Steve Chabot

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Cole has been a leader in this area for many years now, and I appreciate that leadership. I rise today, as chairman of the House Small Business Committee, in strong support of H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. The importance of robust international trade for America's small businesses cannot be overstated. Small businesses represent 98 percent of all goods-exporting firms in the United States--98 percent are small businesses--establishing our Nation's role as the world's leader in international trade. Seven out of every 10 new jobs in this country are created by small businesses. So if we want to improve the economy and trade, small businesses are an integral part of doing that. In my home State of Ohio alone, more than 1.5 million jobs are tied to international trade, many of them with these small firms. The bipartisan Customs reauthorization bill before us today will give small businesses the confidence and security they need to compete in a global marketplace. Specifically, it accomplishes this important goal by making sure international trade agreements are working to benefit America's small businesses and the employees of those small businesses. That is why I am pleased that the finished bill incorporates language that our committee helped to craft to ensure we are doing everything we can to keep the doors of trade open to small businesses. We have done this in that committee, in general, in a bipartisan fashion. By modernizing the procedures and systems used by Customs and Border Protection, this bill also improves trade facilitation and makes sure their safeguards are working as intended. By giving the Treasury new tools to crack down on currency manipulation, this bill ensures that foreign competitors like China aren't taking advantage of our workers and small businesses. That has been a top issue for those of us that have dealt with trade, and that is the concept, that the Chinese have been manipulating their currency to give them an unfair advantage over America's businesses, that this bill helps to deal with. By empowering the CPB and the Department of Commerce, this bill will make it easier to hold bad actors accountable when they engage in unfair trade or evasive trade practices. Mr. Speaker, this is truly commonsense legislation that will help America's small businesses at a time when they need our help to compete in the era of globalization. I also thank my friend and colleague from Texas (Mr. Brady), the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, for his leadership on this issue. He has worked on this since he introduced a Customs reauthorization bill back in 2011, and I know that is the basis for today's legislation. I again thank Chairman Cole for his hard work in this area because trade is important to jobs. Yes, it is important to large corporations, but it is especially important to those small businesses all across America who engage in international trade. In the Small Business Committee, we are encouraging them more and more to do that. That means more jobs for more families all over this country. I urge my colleagues to support this.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, they did it again. The LaSalle Lancers won the Ohio Division II State football championship for the second year in a row, and they won it convincingly, as they did last year, 42-0, this time over Massillon Perry. One reason LaSalle was ready to compete and prevail for the State championship was they were challenged throughout the season by other great Cincinnati high school football programs. There is a saying, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Having to play Cincinnati powerhouse teams like Colerain, Elder, St. X, and Moeller didn't kill LaSalle, but it certainly made them stronger. I am proud to say that LaSalle has been an important part of my life. I got my start in politics there by getting elected to the student council, and I played football, starting on the defensive line. Ten years later, my younger brother, Dave, also played defensive back for LaSalle. Of course, there is another saying, the older I get, the better I was. So congratulations to LaSalle's players, coaches, students, teachers, parents, and supporters. Well done. Lancers, roll deep. Congratulations.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, in closing, we never know when or where the next disaster will strike. But, unfortunately, we do know that there will be another disaster. In fact, there will be more disasters. Given this, we must ensure that the SBA is truly prepared to help victims in the aftermath of those disasters. H.R. 208 rights the wrongs imposed by the SBA on those who suffered from the effects of Sandy. But H.R. 208 does more than just correct past mistakes. It imposes obligations on the SBA to ensure the agency learns from history and does not repeat those mistakes. I urge my colleagues to vote to concur on the Senate amendment H.R. 208. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, on July 13, this Chamber overwhelmingly passed H.R. 208, which was a corrective measure for those who suffered twice: first, by a disaster and, second, by the SBA's inability to provide disaster assistance. Since that time, we have experienced more natural disasters, with the President issuing major disaster declarations for the wildfires in California and across the country in South Carolina for the severe storms and flooding that recently occurred. As we know too well, a major natural disaster can happen anywhere, at any time, and to anyone in this great Nation. A natural disaster exposes us to the worst nature has to offer, yet it oftentimes brings out the best in people. Communities band together, neighbors help neighbors, and volunteers donate their time and energy, all in an effort to rebuild. Over the last decade, America has faced some of its worst natural disasters, with Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and, more recently, Hurricane Sandy in 2012. In the aftermath of any disaster, it is imperative that Federal Government programs operate efficiently and effectively so victims are able to rebuild and return their lives to normal as soon as possible. Following both Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy, there have been startling reports regarding the Small Business Administration's inability to properly administer the disaster loan program. The bill before us today, as amended by the Senate, has the great fortune of being authored by two individuals who have seen firsthand how challenging the SBA disaster loan process is in the aftermath of these catastrophic storms. The amendment we seek to concur in today comes from Senator Vitter, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, who, as we all know, represents the great State of Louisiana, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Senator Vitter's amendment strengthens the already strong underlying bill, which was authored by our committee's ranking member, Ms. Velazquez, whose district in New York City was ravaged by Superstorm Sandy. I would like to thank them both for their leadership and hard work on these issues and for working together to craft legislation which takes into account the needs of disaster victims and taxpayers. This amendment further ensures that the SBA will be able to respond quickly to the needs of disaster victims. It makes commonsense improvements to the program, such as allowing SBA's resource partners who already have a presence in the disaster area to engage with small businesses as soon as the area is declared a disaster, meaning small businesses can resume operating faster and getting people back to work. It also recognizes that sometimes those resource partners will have been affected by the disaster and allows small-business development centers, SBDCs, from other States to go into affected areas temporarily and to aid victims. I know in my home district, Ohio's First District, having Kentucky so close, this would be essential if either State's SBDC suffered due to a natural disaster. Further, the amendment builds on the underlying bill's concerns regarding the SBA's struggle with electronic disaster loan applications following Superstorm Sandy. This amendment ensures that Congress will be informed of the status of the electronic application web portal so that we can provide oversight and prevent failures that happened in previous disasters from recurring. These changes, among others, will ensure that the SBA is fully capable of responding to the next disaster. Again, I want to offer a special thanks to our committee's ranking member, Ms. Velazquez, for her insight and leadership on this issue and for working in a bipartisan, bicameral manner, as she does. I have seen that as chair of the Small Business Committee that I chair now, but I have also been the ranking member under her when she was chair, and it was always bipartisan. We have worked together in a very collegial manner, and I thank her for that. I want to thank her for this bill and developing it. It will help to ensure those affected by disasters can rebuild quickly and that the interests of the taxpayers are protected. This legislation, as amended and passed by the Senate, has broad bipartisan support. I urge my colleagues to support and concur on H.R. 208, as amended by the Senate. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 208) to improve the disaster assistance programs of the Small Business Administration.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. With that understanding, I withdraw my amendment.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Chairman, I would also like to share in the gentleman's comments about our colleague, Howard Coble of North Carolina. He was truly a wonderful part of this distinguished institution. I served on the Judiciary Committee for the better part of 20 years with Howard Coble, and we all looked up to him. He was kind of one of a kind, and I say that in the most honorable way. He was one we looked to. He had a sense of humor that went to your heart. He was just a great guy. He will be truly missed not only by his constituents, but by this House that he loved for so many years. On my amendment, I have heard both the chairman and our friends on the minority side indicate they are willing to work with us on this amendment.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Chairman, I will be brief. All of us here have the honor to serve in the people's House, and we are here to serve our constituents--the people who send us here from all over the country--and also to serve in the best interests of our great Nation. I had a constituent who approached me. I happened to be touring the business at which he works, and he told me something that affected me greatly. His son was just days before his 23rd birthday. He was a student at the University of Cincinnati. He was coming down Interstate 75 in a minivan and was minding his own business. I don't know what he was thinking about, but he had his whole future ahead of him. But a completely avoidable accident occurred. A wheel that was so rusted broke free from a big rig, and it crossed the median. It struck the vehicle he was in, and it killed him immediately, a couple of days before his 23rd birthday. It had been a couple of years, but his father was still very emotional about this, understandably so. We looked into this situation. We talked with a number of our colleagues and did a lot of research on it and worked with the American Trucking Association and with America's Independent Truckers' Association as well. We came up with an amendment to this particular bill that we are discussing here this evening, the transportation bill. What the amendment would do, essentially, is stiffen the penalties for a driver who knowingly operates a commercial vehicle that has a serious defect that results in a fatal crash. Clearly, what we are trying to do is to make the public more safe and to deal with a family that has been tragically changed forever. They lost one of the most important members of that particular family. We are trying to do this in a responsible way. The trucking industry in this country, for the most part, is very safety conscious, and their rate of fatalities has come down. I commend them greatly for what they are trying to do, but there is a hole in the system right now. In this particular situation, there was a rusted thing that shouldn't have been on the road. This type of thing doesn't happen all that often, but it happened this time, and it killed my constituent's son. We have discussed this with the chairman and with staff. It is my understanding that the chairman is willing to work with us on addressing this issue of trying to make the American public safer and is willing to work with our distinguished folks on the minority side as well. With that understanding, I am willing to withdraw my amendment here this evening and continue to work with them through the process to hopefully address this issue in a way that will receive support on both sides of the aisle so that we can pass this into law and make the public safer. It will allow this particular family, who was affected so tragically in this instance, to know that they have done something to honor their son. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster).

Mr. CHABOT. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Mason High School marching band, which was selected to participate in the Rose Bowl parade on New Year's Day. Only 20 high school bands are selected from across the country each year to participate in this highly prestigious event. The Mason High School band has won four consecutive titles as the top high school band in all of Ohio. They also finished fifth in the national competition, becoming only the second band from southwest Ohio to ever play in the Rose Bowl parade. I know that the students in the band have put in a lot of hard work for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I have no doubt that they will perform magnificently. The Rose Bowl parade is televised around the world in 115 countries. So this is a great opportunity to show the world the talented students from southwest Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I want to wish the students, the parents, the teachers, and all of Mason High School the best as they travel and perform and make our community proud. Go, Comets.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. I thank the gentlewoman for her kind words. She mentioned she is a Miami of Ohio graduate. I would just note for the Record that our son Randy is a graduate, and my younger brother Dave is also a graduate of that great college. I almost went there myself. I now yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Curbelo).

Mr. CHABOT. I thank the gentlewoman for her kind and inspiring remarks. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Comstock).

Mr. CHABOT. I thank the gentlewoman very much for her remarks this evening, and I thank all the Members who came here, on both sides of the aisle, to speak. I want to particularly thank Ms. Kaptur for participating in this tribute to Speaker Boehner so that it was truly bipartisan this evening. I have some concluding remarks. I don't think there are any more speakers following that. I think we have just about enough time. I already said a few things about John, but let me continue. John Boehner was born in 1949. He was the second of 12 children, 9 boys and 3 girls. His parents, Mary Anne and Earl Henry Boehner, ran the family business, Andy's Bar, in Carthage, which is a neighborhood in my district. John's grandfather opened that bar back in 1938. John grew up in a two-bedroom house in Reading, with John sharing one bedroom with three brothers, while his sister had the other. His parents slept on the pull-out couch. Although his father would later build a three-bedroom addition to the house, John still had to share a single bathroom with his 11 brothers and sisters. So he learned how to manage conflict early in his life. Also, as the second oldest, he had to help his parents out not only around the house with his younger brothers and sisters, but also with the family business. At age 8, John began to work at Andy's Bar, starting by mopping floors. Later he would wait on tables. In doing so, John learned the value of a dollar and the importance of hard work. John attended Moeller High School, as we have mentioned a few times this evening, and he played linebacker for future Notre Dame Head Coach Gerry Faust at Moeller. Playing in the GCL for Coach Faust, John learned that you can achieve any goal in life if you are willing to work hard and to make the necessary sacrifices. As hard as it is for a LaSalle Lancer like myself to praise a Moeller Crusader, it is clear to me that John learned that lesson well, and his life and career are a testament to that message. After graduating from high school in 1968, John enlisted in the Navy while America was heavily involved in Vietnam. He was later honorably discharged due to a bad back, an injury he had suffered as a teenager working at the family bar. After holding several entry-level jobs, John then set his sights on a college degree. With the encouragement of William Smith, a professor at Xavier University and high school football referee who was mentoring him about refereeing local sports, John decided to attend Xavier. Throughout his time at Xavier University, John juggled numerous jobs, although his primary job was as a janitor for a Reading company. His hard work paid off, and he graduated from Xavier in 1977, becoming the first person in his family to graduate from college. But his work as a janitor had another more important reward. He met his wife of 42 years, Debbie, who worked in the accounting department at the same company. They would marry in 1973, the same year my wife and I were married, and raised two daughters, Lindsay and Tricia, and now a grandson, Alistair. My wife and I also have two children, a daughter and a son, and one grandson so far. After graduating from Xavier, John was hired as a salesman for a small packaging and plastics company. Through hard work and determination, he steadily worked his way up the company ladder, ultimately serving as president of the company. He resigned from that position when he was elected to Congress in 1990. In that job, John learned what it takes to survive in a small business and he learned all too well how difficult it is for small businesses to deal with the regulatory and tax burdens imposed by the government. He brought that understanding to Washington, where he has fought for smaller, less-intrusive government. John got his start in politics by getting involved in his local homeowners association. That experience led him to run for Township Trustee in Butler County's Union Township, now called West Chester Township, in part, to distinguish it from 27 other Union Townships in Ohio, including one in my district, where he served from 1981 to 1984. In 1984, he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, where Republicans were heavily outnumbered by Democrats at the time. In 1990, he won a four-person Republican primary for Ohio's Eighth Congressional District. Although his victory was somewhat surprising in local political circles at the time, looking back now, it is more surprising that he wasn't the favorite. Upon his election to Congress, John became a member of the so-called Gang of Seven, a group of Republicans who regularly battled with congressional leadership. Sounds like something around here in modern times. The Gang of Seven played a pivotal role in exposing the House Bank and post office scandals. Early on in his congressional career, John also worked closely with Newt Gingrich and helped to draft the Contract with America, a set of principles to which Republican candidates from all over the country agreed, including myself. It was those principles that propelled the Republican wave in 1994 and led to the first Republican majority in the House of Representatives in 40 years. Throughout his time in Congress, John has advocated commonsense reforms in the House and in the broader government. In addition to fighting to close the House Bank as part of the Contract with America, he also pushed for the requirement that Congress live by the same rules it imposes on the rest of the American people. Later, to help promote transparency in the appropriations process, John enacted the first ban on earmarks in the House. Although he will be remembered for many things, these reforms may have the most enduring impact on the credibility and integrity of this institution, the House of Representatives, the people's House. However, knowing John like I know him, I would guess that his fondest memory will be Pope Francis' visit to Washington and his address to Congress right here in this very room. It was truly a historic and monumental event, as Pope Francis became the first sitting pontiff to address a joint session of Congress ever. Millions of Americans, myself included, were moved by the Pope's message about a spiritual path to a better future, particularly his call on all of us to strengthen our families, protect the sanctity of life, and help the less fortunate among us. It was an amazing moment for this House and this country, and it wouldn't have been possible without Speaker John Boehner. I know it has been one of his top goals since he was in the Republican leadership back in the nineties, and I think it is a fitting finale to a very distinguished career. Ultimately, I hope that John Boehner is remembered like he would say, as a regular guy who rose from humble beginnings to become the leader of the people's House, as a leader who never stopped believing that the American people can overcome any obstacles, and as a crusader who fought for a smaller, less-intrusive, and more accountable government. Of course, I will always remember him as a friend. Thank you, John, for your service to our Nation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CHABOT. I thank the gentleman very much. Very inspiring. I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur).

Mr. CHABOT. I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty).

Mr. CHABOT. Reclaiming my time, the gentlewoman referred to having been given the opportunity to attend the funeral of the great Nelson Mandela. The Speaker actually made it possible for me to also go on a bipartisan delegation to the funeral of Pope John Paul II, and it was one of those experiences that is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It was a sad occasion, but nonetheless one that was very inspirational for me and a lot of other Members who went as well. I now yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Stivers).

Mr. CHABOT. I thank the gentleman. Does the gentlewoman from Ohio have any further speakers?

Mr. CHABOT. I appreciate the gentleman's words. He has been around here a long time. He is a very distinguished gentleman, a Korean war veteran, and we respect you greatly. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Tiberi).

Mr. CHABOT. I yield to the gentlewoman from northeastern Ohio (Marcia Fudge), representing Cleveland down to Akron.

Mr. CHABOT. Absolutely.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for participating this evening. We really do appreciate making this a bipartisan event. Although our next speaker is not from Ohio, she is the next best thing, the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Brooks), and that is no offense to our next door neighbors in Kentucky or Pennsylvania.