their record. Without objection, it is so or-
dered.
And I want to thank, in particular, the Ranking Member, Ms.
Salazar, for joining us for what we both consider is, hopefully, a
step forward on this whole issue of contracting and infrastructure.
If there is no further business before the Committee, the Com-
mittee now does stand adjourned.
Thank you all very, very much.
[Whereupon, at 2:37 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
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APPENDIX
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Æ
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File and source
- File
- CHRG-117hhrg44750.pdf
- Size
- 40,930,587 bytes
- SHA-256
- c471274d4bcfc9c6b36279c39c1a26ea1678f50aed9a8ebab8e6de8c9b5757f0
- Our copy
- CHRG-117hhrg44750.pdf
- Original
- www.govinfo.gov