[House Hearing, 118 Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] MARKUP OF: H.R. 7984, THE RURAL SMALL BUSINESS RESILIENCE ACT; H.R. 5333, THE INVESTING IN ALL OF AMERICA ACT; H.R. 8014, THE TRANSPARENCY AND PREDICT- ABILITY IN SMALL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES ACT; H.R. 7987, THE PLAIN LANGUAGE IN CONTRACTING ACT; H.R. 7988, THE SPUR ACT OF 2024; H.R. 7985, THE ENTREPRENEURS WITH DISABILITIES REPORTING ACT; H.R. 7989, THE THINKDIFFERENTLY ABOUT DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT ACT ======================================================================= HEARING before the COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION __________ HEARING HELD APRIL 17, 2024 __________ [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] Small Business Committee Document Number 118-049 Available via the GPO Website: www.govinfo.gov ______ U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 56-375 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 CELESTE MALOY, Utah NYDIA VELAZQUEZ, New York, Ranking Member JARED GOLDEN, Maine KWEISI MFUME, Maryland DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota GREG LANDSMAN, Ohio MARIE GLUESENKAMP PEREZ, Washington SHRI THANEDAR, Michigan MORGAN MCGARVEY, Kentucky HILLARY SCHOLTEN, 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. 7984.................................................... 34 H.R. 5333.................................................... 36 H.R. 8014.................................................... 41 H.R. 7987.................................................... 45 H.R. 7988.................................................... 48 H.R. 7985.................................................... 51 H.R. 7989.................................................... 54 Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 5333, offered by Mr. Meuser of Pennsylvania.............................. 57 Minority Views, H.R. 7984, the ``Rural Small Business Resilience Act''........................................... 63 Minority Views, H.R. 5333, ``Investing in All of America Act of 2023''.................................................. 65 Minority Views, H.R. 8014, the ``Transparency and Predictability in Small Business Opportunities Act''....... 67 Minority Views, H.R. 7987, the ``Plain Language in Contracting Act''.......................................... 69 Minority Views, H.R. 7988, Small Business Procurement and Utilization Reform (SPUR) Act.............................. 70 Minority Views, H.R. 7985, the ``Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Reporting Act of 2024''....................... 72 Minority Views, H.R. 7989, the ``ThinkDIFFERENTLY About Disability Employment Act''................................ 74 Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA)...................... 76 MARKUP OF: H.R. 7984, THE RURAL SMALL BUSINESS RESILIENCE ACT; H.R. 5333, THE INVESTING IN ALL OF AMERICA ACT; H.R. 8014, THE TRANSPARENCY AND PREDICT- ABILITY IN SMALL BUSINESS OPPORTUNI- TIES ACT; H.R. 7987, THE PLAIN LANGUAGE IN CONTRACTING ACT; H.R. 7988, THE SPUR ACT OF 2024; H.R. 7985, THE ENTRE- PRENEURS WITH DISABILITIES REPORTING ACT; H.R. 7989, THE THINKDIFFERENTLY ABOUT DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT ACT ---------- WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2024 House of Representatives, Committee on Small Business, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:01 a.m., in Room 2360, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Roger Williams [chairman of the Committee] presiding. Present: Representatives Williams, Stauber, Meuser, Van Duyne, Salazar, Mann, Ellzey, Molinaro, Alford, Crane, Bean, LaLota, Maloy, Velazquez, Golden, Phillips, Landsman, McGarvey, Gluesenkamp Perez, Scholten, Thanedar, Chu, Davids, and Pappas. Mr. WILLIAMS. The committee will now come to order. A quorum is present. Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare recess of the committee at any time. As required by House rules, a copy of the legislative measures have been made available to the Members and the public at least 24 hours in advance. Pursuant to committee rule 13 and House rule XI, all votes will be rolled to the end of the meeting. I now recognize myself for opening remarks. Good morning again and welcome to today's markup where we will be discussing seven bills that will address the needs of our nation's small business. I am going to be speaking on each of the bills we bring up today in much greater detail so I will keep these remarks very brief. To put it bluntly, Main Street America has been forced to play defense every day thanks to this administration's regulatory agenda. My colleagues and I on this committee have the privilege of being main street's voice in Washington and that is why our work is so important. Moreover, it is our job we put forward meaningful policy solutions that will help our nation's job creators. When small businesses can hire more employees and reinvest in their businesses and communities the country operates at its very best. The seven bills before us today have been discussed widely by all Members and staff, and for that I am very grateful. Now before us today are bills that improve access to disaster assistance for those in rural areas, increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and require federal contracts to be written in plain language, I repeat plain language, so small businesses won't need a team of compliance officers to simply be competitive, just to name a few. In closing, I would like to thank our Members for bringing these bills forward for consideration in today's markup. Every piece of legislation we are going to look at today is a product of hearings and investigations we have conducted. I am extremely proud to see how our committee is generating sound and responsible legislation that will make main street stronger. With that I look forward to today's markup. I yield to the distinguished Ranking Member from the great state of New York, Ms. Velazquez. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you for holding this markup today. We are considering seven bills to make improvements to SBA programs and services from focusing on rural disaster and disabled communities to improving the SBIC program and contracting rules. We have a strong slate of bills before us. Main street small businesses are the life blood of our nation's economy driving innovation and job creation and helping millions of Americans achieve the American Dream. I stand committed to creating more opportunities for entrepreneurs so that they continue to thrive and in turn create good-paying jobs in our local communities. I plan to lend my support to the seven bipartisan bills we are considering today. My hope is that we will work together to bring a fair ratio of Republican and Democratic bills to the floor in the near future. Thank you, Mr. Williams, and I look forward to a productive markup. I yield back. Mr. WILLIAMS. Thank you. And does any other Member seek recognition for the purpose of making an opening statement? Seeing none, we will now move to the consideration of the first bill. H.R. 7984 The first bill we will mark up is H.R. 7984, the Rural Small Business Resilience Act, introduced by Representatives Pappas and Bean. I now recognize the bill's sponsor, Mr. Pappas for an opening statement. Mr. PAPPAS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. In New Hampshire, our small businesses are part of the backbone of our local economies and make up the fabric of our rural communities, and we know that rural small businesses face unique challenges that a one-size-fits-all approach by government agencies is simply ineffective at providing the support that they need. That is why I introduced the Rural Small Business Resilience Act. The bipartisan legislation would require the Small Business Administration to tailor its outreach and marketing efforts to reach our rural small businesses and ensure that small businesses in rural areas have full access to SBA disaster assistance. I am glad to be working with Representatives Bean, Golden, and Mann on this issue, and will continue to work in a bipartisan fashion to build support for this and other legislation that will help America's small businesses. I remain committed to ensuring that rural small businesses and our local economies can grow and thrive and I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I yield back. Mr. WILLIAMS. I now recognize the bill's cosponsor, Mr. Bean, for an opening statement. Mr. BEAN. Very good morning, Mr. Chairman. Thank you so much. Good morning, Committee, and good morning those attending Small Business this morning. We are glad to have you here. Welcome to your nation's capital. I am pleased to co-lead H.R. 7984, the Rural Small Business Resilience Act, along with my new good friend, Representative Pappas from the great state of New Hampshire, also known as the Granite State. This legislation will require the SBA to appropriately tailor marketing and outreach materials to rural communities following a disaster. We all know the challenges facing America's rural communities following a disaster are different than those in urban areas and often are unique in their needs that go unmet. Natural disasters are all too common in the free state of Florida. We would still welcome you there if you want to come stay or come vacation, where the yearly threat of hurricanes is top of mind for small business owners. In February of this year, the Government Accountability Office, the GAO, issued a report on how targeted outreach from the SBA can benefit rural communities. The GAO found that people in rural areas may not be aware of the assistance the SBA can provide following a disaster. The GAO recommends the SBA distinguish between rural and urban communities and their outreach and marketing programs following a disaster. Thankfully, Mr. Pappas and I have heard that message loud and clear from the GAO and we think we have the answer to help rural small businesses get the answer that they are looking for. The answer is, and I have it, it is the Rural Small Business Resilience Act. And I look forward, Members, to working with you and working with Representative Pappas on the passage of this commonsense bipartisan bill and urge colleagues to join us, join our team to make this happen. Mr. Chairman, does everybody know you were up at 5:00 for baseball this morning and yet you are here today to serve the needs of small businesses across America? Thank you for your leadership, and I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. WILLIAMS. Thank you for those remarks. Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for a statement on the bill? Okay. If there are no other Members--I am sorry. Once all Members--you--the Chairman--Ranking Member, will you speak on this bill? Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Are you recognizing me? Mr. WILLIAMS. I am recognizing you, Madam Chair. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I commend Mr. Pappas, Mr. Bean, Mr. Golden, and Mr. Mann for their bipartisan effort to bring H.R. 7984 before the committee today. The Government Accountability Office provides Congress with fact-based, nonpartisan information to improve government programs and save taxpayers dollars. In February GAO issued a report that examined SBA disaster loan program and challenges rural communities face. GAO found that rural communities have unique obstacles making it harder to recover after a disaster such as a lack of infrastructure, human resources, and funding. While SBA has taken steps to better meet the needs of disaster survivors, GAO found a more targeted approach is needed in rural areas. This legislation would go a long way in signaling to SBA that strengthening outreach to rural communities is a priority. I commend Mr. Pappas, Mr. Bean, Mr. Golden, and Mr. Mann for their leadership, and I yield back. Thank you. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentlelady yields back. And I want to now recognize myself to speak in support of this legislation. H.R. 7984, the Rural Small Business Resilience Act, will require the SBA to meet communities where they are following a disaster. And there is no secret that Americans in rural communities face different challenges following a disaster than their urban counterparts. It makes sense then that a one-size-fits-all outreach and marketing plan from the SBA is inadequate. The GAO confirmed this in their February 2024 report stating that oftentimes individuals in rural areas do not even know assistance is available from the SBA as they try to get back on their feet following a disaster. The SBA's disaster loan program offers loans to help homeowners, renters, businesses, and nonprofits recover from physical and economic losses following a declared disaster. And I am grateful to Representatives Pappas and Bean for introducing this legislation so that rural Americans will have full access to their resources when disaster strikes and I urge my colleagues to support this bill. If there is no further discussion, the committee now moved to consider of H.R. 7984. The clerk will report. The CLERK. H.R. 7984, to require the administration---- Mr. WILLIAMS. Without objection, the first reading of the bill is dispensed and, without objection, the bill is considered and is read and open for amendment. Do any Members seek recognition for the purpose of offering an amendment? Seeing none, the question is now on adoption of H.R. 7984 and favorably reporting it 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. 7984 is agreed to be reported favorably to the House. Mr. BEAN. Mr. Chairman? Mr. WILLIAMS. What do you seek recognition for? Mr. BEAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I seek to request a recorded vote. Mr. WILLIAMS. Okay. A recorded voted has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House rule XI. Further proceedings on the bill are postponed. H.R. 5333 The next bill we will markup is H.R. 5333, the Investing in All of America Act of 2023, introduced by Representatives Meuser and Scholten. The clerk will report. The CLERK. H.R. 5333, to amend the---- Mr. WILLIAMS. Without objection, H.R. 5333 is considered as read and open for amendment. The bill's sponsor, Mr. Meuser, has an amendment in the nature of a substitute at the desk. The amendment has been pre- distributed to all Members and the clerk will report the amendment. The CLERK. Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R.---- Mr. WILLIAMS. Without objection, the amendment is considered as read and the substitute will be considered base text of the bill for the purpose of amendment. I now recognize the bill's sponsor, Mr. Meuser, for his statement. Mr. MEUSER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Small business investment companies, SBICs, are privately owned companies that are licensed and regulated by the SBA. SBICs raise private capital by the Small Business Administration and it is matched with leverage by the SBA. SBICs then deploy these private funds along with the SBA guaranteed funding to invest directly in small businesses. The SBIC program operates at a zero-subsidy cost to the American taxpayer. In other words, taxpayer funds are not utilized to support credit extended to SBIC investments. SBIC- backed businesses have created over 3 million new jobs and supported an additional 10.5 million jobs over just the last two decades. Last year alone SBICs invested over $8 billion in small businesses across America, including $412 million in my home state of Pennsylvania to small business. Now, the SBIC program has been very successful in responsibly deploying capital to small businesses. Recent studies have shown that less than 20 percent of SBIC investment reaches low- to middle-income communities. So, H.R. 5333, the Investing in All of America Act, which I introduced with Representative Scholten, would incentive the deployment of additional capital to small business located in rural or low-income areas as well as small businesses in the national security technology sectors. Dollars invested in these areas will not count against individual SBIC's leveraged cap. By creating this incentive, the Investing in All of America Act will encourage private capital investment in the parts of America that are, in fact, often overlooked. It is important to note that the bonus leverage included in this legislation does not change the cost or risks of the SBIC program. The existing successful private capital ratio to SBA leverage that has kept the program operating so well and at no subsidy will remain the same. This legislation would also adjust the SBIC leverage caps to account for inflation. SBIC leverage caps have not been adjusted since 2015, for single licenses in 2018 for a family of funds. Since the last adjustments inflation has risen nearly 30 percent. So, as we continue to deal with increasing inflation, reinstating the inflation adjustor for the leverage cap is essential to ensure the investment power of SBICs remain consistent with the broader markets and ensure the program can continue to provide small business with the capital they need. Just yesterday the Subcommittee on Economic Growth Tax and Capital Access, which I Chair, held a hearing examining the SBIC program. In addition to discussing the positive effects of the program, we did discuss improvements that could be made. I am happy to say that a number of the reforms suggested by our witnesses are included in this legislation. While there is more work to do, this legislation will make a positive impact on those participating in the SBIC programs and assist them deploying even more capital to worthy small businesses, especially, again, those who are often overlooked. Now, before I conclude I would ask, Mr. Chairman, for unanimous consent to insert a letter into the record from nearly 100 small business investment companies in support of this legislation. Mr. WILLIAMS. Granted. Mr. MEUSER. I would like to thank Representative Scholten for her partnership on this legislation and bipartisan group of 14 Members who have cosponsored it. I would also like to thank Chairman Williams for bringing this bill forward for the consideration today. I look forward to continued working with my colleagues to ensure the SBA's programs, like the SBICs, are serving as small business as well and responsibly deploying capital to areas where it is most needed. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize the bill's cosponsor, Ms. Scholten, for a statement. Ms. SCHOLTEN. Thank you so much to the bill's leader, Mr. Meuser, and to Chairman Williams for bringing this bill before committee. This is what I came to Congress to do, these types of bipartisan, commonsense solutions that help Main Street America and rural parts of our community that are often overlooked. Michigan is home to almost 1 million small businesses. That is 99.6 percent of all privately owned businesses in the state. This bill is going to have a huge impact. On any given day, the issue of access to capital is among the greatest challenge for our small businesses. For low-, middle-income and rural communities this issue hits even closer to home. Recent studies have show that less than 20 percent of small business investment companies, SBIC funds are reaching these communities. That is insane. For a program with a long history of success, this disparity is completely unacceptable and it is incumbent upon this committee the program so that it serves small business owned by people from all walks of life. That is exactly what we are doing here today. That is why I am so proud to lead the Investing in All of America Act, which would not only incentivize the deployment of additional capital to underserved communities by not counting dollars invested in rural or low-income areas or in the national security technology sector against the SBICs' leverage count. This bipartisan solution would bolster SBIC program success as a zero subsidy, pubic-private partnership by encouraging investments in rural areas in industries that are vital to national defense here in West Michigan and across the country. It is critical that these businesses can get the investments that they need to continue growing our economy especially those in underserved and rural communities. I strongly urge Members to vote on this bipartisan and important legislation. Thank you again to the bill's cosponsor, Mr. Meuser, and to the Chair. I yield back the remainder of my time, sir. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentlelady yields back. Are there any other Members who wish to recognized for a statement on the bill? Okay. If there are no Members who wish to be recognized, I would like to recognize the Ranking Member to speak on the bill. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to Representatives Meuser and Scholten for your bipartisan leadership on this bill. H.R. 5333 makes statutory improvements to the SBAC program to provide access to additional leverage when they invest in small businesses in rural or underserved communities, or small business critical to national security. Due to the capital-intensive nature and early revenue profile small firms operating in America's critical technology sector need institutional investors with longer term time horizons to raise capital. Yet, due to statutory constraints these investors are often limited in their ability to participate in the SBIC program, making the program an unsuitable option for critical technology to raise capital. By providing SBICs with additional leverage flexibility, this bill will enable the SBA and Defense Department to successfully carry out their joint small business investment company critical technology initiative. By providing SBICs with additional bonus leverage, we are encouraging investment in small employers in our communities that need it most. I again want to thank Representatives Meuser and Scholten for their leadership on this issue. I also want to thank Chairman Williams and his team for their collaboration on technical edits to the bill and the team at the SBA for their feedback. I believe through the effort of all parties involved we have got in this bill to a good place. I am proud to support it and encourage Members to vote yes. I yield back. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentlelady yields back. And I now recognize myself to speak in support of this legislation. Small business are faced with continual disadvantages when it comes to assessing capital whether it's burdensome regulations and high interest rates, banks are being forced to tighten their lending standards. When this happens, small businesses are often the ones forced to pay the higher price to much needed funds. This is where the SBA's SBIC program comes into help. This program expands the options available to our nation's job creators to assess vital funding to grow and expand their operations. And H.R. 5333 makes the thoughtful improvements to ensure that the SBIC program continues to be an essential part of helping many small businesses navigate these economic challenges and increase the avenues to access capital. The bill allows the SBIC license commitment to account for inflation and provides additional leverage to licensees when committing to invest in smaller enterprises in underserved areas, specifically in rural America and areas of critical national defense technologies. Additionally, the bill directs no new spending and no new mandates allowing the program to continue operating at no cost to the taxpayer. Just yesterday in a subcommittee hearing we heard about the benefits this bill will have on program participants. The bill will make meaningful changes to the SBIC program all without adding additional risk for the taxpayers. I urge my colleagues to vote yes, on both the amendment and the nature of substitute on H.R. 5333 and the underlying bill. So, do any Members seek recognition of the purpose of offering the amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute? If there is no further discussion, on the question now on the amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 5333, offered by Mr. Meuser. 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 H.R. 5333 offered by Mr. Meuser is agreed to. Mr. MEUSER. Mr. Chairman? Mr. WILLIAMS. Yes, sir? Mr. MEUSER. I would like to request a recorded vote. Mr. WILLIAMS. A recorded vote---- Mr. MEUSER. I withdraw my request. Mr. WILLIAMS. Request is withdrawn. Okay. The question now is now on favorably reporting H.R. 5333 as amended to the House. Okay. All those in favor, say aye. Opposed? In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it and H.R. 5333, as amended, is agreed to in order to favorably move to the House. Mr. MEUSER. Mr. Chairman? Mr. WILLIAMS. Yes, sir? Mr. MEUSER. I would now like to request a recorded vote. Mr. WILLIAMS. For what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition for a recorded vote? Mr. MEUSER. Yes, sir, for a recorded vote. Thank you. Mr. WILLIAMS. A recorded vote has been requested and a roll call is ordered. Pursuant to Committee Rule 13 and House rule XI further proceedings on the bill is postponed. All right. H.R. 8014 The next bill we will markup is H.R. 8014, the Transparency and Predictability in Small Business Opportunities Act, introduced by Representatives Mfume and Alford. I now recognize the bill's sponsor. Mr. Mfume is not here I don't think. Is he? Okay. All right. All right. I now recognize the bill's cosponsor, Mr. Alford for an opening statement. Mr. ALFORD. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you so much, Ranking Member Velazquez, for holding this markup session today. I tell you what, I love coming to these sessions. It is a culmination of hard work, determination, and grit, and we are getting back to doing the business for Main Street America and I love that. This committee really exists in Congress to champion main street, to make sure that small businesses that employ about half of all Americans continue to thrive. Our role is to help lower the barriers to creating small businesses and to support small businesses that already exist. A major tool to help existing small businesses are government contracts specifically set aside for small businesses. However, federal agencies cancel contracts solicitations many times with no warning and no reason, leaving the small businesses that spent thousands or tens of thousands of dollars and hours preparing a bid, leaving them out in the cold. This bill, the Transparency and Predictability in Small Business Opportunities Act, would help address this problem, help solve it, help end it. This legislation would require agencies to provide the Small Business Administration a justification for canceled contract solicitations. Additionally, this would require the agency canceling the contract solicitations to disclose available information about plans to reissue similar solicitations. Finally, if the agency does not plan on reissuing a solicitation, the agency's director of small and disadvantaged business utilization must assist the small business in identifying similar contracting opportunities. Basically, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member, this is setting up people for success and breaking down barriers in the process. I am proud to support this legislation, proud to be on this with Mr. Mfume. It is going to help provide stability and predictability to small business contractors, part of our responsibility on this committee. Thank you and I yield back. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back. Are there any other Members who wish to recognized for a statement on the bill? Okay. If there are no other Members who wish to be recognized, I would like to recognize the Ranking Member to speak on the bill. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I commend Representatives Mfume and Alford for their work on this legislation which will require the government to provide information to small business contractors when they cancel solicitations. The government has flexibility to change requirements and solicitations as needed when their circumstances change. While this flexibility is necessary, the small businesses take on the risk and can incur losses when it happens. We have heard and time and again the barriers facing small contractors in our industrial base. The Women's Chamber of Commerce has complained how numerous small business contracts just go away without explanation or discussion of the obstacles. And during our hearing on February 6th, Andrew Christ, a small business owner highlighted how small firms can spend significant amounts, an average of $10,000 to develop a proposal, only to find out that the project has become inactive. The bill we are considering today would not limit an agency's ability to make changes when necessary. It will simply provide some help to the small business when it does, requiring an agency to disclose the reasons behind a cancellation and any plans for the work will provide small contractors with a little more information to adjust their business plans and operations accordingly. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and I yield back, Mr. Chairman. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentlelady yields back. I now recognize myself to speak in support of this legislation. H.R. 8014, the Transparency and Predictability in Small Business Opportunities Act, seeks to bring clarity to small business owners when an agency cancels a contract solicitation. Small business spend an incredible amount of time and resources preparing to bid on government contracts. When an agency cancels a contract solicitation the small businesses that started preparing are left with nothing to show for their work. Furthermore, there is little clarity about what the agency will do with the products and services originally intended to purchase. So, H.R. 8014 will require the agency to share with the SBA justifications why the contract was cancelled. Moreover, this bill requires agencies to assist small businesses impacted by the canceled solicitation by helping them identify similar contracts to bid on. Small businesses deserve to have a full understanding of what opportunities are available to them and to know how agencies will fulfill their buying needs. So, I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 8014. If there is no further discussion, the committee now moves to consideration of H.R. 8014. The clerk will report. The CLERK. H.R. 8014, to require the---- Mr. WILLIAMS. Without objection, the first reading of the bill is dispensed and, without objection, the bill is considered as read and open for amendment. Do any Members seek recognition for the purpose of offering an amendment? Seeing none, the question is that now on adoption of H.R. 8014 and favorably reporting 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. 8014 is agreed to and ordered favorably to the House. Mr. ALFORD. Mr. Chairman? Mr. WILLIAMS. What recognition do you seek? Mr. ALFORD. I seek to have recorded votes, sir. Mr. WILLIAMS. A record of votes has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to committee rule 13 and House rule XI, further proceedings on the bill are postponed. H.R. 7987 The next bill we will markup is H.R. 7987, the Plain Language in Contracting Act, introduced by Representatives LaLota and Thanedar. I recognize the bill's sponsor, Mr. LaLota for an opening statement. Mr. LALOTA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman, it shouldn't be as hard as the federal government makes it for America's small businesses to apply for an to win a federal contract. Small business, who are the life blood of America's economy and often have a single-digit or a low double-digit number of employees, shouldn't require a lawyer or compliance office to compete for and ultimately win a federal contract. But we have a solution. My bill, and a shout-out to my cosponsor and Representative Thanedar, the Plain Language in Contracting Act, would help solve that problem by making it easier for small businesses to secure government contracts. There are over 33 million small businesses in America, 33 million. And many of these companies offer products and services that are crucial for the procurement of key projects both here in the United States and abroad. However, of those 33 million only about 65,000 of those small businesses actually win federal prime contracts. That is a terrible ratio. We have heard from many small business owners who say that complexity of the bidding process for a government contract ultimately turns them away. Preparing for that bid is difficult enough, but the process is made even more difficult when the government is ambiguous about what it wants and its language is so complex that understanding it requires an advance degree. I challenge everyone of you, both Members, audience, and folks at home to try to understand some of these contract requirements. I know that it is frustrating for me and it is absolutely ridiculous. It takes an advanced law degree to make sense of it and even a lot of folks with those degrees can't make that sense. In fact, a naval postgraduate school commissioned a study of over 1 million DOD solicitations and they found three key things. Less than 3 percent of DOD contract solicitations are written in plain English. Second, most DOD solicitations require a college education just to understand it. And third and final, on a standard readability scale most DOD contracts are either difficult or very difficult to read on their rating scale. The detrimental effect of our government's convoluted language on small businesses cannot be overstated. It is a direct cause of small businesses' exodus from federal contracting leading to a significant loss in competition. And let me be clear, the competition lost by reduced small business hurts all of us, especially on the pricing and the quality. Small businesses are the backbone of our great nation's economy and we should be doing everything we can to support them. That is why I am proud I have introduced my bill, the Plain Language in Contracting Act, which will require federal agencies to use clear language when publishing contact solicitations, finally allowing greater access to solicitations bids. I urge all of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to support this commonsense bill. Again, one more shout-out to my colleague, Representative Thanedar, with whom I also serve on the Homeland Security Committee for his co-lead on this, and, Chairman Williams, for you and your staff, for your diligence on this. This could be my fourth bill that gets to the House floor and appreciate it, sir. I yield. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back. And I recognize the bill's co-sponsor, Mr. Thanedar, for an opening statement. Mr. THANEDAR. Thank you, Chairman Williams and Ranking Member Velazquez. I appreciate both of you and your leadership in this bipartisan effort. What a great work. This is really what I came to Congress to do. As an entrepreneur I am delighted with what this committee does and the collaboration with both sides. Today, alongside my esteemed colleague, Representative LaLota from New York, I am proud to co-lead the Plain Language in Contracting Act, a bipartisan initiative aimed at revolutionizing how government communicates with small businesses. As a co-lead on this vital legislation, I am deeply committed to simply find the often convoluted and inaccessible notices that hinder small businesses' access to government contracts. Having experienced the challenges of entrepreneurship firsthand, Representative LaLota and I recognize the urgent need to cut through bureaucratic jargon and provide clear, concise, and accessible information to our nation's small business owners. This bill not only aligns with our core values of transparency and efficiency but also reflects our unwavering dedication to fostering a level playing field for all businesses regardless of size. By requiring the inclusion of key words and adherence to federal plain language guidelines we are not just drafting legislation, we are empowering small businesses to navigate the complexity of government contracting with confidence and ease. This is about just--is this about more than just policy. It is about supporting the backbone of our economy and ensuring that every entrepreneur has the opportunity to succeed. I am proud to stand alongside Representative LaLota and our colleagues in this bipartisan effort and I look forward to working tirelessly to advance this critical legislation for the betterment of our small business community and our nation as a whole. Thank you, Representative LaLota, and thank you all, and I yield back. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back. Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for a statement on this bill? If there are no other Members to be recognized, I would like to recognize the Ranking Member to speak on the bill. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the work done on this legislation that seeks to provide clarity for some small business government contractors working or looking to work with the federal government. It would require certain contracting documents, including requests for proposals and solicitations be written in a way that is clear, concise, and accessible. The goals of this bill are laudable. There are certainly ways in which the federal government can improve in this area in the language used and on contracting opportunities is one. Thanks to our sponsor for their work. Thank you again and I yield back. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentlelady yields back. And I now recognize myself to speak in support of this legislation. H.R. 7987, the Plain Language in Contracting Act, is a very important piece of legislation which removes a hurdle small businesses face as they consider doing business with the government. The complexity of government contracting often turns small businesses away from even attempting to compete for these awards. The government-speak used in federal contracting only adds confusion to small businesses and often takes a team of attorneys to fully comprehend what they mean or services that are being requested and government language is so problematic that the committee has heard firsthand testimony from small business owners about the challenges of navigating government language. In a subcommittee hearing we held just yesterday we heard that most DOD solicitations require at least some higher education to understand what is written. This burden is just one of the many reasons that small businesses' participation in the industrial base has been cut by nearly one-half over the past decade. The Plain Language in Contracting Act makes it easier for small businesses to federal contracting to navigate these unnecessarily complex documents by finally requiring agencies to write concisely. I want to thank the Ranking Member and her staff and her team for working with us in drafting this bill and I urge all of my colleagues to vote for the Plain Language in Contracting Act. If there is no further discussion, the committee now moved to consideration of H.R. 7987. Mr. LALOTA. Mr. Chairman? Mr. WILLIAMS. The clerk will report. Mr. LALOTA. Chairman? Mr. WILLIAMS. Yes. Mr. LALOTA. Disregard, Mr. Chairman. Mr. WILLIAMS. What you would---- Mr. LALOTA. Disregard my comment, Mr. Chairman. I pulled a Meuser, sorry. Mr. WILLIAMS. We good? We can--do you want us to take a recess and we will---- Mr. LALOTA. No, sir. No, sir. Mr. WILLIAMS. Okay. Here we go. If there is no further discussion, the committee now moves to consider H.R. 7987. The clerk will report. The CLERK. H.R. 7986, to require plain language---- Mr. WILLIAMS. Without objection, the first reading of the bill is dispensed and, without objection, the bill is considered as read and open for amendment. Do any Members seek recognition for the purpose of offering an amendment? If no, seeing none, the question is now on the adoption of H.R. 7987 and favorably reporting it 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. 7987---- Mr. LALOTA. Mr. Chairman? Mr. WILLIAMS. Seek recognition. Mr. LALOTA. Mr. Chairman, I request a role call vote. Mr. WILLIAMS. Okay. The Member asked for a recorded vote. A recorded vote has been requested and roll call vote is order. Pursuant to committee rule 13 and House rule XI, further proceedings on this bill---- Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chair? Mr. WILLIAMS.--are postponed. H.R. 7988 The next bill we will--Gluesenkamp Perez. I now recognize the bill's sponsor, Mr. Stauber, for an opening statement. Mr. STAUBER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I rise to speak in favor of my bill, H.R. 7988, the Small Business Procurement and Utilization Reform Act of 2024, or the SPUR Act. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. They are the innovators, the job traders, and the driving force behind economic growth. In Minnesota, small businesses account for over 99 percent of all businesses and employ over half of the workforce. It is no exaggeration to say that the success of our economy is tied to the success of our small businesses. I believe there is no better way for the government to support small businesses than to ensure they have ever opportunity to contract with the largest purchaser of goods and services in the world, the federal government. The problem is that while government agencies set aside contract opportunities for small businesses participation in federal contracting has declined by half in the last decade. We have an existing system in place that helps us see that we need to improve. Agencies are graded on the total number and value of small business contracts, yet they do not factor in small businesses who won a federal contract for the first time. So, without incorporating this into the agency's scoreboard grade, we have no ability to tell whether the shrinking pool of small businesses are first time contractors or have been contracting for multiple years. My bill, the SPUR Act, addresses this concern. It will provide us with more information to see where the federal government can improve. I would like to thank my colleague from Washington, Representative Gluesenkamp Perez, for her support of this important legislation. Too many federal agencies fall short of their goals for awarding contracts to small businesses leaving billions of dollars in contracts out of reach of America's small businesses. And I urge my colleagues to support this legislation as it will help ensure that the federal government is doing everything it can to support small businesses in America. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I yield back. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize the bill's cosponsor, Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez, for an opening statement. Ms. GLUESENKAMP PEREZ. Thank you, Chairman Williams, and thank you to my colleague, Mr. Stauber, for his partnership on this bill and your valiant efforts at pronouncing my last name. The SBA is tasked with ensuring that small businesses are given a fair shot at competing for federal contracting dollars. SBA publishes an annual small business procurement scorecard that grades each federal agency on their spending towards the goal and gives agencies a score for their performance. We all know the adage there is lies, damn lies, and statistics. And I am certainly not accusing anyone of lying here, but I think it is important that when we are looking at these numbers we are understanding what they are representing. Put simply the federal government is not retaining current small business government contractors and new small businesses are not choosing to enter the federal market. This is a big problem. For our local economies to thrive it is important that we level the playing field, ensure more Southwest Washington small businesses can benefit from these opportunities. Our bill would require that the SBA include the number of new entrants into the federal market and the methodology for scoring each federal agency's small business performance. After the pandemic hit in 2020, my husband and I spent the better part of the year working on upgrades to the infrastructure in our auto shop, like better ventilation, lighting, things that would keep our employees and customers safe. Our good friends who own an autobody shop spent the entire year trying to figure out how to navigate a contract with the City of Portland. To me this is a really good example of how it is a real loss to our workforce and our local economy when small business owners have to spend the whole year figuring out how to do business with the government. Our bill will help shed light on how successful federal agencies are at making sure that new businesses see the value in contracting with the federal government and have the capacity to overcome the regulatory burdens to tap into these resources. I am proud to co-lead this bill with Representative Stauber and I urge my colleagues on the committee to support it. Thank you and I yield back. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentlelady yields back. Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for a statement on the bill? If there are no other Members who wish to be recognized, I would like to recognize the Ranking Member to speak on the bill. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I commend Representatives Stauber and Gluesenkamp Perez for the work to require SBA to consider new small business contractors when grading a federal agency performance toward meeting its small businesses goals. The government has roughly 40 percent fewer small businesses in its ecosystem then it did just a decade ago. This decline of the industrial base has produced negative consequences for both the government and small firms and taxpayers. They lose out on the stability government contracting can provide and the government loses out on the innovation and competition that a larger small based of small businesses provides. Yet despite this decline, federal agencies award a record amount of contracting dollars to small businesses each year. This means fewer small businesses are getting larger contracts. And since contracts are getting larger, fewer small businesses are willing and able to compete for them. This legislation is a productive step that will help break that cycle. By requiring a year-over-year comparison of new entrants rather than a single target, federal agencies will be compelled to continuously focus on bringing in new companies and addressing the barriers, like contract size, that prevent greater small business participation. I again applaud the work put into this legislation. It is a thoughtful product that I am pleased to support and I urge my colleagues to support as well. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentlelady yields back. And I now recognize myself to speak in support of this legislation. H.R. 7988 makes it clear that small businesses are vital in the American industrial base. Each year agencies set a goal to spend at least 23 percent of their contract dollars with main street. The government generally meets this goal in dollars, but the number of small businesses actually winning contracts continues to decline and agencies are prioritizing the total dollars it awards, not the number of small firms. The decline in participation that we are seeing is a critical threat to America's industrial base and we must take action to reverse this trend. That is why the SPUR Act is critical. It will force agencies to factor in small businesses who won a government contract for the first time when they are graded on SBA's annual procurement scorecard. As agencies plan out their contracting activities they must ensure that increasing small businesses awards is a priority so that they have every opportunity to compete for these contracts. So, I urge all my colleagues to support the SPUR Act. And if there is no further discussion, the committee now moves to consideration of H.R. 7988. The clerk will report. The CLERK. H.R. 7988---- Mr. WILLIAMS. Without objection, the first reading of the bill is dispensed. With--and without objection, the bill is considered as read and open for amendment. Do any Members seek recognition for the purpose of offering an amendment? Seeing none, the question is now on adoption of H.R. 7988 in favor of reporting it to the House. All those in favor, say aye. All those opposed, say no. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. Do you seek recognition? Mr. STAUBER. I ask for a recorded vote. Thank you. Mr. WILLIAMS. A recorded vote has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to committee rule 13 and House rule XI, any further proceedings on the bill are postponed. H.R. 7985 The next bill we will markup is H.R. 7985, Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Reporting Act of 2024, introduced by Representatives McGarvey and Molinaro. I now recognize the bill's sponsor, Mr. McGarvey for an opening statement. Mr. MCGARVEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you for your support of H.R. 7985 and for including it in today's markup. I would also like to especially thank Chairman Molinaro. Not only is he the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development, but he held a really great hearing about how we help people with disabilities become entrepreneurs and he very compassionately, courageously detailed the obstacles his own daughter has faced. And of course, brought up, for everyone on that subcommittee, brought up Maeve from Maeve's Coffee in the Hudson Valley, who was an absolute star in showing us the opportunities that exist if we are willing to invest and make this part of the American Dream available to everybody. I was also honored to have my constituent, Cody Clark, come up from Louisville, a small business owner, disability rights advocate, and I think the first person to perform a magic trick in front of this committee, at least this Congress. He did a great job telling us about the problems that people with disabilities face and his experience as an entrepreneur. His experience and those like the ones we heard from helped lead to today's legislation. This bipartisan legislation will require the Small Business Administration to submit a report to Congress on the challenges faced by entrepreneurs with disabilities. The report will include an assessment of these entrepreneurs' challenges and needs and detail what resources the SBA currently provides to entrepreneurs with disabilities. Importantly, it is also going to recommend legislative action to improve how the SBA serves entrepreneurs with disabilities. By requiring a report from the Small Business Administration, this bill will better help Congress understand how to support these entrepreneurs who face different challenges. I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill, and yield back. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize the bill's cosponsor, Mr. Molinaro, for an opening statement. Mr. MOLINARO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was glad to hear the great applause for this legislation, cheering in the hallways. I commend Mr. McGarvey for sponsoring the bill and thank you, Mr. Chairman, for moving the Entrepreneurs with Disability Reporting Act here today. I do want to extend my appreciation, Mr. McGarvey, Cody was a wonderful witness, but also a strong testament to the ability of every individual should be given the support from family and removed obstacles by government to attain success. And I for one was very grateful that Maeve was able to join us, but an important hearing addressing the challenges and obstacles that many with intellectual, physical, and developmental disabilities face every day. This particular bill, bipartisan in nature, will provide much needed clarity for entrepreneurs with disabilities as the navigate SBA's complex maze of over 50 different programs geared towards assisting them in starting a business. As of April 2022, 74 percent of adults with disabilities work outside the traditional workforce with approximately 1.8 million of these individuals with disabilities as business owners themselves. Entrepreneurs of ability should have a fair shot at pursuing their passion and we ought to work hard to remove obstacles from them. As the Chairman of the Small Business Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development I join my colleagues in remaining committed to empowering our entrepreneurs with disabilities to contribute more to main street and lead really more independent and fulfilled lives. I am grateful again to Mr. McGarvey and the commitment of this committee to move this legislation today. This act would provide a comprehensive assessment of the needs of our entrepreneurs with disabilities and help to inform lawmakers of legislative solutions to address the challenges these individuals face and breakdown barriers so they can pursue their employment options. I urge my colleagues to support the bill. As I like to say back home this is one more effort to show America what it means to think differently for those with intellectual, physical, and developmental disabilities. And with that I yield back. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back. Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for a statement on this bill? If no other Members wish to be recognized, I would like to recognize the Ranking Member to speak on the bill. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased support the legislation offered by Mr. McGarvey and Mr. Molinaro, which will require the SBA to submit a report to Congress on the challenges facing entrepreneurs with disabilities. There are 44 million people with disabilities in the United States. While progress has been made to increase employment rates, disabled individuals lag behind people without disabilities. Only 26 percent of people with disabilities participate in the labor force. As a country we can do better and we must do better. Studies have found higher rates of self-employment among disabled Americans, most often because it offers more flexibility and the ability to work remotely. That is why we need a comprehensive study to assess the SBA resources that are available to entrepreneurs with disabilities examine their effectiveness and determine what actions need to be take to help support entrepreneurs with disabilities. I applaud Mr. McGarvey and Mr. Molinaro for their leadership on this issue. I support the bill, and I yield back my time. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentlelady yields back. H.R. 7985, the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Reporting Act of 2024, will require the SBA to issue a report to Congress on the challenges individuals with disabilities face when starting a business. Furthermore, it would require the SBA to look at resources across the federal government that assist individuals with disabilities. The Government Accountability Office estimate there are only 50 programs across 9 federal agencies that support employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. However, as we know federal agencies often fail to coordinate or collaborate on such programs to ensure that their efforts are not duplicated. The Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Reporting Act of 2024 will require the SBA to look at this fragmented system and do its part to consolidate and streamline these efforts. I thank Representatives McGarvey and Molinaro for introducing this legislation. I urge all Members to vote yes. If there's no further discussion, the committee now moves to consideration of H.R. 7985. The clerk will report. The CLERK. H.R. 7985, to require the administrator of the Small Business Administration---- Mr. WILLIAMS. Without objection, the first reading of the bill is dispensed and, without objection, the bill is considered as read and open for amendment. Do any Members seek recognition for purpose of offering an amendment? Seeing none, the question is now on the adoption of H.R. 7985 and favorably reporting to the House? All those in favor, say aye. All those opposed, say no. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. Mr. MCGARVEY. Chairman? Mr. WILLIAMS. Seek recognition. Mr. MCGARVEY. Mr. Chairman, I seek a roll call vote. Mr. WILLIAMS. Okay. A recorded vote has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to committee rule 13 and House rule XI further proceedings on the bill are postponed. H.R. 7989 The next bill we will markup is H.R. 7989, the ThinkDIFFERENTLY About Disabilities Employment Act, introduced by Representatives Molinaro and Pappas. I now recognize the bill's sponsor, Mr. Molinaro for an opening statement. Mr. MOLINARO. Thank you again, Mr. Chairman. I am proud to speak in favor of this bill and very grateful to the committee for moving forward H.R. 7989, the ThinkDIFFERENTLY About Disabilities Employment Act. Building off of a nationwide effort to an initiative we refer to as ThinkDIFFERENTLY in my home state this bill will require greater cooperation between the SBA and the National Counsel on Disability to expand employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for the disability community. In New York State alone, as was noted, 60 percent of working-age people with disabilities are unemployed. Nationwide that number rises to 80 percent of those with intellectual, physical, and developmental disabilities remain unemployed and outside the workforce. We know from small businesses throughout upstate New York and across America, we understand the many benefits of hiring individuals with intellectual, physical, and developmental disabilities. And especially we understand that in many cases their unique skillsets are sound economic investments, but, as importantly, help to boost company morale and make a benefit to the company overall. And their participation in the workforce promotes greater employee engagement. The ThinkDIFFERENTLY About Disability Employment Act paves the way for lawmakers to assess the challenges that employees and entrepreneurs with disabilities face while proactively working to ensure those with disabilities have the support to pursue real career opportunities. I'd like to thank my colleague, Representative Pappas, for his partnership and leadership on the bill and I urge my colleagues to support this very simple, smart, bipartisan legislation that is meant again to tear down barriers and create opportunities for everyone of every ability and perhaps show Congress and the world what it means to think differently. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize the bill's cosponsor, Mr. Pappas, for an opening statement. Mr. PAPPAS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Small business ownership is a major pathway for all Americans to achieve success and self-sufficiency and people with disabilities participate in entrepreneurship at a higher rate than nondisabled Americans. The ThinkDIFFERENTLY About Disability Employment Act will support collaboration between SBA and the National Counsel on Disability to help folks with disabilities pursue small business ownership and employment opportunities. Individuals with disabilities deserve equal access to support from SBA and this bipartisan legislation is an important step forward that will help achieve that. This will support entrepreneurship and employment of individuals with disabilities while helping our main street economies grow and our communities thrive. So, I am pleased to partner with Representative Molinaro on this bill. I thank him for his steadfast leadership in this space and I urge my colleagues to support it. I yield back. Mr. WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back. Are there any other Members who wish to be recognized for a statement on this bill? If there are no other Members who wish to be recognized, I would like to recognize the Ranking Member to speak on the bill. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the sponsor of this bill and I strongly support the bill. I yield back. Mr. WILLIAMS. I now recognize myself to speak in support of this legislation. Individuals with disabilities are more likely to be self- employed than the average American. Across the federal government there are numerous programs and resources to assist Americans with disabilities, yet resources tailored to entrepreneurs with disabilities at the SBA are sorely lacking. H.R. 7989, the ThinkDIFFERENTLY About Disabilities Employment Act, will require the SBA to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Council on Disability, which is an independent federal agency whose mission is to provide a recommendation to policymakers and issues impacting individuals with disabilities. This makes the National Disability Council equally qualified or uniquely qualified to advise and assist the SBA in the pursuit of assisting individuals with disabilities achieve the American dream. I would like to thank Representative Molinaro for his commitment to ensuring Congress works to pave the pathway to success for entrepreneurs and employees with disabilities and thank him and Mr. Pappas for introducing this legislation. I urge all my colleagues to vote yes this legislation. So, if there is no further discussion, the committee now moves to the consideration of H.R. 7989. The clerk will report. The CLERK. H.R. 7989, to provide---- Mr. WILLIAMS. Without objection, the first reading of the bill is dispended and, without objection, the bill is considered and read and open for amendment. Do any Members seek recognition for the purpose of offering an amendment? Seeing none, the question is now on the adoption of H.R. 7989 and favorably reporting 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. 7989-- do you seek recognition? Mr. MOLINARO. I request a recorded vote. Mr. WILLIAMS. A recorded vote has been requested and a roll call vote is ordered. Pursuant to committee rule 13 and House rule XI, further proceedings on the bill are postponed. The committee now stands in recess. Subject to the call of the Chair, we will resume at a later time. But I think we decided on 11:30, right? We will resume at 11:30. [Recess.] Mr. WILLIAMS. The committee will now come to order. The committee will now resume consideration of the bills on which roll call votes were requested and postponed. We will start with H.R. 7984. The question now is on adopting H.R. 7984 and ordering it favorably to the House. The clerk will call the role. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? [No response.] Mr. Stauber? [No response.] 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.] 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? [No response.] Mr. LaLota? [No response.] Ms. Maloy? Ms. MALOY. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Maloy votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? [No response.] Mr. Phillips? [No response.] 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. Yes. The CLERK. Ms. Gluesenkamp 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. Yes. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes aye. Chaiman Williams? Mr. WILLIAMS. Aye. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes aye. Mr. WILLIAMS. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Chair, how am I reported? Mr. WILLIAMS. As absent. Mr. STAUBER. Please change it to a yes. The CLERK. Mr. Stauber votes aye. Mr. ELLZEY. Mr. Chairman, how was my vote recorded? The CLERK. The congressman was recorded as no vote or as not voting. Mr. ELLZEY. Ellzey, aye. The CLERK. Mr. Ellzey votes aye. Mr. WILLIAMS. Do any other Members with to vote or change their vote? Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. On that vote, Mr. LaLota is recorded as an aye. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 23 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 present. Mr. WILLIAMS. H.R. 7984 is adopted and will be reported favorably to the House. Before I move on, there are two people I want to thank that have made our hearing go as it has today, go very well. I want to first of all thank Ellen. Thank you very much for all you have done on your side and we appreciate it very much. And also, I want to thank Andrew, who has done a good job over here. They have made everything run well and we appreciate them. So, thank you. The question is now on adopting H.R. 5333, as amended, and order it favorably reported to the House. The clerk will call the role. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? [No response.] Mr. Stauber? [No response.] 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. 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. [No response.] Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes aye. Ms. Maloy? Ms. MALOY. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Maloy votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? [No response.] Mr. Phillips? [No response.] 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. Yes. The CLERK. Ms. Gluesenkamp 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. Yes. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes aye. Chaiman Williams? Mr. WILLIAMS. Aye. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes aye. Mr. STAUBER. Stauber votes aye. The CLERK. Mr. Stauber votes aye. Mr. WILLIAMS. Okay. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? All right. Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 23 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 present. Mr. WILLIAMS. The motion is agreed to and H.R. 5333, as amended, is adopted and will be reported favorably to the House. The question now is on adopting H.R. 8014 and ordering it favorably to the House. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? [No response.] 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? [No response.] Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes aye. Ms. Maloy? Ms. MALOY. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Maloy votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? [No response.] Mr. Phillips? [No response.] 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. Yes. 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. Yes. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes aye. Chaiman Williams? Mr. WILLIAMS. Aye. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes aye. Mr. WILLIAMS. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? All right. Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 23 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 present. Mr. WILLIAMS. Okay. The motion is agreed to and H.R. 8014 is adopted and will be reported favorably to the House. The question now is on adopting H.R. 7987 and ordering it favorably to the House. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? [No response.] 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? [No response.] Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes aye. Ms. Maloy? Ms. MALOY. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Maloy votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? [No response.] Mr. Phillips? [No response.] 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. Yes. 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. Yes. The CLERK. Ranking Member Velazquez votes aye. Chaiman Williams? Mr. WILLIAMS. Aye. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes aye. Mr. WILLIAMS. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? All right. Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 23 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 present. Mr. WILLIAMS. Okay. The motion is agreed to and H.R. 7987 is adopted and will be reported favorably to the House. The question now is on adopting H.R. 7988 and ordering it favorably to the House. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? [No response.] 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? [No response.] Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes aye. Ms. Maloy? Ms. MALOY. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Maloy votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? [No response.] Mr. Phillips? [No response.] 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. Yes. 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? Mr. WILLIAMS. Aye. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes aye. Mr. WILLIAMS. Are there any other Members that have not voted or wish to change their vote? Seeing none the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 23 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 present. Mr. WILLIAMS. Okay. The motion is agreed to and H.R. 7988 is adopted and will be reported favorably to the House. The question now is on adopting H.R. 7985 and ordering it favorably to the House. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? [No response.] 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? [No response.] Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes aye. Ms. Maloy? Ms. MALOY. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Maloy votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? [No response.] Mr. Phillips? [No response.] 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. Yes. 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? Mr. WILLIAMS. Aye. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes aye. Mr. 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 23 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 present. Mr. WILLIAMS. Okay. The motion is agreed to and H.R. 7985 is adopted and will be reported favorably to the House. The question now is on adopting H.R. 7989 and ordering it favorably reported to the House. The clerk will call the roll. The CLERK. Mr. Luetkemeyer? [No response.] 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? [No response.] Mr. LaLota? Mr. LALOTA. Aye. The CLERK. Mr. LaLota votes aye. Ms. Maloy? Ms. MALOY. Aye. The CLERK. Ms. Maloy votes aye. Mr. Golden? Mr. GOLDEN. Yes. The CLERK. Mr. Golden votes aye. Mr. Mfume? [No response.] Mr. Phillips? [No response.] 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. Yes. 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? Mr. WILLIAMS. Aye. The CLERK. Chairman Williams votes aye. Mr. WILLIAMS. Are there any other Members who have not voted or wish to change their vote? All right. Seeing none, the clerk will report. The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, on that vote 23 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 present. Mr. WILLIAMS. Okay. The motion is agreed to and H.R. 7989 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, and minority views. I want to thank everyone for being here today. I also want to say it was a great hearing. I think when you go home you can tell them about a committee that actually is getting something done in a bipartisan fashion. And I appreciate everybody's work on both sides of the aisle. And if there is no further business, this concludes today's markup. Without objection, the committee stands adjourned. [Whereupon, at 11:57 a.m., the committee was adjourned.] A P P E N D I X [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] [all]