[House Hearing, 118 Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] H.R. 4666, H.R. 4667, H.R. 4480, H.R. 4670, H.R. 4668, H.R. 4669, H.R. 4671, H.R. 3995 ======================================================================= HEARING before the COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION __________ HEARING HELD JULY 18, 2023 __________ [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] Small Business Committee Document Number 118-023 Available via the GPO Website: www.govinfo.gov _______ U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 55-468 WASHINGTON : 2024 HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS ROGER WILLIAMS, Texas, Chairman BLAINE LUETKEMEYER, Missouri PETE STAUBER, Minnesota DAN MEUSER, Pennsylvania BETH VAN DUYNE, Texas MARIA SALAZAR, Florida TRACEY MANN, Kansas JAKE ELLZEY, Texas MARC MOLINARO, New York MARK ALFORD, Missouri ELI CRANE, Arizona AARON BEAN, Florida WESLEY HUNT, Texas NICK LALOTA, New York NYDIA VELAZQUEZ, New York, Ranking Member JARED GOLDEN, Maine KWEISI MFUME, Maryland DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota GREG LANDSMAN, Ohio MORGAN MCGARVEY, Kentucky MARIE GLUESENKAMP PEREZ, Washington HILLARY SCHOLTEN, Michigan SHRI THANEDAR, Michigan JUDY CHU, California SHARICE DAVIDS, Kansas CHRIS PAPPAS, New Hampshire Ben Johnson, Majority Staff Director Melissa Jung, Minority Staff Director C O N T E N T S OPENING STATEMENTS Page Hon. Roger Williams.............................................. 1 Hon. Nydia Velazquez............................................. 2 APPENDIX Additional Material for the Record: H.R. 4666.................................................... 47 H.R. 4667.................................................... 50 H.R. 4480.................................................... 55 H.R. 4670.................................................... 60 H.R. 4668.................................................... 69 H.R. 4669.................................................... 72 H.R. 4671.................................................... 76 H.R. 3995.................................................... 79 Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 3995 Offered by Ms. Van Duyne........................................... 81 Amendment to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 3995 Offered by Ms. Velazquez......................... 83 Amendment to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 3995 Offered by Mr. Phillips.......................... 84 Amendment to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 3995 Offered by Ms. Chu............................... 85 Amendment to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 3995 Offered by Ms. Davids............................ 86 Committee to Unleash Prosperity.............................. 87 Competitive Enterprise Institute............................. 113 Construction Association..................................... 116 Remarks of Rep. Marc Molinaro on the POST IT Act............. 117 Remarks of Rep. Dan Meuser on the Corrective Action Report Oversight and Accountability Act (Gluesenkamp-Perez/Meuser) 118 Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council Letter........... 120 Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council Second Letter.... 122 MARKUP OF: H.R. 4666, A BILL TO REQUIRE THE SBA OIG TO SUBMIT QUARTERLY REPORTS ON PPP/EIDL FRAUD; H.R. 4667, THE RECLAIM TAXPAYER FUNDS ACT; H.R. 4480, THE SERV ACT; H.R. 4670, THE SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACTING TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2023; H.R. 4668, POST IT ACT; H.R. 4669, DOE AND SBA RESEARCH ACT; H.R. 4671, THE CORRECTIVE ACTION REPORT OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT; H.R. 3995, THE SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY REDUCTION ACT ---------- TUESDAY, JULY 18, 2023 House of Representatives, Committee on Small Business, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 9:55 a.m., in Room 2360, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Roger Williams [chairman of the Committee] presiding. Present: Representatives Williams, Stauber, Meuser, Van Duyne, Salazar, Ellzey, Alford, Crane, Bean, LaLota, Velazquez, Phillips, Scholten, Thanedar, Chu, and Davids. Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay. We are ready to get started. And before we get started officially, we are going to say the Pledge of Allegiance and a short prayer. Representative Meuser will lead us. Mr. MEUSER. My honor, Chairman. Please bow your heads. Let us all appreciate, Dear Lord, the glory and beauty of this day. We undoubtedly will face many struggles. In some cases, we will disagree. In some cases, we will agree. But give us the strength and peace to keep you in mind to work for the moral good and perform our patriotic duty to our Constitution and our country, the United States of America. Amen. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay. The Committee will now come to order. A quorum is present, and without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a recess of the Committee at any time. As required by House rules, a copy of the legislative measures have been made available to Members and the public at least 24 hours in advance. Pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House Rule 11, all votes will be rolled to the end of this meeting. I now recognize myself for opening remarks. We welcome everybody here today. And today's markup is here to discuss eight bills that address the various needs of Main Street America. Frankly put, our nation's small business entrepreneurs and innovators have faced some of the strongest economic headwinds in recent memory over the past 2 years. Here on this Committee, it is our job to be the strongest advocate for small businesses as they are at the heart of each of our communities and employees of nearly 62 million Americans. That is why our work here is so important and why we must get our economy back on track and our workforce motivated. Furthermore, it is our job to produce policy solutions to ensure the federal government is held accountable, especially on behalf of the American taxpayer. The contents of these eight bills have been thoroughly discussed by our Members. My colleagues and I are proud of our hearings, our resulting in legislative action to keep and help address the major issues facing Main Street America. Before us today are bills that address some of the shortcomings of the SBA as identified by the Office of Inspector General. Further, these bills address regulatory burdens, assist veterans in their access to capital, enable follow-up guidance on rulemaking and support collaborative research for small businesses. I want to thank our Members for bringing these bills forward as they represent the work and devotion of our Committee as a whole, as well as the Ranking Member and her staff by working hand in hand with us to come up with bipartisan policy solutions to address the issues impacting main street. I ask unanimous consent for four letters of support for our legislation to be entered into the record. Without objection it is so ordered. So, with that I look forward to today's markup, and I yield to the distinguished Ranking Member from New York, Ms. Velazquez, for her opening statement. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you for holding this markup today. I am committed to working in a bipartisan manner to enact legislation that assists small businesses, as well as conduct rigorous oversight of SBA's programs. The past 3 years have been extremely challenging for small businesses. SBA provided more than $1.2 trillion in pandemic relief, which enabled small businesses to navigate the pandemic and stay afloat. Today, we are seeing the benefit of that aid. Entrepreneurs have started a record number of small businesses who have created jobs at a rapid pace. Small firms have paved the way for some of the lowest unemployment rates in recent times and we got more news, good news last week as annual inflation dropped to 3 percent. Despite the success of the pandemic relief programs, we know bad actors took advantage of the programs. Last week, we learned from the IG and SBA the extent of that fraud. And while the numbers are vastly different, we must work together to recover fraudulent funds and ensure we learn best practices for the next global catastrophe. That is why I support this legislation to require the SBA and OIG to submit quarterly reports detailing the amount of fraud. I also support legislation requiring SBA to issue clear guidance for borrowers, lenders, and financial institutions on how to return PPP funds and implement a process for SBA to track the returned funds. But, our work does not end with the pandemic oversight as we have many other challenges facing our small business community. That is why I plan to lend my support to the bills we are marking up today to help veterans, small contractors, and innovators. It is important to note that we did not see eye to eye on these bills at the beginning of the process, but through hard work of the Chairman, bill sponsors, and Committee staff on both sides of the aisle we were able to reach a compromise. And while I am proud of those achievements, it is disappointing we failed to reach an agreement on one bill, but it is my hope that we can continue to work through those differences. Thank you, and I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. Thank you. Now, does any other Member seek recognition for the purpose of making an opening statement? Okay. Seeing none, we will now move to the consideration of the first bill. H.R. 4666 The first bill we will mark up today is H.R. 4666, a bill to require the SBA OIG to submit quarterly reporters on PPP and EIDL fraud introduced by Mr. Bean and Mr. Mfume. I now recognize the bill's sponsor, Mr. Bean for a statement. Mr. BEAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And a very good morning to you. And good morning, Small Business Committee. I am fired up to introduce the PPP/EIDL Fraud Report Act of 2023, alongside my good friend from Maryland, Mr. Mfume. This bill will require the inspector general of the SBA to submit a report to Congress every quarter that provides detailed updates concerning the ongoing fraud investigations of the PPP and EIDL loan program. Most importantly, Members, it will ensure that the recently released report of the pandemic loan fraud program will not be swept under the rug. Specifically, the report shall include the dollar amount of all loans covered that were made, the number of new fraud cases, suspected fraud cases, the type of fraud identified in those cases, and the number of fraud cases resolved to date. Members, this stems from the shocking report and the jaw- dropping meeting that we had last week where the inspector general came and talked about the tremendous fraud that is now becoming apparent over the COVID program. It included $200 billion in potentially fraudulent COVID-19 loans that were distributed by the SBA. The same report at that meeting, we learned that there were more than 250,000 OIG Hotline complaints received since the start of the pandemic, and more than 90,000 of these cases are suspected to have fraud. It represents--are you ready for this? Did you hear it last week? I will repeat it again. It is over 100 years of casework. And so, we asked the inspector general. He said I am going to climb that mountain. Together, we can do it. We want to be kept in the loop. And so, 100 years of investigative casework. It only happens in crazy town right here in D.C. And by the way, one in five, if you are playing along at home and you want to do the math, one in five loans are suspect of having fraud. One in five. As the inspector general continues working on the tens of thousands of investigative leads on the fraud, it is important for Congress to be kept up to date and that is what this bill will do. To close, Mr. Chairman and Members, I want to say to all the fraudsters and thieves that stole our money, we are coming after you. And so, to come after you, we need to be kept up. We are going to prosecute. We are going to get our money back and we are going to move forward. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation. And Mr. Chairman, I yield back the remainder of my time. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. And now are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for a statement on H.R. 4666? Mr. MEUSER. Mr. Chairman, I ask to be recognized. Chairman WILLIAMS. You are recognized. Mr. MEUSER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As we discussed earlier in our hearing last week, the SBA's inspector general detailed in his report that $200 billion of pandemic loan dollars were potentially obtained fraudulently. This number includes $64 billion or 8 percent of PPP and $136 billion or 44 percent of the EIDL loans. We are thankful for the inspector general's work investigating potential fraud in these programs, as well as tracking down or recovering those who have committed this fraud. This legislation would simply require the inspector general to report updated information on his ongoing fraud investigations to Congress on a quarterly basis. This Committee very much needs to take very seriously our role in overseeing the SBA's loan programs, especially the fraud that existed in these elite programs and pursue the bad actors, bring them to justice, who fraudulently obtained the tax dollars of our constituents and the American people. I think we all should be very concerned and curious and accept as our responsibility what were the entities that committed the fraud. Were they particular banks? Were they outliers? Who are the criminals? Where are the gaps in the system and what type of penalties will take place to send a message that this will not be tolerated? So, I thank my colleague, Mr. Bean from Florida for his leadership on this legislation. I urge my colleagues to support its passage, and I look forward to its swift consideration on the House floor. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back. Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for a statement on H.R. 4666? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chair? Chairman WILLIAMS. You are recognized, Ranking Member. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to start off by thanking Representatives Bean and Mfume for introducing H.R. 4666, which will better enable this Committee to fulfill its oversight responsibilities. During a worldwide pandemic of impressive proportions in which our nation and our world were on the brink of economic peril, the SBA stepped in and acted as a lifeline to keep America's small businesses to remain open. Through PPP, EIDL, and other COVID-related programs, the SBA distributed more than $1.2 trillion in economic aid and executed 14 years of lending in 14 days. During these unprecedented times, the SBA weakened and removed its internal controls to disburse funds as quickly as possible. Organized criminal syndicates, transnational gangs, and other criminals exploited this weakened control in order to steal from the American people. The legislation we are considering here today will help this Committee better understand the data. This legislation requires the SBA inspector general to send periodic reports to this Committee for the next 2 years with detailed information regarding the status of fraud cases, as well as the number of cases that has been resolved. While one dollar in fraudulent activity is certainly one dollar too many, I think it is important to consider how our work here today will help this Committee continue our effort to root out fraud where it exists. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. Thank you, Ranking Member. And I now recognize myself to speak in support of this legislation. I agree with the gentleman from Florida that it is essential for Congress to be informed regularly of ongoing investigations concerning COVID-19 pandemic lending fraud. The need for this bill was demonstrated last week during our Committee hearing where we examined two recent reports that investigated fraud in the COVID-19 pandemic lending program. These contradicting reports, one from the SBA's Office of Inspector General and the other from the Small Business Administration, raised serious concerns. The SBA Inspector General report concluded the SBA disbursed more than $200 billion in potentially fraudulent loans through pandemic relief programs while the SBA reported that the fraud in these programs is closer to $36 billion. This massive discrepancy, more than $160 billion, demands answers. And I greatly appreciate the work that the Office of Inspector General has done thus far to begin uncovering the extent of this fraud, including appearing before the Committee last week to answer questions from our Members about their findings. I want to again voice my total disappointment that the SBA Administrator Guzman declined her invitation to be part of the conversation and answer questions about both the IG report and the SBA's findings. For such an important topic involving the abuse of billions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars, Americans deserve answers, they deserve better, which is what this bill sets to accomplish. I want to thank my colleague from Florida, Mr. Bean, and my colleague from Maryland, Mr. Mfume, for introducing this bill. I also urge my colleagues to support it. If there is no further discussion, the Committee now moves to consideration of H.R. 4666. The clerk will report. The CLERK. H.R. 4666, to require the Inspector General---- Chairman WILLIAMS. Without objection, H.R. 4666 is considered as read and open for amendment. Does anyone wish to offer an amendment? All right. Seeing none, the question is now on adoption of H.R. 4666 and ordering it favorably reported to the House. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. And H.R. 4666 is agreed to and ordered favorably to the House. Mr. BEAN. Mr. Chairman? Chairman WILLIAMS. Mr. Bean, for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition? Mr. BEAN. Mr. Chairman, for the purpose of requesting a recorded vote. Chairman WILLIAMS. A recorded vote has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House Rule 11, further proceedings on this bill are postponed. H.R. 4667 The next bill we will mark up today is H.R. 4667, The RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act introduced by Ms. Salazar and Mr. McGarvey. I now recognize the bill's sponsor, Ms. Salazar, for an opening statement. Ms. SALAZAR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This bill, The RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds of 2023 requires the Small Business Administration, the SBA, to establish processes to account for fraudulent and unused PPP loans as recommended by the inspector general who we spoke to last week in this Committee. The SBA will work with the Treasury Department to make sure those funds are returned to the taxpayers now, as soon as possible. Last year, the inspector general found that the SBA did not have the ability to handle fraudulent PPP loans, and today, inquiries from borrowers and lenders have gone unanswered. And as a result, hard-earned taxpayer dollars in the millions are being wasted. This bill addresses this problem immediately by requiring the SBA to establish guidance for borrowers and lenders to return the money now. While the Committee continues to uncover the extent of the fraud in the PPP loans, I urge my colleagues to support this common-sense bill that is a step towards restoring integrity to government lending and dignity back to the taxpayers. I want to thank Representative McGarvey from Kentucky in joining me on this legislation, and I ask my colleagues to vote yes on The RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act. I yield back, Mr. Chairman. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. I now recognize the bill's co-sponsor, Mr. McGarvey, for an opening statement. Okay. Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for a statement on H.R. 4667? Okay. Seeing none, I would like to recognize the Ranking Member to speak on the bill. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. While Mr. Bean and Mr. Mfume's legislation will enable us to oversee the investigation and prosecution of potentially fraudulent PPP loans, Representatives Salazar and Mr. McGarvey's legislation will help ensure any unused PPP funds are properly returned to the American taxpayer. H.R. 4667 requires the SBA to issue guidance and rules for lenders and borrowers on how they are to handle and return unused PPP loans to the SBA. Importantly, this legislation directs SBA to issue detailed guidance for financial institutions on how they are to return PPP funds even if they suspect the borrower acquired the funds through fraudulent means. The IGs May report points to the SBA lack of guidance, regulations, and ability to account for return PPP funds as a central obstacle for lenders and borrowers returning unused PPP funds to the administration. The lack of guidance and regulation has led to confusion for borrowers and lenders, leaving some lenders to even inform borrowers that the SBA could not accept funds. This bill resolves the problem by codifying the IG's recommendation and requiring the SBA to establish clear and detailed guidance. The legislation will also require the SBA to establish a process on how it will deposit unused funds in the Treasury Department's general fund. I want to thank Ms. Salazar and Mr. McGarvey for introducing this important piece of legislation. I also want to thank Chair Williams and his team for incorporating many of our suggestions and working with our side in a bipartisan manner. I think this has resulted in a better outcome. I urge my colleagues to support the bill. I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. Thank you, Ranking Member. And I now recognize myself to speak in support of this legislation. H.R. 4667, a bill to require the SBA administrator to issue guidance on the return of PPP funds is a measure to begin restoring integrity in government lending. As we learned from the inspector general over the last few weeks, of the $1.2 trillion in taxpayer money that was designed to be disbursed into small businesses during the pandemic, at least $200 billion, or 17 percent, is suspected to have been fraudulently disbursed and this is unacceptable. As we continue to dig our way through the mountains of data to fully understand the scope of this fraud, there are actions that can be taken now to claw back some of the potentially fraudulent money, actions which have been recommended to the SBA more than once by the inspector general. In May of this year, the inspector general reported that two financial institutions have frozen about $95 million in PPP loan deposits that they suspected of fraudulent activity. However, these institutions have not returned these taxpayer funds to the government because they did not have sufficient guidance on how to do so. This problem is long overdue for a solution, and I agree with the gentlelady from Florida that her bill addresses this problem head-on by requiring the SBA to heed the inspector general's recommendations and establish proper guidance to accept, process, and account for potentially fraudulent and unused PPP loan funds. I want to thank my colleague from Florida, Ms. Salazar, and my colleague from Kentucky, Mr. McGarvey, for introducing this bill. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4667. If there is no further discussion, the Committee now moves to consideration of H.R. 4667. The clerk will report. The CLERK. H.R. 4667, to require the Administrator---- Chairman WILLIAMS. Without objection, H.R. 4667 is considered as read and open for amendment. Does anyone wish to offer an amendment? All right. Seeing none, the question is now on adoption of H.R. 4667 and ordering it favorably reported to the House. All those in favor say aye. All opposed say no. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. And H.R. 4667 is agreed to and ordered favorably to the House. Ms. SALAZAR. Yeah. I would like to ask for a recorded vote. Chairman WILLIAMS. A Member asked for a recorded vote. A recorded vote has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House Rule 11, further proceedings on the bill are postponed. H.R. 4480 The next bill we will mark up is H.R. 4480, the SERV Act introduced by Ms. Davids and Mr. Alford. I now recognize the bill's sponsor, Ms. Davids, for an opening statement. Ms. DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Our nation's veterans are uniquely prepared to become entrepreneurs and to lead small businesses. Military experience helps to develop highly transferable training and skills that have prepared them for leadership roles in the private sector. But veterans also face specific challenges in developing and starting a business. One significant obstacle being lack of access to capital, forcing many small businesses to turn to alternative or online lenders which can be more expensive than traditional sources. And while this challenge exists certainly for all potential entrepreneurs and small business owners, it can be especially difficult for veterans who often have trouble accruing the credit necessary to attract and attain capital. The U.S. Small Business Administration works closely with the VA and the Department of Defense on several excellent programs specifically designed to help our veterans transition to civilian life and to entrepreneurship. But as veterans who recently testified in this Committee could attest, those programs are not always as easy to find as they should be. These are problems the SERV Act is working to address. This bill would commission a Government Accountability Office report on the ability of veterans and reservists to access capital and credit which are crucial building blocks to opening a business. This report would include analysis on common sources of credit and how deployment of our service members affects their individual credit. This bill also requires an interagency taskforce to develop an action plan for greater outreach of the programs that already exist for veterans transitioning into the business world. That taskforce would report its findings annually to Congress on how the SBA can better support our veterans, service-disabled veterans, and our reservists. Our service members and their families already sacrifice a lot for our country, and it is definitely our duty to support them however we can, both during and after their service. And while programs through the SBA are just one part of that overall support, our veterans should absolutely be able to utilize them and grow their businesses to take care of their families and contribute to our economy. I want to also thank Representative Alford for his partnership in introducing this bill and I would encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of the SERV Act and support successful entrepreneurship for our veterans. With that I yield my time. Thank you. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. And thank you. I now recognize the bill's cosponsor, Mr. Alford, for an opening statement. Mr. ALFORD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I rise today to speak in favor of the Successful Entrepreneurship for Reservists and Veterans Act, also known as the SERV Act. Representative Davids of Kansas and I are cosponsoring this important legislation because our nation's veterans have a tremendous impact within our small business community. The skills veterans gain in the military make them leaders uniquely positioned to start and grow successful businesses. Unfortunately, veterans often face barriers when starting or growing their business which can feel insurmountable at times. You know, back in May we were in this very room, and we heard from Missouri's own Lieutenant Commander Taylor Burks. We heard how the lack of awareness of resources available to veterans and access to capital are major barriers and we need to change that. The SERV Act seeks to identify these barriers and directs the interagency task force on veteran small business development to create an action plan to improve outreach to veterans informing them of available resources. Our veterans deserve the SERV Act, and I ask that you vote yes on the SERV Act. And I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for a statement on H.R. 4480? All right. Seeing none, I would like to recognize the Ranking Member to speak on the bill. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to thank both Ms. Davids and Mr. Alford for calling on GAO, one of the most highly regarded organizations in our federal government to produce a fact-based, independent report and also requiring the SBA to develop an outreach plan to increase awareness of their vital programs. I want to thank them and the Chairman and the staff for working on this legislation and I urge a yes vote. And I yield back my time. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. And let me say H.R. 4480, the Successful Entrepreneurship for Reserves and Veterans Act of 2023 ensures our nation's veterans and reservists receive the assistance they need when they look to start a small business of their own. This legislation orders the Government Accountability Office to study and report on credit access to veteran and reservist small businesses. It also orders the interagency task force on veteran small business development to develop and report a plan to promote programs to veterans. Our nation's veterans and reservists have dedicated their lives to fighting for this country and it is vital that we provide them with the resources they need to become successful entrepreneurs. I, like many of my colleagues, represent military bases in my district and I understand just how important it is that these resources are accessible. I want to thank my distinguished Committee colleagues, Representatives Davids and Alford, for introducing and cosponsoring this bill. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4480. If there is no further discussion, the Committee now moves to consideration of H.R. 4480. The clerk will report. The CLERK. H.R. 4480, to require the Administrator---- Chairman WILLIAMS. Without objection, H.R. 4480 is considered as read and open for amendment. Does anyone wish to offer an amendment? Okay. Seeing none, the question is now on adoption of H.R. 4480 and ordering it favorably reported to the House. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. And H.R. 4480 is agreed to and ordered favorably to the House. Ms. DAVIDS. Mr. Chairman? Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member is recognized. Ms. DAVIDS. I would like to request a recorded vote, please. Chairman WILLIAMS. A recorded vote has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House Rule 11, further proceedings on the bill are now postponed. H.R. 4670 The next bill we will mark up is H.R. 4670, The Small Business Contracting Transparency Act of 2023. It is introduced by Ms. Houlihan and Mr. Stauber. I now recognize the bill's cosponsor, Mr. Stauber, for an opening statement. Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to speak in favor of The Small Business Contracting Transparency Act. The Small Business Administration is charged with ensuring that only eligible firms are participating in the women-owned small business contracting program, HUB-Z program, and recently added service-disabled, veteran-owned small business program. These programs are essential for fostering economic growth and providing opportunities for small businesses to thrive. Government agencies set aside contract opportunities for small businesses in these programs. Delays in certifying or recertifying procedures can have devastating consequences for these entrepreneurs. This is a critical issue that affects small businesses in Minnesota and across our nation. Unfortunately, there is limited information from the SBA about certification and subsequent recertification processes. Additionally, the SBA recognizes women-owned small business certifications from third-party certifiers which further lessens transparency. The Small Business Contracting Transparency Act would bring much needed insight into the activities of certifying these firms, what fees are being charged, and whether SBA is meeting its requirements. By supporting the Small Business Contracting Transparency Act, you will not only provide valuable assistance to small businesses but also ensure accountability and effectiveness in the administration of these programs. I ask that we all vote yes on The Small Business Contracting Transparency Act, and I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. And I now recognize Ms. Scholten for a statement. Ms. SCHOLTEN. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am proud to speak as an original cosponsor of The Small Business Contracting Transparency Act sponsored by Congresswoman Houlihan and Congressman Stauber. The federal government spends almost half a trillion annually on the purchase of goods and services needed for its daily operation. Yet, the federal marketplace is a hard space to break into, especially for small business owners. The Small Business Administration plays an important role in ensuring that small businesses owned by women, veterans, and economically disadvantaged individuals are able to compete in the federal procurement process. In doing so, SBA tracks where federal procurement dollars go in the small business procurement scorecard. However, the scorecard includes small businesses that self-certify, as well as small businesses that are formally certified by the SBA. The Office of the Inspector General has raised concerns on false self-certification, which is why the SBA has made steps towards addressing this issue. As of October 2022, SBA's dynamic small business search database included almost 150,000 firms that self-certified as small and disadvantaged businesses. This bill would ensure that the SBA is acquiring up-to-date data on where federal procurement dollars are going. It would require SBA to provide information to Congress on the implementation of contracting certification changes to the women-owned small business contracting program, the HUBZone program, and the service-disabled, veteran-owned small business program. As Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure, this additional data will inform my Subcommittee's work to ensure that all small businesses are able to compete in the federal procurement space. I urge Members to vote yes on this important legislation. Thank you, Chair. I yield back the remainder of my time. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. And are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for a statement on H.R. 4670? Okay. Seeing none I would like to recognize the Ranking Member to speak on the bill. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Chairman Williams. And thank you to Ms. Houlihan, Mr. Stauber, and Ms. Scholten for their collaboration on H.R. 4670. Empowering female entrepreneurs, and specifically boosting small women-owned companies in the federal marketplace continues to be a top Committee and personal priority. One way we do this is by conducting proper oversight of the tools available to SBA that are designed to level the playing field for women-owned government contracting firms. The WOSB program is one such tool and a critically important program. Given the delays in setting up the certification program at issue in this bill, additional oversight is granted. This legislation will help maintain the integrity of the program and ensure it works for women business owners as intended. That is why I am pleased to support it, and I appreciate the bipartisan work to build in the HUBZone and SD/VOSB programs. They face similar issues and will benefit from additional oversight as well. Thank you. I urge a yes vote and I yield back my time. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. And now I want to recognize myself to speak in support of this legislation. This bill requires the SBA to provide a report on certification activities and contract awards within the women- owned small business, HUBZones, and service-disabled, veteran- owned small business programs. It holds the SBA accountable by promoting greater transparency and ensures the SBA is doing everything it can to make sure that small businesses participating in contracting programs are truly eligible and that those eligible are being recertified in an adequate amount of time and not stuck in the slow, inefficient bureaucratic process. I want to thank my colleagues from Pennsylvania, Ms. Houlihan and my colleague from Minnesota, Mr. Stauber, for introducing this bill. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. If there is no further discussion, the Committee now moves to consideration of H.R. 4670. The clerk will report. The CLERK. H.R. 4670, to amend the Small Business Act to require---- Chairman WILLIAMS. Without objection, H.R. 4670 is considered as read and open for amendment. Does anyone wish to offer an amendment? Seeing none, the question is now on adoption of H.R. 4670 and ordering it favorably reported to the House. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. And H.R. 4670 is agreed to and ordered favorably to the House. Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Chair, I would ask for a recorded vote. Chairman WILLIAMS. A recorded vote has been asked and requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House Rule 11, further proceedings on this bill are postponed. H.R. 4668 This next bill we will mark up is H.R. 4668, the POST IT Act introduced by Mr. Molinaro and Ms. Scholten. I now recognize the bill's sponsor. Mr. Molinaro is not here so I will speak for him. He is unable to join us right now, but I would ask unanimous consent for his remarks as prepared for delivery be entered into the record. Without objection, so ordered. Now, are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for a statement on H.R. 4668? All right. Seeing none, I would like to recognize the Ranking Member to speak on the bill. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you. And thank you to Mr. Molinaro and Ms. Scholten for working together on the introduction of the POST IT Act. In the last Congress, our Committee approved the One Stop Shop Act which required the Office of the National Ombudsman to create and maintain a centralized website with hyperlinks to small business compliance guidance. The legislation was enacted into law and SBA recently launched the website which will make it easier for small businesses to comply with federal rules and regulations. The bill we are considering today will build upon that work by requiring the Ombudsman to publish links to guidance documents for rules that have been certified to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of entities. As we know, guidance documents helped inform small businesses of regulations, but they can oftentimes be difficult to find. Having a centralized site with hyperlinks to guidance documents affecting small businesses will save entrepreneurs a significant amount of time. I want to thank the sponsors of the legislation for working together in a bipartisan way to craft a bill that we can all support. Thank you and I yield back my time. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Ranking Member yields back. I now recognize myself to speak in support of this legislation. The POST IT Act is an important step in simplifying the process for small businesses to comply with agency guidance. While allowing great entrepreneurs to spend more time building their businesses and less on complying with needless regulations main street can succeed. I want to thank my colleague from New York, Mr. Molinaro, and my colleague from Michigan, Ms. Scholten for introducing this bill. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4668. If there is no further discussion, the Committee now moves to consideration of H.R. 4668. The clerk will report. The CLERK. H.R. 4668, to amend the Small Business Act---- Chairman WILLIAMS. Without objection, H.R. 4668 is considered as read and open for amendment. Does anyone wish to offer an amendment? Seeing none, the question is now on adoption of H.R. 4668 and ordering it favorably reported to the House. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. And H.R. 4668 is agreed to and ordered favorably to the House. Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chairman? Chairman WILLIAMS. For what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition? Mr. CRANE. I request a recorded vote. Chairman WILLIAMS. A recorded vote has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House Rule 11, further proceedings on this bill are postponed. H.R. 4669 The next bill we will mark up today is H.R. 4669, the DOE and SBA Research Act introduced by Mr. LaLota and Mr. Thanedar. I now recognize the bill's sponsor, Mr. LaLota, for an opening statement. Mr. LALOTA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, as you know, the federal contracting process is incredibly complex. So complex in some cases the process frustrates and drowns small business from applying for and being granted federal contracts. My bill, the Department of Energy and Small Business Administration Research Act, aims to make the process a bit more simple. The Department of Energy is one of the largest procurers of small businesses goods and services in the entire government. Through national laboratories, small businesses can play a critical role in executing DOE's mission. My district is home to one of these labs, the Brookhaven National Lab, and our lab prioritizes working with small businesses. Suffolk County small businesses and Brookhaven have created a mutually beneficial relationship based on cooperative research and technical assistance. Despite this, far too often we hear about the difficulties which small businesses have when trying to work with the federal government. In many cases the issue begins with agencies not reaching enough small businesses. The problems continue with an application process that is bureaucratic and frustrating. My DOE and SBA Research Act seeks to remedy this problem by requiring the SBA and national labs to collaborate to ensure that small businesses are better utilized. Working with the government can be a maze, and this bill will help bring existing resources and opportunities to innovative small businesses. I ask that my colleagues vote yes on my bill, the DOE and SBA Research Act. Mr. Chairman, I yield back my time. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for a statement on H.R. 4669? All right. Seeing none, I would like to recognize the Ranking Member to speak on the bill. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to lend my support to the DOE and SBA Research Act led by Representative Nick LaLota and Mr. Thanedar. The legislation will allow SBA and DOE to carry out crosscutting and collaborative research and development activities. Investments in research and development is absolutely critical to providing high paying jobs for Americans and ensuring our country remains competitive. By increasing coordination between the two federal agencies, we will be able to maximize the effectiveness of our nation's premier federal research and development programs. I applaud Mr. LaLota and Mr. Thanedar for their bipartisan work, and I ask my colleagues to support the legislation. I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Ranking Member yields back. And I now recognize myself to speak in support of this legislation. This Committee continues to hear from small business owners how complex, difficult, and burdensome working with the government can be. With greater collaboration, SBA and DOE can improve the inclusion of small businesses through the mission of the national labs. This bill will improve coordination, outreach, and utilization of resources to better reach small businesses in need of support. Small businesses bring unique and invaluable experience to research and development. I want to thank my colleagues from New York, Mr. LaLota, and my colleague from Michigan, Mr. Thanedar, for introducing this bill. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. And if there is no further discussion, the Committee enow moves to consideration of H.R. 4669. The clerk will report. Mr. Thanedar, you are recognized for a statement. Mr. THANEDAR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Today I am voicing my strong support of the DOE and SBA Research Act, recognizing the indispensable role it will play in enhancing collaboration among the Small Business Administration and the Department of Energy, all in the name of improving research and developmental efforts. Let's not forget small businesses form the backbone of this country. The innovation we stimulate within this sector is not just important; it is vital for America's future. This legislation does not simply propose research collaborations. It carves a path for our small businesses to spearhead progress. This act goes one step further. It mandates a collaborative report within 2 years of its enactment. This is not just a bureaucratic requirement; it is an essential stride towards maintaining the transparency and accountability we owe to the people. This report will empower us to monitor, and comprehend the effectiveness of our research collaborations, providing us with the opportunity to revise and refine strategies as necessary. I am excited. I am a researcher myself having authored an SBIR grant that I won when I was an entrepreneur running my research-based business. So, I am excited. I hope you share my enthusiasm at the prospect of the growth and broadening of technical capabilities that the DOE and SBA Research Act promises to bring to our agencies. But let's always keep sight of the ultimate goal of this legislation, creating high paying jobs for our fellow Americans and safeguarding our nation's competitive edge on the global stage. Remember, this is not just about legislation. It is about our future. It is about empowering our workforce and about asserting and maintaining our role as a beacon of technology and innovation in a world that looks to us for leadership. Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. Now, if there is no further discussion, the Committee now moves to consideration of H.R. 4669. The clerk will report. The CLERK. H.R. 4669, to provide for department---- Chairman WILLIAMS. Without objection, H.R. 4669 is considered as read and open for amendment. Does anyone wish to offer an amendment? Okay. Seeing none, the question is now on adoption of H.R. 4669 and ordering it favorably reported to the House. All those in favor say aye. All opposed say no. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it and H.R. 4669 is agreed to and ordered favorably to the House. Mr. LALOTA. Mr. Chairman? Chairman WILLIAMS. Seek recognition? Mr. LALOTA. Mr. Chairman, I request a recorded vote, please. Chairman WILLIAMS. A recorded vote has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House Rule 11, further proceedings on the bill are postponed. H.R. 4671 The next bill we will mark up is H.R. 4671, a bill to reform corrective action reports introduced by Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez and Mr. Meuser. I now recognize the bill's sponsor, Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez for an opening statement. Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Thank you, Chairman Williams, for the opportunity. And thank you, Representative Meuser, for leading this effort with me. The SBA is tasked with ensuring that small businesses are given a fair shot at competing for federal contracting dollars. These federal contracts can be an incredible financial opportunity for our nation's entrepreneurs, and Congress has established goals to award a percentage of all prime and subcontracts to women-owned small businesses, small, disadvantaged businesses, service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses, and HUBZone certified small businesses. When federal agencies do not meet these established small business goals, they are required to provide SBA with a corrective action plan that details the steps that the agency will take the next year to meet the unmet goals down the line. Many of these reports contain valuable information about the actions federal agencies are taking and intend to take to meet their small business contracting goals. But these reports are not standardized across agencies. In fact, many of them do not contain any oversight or accountability mechanisms at all for agencies that fail to meet their small business goals. My bill will correct these discrepancies across federal agencies by requiring all agencies to include information in these reports that will provide clarity about small businesses' participation as federal contractors and will hold the agencies accountable for hitting their small business benchmarks. I am grateful for Mr. Meuser's partnership on this bill, and I am looking forward to the Committee's support. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. Mr. Meuser is unable to join us right now, but I ask unanimous consent for his remarks as prepared for delivery being entered into the record. Without objection, so moved. Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for a statement on H.R. 4671? Okay. Seeing none I would like to recognize the Ranking Member to speak on this bill. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Chairman Williams. I am proud to support this bipartisan work by Ms. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Mr. Meuser on H.R. 4671 to give us the reporting necessary to hold federal agencies accountable for their efforts to grow small business success within the federal procurement marketplace. Many federal agencies meet or exceed their annual small business goal in certain categories. Many others do not. And most are unable year after year to ensure that women-owned businesses, HUBZone designated businesses, and businesses run by service-disabled veterans receive sufficient contracting opportunities. When they fail to meet their goals, agencies are required to tell SBA how they will improve. But then they move on and the next year they do it again without any oversight of the previous proposal. The changes in this bill hold agencies accountable by requiring them to tell SBA first if they did what they said they would do; and second, what happened as a result. And if it works, SBA will make that information available to us, to the administration and to other agencies so the proven methods can be shared and replicated. That is why I am pleased to support the bill and I appreciate the bipartisan work of the Committee to move it forward today. Thank you and I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Ranking Member yields back. And I now recognize myself to speak in support of this legislation. Declining participation of small businesses in the government contracting space is a major concern for this Committee. While more dollars than ever before have gone to small businesses, the number of small businesses winning contracts has continued to decline. This bill in part seeks to include additional reporting data to get a better picture of why this is occurring. I want to thank my colleague from Washington, Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez, and my colleague from Pennsylvania, Mr. Meuser, for introducing this bill. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. And if there is no further discussion, the Committee now moves to consideration of H.R. 4671. The clerk will report. The CLERK. H.R. 4671, to amend the Small Business---- Chairman WILLIAMS. Without objection, H.R. 4671 is considered as read and open for amendment. Does anyone wish to offer an amendment? Seeing none, the question is now on the adoption of H.R. 4671 and ordering it favorably reported to the House. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. And H.R. 4671 is agreed to. Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Mr. Chair? Mr. Chair, I ask for a recorded vote. Chairman WILLIAMS. A recorded vote has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House Rule 11, further proceedings on this bill are postponed. H.R. 3995 The final bill we will mark up today is H.R. 3995, The Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act introduced by Ms. Van Duyne. I now recognize this bill's sponsor, Ms. Van Duyne, for an opening statement. Ms. VAN DUYNE. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I have heard from countless small business owners back at home in North Texas, but also in this Committee as well as in field hearings that we have had across the country in Ways and Means. We have had witnesses hold up binders full of regulations that they must comply with from this administration and the message they tell us is clear--the businesses are drowning in regulatory red tape. I hope that my colleagues from both sides of the aisle can agree with me when I say that the House Committee on Small Business is committed to prioritizing the needs of our nation's job creators and their employees. My bill builds off the success of a Trump era policy which required two federal regulations to be rescinded for each new one issued. It is unfortunate that one of President Biden's first actions was to repeal this effective regulatory reduction act. According to a recent report, the Biden administration has added approximately $375 billion in regulatory costs per year. If you include his push to release and reduce student loan fees, that number goes up to $617 annually in costs. Mr. Chairman, I seek unanimous consent to enter into the record the Committee to Unleash Prosperity's report titled Burden is Back, comparing regulatory costs between Biden, Trump and Obama. Chairman WILLIAMS. Without objection. Ms. VAN DUYNE. Thank you very much. My bill will stop the unelected bureaucrats from continuing to inflict overreaching regulations on our small businesses. Specifically, my bill will require the SBA to ensure that for each fiscal year the cost of their own rulemaking is not greater than zero dollars. Further, it requires the SBA to publish a report on regulations issued by other federal agencies that impact small businesses. To be clear, this bill is not preventing agencies from adding additional regulations that are necessary and could improve small businesses. What it is doing is saying they can no longer continue to put layer upon layer of these regulatory burdens on our small businesses. I urge support of this legislation, and I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for a statement on H.R. 3995? Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Chair? Chairman WILLIAMS. Recognized. Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak in favor of H.R. 3995, the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act, a crucial piece of legislation that impacts small businesses including those in Minnesota. During the Trump administration, our government adopted the principle of one in, two out by repealing two regulations for every new one introduced. It created an environment that promoted economic growth and empowered small businesses to thrive. Under the current administration, this policy has been rescinded and replaced with an overregulation policy that has imposed nearly $360 billion in new regulatory costs on small businesses. Minnesota is known for its vibrant small business community, but the crushing regulatory policies implemented by this administration, paired with exorbitantly high inflation from their spending habits has left our small businesses across the nation struggling. By reducing excessive regulations, we will counter the actions of this administration, provide a favorable environment for small businesses to flourish, and reverse the economic trajectory of this country. The Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act requires the Small Business Administration to ensure that any new regulations from their agency does not impose a cost on small businesses. Additionally, it mandates that the SBA report on regulations issued by other federal agencies that directly impact small businesses. We recognize the vital role small businesses play in our economy and acknowledge their potential for growth and success. This bill is a step forward in promoting fairness, accountability, and responsible governance. It is essential that we support this bill to ensure the success and vitality of small businesses not only in Minnesota but all across the nation. I urge you all to join me in voting yes on H.R. 3995, the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act. So let us stand together in empowering our small business community and fostering an environment that nurtures innovation, job creation, and economic prosperity. And I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for a statement on H.R. 3995? All right. Seeing none, I would like to recognize the Ranking Member to speak on this bill. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Throughout my tenure on the Committee, I have tried very hard to work with my colleagues on both sides to put forth thoughtful bipartisan bills that will make life easier for small business owners. Today, we are considering a bill that will drive a wedge between the Members of this Committee who are all committed to helping small businesses. This bill mandating a zero or negative regulatory budget for SBA may sound good on the surface but it will have the practical effect of limiting the SBA from issuing any rules. As written, it will be incredibly difficult for SBA to adhere to it. Unfortunately, I will not be able to lend my support to the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act. Everyone on this Committee wants to lessen the burden of regulations on small businesses but this bill falls short, and it will have the practical effect of preventing the agency from issuing regulations to benefit small businesses. Because of the unintended consequences of the bill, I am opposed to the bill as drafted. Thank you, and I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Ranking Member yields back. And I now recognize myself to speak in support of this legislation. H.R. 3995 is a win for Main Street America. As an advocate for small business, the last thing the SBA should be doing is requiring them to be spending their hard-earned dollars on complying with their burdensome regulations and rules. This legislation is common sense and should pass this Committee with broad bipartisan support. I want to thank Ms. Van Duyne for her work on this legislation and I urge my colleagues to support this bill. If there is no further discussion, the Committee now moves to consideration of H.R. 3995. The clerk will report. The CLERK. H.R. 3995, to require the Administrator---- Chairman WILLIAMS. Without objection, 3995 is considered as read and open for amendment. There is an amendment in the nature of a substitute at the desk. The amendment has been pre-distributed to all Members. The clerk will report the amendment. The CLERK. Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 3995---- Chairman WILLIAMS. Without objection, the amendment is considered as read and the substitute will be considered as base text for the purpose of further amendment. I now recognize Ms. Van Duyne for a statement on her amendment. Ms. VAN DUYNE. My amendment makes conforming changes to ensure the bill complies with 1-18-4 protocols. And I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. Do any other Members wish to be recognized for a statement on the amendment? Okay. If none, does anyone wish to offer an amendment? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman? Chairman WILLIAMS. Ms. Velazquez will seek recognition. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. I have an amendment at the desk. Chairman WILLIAMS. For what purpose does the Ranking Member seek recognition? Okay, there is an amendment at the desk. The amendment has been pre-distributed to all Members. The clerk will designate the amendment. The CLERK. Amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 3995 offered by Ms. Velazquez. Strike section---- Chairman WILLIAMS. Without objection, the amendment is considered as read. Ranking Member Velazquez is recognized to explain her amendment. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The bill as written limits the ability of SBA to issue any sort of regulation even if the benefits outweigh the costs. SBA needs to issue regulations to update existing programs, issue disaster declarations, and even reduce recordkeeping requirements. This bill fails to define rules and explain which rules will be covered by a regulatory budget. Agencies may be able to estimate the cost of a regulation, but they do not have hard data on the costs that are imposed. It will require the agency to make assumptions that could turn out to be incorrect. There is nothing in the bill that clarifies how the agency is to implement a regulatory budget and is therefore impractical. Let's distill this issue into a real-world scenario. No small businesses will fail to upgrade a piece of their equipment if it only focuses on the cost. Small businesses are savvier than this bill implies, and they look at the whole picture, cost and benefit. I cannot support this bill because it could bring SBA's rulemaking to a halt and in turn limit its ability to improve its program and services. To that end, my amendment will strike the regulatory budget sections of the bill that are not workable and call for the most appropriate office, the Office of Advocacy, to report on the costs and benefits of rules to small businesses. After the report is issued, we will have a better understanding of the impact a regulatory budget will have on small businesses. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, and I yield. Yeah, that will be it, Mr. Chairman. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Ranking Member yields back. And does anyone else wish to be recognized for a statement on Ms. Velazquez's amendment? Mr. PHILLIPS. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk as well. Chairman WILLIAMS. Recognized. Mr. PHILLIPS. Oh, I am sorry. Oh, it is on hers. I am sorry. Forgive me. Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay. Does anybody wish to be recognized for a statement on the amendment by Ms. Velazquez? Okay. Seeing none, I now recognize myself for a statement on Ms. Velazquez's amendment. While I appreciate this amendment recognizing agencies should be doing cost benefit analyses on their proposed rules, I am going to have to oppose the amendment because it undermines the intention of the congresswoman's bill. The purpose of the underlying legislation is to ensure agencies think twice before they continue to burden small businesses with new regulations. If they want to have a new rule that is going to be costly for businesses to comply, they must cut other regulations in order to pay for it. Businesses should not have to continually build increased compliance costs into their budget. The American Action Form tracks how much regulations have cost the private sector, and since President Biden took office, the estimated cost is over $375 billion dollars. This is not sustainable. We need to provide regulatory relief for small businesses and the underlying bill would begin to do just that. Again, I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment proposed by the Ranking Member. The question is now the Amendment 1 to H.R. 3995 offered by Ranking Member Velazquez. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. In the opinion of the Chair, the noes have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. I would like to request a recorded vote. Chairman WILLIAMS. A recorded vote has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House Rule 11, further proceedings on the amendment are postponed. Does anyone else wish to offer an amendment? Mr. PHILLIPS. Mr. Chairman, I now have an amendment at the desk. Chairman WILLIAMS. For what purpose does the gentleman-- okay, now there is an amendment at the desk by Mr. Phillips. This amendment has been pre-distributed to all Members. The clerk will designate the amendment. The CLERK. Amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 3995 offered by Mr. Phillips of Minnesota. Chairman WILLIAMS. Without objection, the amendment is considered as read. Mr. Phillips is recognized to explain his amendment. Mr. PHILLIPS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And let me associate myself with your remarks, ``That agencies should think twice before burdening small businesses with additional regulation.'' I do agree. I have owned a number of small businesses and understand firsthand. Let me tell you how overly burdensome regulation is bad for business. I think we all agree with that. Small enterprises often lack the resources to comply with directives from the federal government, especially compared to their larger competitors. And as Members of this Committee, it is critical that we advocate for the many millions of small businesses across the country and that includes being mindful of the impact of federal regulation on small business. So, I want to say I share common ground with you, Mr. Chairman, and my friend, Ms. Van Duyne, the author of the legislation. Where I disagree is that I believe it is far too blunt and rigid and would prove to be somewhat counterproductive to the intentions and the interests of small business. I think the narrower requirements of the proposed small business regulatory budget will hamstring the SBA in implementing even the most common-sense regulations, ultimately preventing the agency from carrying out its core mission. That is why I filed this amendment which proposes just a few practical changes that I think would provide a more measured approach to the matter at hand. It would require the SBA to simply ensure that the costs of its regulations do not exceed their benefits. Consistent with the stated goal of the legislation, the provision would prevent SBA rule makers from cutting into the bottom line of small businesses but calculate their impact on a more thoughtful and comprehensive way. Too many, I believe, characterize regulation as inherently negative but I believe that attitude is an oversimplification of the issue. To be sure, overregulation is bad but appropriate regulation I think we can all agree is essential. So, if we are going to measure the impact that regulations have on small business, we have to consider more than just half the equation. And I will just give you an example. Back to the early days of COVID-19 when we came together and passed the CARES Act and the all-important paycheck protection program. After the program was established, SBA issued an interim final rule to implement it. This rule technically imposed minor costs on small businesses through its recordkeeping and reporting requirements. But as I would like to think each of us on this Committee would agree, the benefits of the PPP program far, far outweighed those costs. But under the proposed rule before us, or legislation, the SBA's April 2020 rule for PPP would have been subject to the strict net zero cost requirement, meaning that the SBA would have had to find other regulations to cut in order to offset the cost of this essential rule even though the impact was clearly going to be overwhelmingly beneficial for small businesses in the country. Imposing this sort of requirement on SBA during the pandemic would have wasted valuable time and energy when our country and economy needed it most. Simply put, considering costs without benefits to me is nonsensical. My great-grandfather used to tell me, Dean, price is but one component of value. And I think that applies in this case as well. My amendment also offers an exemption for regulations issued during periods of national emergency and regulations that address fraud, waste, and abuse. Let me say it again. It would provide an exemption for regulations that address fraud, waste, and abuse. We need not look any further than just times of collective desperation when a future pandemic may come, armed conflict or other types of crises, we have to give the SBA the ability to act quickly and decisively when small businesses are facing great challenge. And when it comes to protecting the integrity of the SBA programs, we need not look further than last week's hearing with the Inspector General. When it comes to protecting the integrity of the SBA programs, we need not look further than last week's hearing with the inspector general to recognize the bipartisan consensus towards rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse at the SBA. I think all of us on this Committee want to see the SBA be better stewards of our taxpayer dollars. So, if the agency wants to issue a rule that would strengthen its internal controls or enforcement capabilities, we cannot let proposals like this underlying legislation stand in the way. Let me end by urging my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this amendment which would, I think, improve the legislation. The Committee has a long, proud history of bipartisanship and I think it would be more productive to put our heads together and find common ground rather than push this response to an issue that so many of us care deeply about. And let me just close by reading the amendment if I can find it, which I cannot. Here it is. Just very quickly. ``The Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall ensure that the costs of the small business regulatory budget for a fiscal year do not exceed the benefits except with respect rules relating to eliminating fraud, waste, or abuse, or in a fiscal year during which a national emergency is declared by the president under the National Emergencies Act.'' Those are the simple modifications. With that, Mr. Chairman, I ask for your support and yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. Does anyone else wish to be recognized for a statement on Mr. Phillips's amendment? Mr. Bean, you are recognized. Mr. BEAN. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. I did not think I would talk but I do want to talk because I want to tell everybody the official title of this bill is the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act. That is the official title. Let me give you the unofficial title. It is The Enough Act. Enough. Small business owners are saying enough. Because if you are playing along at home and keeping score, I just happen to have the score of what our current administration has loaded up on small business just in the past, what, 2-1/2 years since he has been in office, 375 billion. Three hundred seventy-five billion of new regulations that has been just dumped on the backbone of small America. Small business America is struggling. And anybody that has run a small business know even in an ideal situation it is hard, but when government is constantly putting barriers and new costs and expenses in your way it is a miracle, they survive at all. So today, let's pass the Enough Act, but let's not put a big loophole in there to give this administration just another excuse. That is what they want. They want another excuse, a loophole to continue to load up that big number that I have already given you. So, let's say enough. Let's say enough and pass this bill without any additional loopholes so our small businesses can get back to what they do best--invest, grow, and be Main Street America. I yield back, Mr. Chairman. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. Does anyone else wish to be recognized for a statement on Mr. Phillips's amendment? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman? Chairman WILLIAMS. I recognize Ranking Member. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. I support the amendment being offered by Mr. Phillips. It is vitally important that we look at both the costs and the benefits of rulemaking, as well as provide an exemption in the event of natural disaster. Most importantly, many of the regulations issued by SBA are necessary to safeguard taxpayers' dollars against waste, fraud, and abuse, and to preserve public confidence. My colleagues, we cannot have it both ways. We cannot. Here we are. We passed a bill today, the RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act. Guess what? It will require for SBA to issue guidance and regulations. So, the SBA could say that they will not implement this bill that we passed today because it does not fit into their regulatory budget. So be aware and be careful what you are calling for here today. SBA prioritizes small businesses and seeks to limit the regulatory burden for small employers. We must not limit their ability to make improvements to its program and that is why I support the amendment offered by Mr. Phillips. Mr. Chairman, yeah. That is it. Chairman WILLIAMS. You yield back? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Yes, I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. Does anyone wish to be recognized for a statement? Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Chair? Chairman WILLIAMS. Mr. Stauber? Mr. STAUBER. Just real brief comments. We are dealing with rulemaking by the SBA, not legislating from Congress to House, both the House and the Senate and the president. This is rulemaking from the SBA. I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. Anyone else recognized for a statement? All right. Seeing none I want to say, again, I appreciate everybody's remarks. I now recognize myself to speak against this amendment. At any given time, there are several presidentially declared national emergencies in effect. For instance, Executive Order No. 12978 was signed by President Clinton in October of 1995, and it invoked the National Emergencies Act cited in the Phillips Amendment to create a list of specifically designated narcotics traffickers that banks and credit units could not do business with. This is a national emergency that will probably live in perpetuity which would have the effect of rendering this entire bill moot. As such, we should reject the amendment. I urge all my colleagues to oppose this amendment. Now, the question is now on the Amendment 2 to H.R. 3995 offered by Mr. Phillips. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman, I would like to request a recorded vote. Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay. A recorded vote has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House Rule 11, further proceedings on the amendment are postponed. Does anyone else wish to offer an amendment? Ms. DAVIDS. Mr. Chairman? Chairman WILLIAMS. Ms. Davids is recognized. Ms. DAVIDS. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk. Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay. The amendment has been pre- distributed to all Members. The clerk will designate the amendment. The CLERK. Amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 3995 offered by Ms. Davids in Section 2, an insert---- Chairman WILLIAMS. The amendment is considered as read. Ms. Davids is recognized to explain her amendment. Ms. DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As Members of Congress, we have an obligation to ensure that small businesses across the country are supported and not hurt by regulatory guardrails. While some rules may be onerous for small firms and small companies, many provide immense benefits to these main street companies. And I do fear that the underlying piece of legislation that we are discussing may inadvertently fail to adequately consider how the Small Business Administration can support these companies, particularly our veteran-owned businesses and those promoting general workforce development. As of 2018, veterans owned nearly 2 million businesses in this country, employing over 5 million folks nationally. Those businesses recorded $1.3 trillion of sales that year boosting local economies across the entire country from coast to coast and certainly in the Midwest. Small businesses invest locally, create innovative jobs, teach folks new skills, and revitalize communities. And we need to make sure that regulations worked to unleash the true power of small businesses instead of handcuffing them with cumbersome rules passed by Congress. My main concern with this legislation is that it would only consider the costs of regulations and not the benefits for small businesses. My amendment is simple, but the cost and benefits should be considered. It would exclude SBA rules that promote workforce development or that benefit veteran-owned businesses from the effects of the underlying legislation. This will help former servicemembers start, operate, and grow their businesses. And it will ensure that we properly tackle workforce development challenges that our small businesses and employers are facing nationally. I hope that everyone here will vote in favor of my amendment to help improve this piece of legislation. Thank you, and I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. Does anyone else wish to be recognized for a statement on Ms. Davids's amendment? Okay. Seeing none---- Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman? Chairman WILLIAMS. I would like to recognize the Ranking Member to speak on this amendment. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you. I applaud Ms. Davids for offering an amendment to carve out veterans, service-disabled veterans and rules that promote workforce development from a regulatory budget. Over the course of the past 2 years, we have heard from numerous business owners about the benefits of workforce programs. They help businesses find skilled workers and prepare Americans for a better future without requiring individuals to make substantial financial investment in their future. We have also heard from countless veterans about the importance of SBA programs to their small businesses. We continually ask SBA to do more with less and programmatic regulatory enhancements are a part of addressing the very needs of veterans or providing workforce development resources all across the country. A regulatory budget will have the practical effect of grinding SBA rulemaking to a halt. I support this exemption for our nation's veterans and for rules that promote workforce development and thank Ms. Davids. Put simply, we owe a lot to our nation's veterans and cannot take any chances with the unintended consequences a regulatory budget will have at SBA. Thank you. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Ranking Member yields back. And I now recognize myself to speak against this amendment. I oppose this amendment because there seems to be a misunderstanding on how to help Main Street America. If we want to help our job creators, we need to create a business-friendly environment, so they grow and expand their operations. The gentlewoman's amendment seems to say to pass a new regulation that imposes a cost, you must first find a different regulation to repeal so we are not compounding these expenses on small business. So, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. Now the question is the Amendment 3 to H.R. 3995 offered by Ms. Davids. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. In the opinion of the Chair, the noes have it. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman, I would like to request a recorded vote. Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay. A recorded vote is requested, and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House Rule 11, further proceedings on the amendments are postponed. Does anyone else wish to offer an amendment? Ms. CHU. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk. Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay. There is an amendment at the desk from Ms. Chu. This amendment has been pre-distributed to all Members. The clerk will designate the amendment. The CLERK. Amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 3995 offered by Ms. Chu. Chairman WILLIAMS. The amendment is considered as read. Ms. Chu is recognized to explain her amendment. Ms. CHU. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment to H.R. 3995, The Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act. The underlying bill would prohibit the Small Business Administration from implementing any new regulations that might incur a cost on small businesses even if those regulations might have important benefits for small businesses; benefits which many times more than offset those costs. We all know that our most underserved small businesses, like those located in rural areas and those owned by women and minorities all too often struggle accessing the resources critical to starting and growing a business like capital and contracting opportunities. It is a core purpose of this Committee to close this gap in opportunity and resources for those underserved small businesses. And I have been proud to work towards this goal with many colleagues on both sides of the aisle. But we also rely on the SBA to be a partner in closing this gap and rulemaking can be a critical tool that they use to do this. But unfortunately, if left unchanged, this bill would effectively prevent the SBA from engaging in new rulemaking even if the proposed rule would have significant benefits for the disadvantaged small businesses most in need of assistance. My amendment would fix this by providing an exception to ensure that SBA is able to create new rules that will specifically help rural small businesses, women-owned firms, and those owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals which includes Black, Hispanic, Native, and Asian Pacific Americans and other minorities and any other disadvantaged individuals. I urge strong support for my amendment, and I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. Does anyone else wish to be recognized for a statement on Ms. Chu's amendment? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman? Ms. VAN DUYNE. Mr. Chairman? The CLERK. Ms. Van Duyne. Chairman WILLIAMS. Ms. Van Duyne? Ms. VAN DUYNE. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. You know, thoughtful regulations can be very beneficial but too often than not what we have seen is excessive regulations. They stifle businesses, they burden them with additional costs, and in some cases, they force them to lay off people or even shut their businesses. Now, does anybody remember the hearing where we had the witness who was a small business owner and he held up a 4-inch, 3-ring binder. And he said if you pass this regulation this is going to cost me over $100,000 a year. I am going to be forced to shut down. I, unlike larger businesses, do not have full- time staff that handles regulations. This will make me go to a halt. We will have to lay people off and possibly shut our doors. I had not seen businesses come before this Committee and say, you know what? We need more regulations. This is awesome. What we have seen is small businesses over and over again beg for our help to shrink regulations because they are killing them. Again, H.R. 3995 does not prevent the SBA from enacting additional regulations. It does not prevent it from updating regulations or introducing beneficial regulations. But what it does do is it forces it to be disciplined. It forces it to review old, outdated regulations or restrictions or duplicative regulations that do nothing but add costs, layer more burdens on small businesses, and increase the size of bureaucracy. We have heard from the Ranking Member that everyone here wants to lessen the burden on small businesses. When are we going to start? The Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act is a great first step and I urge support for this legislation, and I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. Does anyone else wish to be recognized for a statement on Ms. Chu's amendment? Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Chair? Chairman WILLIAMS. Mr. Stauber? Mr. STAUBER. Thank you very much. I do believe in my colleague's good intentions on this amendment but I am going to oppose it. One of the things that we talked about was $375 billion in the last 2-1/2 years. And the Chairman is right; I have not had one small business in my district that said, please, Washington, put more regulations on me. Put more regulations on the business that I run. I have not heard one. And to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, if you think we cannot reduce regulations I cannot find any company, small business in the district that I represent that can help the small business wipe out a regulation that has been harmful to them. I believe that there will be no problem if we brought in our small businesses across this great nation and said we can get rid of this one, this one, and this one. Listen, it is $375 billion coming out of COVID. And we talk about small businesses being the engine of our economy? If they are truly the engine of our economy, they are begging. We have had witnesses sit at the table. No more regulations. We have to listen to them. And I appreciate Representative Van Duyne for bringing this up and Mr. Chair, I appreciate your comments as well on that fourth administrative state. Unelected, unaccounted bureaucrats putting regulations on small businesses that have no idea the ramifications. They think it might be a good idea in the back rooms here in Washington, D.C., but when you get out to the small businessmen and women in this country they are saying enough is enough. Stop the regulations. This is a very common-sense piece of legislation, and I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Member yields back. Does anyone wish to be recognized for a statement on Ms. Chu's amendment? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman? Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay. I recognize the Ranking Member. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have been asked when are we going to start reducing regulations. We will start when we have a thoughtful approach that looks at both sides of the ledger--benefits and costs. It is just that simple. And, you know, this is clearly a messaging bill, but the bottom line is it is unworkable as drafted. Let's take, for example, the transitioning of VA to SBA, the veteran certification from VA to SBA. There are rules and regulations to make it effective. We should not be hindering SBA's efforts to provide more oversight to the contracting programs or make them stronger. I support the amendment being offered by my colleague, Ms. Chu, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. The Ranking Member yields back. I now recognize myself to speak against this amendment. I oppose this amendment on the same grounds as the previous amendment relating to veteran-owned small businesses. You cannot regulate economic growth. You can only hamper it. The Biden administration's disastrous regulatory agenda has left plenty of regulations on the table to be repealed if there is one new costly regulation that you truly believe is necessary. I oppose this amendment, and once again, I urge all my colleagues to do something that will actually help our nation's job creators and reduce the number of regulations that they must comply with. So, the question is now on the Amendment 4 to H.R. 3995 offered by Ms. Chu. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. In the opinion of the Chair, the noes have it and the amendment is not agreed to. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman, I would like to request a roll call vote. Chairman WILLIAMS. A recorded vote has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House Rule 11, further proceedings on the bill are postponed. Does anyone else wish to offer an amendment? Okay. Seeing none the question is now on the amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 3995 offered by Ms. Van Duyne. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. The amendment and the nature of the substitute to H.R. 3995 offered by Ms. Van Duyne is agreed to. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. I would like to request a roll call vote. Chairman WILLIAMS. A recorded vote has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House Rule 11, further proceedings on the amendment are postponed. The question is now on favorably reporting H.R. 3995 as amended to the House. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. H.R. 3995 as amended---- Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman, I would like to request a roll call vote. Chairman WILLIAMS. A recorded vote has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House Rule 11, further proceedings on the bill are postponed. The Committee now stands in recess subject to the call of the Chair. We will resume later today at 11:45. [Recess] Chairman WILLIAMS. The Committee will now resume consideration of the bills on which roll call votes were requested and postponed. We will start with H.R. 4666, a bill to require the SBA OIG to submit quarterly reports on PPP and EIDL fraud. The question now is adopting H.R. 4666 and ordering it favorably to the House. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer votes aye. Mr. Stauber? Mr. STAUBER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Stauber votes aye. Mr. Meuser? Mr. MEUSER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Meuser votes aye. Ms. Van Duyne? Ms. VAN DUYNE. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Van Duyne votes aye. Ms. Salazar? Ms. SALAZAR. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Salazar votes aye. Mr. Mann? Mr. MANN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mann votes aye. Mr. Ellzey? [No response.] Molinaro? Mr. MOLINARO. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Molinaro votes aye. Mr. Alford? Mr. ALFORD. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Alford votes aye. Mr. Crane? Mr. CRANE. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Crane votes aye. Mr. Bean? Mr. BEAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Bean votes aye. Mr. Hunt? Mr. HUNT. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Hunt votes aye. Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? Mr. MFUME. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mfume votes aye. Mr. Phillips? Mr. PHILLIPS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Phillips votes aye. Mr. Landsman? Mr. LANDSMAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Landsman votes aye. Mr. McGarvey? Mr. MCGARVEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. McGarvey votes aye. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez? Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez votes aye. Ms. Scholten? Ms. SCHOLTEN. Yes. The CLERK. Ms. Scholten votes aye. Mr. Thanedar? Mr. THANEDAR. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Thanedar votes aye. Ms. Chu? Ms. CHU. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Chu votes aye. Ms. Davids? Ms. DAVIDS. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Davids votes aye. Mr. Pappas? Mr. PAPPAS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Pappas votes aye. Ranking Member Velazquez? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes aye. Chairman Williams? Chairman WILLIAMS. Aye. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes aye. Chairman WILLIAMS. Mr. Ellzey? Mr. ELLZEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Ellzey votes aye. Chairman WILLIAMS. All right. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 26 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 present. Chairman WILLIAMS. H.R. 4666 is adopted and will be reported favorably to the House. The question is now on adopting H.R. 4667, the RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act and ordering it favorably reported to the House. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer votes aye. Mr. Stauber? Mr. STAUBER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Stauber votes aye. Mr. Meuser? Mr. MEUSER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Meuser votes aye. Ms. Van Duyne? Ms. VAN DUYNE. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Van Duyne votes aye. Ms. Salazar? Ms. SALAZAR. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Salazar votes aye. Mr. Mann? Mr. MANN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mann votes aye. Mr. Ellzey? Mr. ELLZEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Ellzey votes aye. Mr. Molinaro? Mr. MOLINARO. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Molinaro votes aye. Mr. Alford? Mr. ALFORD. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Alford votes aye. Mr. Crane? Mr. CRANE. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Crane votes aye. Mr. Bean? Mr. BEAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Bean votes aye. Mr. Hunt? Mr. HUNT. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Hunt votes aye. Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? Mr. MFUME. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mfume votes aye. Mr. Landsman? Mr. LANDSMAN. Aye. Mr. PHILLIPS. And aye. The CLERK. Mr. Phillips? Mr. PHILLIPS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Phillips votes aye and Mr. Landsman votes aye. Mr. McGarvey? Mr. MCGARVEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. McGarvey votes aye. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez? Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez votes aye. Ms. Scholten? Ms. SCHOLTEN. Yes. The CLERK. Ms. Scholten votes aye. Mr. Thanedar? Mr. THANEDAR. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Thanedar votes aye. Ms. Chu? Ms. CHU. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Chu votes aye. Ms. Davids? Ms. DAVIDS. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Davids votes aye. Mr. Pappas? Mr. PAPPAS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Pappas votes aye. Ranking Member Velazquez? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes aye. Mr. Chairman Williams? Chairman WILLIAMS. Aye. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes aye. Chairman WILLIAMS. All right. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 26 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 present. Chairman WILLIAMS. H.R. 4667 is adopted and will be reported favorably to the House. The question now is adopting H.R. 4480, the SERV Act and ordering it favorably reported to the House. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer votes aye. Mr. Stauber? Mr. STAUBER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Stauber votes aye. Mr. Meuser? Mr. MEUSER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Meuser votes aye. Ms. Van Duyne? Ms. VAN DUYNE. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Van Duyne votes aye. Ms. Salazar? Ms. SALAZAR. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Salazar votes aye. Mr. Mann? Mr. MANN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mann votes aye. Mr. Ellzey? Mr. ELLZEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Ellzey votes aye. Mr. Molinaro? Mr. MOLINARO. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Molinaro votes aye. Mr. Alford? Mr. ALFORD. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Alford votes aye. Mr. Crane? Mr. CRANE. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Crane votes aye. Mr. Bean? Mr. BEAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Bean votes aye. Mr. Hunt? Mr. HUNT. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Hunt votes aye. Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? Mr. MFUME. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mfume votes aye. Mr. Phillips? Mr. PHILLIPS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Phillips votes aye. Mr. Landsman? Mr. LANDSMAN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Landsman votes aye. Mr. McGarvey? Mr. MCGARVEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. McGarvey votes aye. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez? Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez votes aye. Ms. Scholten? Ms. SCHOLTEN. Yes. The CLERK. Ms. Scholten votes aye. Mr. Thanedar? Mr. THANEDAR. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Thanedar votes aye. Ms. Chu? Ms. CHU. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Chu votes aye. Ms. Davids? Ms. DAVIDS. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Davids votes aye. Mr. Pappas? Mr. PAPPAS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Pappas votes aye. Ranking Member Velazquez? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes aye. Chairman Williams? Chairman WILLIAMS. Aye. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes aye. Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 26 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 present. Chairman WILLIAMS. H.R. 4480 is adopted and will be reported favorably to the House. The question now is adopting H.R. 4670, The Small Business Contracting Transparency Act of 2023 and ordering it favorably reported to the House. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer votes aye. Mr. Stauber? Mr. STAUBER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Stauber votes aye. Mr. Meuser? Mr. MEUSER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Meuser votes aye. Ms. Van Duyne? Ms. VAN DUYNE. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Van Duyne votes aye. Ms. Salazar? Ms. SALAZAR. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Salazar votes aye. Mr. Mann? Mr. MANN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mann votes aye. Mr. Ellzey? Mr. ELLZEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Ellzey votes aye. Mr. Molinaro? Mr. MOLINARO. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Molinaro votes aye. Mr. Alford? Mr. ALFORD. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Alford votes aye. Mr. Crane? Mr. CRANE. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Crane votes aye. Mr. Bean? Mr. BEAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Bean votes aye. Mr. Hunt? Mr. HUNT. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Hunt votes aye. Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? Mr. MFUME. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mfume votes aye. Mr. Phillips? Mr. PHILLIPS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Phillips votes aye. Mr. Landsman? Mr. LANDSMAN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Landsman votes aye. Mr. McGarvey? Mr. MCGARVEY. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. McGarvey votes aye. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez? Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez votes aye. Ms. Scholten? Ms. SCHOLTEN. Yes. The CLERK. Ms. Scholten votes aye. Mr. Thanedar? Mr. THANEDAR. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Thanedar votes aye. Ms. Chu? Ms. CHU. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Chu votes aye. Ms. Davids? Ms. DAVIDS. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Davids votes aye. Mr. Pappas? Mr. PAPPAS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Pappas votes aye. Ranking Member Velazquez? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes aye. Chairman Williams? Chairman WILLIAMS. Aye. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes aye. Chairman WILLIAMS. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? Okay. Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 26 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 present. Chairman WILLIAMS. H.R. 4670 is adopted and will be reported favorably to the House. The question now is on adopting H.R. 4668, the POST IT Act and ordering it favorably reported to the House. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer votes aye. Mr. Stauber? Mr. STAUBER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Stauber votes aye. Mr. Meuser? Mr. MEUSER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Meuser votes aye. Ms. Van Duyne? Ms. VAN DUYNE. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Van Duyne votes aye. Ms. Salazar? Ms. SALAZAR. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Salazar votes aye. Mr. Mann? Mr. MANN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mann votes aye. Mr. Ellzey? Mr. ELLZEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Ellzey votes aye. Mr. Molinaro? Mr. MOLINARO. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Molinaro votes aye. Mr. Alford? Mr. ALFORD. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Alford votes aye. Mr. Crane? Mr. CRANE. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Crane votes aye. Mr. Bean? Mr. BEAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Bean votes aye. Mr. Hunt? Mr. HUNT. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Hunt votes aye. Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? Mr. MFUME. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mfume votes aye. Mr. Phillips? Mr. PHILLIPS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Phillips votes aye. Mr. Landsman? Mr. LANDSMAN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Landsman votes aye. Mr. McGarvey? Mr. MCGARVEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. McGarvey votes aye. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez? Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez votes aye. Ms. Scholten? Ms. SCHOLTEN. Yes. The CLERK. Ms. Scholten votes aye. Mr. Thanedar? Mr. THANEDAR. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Thanedar votes aye. Ms. Chu? Ms. CHU. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Chu votes aye. Ms. Davids? Ms. DAVIDS. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Davids votes aye. Mr. Pappas? Mr. PAPPAS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Pappas votes aye. Ranking Member Velazquez? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes aye. Chairman Williams? Chairman WILLIAMS. Aye. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes aye. Chairman WILLIAMS. All right. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 26 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 present. Chairman WILLIAMS. H.R. 4668 is adopted and will be reported favorably to the House. The question now is on adopting H.R. 4669, the DOE and SBA Research Act and ordering it favorably reported to the House. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer votes aye. Mr. Stauber? Mr. STAUBER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Stauber votes aye. Mr. Meuser? Mr. MEUSER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Meuser votes aye. Ms. Van Duyne? Ms. VAN DUYNE. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Van Duyne votes aye. Ms. Salazar? Ms. SALAZAR. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Salazar votes aye. Mr. Mann? Mr. MANN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mann votes aye. Mr. Ellzey? Mr. ELLZEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Ellzey votes aye. Mr. Molinaro? Mr. MOLINARO. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Molinaro votes aye. Mr. Alford? Mr. ALFORD. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Alford votes aye. Mr. Crane? Mr. CRANE. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Crane votes aye. Mr. Bean? Mr. BEAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Bean votes aye. Mr. Hunt? Mr. HUNT. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Hunt votes aye. Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? Mr. MFUME. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mfume votes aye. Mr. Landsman. Or, sorry. Mr. Phillips? Mr. PHILLIPS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Phillips votes aye. Mr. Landsman? Mr. LANDSMAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Landsman votes aye. Mr. McGarvey? Mr. MCGARVEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. McGarvey votes aye. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez? Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez votes aye. Ms. Scholten? Ms. SCHOLTEN. Yes. The CLERK. Ms. Scholten votes aye. Mr. Thanedar? Mr. THANEDAR. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Thanedar votes aye. Ms. Chu? Ms. CHU. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Chu votes aye. Ms. Davids? Ms. DAVIDS. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Davids votes aye. Mr. Pappas? Mr. PAPPAS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Pappas votes aye. Ranking Member Velazquez? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes aye. Chairman Williams? Chairman WILLIAMS. Aye. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes aye. Chairman WILLIAMS. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 26 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 present. Chairman WILLIAMS. H.R. 4669 is adopted and will be reported favorably to the House. The question now is on adopting H.R. 4671, The Corrective Action Report Oversight and Accountability Act and ordering it favorably reported to the House. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer votes aye. Mr. Stauber? Mr. STAUBER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Stauber votes aye. Mr. Meuser? Mr. MEUSER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Meuser votes aye. Ms. Van Duyne? Ms. VAN DUYNE. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Van Duyne votes aye. Ms. Salazar? Ms. SALAZAR. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Salazar votes aye. Mr. Mann? Mr. MANN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mann votes aye. Mr. Ellzey? Mr. ELLZEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Ellzey votes aye. Mr. Molinaro? Mr. MOLINARO. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Molinaro votes aye. Mr. Alford? Mr. ALFORD. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Alford votes aye. Mr. Crane? Mr. CRANE. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Crane votes aye. Mr. Bean? Mr. BEAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Bean votes aye. Mr. Hunt? Mr. HUNT. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Hunt votes aye. Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? Mr. MFUME. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mfume votes aye. Mr. Phillips? Mr. PHILLIPS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Phillips votes aye. Mr. Landsman? Mr. LANDSMAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Landsman votes aye. Mr. McGarvey? Mr. MCGARVEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. McGarvey votes aye. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez? Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez votes aye. Ms. Scholten? Ms. SCHOLTEN. Yes. The CLERK. Ms. Scholten votes aye. Mr. Thanedar? Mr. THANEDAR. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Thanedar votes aye. Ms. Chu? Ms. CHU. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Chu votes aye. Ms. Davids? Ms. DAVIDS. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Davids votes aye. Mr. Pappas? Mr. PAPPAS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Pappas votes aye. Ranking Member Velazquez? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes aye. Chairman Williams? Chairman WILLIAMS. Aye. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes aye. Chairman WILLIAMS. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 26 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 present. Chairman WILLIAMS. H.R. 4671 is adopted and will be reported favorably to the House. The question now is on Velazquez Amendment 1, Version 2 to H.R. 3995. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? Mr. LUETKEMEYER. No. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer votes nay. Mr. Stauber? Mr. STAUBER. No. The CLERK. Mr. Stauber votes nay. Mr. Meuser? Mr. MEUSER. No. The CLERK. Mr. Meuser votes nay. Ms. Van Duyne? Ms. VAN DUYNE. No. The CLERK. Ms. Van Duyne votes nay. Ms. Salazar? Ms. SALAZAR. No. The CLERK. Ms. Salazar votes nay. Mr. Mann? Mr. MANN. No. The CLERK. Mr. Mann votes nay. Mr. Ellzey? Mr. ELLZEY. No. The CLERK. Mr. Ellzey votes nay. Mr. Molinaro? Mr. MOLINARO. No. The CLERK. Mr. Molinaro votes no. Mr. Alford? Mr. ALFORD. Nay. The CLERK. Mr. Alford votes nay. Mr. Crane? Mr. CRANE. No. The CLERK. Mr. Crane votes nay. Mr. Bean? Mr. BEAN. No. The CLERK. Mr. Bean votes nay. Mr. Hunt? Mr. HUNT. No. The CLERK. Mr. Hunt votes nay. Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Nay. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes nay. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? Mr. MFUME. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mfume votes aye. Mr. Phillips? Mr. PHILLIPS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Phillips votes aye. Mr. Landsman? Mr. LANDSMAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Landsman votes aye. Mr. McGarvey? Mr. MCGARVEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. McGarvey votes aye. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez? Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez votes aye. Ms. Scholten? Ms. SCHOLTEN. Yes. The CLERK. Ms. Scholten votes aye. Mr. Thanedar? Mr. THANEDAR. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Thanedar votes aye. Ms. Chu? Ms. CHU. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Chu votes aye. Ms. Davids? Ms. DAVIDS. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Davids votes aye. Mr. Pappas? Mr. PAPPAS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Pappas votes aye. Ranking Member Velazquez? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes aye. Chairman Williams? Chairman WILLIAMS. Nay. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes nay. Chairman WILLIAMS. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 12 ayes, 14 nays, and 0 present. Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay. Velazquez Amendment 1, Version 2 to H.R. 3995 is not agreed to. The question now is on Phillips Amendment 1, Version 1 to H.R. 3995. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? Mr. LUETKEMEYER. No. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer votes no. Mr. Stauber? Mr. STAUBER. No. The CLERK. Mr. Stauber votes no. Mr. Meuser? Mr. MEUSER. No. The CLERK. Mr. Meuser votes no. Ms. Van Duyne? Ms. VAN DUYNE. No. The CLERK. Ms. Van Duyne votes no. Ms. Salazar? Ms. SALAZAR. No. The CLERK. Ms. Salazar votes no. Mr. Mann? Mr. MANN. No. The CLERK. Mr. Mann votes no. Mr. Ellzey? Mr. ELLZEY. No. The CLERK. Mr. Ellzey votes no. Mr. Molinaro? Mr. MOLINARO. No. The CLERK. Mr. Molinaro votes no. Mr. Alford? Mr. ALFORD. No. The CLERK. Mr. Alford votes no. Mr. Crane? Mr. CRANE. No. The CLERK. Mr. Crane votes no. Mr. Bean? Mr. BEAN. No. The CLERK. Mr. Bean votes no. Mr. Hunt? Mr. HUNT. No. The CLERK. Mr. Hunt votes no. Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Nay. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes no. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? Mr. MFUME. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mfume votes aye. Mr. Phillips? Mr. PHILLIPS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Phillips votes aye. Mr. Landsman? Mr. LANDSMAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Landsman votes aye. Mr. McGarvey? Mr. MCGARVEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. McGarvey votes aye. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez? Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez votes aye. Ms. Scholten? Ms. SCHOLTEN. Yes. The CLERK. Ms. Scholten votes aye. Mr. Thanedar? Mr. THANEDAR. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Thanedar votes aye. Ms. Chu? Ms. CHU. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Chu votes aye. Ms. Davids? Ms. DAVIDS. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Davids votes aye. Mr. Pappas? Mr. PAPPAS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Pappas votes aye. Ranking Member Velazquez? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes aye. Chairman Williams? Chairman WILLIAMS. No. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes no. Chairman WILLIAMS. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 12 ayes, 14 nays, and 0 present. Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay. Phillips Amendment 1, Version 2 to H.R. 3995 is not agreed to. The question now is on Davids Amendment 1, Version 1 to H.R. 3995. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? Mr. LUETKEMEYER. No. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer votes no. Mr. Stauber? Mr. STAUBER. No. The CLERK. Mr. Stauber votes no. Mr. Meuser? Mr. MEUSER. No. The CLERK. Mr. Meuser votes no. Ms. Van Duyne? Ms. VAN DUYNE. No. The CLERK. Ms. Van Duyne votes no. Ms. Salazar? Ms. SALAZAR. No. The CLERK. Ms. Salazar votes no. Mr. Mann? Mr. MANN. No. The CLERK. Mr. Mann votes no. Mr. Ellzey? Mr. ELLZEY. No. The CLERK. Mr. Molinaro? Mr. MOLINARO. No. The CLERK. Mr. Molinaro votes no. Mr. Alford? Mr. ALFORD. Nay. The CLERK. Mr. Alford votes no. Mr. Crane? Mr. CRANE. No. The CLERK. Mr. Crane votes no. Mr. Bean? Mr. BEAN. No. The CLERK. Mr. Bean votes no. Mr. Hunt? Mr. HUNT. No. The CLERK. Mr. Hunt votes no. Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Nay. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes no. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? Mr. MFUME. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mfume votes aye. Mr. Phillips? Mr. PHILLIPS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Phillips votes aye. Mr. Landsman? Mr. LANDSMAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Landsman votes aye. Mr. McGarvey? Mr. MCGARVEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. McGarvey votes aye. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez? Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez votes aye. Ms. Scholten? Ms. SCHOLTEN. Yes. The CLERK. Ms. Scholten votes aye. Mr. Thanedar? Mr. THANEDAR. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Thanedar votes aye. Ms. Chu? Ms. CHU. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Chu votes aye. Ms. Davids? Ms. DAVIDS. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Davids votes aye. Mr. Pappas? Mr. PAPPAS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Pappas votes aye. Ranking Member Velazquez? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes aye. Chairman Williams? Chairman WILLIAMS. No. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes no. Chairman WILLIAMS. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 12 ayes, 14 nays, and 0 present. Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay. Davids Amendment 1, Version 1 is not agreed to. The question now is on the Chu Amendment 1, Version 1 to H.R. 3995. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 12 ayes, 14 nays, and 0 present. Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay. Phillips Amendment 1, Version 2 to H.R. 3995 is not agreed to. The question now is on Davids Amendment 1, Version 1 to H.R. 3995. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? Mr. LUETKEMEYER. No. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer votes no. Mr. Stauber? Mr. STAUBER. No. The CLERK. Mr. Stauber votes no. Mr. Meuser? Mr. MEUSER. No. The CLERK. Mr. Meuser votes no. Ms. Van Duyne? Ms. VAN DUYNE. No. The CLERK. Ms. Van Duyne votes no. Ms. Salazar? Ms. SALAZAR. No. The CLERK. Ms. Salazar votes no. Mr. Mann? Mr. MANN. No. The CLERK. Mr. Mann votes no. Mr. Ellzey? Mr. ELLZEY. No. The CLERK. Mr. Ellzey votes no. Mr. Molinaro? Mr. MOLINARO. No. The CLERK. Mr. Molinaro votes no. Mr. Alford? Mr. ALFORD. No. The CLERK. Mr. Alford votes no. Mr. Crane? Mr. CRANE. No. The CLERK. Mr. Crane votes no. Mr. Bean? Mr. BEAN. No. The CLERK. Mr. Bean votes no. Mr. Hunt? Mr. HUNT. No. The CLERK. Mr. Hunt votes no. Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. No. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes no. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? Mr. MFUME. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mfume votes aye. Mr. Phillips? Mr. PHILLIPS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Phillips votes aye. Mr. Landsman? Mr. LANDSMAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Landsman votes aye. Mr. McGarvey? Mr. MCGARVEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. McGarvey votes aye. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez? Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez votes aye. Ms. Scholten? Ms. SCHOLTEN. Yes. The CLERK. Ms. Scholten votes aye. Mr. Thanedar? Mr. THANEDAR. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Thanedar votes aye. Ms. Chu? Ms. CHU. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Chu votes aye. Ms. Davids? Ms. DAVIDS. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Davids votes aye. Mr. Pappas? Mr. PAPPAS. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Pappas votes aye. Ranking Member Velazquez? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Aye. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes aye. Chairman Williams? Chairman WILLIAMS. No. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes no. Chairman WILLIAMS. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 12 ayes, 14 nays, and 0 present. Okay. Davids Amendment 1, Version 1 to H.R. 3995 is not agreed to. Chairman WILLIAMS. The question now is on the amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 3995. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer votes aye. Mr. Stauber? Mr. STAUBER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Stauber votes aye. Mr. Meuser? Mr. MEUSER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Meuser votes aye. Ms. Van Duyne? Ms. VAN DUYNE. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Van Duyne votes aye. Ms. Salazar? Ms. SALAZAR. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Salazar votes aye. Mr. Mann? Mr. MANN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mann votes aye. Mr. Ellzey? Mr. ELLZEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Ellzey votes aye. Mr. Molinaro? Mr. MOLINARO. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Molinaro votes aye. Mr. Alford? Mr. ALFORD. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Alford votes aye. Mr. Crane? Mr. CRANE. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Crane votes aye. Mr. Bean? Mr. BEAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Bean votes aye. Mr. Hunt? Mr. HUNT. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Hunt votes aye. Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. No. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes no. Mr. Mfume? Mr. MFUME. No. The CLERK. Mr. Mfume votes no. Mr. Phillips? Mr. PHILLIPS. No. The CLERK. Mr. Phillips votes no. Mr. Landsman? Mr. LANDSMAN. Nay. The CLERK. Mr. Landsman votes no. Mr. McGarvey? Mr. MCGARVEY. No. The CLERK. Mr. McGarvey votes no. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez? Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. No. The CLERK. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez votes no. Ms. Scholten? Ms. SCHOLTEN. No. The CLERK. Ms. Scholten votes no. Mr. Thanedar? Mr. THANEDAR. No. The CLERK. Mr. Thanedar votes no. Ms. Chu? Ms. CHU. No. The CLERK. Ms. Chu votes no. Ms. Davids? Ms. DAVIDS. Nay. The CLERK. Ms. Davids votes no. Mr. Pappas? Mr. PAPPAS. No. The CLERK. Mr. Pappas votes no. Ranking Member Velazquez? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. No. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes no. Chairman Williams? Chairman WILLIAMS. Yes. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes aye. Chairman WILLIAMS. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 14 ayes, 12 nays, and 0 present. The amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 3995 is agreed to. Chairman WILLIAMS. The question now is on adopting H.R. 3995, the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act as amended and ordering it favorably to the House. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer votes aye. Mr. Stauber? Mr. STAUBER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Stauber votes aye. Mr. Meuser? Mr. MEUSER. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Meuser votes aye. Ms. Van Duyne? Ms. VAN DUYNE. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Van Duyne votes aye. Ms. Salazar? Ms. SALAZAR. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Salazar votes aye. Mr. Mann? Mr. MANN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Mann votes aye. Mr. Ellzey? Mr. ELLZEY. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Ellzey votes aye. Mr. Molinaro? Mr. MOLINARO. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Molinaro votes aye. Mr. Alford? Mr. ALFORD. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Alford votes aye. Mr. Crane? Mr. CRANE. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Crane votes aye. Mr. Bean? Mr. BEAN. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Bean votes aye. Mr. Hunt? Mr. HUNT. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. Hunt votes aye. Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. No. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes no. Mr. Mfume? Mr. MFUME. No. The CLERK. Mr. Mfume votes no. Mr. Phillips? Mr. PHILLIPS. No. The CLERK. Mr. Phillips votes no. Mr. Landsman? Mr. LANDSMAN. No. The CLERK. Mr. Landsman votes no. Mr. McGarvey? Mr. MCGARVEY. No. The CLERK. Mr. McGarvey votes no. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez? Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. No. The CLERK. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez votes no. Ms. Scholten? Ms. SCHOLTEN. No. The CLERK. Ms. Scholten votes no. Mr. Thanedar? Mr. THANEDAR. No. The CLERK. Mr. Thanedar votes no. Ms. Chu? Ms. CHU. No. The CLERK. Ms. Chu votes no. Ms. Davids? Ms. DAVIDS. Nay. The CLERK. Ms. Davids votes no. Mr. Pappas? Mr. PAPPAS. No. The CLERK. Mr. Pappas votes no. Ranking Member Velazquez? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. No. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes no. Chairman Williams? Chairman WILLIAMS. Yes. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes yes. Chairman WILLIAMS. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 14 ayes, 12 nays, and 0 present. Chairman WILLIAMS. H.R. 3995 as amended is adopted and will be reported favorably to the House. Without objection, Committee staff is authorized to make technical and conforming changes and Members have 2 business days to file additional supplemental dissenting minority views. I want to thank all of you for being here today. I think it has been a good hearing, and we often show that we agree on more than we do not. If there is no further business, this concludes today's markup. Without objection, the Committee stands adjourned. [Whereupon, at 3:47 p.m., the committee was adjourned.] A P P E N D I X [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] [all]