[House Hearing, 118 Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] MEMBER DAY ======================================================================= HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION __________ HEARING HELD NOVEMBER 30, 2023 __________ [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] Small Business Committee Document Number 118-032 Available via the GPO Website: www.govinfo.gov ________ U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 54-162 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 Hon. Jill Tokuda, a Representative in Congress from the State of Hawaii......................................................... 3 Hon. Ed Case, a Representative in Congress from the State of Hawaii......................................................... 5 Hon. Jen Kiggans, a Representative in Congress from the State of Virginia....................................................... 7 Hon. Blake Moore, a Representative in Congress from the State of Utah........................................................... 9 APPENDIX Prepared Statements: Hon. Jill Tokuda, a Representative in Congress from the State of Hawaii.................................................. 11 Hon. Ed Case, a Representative in Congress from the State of Hawaii..................................................... 14 Hon. Jen Kiggans, a Representative in Congress from the State of Virginia................................................ 16 Hon. Blake Moore, a Representative in Congress from the State of Utah.................................................... 18 Questions for the Record: None. Answers for the Record: None. Additional Material for the Record: Hon. Mark Alford Statement for Member Day on the VA's T4NG2 Contract................................................... 20 MEMBER DAY ---------- THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2023 House of Representatives, Committee on Small Business, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:02 a.m., in Room 2360, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Roger Williams [chairman of the Committee] presiding. Present: Representatives Williams, Velazquez, Landsman, and Davids. Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay, before we get started I recognize myself to lead us in the Pledge and the prayer. Please stand. 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. Bow your head, please. Heavenly Father, God of all people, thank you for allowing us to be here today to do things together as a team to make our country better and be open-minded about it. In Your name we pray. Amen. Good morning. I now call the Committee on Small Business to order. Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a recess of the Committee at any time. I now recognize myself for my opening statement. Welcome to today's House Committee on Small Business Member Day Hearing. I want to thank each of you who may not sit on this Committee for taking the time to come and share with us what you are hearing from small businesses in your districts. I think this is an excellent way for those of us on the Committee to broaden our understanding and hear about what is going on in different parts of the country. It is also beneficial to hear how different Members interact with small businesses in their districts. As I am sure we all have seen, America's entrepreneurs have had to confront historic challenges over the past few years-- the COVID-19, out of control inflation, broken supply chains, high interest rates, and a national labor shortage. But as small business have done countless times before, they endure. Here on the Committee on Small Business we are working to create an environment where businesses can thrive and survive, and we all know that small business owners dedicate their lives and finances to the products and services they bring to the marketplace. Every extra hour of paperwork is one less hour they can tend to their personal livelihoods; every inflated tax is an extra dollar that could have gone somewhere else; and every job vacancy is one more a small business owner must cover themselves. As we listen to the firsthand accounts, we salute the small businesses who continue to fight and give selflessly back to their communities, and we are eager to enact policies and solutions that will help pave a path toward success for both now in the future. That is why we are looking forward to our conversation today. There is always something we can learn and increasing the dialogue about small businesses between Members and it can only strengthen and broaden our collective experience in how to better serve our nation's biggest job creators. I want to thank you all for being here with us today. I look forward to today's conversation. With that, I yield to our distinguished Ranking Member from the great state of New York, Ms. Velazquez. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Today is a chance for the Committee to hear directly from our fellow Members of Congress about their priorities for supporting programs and policies that promote small business creation and growth. Small businesses have experienced unprecedented challenges over the past few years. In 2020, the pandemic closed more small businesses than any other year on record. As the COVID crisis began to ease, many small businesses were then confronted with supply chain problems, staffing shortages, and rising costs. Despite all of these challenges, small employers have been the driving force behind our economic recovery from the pandemic. This is in part due to the bipartisan efforts of this Committee over the years which helped provide over $1 trillion in relief to small firms during a time of need. Today we continue to see the fruits of that historic investment. Since President Biden took office, Americans have filed a record 14.6 million applications to start businesses and recorded record job creation rates. At the same time, unemployment remains near historic lows, and more than 14 million jobs have been created since the start of 2021. As Members of Congress, it is our responsibility to help build on the progress small businesses have made and supply them with the resources they need to thrive. To do this we must have a keen understanding of the top challenges facing entrepreneurs back home in our district. I know that when we travel back to our districts, we are eager to hear from our local small business owners to understand what policies are working for them and what we can improve on. For the Members testifying here today, I know that you have been gathering feedback from main street businesses in your district. I look forward to your insights, and I appreciate you taking the time to be a voice for small business constituents today. This Committee's mission is to open the lucrative federal marketplace to entrepreneurs, strengthen capital markets for all small employers, and give small firms the tools they need to take care of their employees and build their companies. We do so while working together. Our Committee has a long history of bipartisanship because we all agree that small businesses truly are the backbone of our economy. They unify us in our work and hold our communities together. Today we have the chance to engage in an open dialogue on how we can collaborate to support small firms. Thank you again to all the Members for being here today. I look forward to our discussion. Thank you. I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. So before we continue I would like to take a moment to explain the rules of civil proceeding. That is like talking to the choir. I get it. But I do want to emphasize one thing about this Committee. We are a bipartisan Committee. We get a lot of things done together and so forth and we are proud of that. So each Member will be given 5 minutes to deliver their testimony and after they finish speaking we will briefly pause as we change the panel to accommodate the next Member. With that I would like to introduce our first Member, the Honorable Jill Tokuda from the great state of Hawaii. Representative Tokuda--am I saying that correctly? Ms. TOKUDA. Tokuda. Chairman WILLIAMS. Tokuda. I am from Texas remember. Okay. All right. The representative who represents Hawaii's Second Congressional District, which includes suburban Oahu and the remainder of the Hawaiian Islands, elected November of 2022 to serve in the 118th Congress. The representatives serves on the House Committee on Agriculture, the Committee on Armed Services, and the select Subcommittee on the Corona virus pandemic. So representative, it is nice to have you here. Thank you for taking the time to come see us and I recognize you for 5 minutes. STATEMENT OF HON. JILL TOKUDA, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF HAWAII Ms. TOKUDA. Thank you, Chairman Williams, Ranking Member Velazquez, and distinguished Members of the House Small Business Committee. Mahalo for the opportunity to testify before you today. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy in Hawaii. From tour operators to local foods that I know most of you have enjoyed, jewelry and clothing, product manufacturing and service providers, small businesses in Hawaii support their local communities through jobs and investments and have made Hawaii a leading destination for both business and tourism. I want to thank this Committee for its decisive action during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your work helped to save countless Hawaii small businesses from going under. You saved jobs. I am testifying before you today to ask for your help once again to respond to a historic crisis on Maui that is impacting our entire state. I am honored to represent Hawaii's Second Congressional District which spans all eight of our major Hawaiian islands, including the island of Maui which suffered considerable devastation and death from the August 8 fires, the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history in over a century. In just a single day, the Maui wildfires cause significant physical damage and emotional trauma that will be felt in Lahaina on Maui and throughout our entire state for generations to come. Lahaina was home to as many as 1,000 businesses, many of them small mom and pop, family owned and operated, many of them microbusinesses with nine employees or less. By some estimates, the catastrophic damage inflicted upon our Maui communities as a result of the fires has caused up to $6 billion in economic losses. According to state agencies, 40 percent of Maui's economy depended on tourism and visitor spending on Maui made up about 1/3 of total visitor spending in our state. Because of the fires, visitor numbers on Maui are at historic lows. From the latest monthly data, just over 94,000 visitors coming to Maui in September of 2023. That volume represents a more than 57 percent drop from September of 2022. In addition to the physical damage from the fires, small businesses throughout Hawaii, especially Maui, are facing an economic crisis. In response, the Hawaii Small Business Administration and Small Business Development Centers have acted swiftly to provide resources and support to businesses in need, and I want to commend them for their responsiveness and their unwavering commitment to getting our business back on track. As of the end of October, the small business administration has served over 7,900 individuals and approved 1,219 disaster assistance loans for almost $200 million; 398 business loans totaling $59 million; and 821 loans for homeowners and renters totaling $140.9 million. While this assistance has been critical in helping residents rebuild and recover from the fires, too many businesses in my district are still, unfortunately, getting left behind from existing federal programs. Just as you recognize in the midst of the pandemic, supplemental programs are needed to meet the needs that arise from unprecedented disaster. I have heard from countless small business owners still recovering from the economic impact of the pandemic who cannot qualify for SBA assistance because of program capital requirements or could not take on more loans because they had existing debt from pandemic error programs. Over 4,700 EIDL loans totaling roughly $569 million were made to my county during the pandemic. Understanding the compounding financial impact COVID and the fire have had on our small business, I introduced the Microenterprise Assistance and Urgent Investment for Supporting Trade, Recovery Operations, and Neighborhood Growth, or the MAUI STRONG Act. This bill would help businesses reestablish themselves and provide an economic bridge to recovery by providing grants of up to $20,000 to nonprofits, small businesses with fewer than 25 employees, and independent contractors that expense revenue lost because of the fires. These funds would help cover a variety of expenses that come with rebuilding and restarting a business. In addition to the need for direct relief, changes to federal contracting laws would go a long way in supporting local businesses recovering from disaster. FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are to be commended for their swift action hiring local 8(a) Native Hawaiian Organizations to perform debris removal, construct a temporary school, and provide cultural oversight of operations in the burn zone and Lahaina. Native Hawaiian small businesses have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to do critical work across federal government and we should take the example of the fires to ensure Native Hawaiian businesses can receive 8(a) direct awards above the competitive threshold from all federal agencies, not just through the Department of Defense. My bill, H.R. 3830 would do just that, so that Native Hawaiian organizations have parity with Native America and Alaska Native owned businesses. Chairman Williams, Ranking Member Velazquez, our Small Business Committee Members, small businesses and entrepreneurs in Hawaii are emblematic of the hard working spirit that makes our nation so great. At this time of unprecedented disaster in my home state of Hawaii, Congress must do everything possible to support those who are struggling. I truly appreciate this opportunity to testify before you today and look forward to working with you to support our State of Hawaii. Mahalo. Chairman WILLIAMS. Well, thank you very much. And I would just like to say I have been to every state in the union but Hawaii. But just from your testimony we have a thing called the Texas spirit that we talk about all the time. And it sounds like you have got the Hawaii spirit. Thank you for being here. Now we will introduce our next Member, The Honorable Ed Case. Ed, thank you for being here from the great state of Hawaii. Is everybody from Hawaii here? Representative Case represents Hawaii's First Congressional District, which covers the urban portion of Oahu. Congressman Case previously represented Hawaii's Second Congressional District from 2002 to 2007 after serving as a state representative from 1994 to 2002. His positions in the legislature included majority leader. Since returning to Congress in 2019, Representative Case has served on the House Committee on Appropriations where he is currently a Member of the Subcommittee on Defense and the Subcommittee on Homeland Security. Congressman Case, it is nice to have you here. Thank you for being here and I recognize you for 5 minutes. STATEMENT OF HON. ED CASE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF HAWAII Mr. CASE. Thank you so much Mr. Chair and Ranking Member. It is great to be back. You missed the most important part which is I was a former Member of this Committee during my-- yes, I did. So I have very good memories and have taken many, many lessons from my service on this Committee. I appreciate the opportunity to talk with you today. Like my colleague, Ms. Tokuda--and by the way, I endorse everything that she just said to you--I am on the bills that she referred to you. I am here to talk to you about Maui today and the specific devastating August 2023 Maui wildfires which had so much impact throughout our community but were particularly impactful on our small businesses. They were, as she has testified, one of the worst natural disasters in our country's history with significant death and displacement, burned areas throughout Lahaina in particular but not only Lahaina. And a particularly deep impact on our small businesses. Small businesses on Maui and businesses throughout Hawaii linked to Maui, have experienced what anybody would call a severe economic disruption following the fires. The State of Hawaii revised its statewide economic growth projections for 2023 and 2024 downward from 1.8 percent to 1.1 percent for 2023 and 2.0 to 1.5 percent in 2024. Far worst impacts on Maui, clearly just measured by initial unemployment claims as an example, which jumped from an average of 130 cases per week before the wildfire, 865 cases in the first week after to almost 5,000 in the second week after the fire. Unemployment went up to about 8.6-8.8 percent. This economic consequence of the fires is hitting our Hawaii small businesses hard. Still, they comprise the vast majority of our workforce and are the backbone of our economy. Hawaii is a state where small businesses is truly king. We have some 130,000 small businesses, and the average small business employs just 12 people. So it is a small, small business state. They already were recovering from COVID-19 but they find themselves particularly grappling with the aftermath of these recent wildfires. The SBA, as Ms. Tokuda has referred to, has responded admirably. They have approved almost 2,000 disaster loans, $243 million of loans, and while this is commendable progress, it is very, very clear that much more needs to be done. And the existing programs are falling short. This is really something that we saw during COVID because when we went into COVID we discovered that the programs of the small business were not exactly adapted to the crisis that we were being faced with and we needed to modify those and we did. And I think that was successful. And so take that same theory and apply it to the Maui wildfires, which present their own microcosm of small business consequence and the need to actually adjust both our laws and our programs from the small business perspective to specify particular needs that are on Maui. I am going to, myself, soon be introducing what we refer to as the Heal Maui Act, which is a comprehensive legislative proposal designed to provide swift and meaningful and direct support to our small business and their specific conditions on Maui during these times. There are several key provisions that directly address these issues. First of all, they seek to augment the existing SBA Economic Injury Disaster EIDL Loan program. Second, they would establish a new loan program under the 7(a) initiative to directly address the immediate financial challenges many businesses face in the aftermath of the wildfires. And finally, for those that have already taken out SBA disaster loans post-wildfire, my Heal Maui Act would offer a beacon of hope through loan cancellations where appropriate, recognizing the need to alleviate the weight of debt during these time when the businesses may not be able to open at all for a number of years. And therefore, we need to find some way to allow them to survive through a very difficult time of recovery. Again, this is not anything particularly new but what it does do is to take the lessons of our COVID-19 related refinements of the small business programs and continue them forward in another disaster which is every bit the same disaster as COVID-19 but with its own specific conditions that we need to adjust to. So I commend to you not only the legislation that Ms. Tokuda referred to, and not only the need to assist our small businesses in Maui but in particular as well the Heal Maui Act which I will soon introduce. And I ask for your favorable consideration when that ends up with the Committee. I appreciate your time. I appreciate your focus. I appreciate your effort. And Mahalo. Chairman WILLIAMS. What did you just say? Mr. CASE. Mahalo. Chairman WILLIAMS. Thank you. Mr. CASE. That is Texan for thank you. Chairman WILLIAMS. That is what I thought. That is what I thought I heard. But anyway, thank you for being here, too. And you have got a unique situation. I listened to your testimony. Adjustments, flexible, like we do in business anyway are needed and I think, you know, when you think about it, what your small business owners are going through, it is a real test of capitalism and entrepreneurship to begin to take something and start it all over again. And so we need to do what we can to make sure that happens. Thanks for being here. Mr. CASE. Thank you very much. Chairman WILLIAMS. Sure. I will now introduce our next Member, The Honorable Jen Kiggans, from the great state of Virginia. Representative Kiggans serves Virginia's Second Congressional District, which includes Virginia Beach, the Eastern Shore, and parts of Chesapeake and South Hampton. Representative Kiggans served three sessions in the Virginia State Senate before her election to the House, and prior to elected office, the Congresswoman served as a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Navy and worked as a geriatric nurse practitioner. Thank you for all of that. In the U.S. House, she sits on the Armed Services, Natural Resources, and Veterans Affairs Committee. So Congresswoman, thank you for being here, and you are recognized for 5 minutes. STATEMENT OF HON. JEN KIGGANS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF VIRGINIA Ms. KIGGANS. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for the Committee and for the warm welcome. I appreciate that. I have the honor of representing Virginia's Second Congressional District, which is home to one of the largest veteran populations in the country. So I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to discuss my Investing in Vets Act. Small businesses, as we know, are the cornerstone of the American economy. In fact, our country's entrepreneurs employ nearly half of all private sector workers and account for most new jobs created since 1995. Veterans who serve our country and are injured in the line of duty face tightened challenges during the already difficult transition from active duty service to civilian life. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 27 percent of veterans have a service-connected disability. Following their service, many veterans use the invaluable professional and life skills they learned in the military to have successful careers across a wide array of industries. Starting, owning, and operating a small business, much like serving our country, requires hard work, determination, and sacrifice, which is why it is no surprise than many veterans have successes in these ventures. In fact, some of the most dynamic and successful businesses in my district are veteran owned. I am also very proud that as of 2017, our Commonwealth boasts nearly 13,000 veteran-owned small businesses. As you know, small businesses face many barriers to success, including competing for government contracts. My Investing in Vets Act weeks to fix this by increasing the federal contracting goal for service-disabled, veteran- owned small businesses from 3 to 5 percent. My bill will help make small businesses more competitive when trying to secure federal contracting opportunities. Additionally, this bill would require these businesses to be certified by the Small Business Administration rather than the existing self- certification process. This important step will reduce fraud and ensure that the benefits of this program are going to those it intends to help. This legislation will provide an important economic boost for our veteran-owned small business at a time when rising prices have wreaked havoc on our nation's entrepreneurs. Once again, thank you to Chairman Williams, Ranking Member Velazquez, and all the Members of the Small Business Committee for giving me the opportunity to testify on my bill today. Thank you, and I yield back. Chairman WILLIAMS. Thank you very much. And self- certification is always something that is to be questioned in many cases; right? Well, thank you for being here, and thank you for your history now and what you have done in the past for our country. Thank you. All right, last but not least I would like to introduce the last Member appearing before us today, The Honorable Blake Moore from the great state of Utah. Representative Moore represents Utah's First District consisting of communities spread across northern Utah. Before being elected to Congress, Representative Moore was a small business owner himself in the healthcare and financial services industries. He has also had the honor of representing the United States abroad as a foreign services officer. After his election in 2021, he was honored to be selected as the first-ever Utah Republican on the Ways and Means Committee. Representative Moore was also elected to serve as Vice Chair of the House of Republican Conference earlier this month, and he is one of the great centerfielders of all- time in the congressional baseball games. Mr. MOORE. That is what we were waiting for. Chairman WILLIAMS. So Congressman Moore, it is good to see you, and you are recognized for 5 minutes. STATEMENT OF HON. BLAKE MOORE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF UTAH Mr. MOORE. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you AKA Skipper. Ranking Member, also. My apologies in advance for all of the baseball references that you probably have to endure on this Committee. To all the Members of the Committee, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to testify you on the critical issues of this Committee's jurisdiction. My remarks are going to be grounded in two major concerns that I have for the future of our nation and that is maintaining and growing a strong middle class and the burden that we are going to have with respect to retirement on our younger generation. And so in that vein this is what this particular piece of legislation ultimately tries to accomplish. Now, it is important always for me to be thinking about the big picture and any type of legislation that we put forward needs to be concerned with, you know, what are some of our biggest challenges going forward. And again, a strong middle class with respect to alleviating the retirement burden that will exist on our next generation. With respect to small businesses, the State of Utah is the proud home of over 330,000 small businesses that employ more than 600,000 Utahans across a variety of industries and this work that this Committee does is vital. I want to speak briefly about a bipartisan and bicameral legislation that I am proud to co-lead. It is H.R. 3383, the Employee Equity Investment Act of 2023. I was joined by Representatives Dean Phillips, Dusty Johnson, and Krissy Houlahan in introducing this vital legislation that will support small business owners who aim to pursue employee-owned arrangements. The Senate companion was introduced by Senators Marco Rubio and Chris Van Hollen. And according to the most recent Department of Labor data there were nearly 6,500 companies with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) in the United States as of 2021, including 59 ESOPs with approximately 22,000 workers in my home state of Utah. So Utah-based ESOPs distributed more than $200 million to employee owners in 2021, bringing greater financial security to these Utah families. Again, strong middle class, allowing for individuals as they pursue their career to have equity ownership is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to continue to grow our middle class along with good pro-growth tax policy that I focus on on Ways and Means. Going forward, expanding these arrangements would be a good thing for workers and businesses alike. The Employee Equity Investment Act would do just that by leveraging the Small Business Administration's small business investment company to provide loan guarantees for investment funds committee to expanding employee ownership such as through ESOPs or worker cooperatives. These investment funds would provide financing for owners selling a company to their employee. While also helping maintain current employee-owned companies, it would achieve this on a no subsidy basis on behalf of the taxpayer. Access to the capital necessary for ESOP conversion has been a major barrier to establishing more employee-owned companies. This legislation will provide a meaningful opportunity to expand employee-owned structures, and as I have noted, this will benefit local economies. Research shows that ESOPs outperform competitors, create higher quality jobs that retain employees at a higher rate, provide greater job security for workers during economic downturns, and improve the retirement security of employee owners. As almost 50 percent of private businesses in the United States are owned by individuals approaching retirement age--again, 50 percent of private businesses in the United States are owned by individuals nearly going to retire, bolstering employee ownership could help prevent businesses from shuttering and keep economic activity in our local communities. In Utah, this so-called ``silver tsunami'' could affect 25,300 firms representing 280,000 employees and over $50 billion in revenue. Lastly, we are proud that the Employee Equity Investment Act has the support of over 20 industries and community stakeholders. I look forward to working with the Members of this Committee to advance this important policy. And again, thank you both again for hosting this today and allowing for me to speak on this critical issue again that will strengthen the middle class and provide security for retirement for younger generations. Chairman WILLIAMS. Thank you, Congressman, for being here. I think you are right on. Being a business person myself it is always, as businesses get older, who do I pass it on to? And in most cases your employees, they are the best ones you have got in the business. They are your employees. They understand it. So thank you for that vision. I appreciate it very much. Are there any other Members who would like to be recognized by the Committee? Seeing no other comments, I would like to conclude by thanking all of you, the witness today, for taking time out of your busy schedule to be here on behalf of small business. Our Committee will keep your ideas at the top of our mind as we continue to address the issues that our nation's small businesses are facing. Members will have 5 legislative days to submit statements and supporting materials for the record. Without objection, so ordered. And I do want to, before we leave, say Happy Birthday to Ben Johnson. If you will all bear with me I am going to sing him Happy Birthday. This is your birthday song. It does not last too long. Hey! Happy Birthday. Finally, again, I would like to thank the Ranking Member and her team for making this Committee one of the best there is. And if there is no further business, this Committee is adjourned. [Whereupon, at 10:31 a.m., the committee was adjourned.] A P P E N D I X [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] [all]