Steve Chabot

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. I thank the gentleman for his kind words for the Speaker. I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur).

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing the time this evening with the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), who will handle the Democratic Members who are interested in speaking, and I think there may be some language up there that the Chair may want to read into the Record at the appropriate time.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta).

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

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, in having represented a neighboring district to John Boehner's for 19 of the last 21 years, I have come to know John pretty well. I consider him not just a colleague and the leader of the House, but a friend. It is not just our time in Congress in representing neighboring districts that we share. We have had a lot in common throughout our lives, and we have often talked about those similarities. We have both lived in the Cincinnati area our entire lives. We were born and grew up in Reading, a small, blue-collar neighborhood just to the north of the city of Cincinnati, although my family moved to Cincinnati's west side when I was 6 years old. We were both second-born children, although I am the second of 4 and John is the second of 12 children. We were both raised--and still are-- Catholic. So I know just how important having Pope Francis speak to a joint session of Congress was for Speaker John Boehner. We both played football in rival Catholic high schools in the GCL, the Greater Cincinnati League, which is an incredibly competitive league in a football-crazy State: Ohio. We both played defense. In fact, we both had ties to former head coaches at Notre Dame. John played for Gerry Faust at Moeller High School, and I was recruited to William & Mary by Lou Holtz, both of whom, of course, became head coaches at Notre Dame. We both worked to put ourselves through school as janitors. Later we both ran small businesses, John with a packaging and plastics business and I with a very small law practice. We both served in local politics in the Cincinnati area in the 1980s before being elected to Congress. So in many ways I understand the challenges that John has overcome, probably, more than most. Make no mistake. John Boehner's story is incredible. It is the American Dream personified. A couple of my colleagues, I know, would like to speak here this evening. So, first, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gibbs).

Mr. CHABOT. I thank the gentlewoman for her kind words. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Renacci), whom I happened to defeat in the Ohio delegation fantasy football league this past weekend.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Chicago, Illinois (Mr. Lipinski).

Mr. CHABOT. I thank the gentleman for his very kind words. I yield to the esteemed gentleman from New York City (Mr. Rangel). (Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Chairman, I have the honor of leading the House Small Business Committee. A few months back we held a hearing on this very topic. We heard from small businesses about how this ban is holding them back. That is the untold story of this. This ban is hurting small businesses all across this country. America is now the largest producer of oil and gas in the world. Lifting this decades-old ban is an opportunity to jump-start the economy. It would help 1 million Americans find work. It would increase the GDP. It would narrow the trade deficit, attract new capital to the U.S., and stabilize the global energy supply. If America is going to lead the world in the 21st century, let's not keep one hand tied behind our back. Let's replace outdated energy policies with ones that are forward-thinking, ones that will create new jobs in a new American century.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the passage of an annual National Defense Authorization Act to lay out our Nation's defense and national security priorities is one of our most important duties as Members of Congress. This year is no different, especially given the very serious conflicts happening around the globe--in Eastern Europe, in the Middle East, in the South China Sea--which have serious implications for our own security and for our allies. This year's NDAA makes a number of positive changes to DOD small business contracting policies to help ensure that small businesses throughout the country can continue to perform the critical support functions that help make America's military still the best in the world. Mr. Speaker, having a small business industrial base means taxpayers benefit from increased competition, innovation, and job creation. Since 2013, we have lost over 25 percent of the small firms registered to do business with the government--25 percent. That is over 100,000 small businesses. The reforms in this year's NDAA, the bill that we are considering now, takes steps to reverse that trend. The White House has threatened to veto this bill. That is a shame because this bipartisan, bicameral bill defends small businesses and ensures that the spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and well in our industrial base. This isn't about political gamesmanship--at least it shouldn't be. This is about two of the most bipartisan issues in the political arena: the men and women in uniform and the small businesses that employ half of our American workforce. I sincerely hope that the President reconsiders and enacts this bipartisan, bicameral bill. I want to thank a number of members of my committee who have contributed to this year's bill, including Mr. Hardy of Nevada, Mr. Knight of California, Mr. Bost of Illinois, Mr. Curbelo of Florida, Mrs. Radewagen of American Samoa, and Mr. Hanna of New York. I would also like to thank a number of other Members and thank Mr. Thornberry.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. I thank the gentleman from Utah for yielding. I rise today to speak on behalf of H.R. 558, which names the post office in Springboro, Ohio, after Richard Chenault. Mr. Chenault was born in Xenia, Ohio, on December 26, 1925. He was married to his wife, Phyllis, for 63 years. They have four children, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. He was a lifelong resident of Springboro and Clearcreek Township before passing away in November 2010. Throughout his life, Richard Chenault dedicated himself to serving his community and his Nation. A World War II veteran, Mr. Chenault served in the United States Army's First Cavalry Division from 1944 to 1946, including a year in occupied Japan. Upon returning to Ohio after the war, he sought a career in which he could continue to serve, this time in his local community. He found that opportunity with the U.S. Postal Service, where he was one of the first letter carriers for the Springboro Post Office. He served his community as an employee of the post office for 22 years. But Richard Chenault's dedication to his community and his neighbors didn't stop there. He was a member of the Clearcreek Township Volunteer Fire Department for 45 years, and he served as chief of the department for 23 of those years. Additionally, he was a part-time police officer during the fifties, sixties, and early 1970s, and was a charter member of the Springboro Lions Club, which was founded in 1953. He didn't miss a meeting for 57 years. Somehow he even found time to frequently mow lawns, shovel snow, and check on his elderly neighbors. Not surprisingly, Mr. Chenault was adored and revered by the Springboro community. When he passed, his obituary in the Dayton Daily News was headlined, ``Springboro Icon Dies,'' and he had one of the largest funerals in Springboro history. Since his passing, members of the community have sought the best way to honor a man who did so much for so many. Fittingly, the community has rallied to remember him by naming their local post office the Richard Chenault Post Office, as it was the post office that allowed Mr. Chenault to do what he loved best: serve his neighbors. I ask for your support in honoring this extraordinary public servant by supporting this bill.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, a few years ago, a so-called doctor in Philadelphia by the name of Kermit Gosnell was killing babies-- literally. He ran an abortion clinic there, and as can happen in these houses of horror, some of these innocent, unborn children were actually born alive before they could be exterminated in the womb. So there you have a little now-born baby squirming, kicking, sometimes crying right there in front of you on the table. So what did Gosnell do? He would take a pair of scissors, plunge them into the baby, and sever his or her spinal cord. No care whatsoever about the pain involved. One of Gosnell's employees who witnessed this barbarism described the baby's scream as follows: ``I can't describe it. It sounded like a little alien.'' Well, this wasn't an alien. It was a human being, just like you and me, although in an earlier form of development. Gosnell, thank God, is in prison. But we have now learned that the largest abortion provider in this country, Planned Parenthood, is not only destroying the lives of little unborn children, but selling their body parts for profit. I might add that Planned Parenthood aborts more babies each year in this country than the population of the city of Cincinnati that I represent. That is every single year, the population of a city, Cincinnati. We have got to stop this slaughter. I introduced a bill called the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which was passed by the House and by the Senate and signed into law by President Bush back in 2002. It helped. The legislation before us today, introduced by Congressman Trent Franks, improves that law and will protect more innocent babies. Please, for God's sake, let's pass it today and protect those among us who cannot protect themselves.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is September 11, a solemn day in our history when thousands of Americans lost their lives in the worst terror attack in our history. It is disturbing that we happen to be debating whether a state sponsor of terror should have a glide path to nuclear weapons at this time. But we are. I have been a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee for a long time, almost 20 years now. I chaired the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. I can tell you without any reservation that this deal with Iran is a disaster. It will weaken the security of our allies in the region, and it will make Americans less safe here at home. If this deal goes through, Iran will receive up to $150 billion. That is 25 times what Iran currently spends on its entire military. Does that seem like a good idea? We are talking about the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism here. This money will fund more and more terror across the globe and here. My district is the greater Cincinnati area. GE aircraft engines is headquartered there. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is just up the road. They have been top potential targets for ICBMs, intercontinental ballistic missiles, since the cold war. This deal allows Iran to get more sophisticated ICBM technology from Russia, which will allow them to target not only Tel Aviv, but Washington and New York and Cincinnati. This is just nuts. What happened to the ``anytime, anywhere'' inspections? Gone. It will take months to get the inspectors in. And, by that time, they will have moved the incriminating evidence elsewhere. The bottom line is the Obama administration wanted a deal, any deal, more than the Iranian mullahs did. This administration was willing to sell out Israel and our allies in the region and make us less safe here at home. This is a lousy, lousy deal, and it ought to be rejected.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment this evening to offer my appreciation and sincere best wishes to Mark Wellman, my chief of staff for the last 4 years, who is leaving us at the end of this week to accept an appointment as a professor of constitutional law at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Mark has superbly served as a congressional staffer for more than two decades--first, with our late colleague, Congressman Paul Gillmor of Ohio; and then, following an earlier tour at West Point, in my office. During all of those years, he has served with distinction in the National Guard, including a tour in Iraq, and has risen to the rank of colonel. He is an outstanding individual, a gentleman of the first order, the world's most loyal Chicago Cubs fan, and a great American. He will be truly missed. Good luck, Mark, and God bless you.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Before I get into my prepared remarks, I have to respond to my good friend from Georgia's comments about the Affordable Care Act, which many have come to start referring to as the ``Unaffordable Care Act'' or ``ObamaCare,'' as most people refer to it. There certainly was a need to help some of those folks who didn't have insurance, and there were ways of doing that. By passage of this legislation, we have adversely, negatively impacted, I think, far more Americans than we have helped. We have seen Americans' rates go up, deductibles go up, premiums go up, and they are getting less quality health care for that. So it has been a disaster for many Americans, and a lot of it is still unfolding. And then, on Dodd-Frank, which the gentleman also mentioned, what we have seen as a result of that--and I happen to be the chair of the Small Business Committee, as was mentioned--one of small businesses' greatest challenges is access to capital, getting money so that they can grow or start a business or grow an existing business and create more jobs. Because of Dodd-Frank, we got a whole new army of bureaucrats looking over the shoulders of banks--and the smaller banks, too, like community banks, who had nothing to do with this so-called economic meltdown. Bureaucrats are looking over the shoulders of credit unions, making it tougher for them to make loans to small businesses. So those two pieces of legislation, which many of my friends on the other side of the aisle are proud of, I think have been disastrous for this country. Getting to this particular piece of legislation, half of America is employed by small businesses. In fact, 70 percent of the new jobs created in this economy are created by small businesses. Families rely on small businesses to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. They are very critical to the American community and to our American economy. There is not a small-business owner I know who thinks that the government creates job, but they do know that government can keep them from creating jobs. It does it with one-size-fits-all regulations. It does it by perpetuating uncertainty and increasing barriers to success.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman. The REINS Act forces government to think before it acts. It protects the American people by ensuring that those that they elected get a say in major regulations--not all regulations, just regulations that would have a significant impact on the economy. Some may falsely claim that this bill is about deregulation. It is not. It is about accountability. It is about making government think before it acts. And if it chooses to act, the American people can hold their elected representatives--us--accountable for making that decision, not some nameless, faceless bureaucracy, but their elected representatives. That is what this is all about. It is commonsense legislation. I commend the gentleman from Indiana for offering this. I also want to thank the gentleman from Georgia for handling this on the floor today. The REINS Act is a good piece of legislation. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, at this time I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to close. Mr. Speaker, I again want to thank the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez), our ranking member on the Small Business Committee, for her cooperation and her hard work in making sure that we resolve this sticky issue and that small businesses across the country who need access to capital will get that access. So I definitely want to make sure that it is recognized that we have been working on this in a bipartisan and cooperative effort. I again want to stress that it is critical that we pass H.R. 2499 today for the benefit of both our veterans and also the benefit of the entire small business community, which right now is unable to obtain loans from the flagship SBA 7(a) lending program since last Friday. I would also note that there are reforms in this bill so that the SBA has to bring notice to Congress to let us know up front next time and not wait until the eleventh hour to notify Congress that they are in trouble. Hopefully, this will resolve this so that we don't see this in the future, that we will get notification on a fairly regular basis and not put the elected representatives of the American people in this kind of dilemma where we have to act at the last minute and that we basically put small businesses all across the country in jeopardy of not having access to loans. As we know, by pushing this forward along with the veterans bill, which, in essence, waived the fee that they would have had to pay so that veterans have access to loans that they need to grow a business or to create businesses since they have worn the uniform of our country, we certainly need to do everything we can to help them, and this bill does that as well. As has been mentioned by Mr. Takai and others, this does not cost the taxpayers any additional dollars because the money for this is generated from the fees of those who take advantage of the program, so it is a win-win all around. I urge my colleagues to vote to concur on the Senate amendment to H.R. 2499, and 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 legislative remarks and include extraneous materials in the bill under consideration.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 2499) to amend the Small Business Act to increase access to capital for veteran entrepreneurs, to help create jobs, and for other purposes.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw), who is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Two weeks ago, on July 13, this Chamber overwhelmingly passed H.R. 2499. This legislation provides greater assistance to our veteran entrepreneurs by making Small Business Administration, SBA, loans more affordable for veterans. It permanently waives the up-front fee charged by the SBA to borrowers through the agency's 7(a) Express loan program without imposing any additional costs on taxpayers. As my colleagues are aware, the SBA's 7(a) loan guarantee program is vital for small businesses to get the capital needed for growth of the American economy. As the economic outlook begins to brighten, more small businesses than ever before are taking advantage of this program. Despite a significant increase in demand over the past several months, Congress was not notified until June 25 that the program was dangerously close to its authorized lending authority of $18.75 billion and might surpass it prior to the end of the fiscal year. Such eleventh hour notification makes it difficult for Congress to act. Yet, Congress is acting swiftly to help America's small businesses, businesses that no longer could get SBA-guaranteed loans as of noon on July 23, when the SBA reached its authorized limit. I want to thank my counterparts in the other body for working quickly to resolve this matter and offering an amendment to H.R. 2499, the veterans bill. This amendment ensures that the SBA will have sufficient authority to guarantee loans through the end of the fiscal year. This increase comes at no cost to the taxpayer. Let me repeat that. At no cost to the taxpayer. That is because the fees paid by the users of the program--not taxpayers--cover the costs of the program. This is a win-win situation, as this will allow banks to continue offering 7(a) loans. Further, this amendment also ensures that, from now on, Congress will be informed on a regular basis about the status of a loan program and lending authority limits. This will ensure that Congress can address the situation in a timelier manner and inquire of the SBA what steps it might use administratively to ameliorate a situation in which the agency might exceed its lending authorization level. The amendment ensures that we do not repeat the experience of the previous 2 years, where Congress at the eleventh hour had to scramble for a solution because it wasn't notified by the SBA of its problem until the last minute. This is truly a time-sensitive issue that needs to be corrected today. Between noon and 2:30 on July 23, the SBA stated that it had 315 new loans totaling $220 million waiting in the queue. These are small firms who need the money in hand now to grow their companies and create jobs. I want to take the time to highlight that this legislation would not have come together without extraordinary bipartisan, bicameral efforts. I would like to thank Senator Vitter, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, for his leadership on this issue. He worked tirelessly over the past few weeks to develop a solution that would be acceptable to the Senate and to the House. I would also like to thank Senators Risch, Shaheen, Peters, and Coons, who each cosponsored the amendment. Further, on this side of the Capitol, I would be remiss if I did not mention the efforts of the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw), who will be speaking here soon, and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano) and their expertise and assistance in resolving this matter. And I wanted to offer a special thanks to our committee's ranking member, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez), for her insight and leadership. In addition to offering the bill H.R. 3132, to increase the lending authority, she was steadfast in her efforts to repeatedly warn the SBA that continuing to issue 7(a) loan guarantees for the maximum amount allowed by statute, yet failing to take administrative action to manage loan guarantees as the SBA crept closer to its lending authority, could result in a cessation of the lending. The ranking member and her staff were extremely helpful in bringing this matter to a resolution and are to be commended for helping to craft a strong, bipartisan product, which is what we are dealing with here today. This legislation, as amended by the Senate, provides two critical items for the 7(a) program. It allows us to support veteran entrepreneurs for years to come at no cost by waiving fees, and it ensures that the program continues to run, since waiving fees on a program that can no longer offer loans doesn't help anyone. It is a smart, commonsense approach which passed the Senate by unanimous consent. I urge my colleagues to concur in the Senate amendment to the bill H.R. 2499, as amended, by the Senate. I reserve the balance of my time.