Steve Chabot

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking Chairman Goodlatte, Ranking Member Conyers, and also Mr. Cohen of Tennessee for their leadership in cosponsoring this legislation. As Mr. Cohen had mentioned earlier, he and I have found a number of pieces of legislation which we have been able to support together in a bipartisan manner, such as the Delta Queen, which we are still working on. I would like to think that we can look forward to other pieces of legislation down the road to work together on, again in a bipartisan manner. There is a lot better chance you can get things accomplished in this House if you do that. He has reached out, and I certainly appreciate that. H.R. 889, which I authored, is simple, straightforward legislation that restores American museums the protections of the Immunities from Seizures Act and clarifies the relationship that that act and the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act share. This bill would revise existing law to clarify that the temporary importation of artwork is not legally considered commercial activity and assure foreign government lenders that if they are granted immunity from seizures, their loan of artwork and artifacts will not subject them to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts and lawsuits and disputes about that property, so that it is much more likely that they will allow their artifacts and artworks to come here and then be enjoyed by the American public. Furthermore, it is important to note that the immunity provided under this bill does not apply to artwork taken in violation of international law, as was already mentioned by both Mr. Goodlatte and Mr. Cohen, in particular, to those pieces of art seized during World War II by the Nazi government or by the Nazi government's allies or impact ongoing cases to get the Russians to return a collection of sacred Jewish books and manuscripts claimed by the Chabad movement. By enacting the Immunity from Seizure Act, Congress recognized that cultural exchanges produce substantial benefits for the United States, both artistically and diplomatically. Foreign lending has and should continue to aid cultural understanding and increase public exposure to archeological artifacts. However, for artwork and cultural objects owned by foreign governments, the intent of the Immunity from Seizure Act is being frustrated by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. Some interpretations of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act have exposed foreign governments to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts based solely upon the temporary importation into the U.S. of foreign-government- owned artwork. According to the American Association of Museum Directors, this has led, on several occasions, to foreign governments declining to exchange artwork and cultural objects with the United States for temporary exhibits. In a recent survey of 38 museums across the U.S., it was found that, over the past 5 years, these museums had 1,000 pieces denied to showcase here in the United States for very questionable reasons. These were works that museum curators reasonably believed would be loaned to their museum for special exhibits. Therefore, in order to continue the exchange of foreign-government-owned art and reaffirm our country's commitment to the promotion of foreign lending to American museums, Congress needs to clarify the relationship between the two acts I already referred to: the Immunity from Seizure Act and the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. That is what this legislation does. This is a relatively minor change to the law, but it will provide enormous cultural benefits by ensuring that museums, like the Cincinnati Museum Center and the Cincinnati Art Museum and other similar museums throughout the State of Ohio and across the country, may continue to present first-class exhibits that educate the public on cultural heritage and artwork from all over the globe. Through enactment of this legislation, we can secure foreign lending to American museums and ensure that foreign art lenders are not entangled in unnecessary litigation. Mr. Speaker, this legislation is supported by the Association of Art Museum Directors, which represents 240 museums, including the Smithsonian and several within my district and all across the country. Last Congress, this body showed overwhelming support for this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation once again. I also urge our colleagues in the other body to swiftly move similar legislation through their Chamber. Again I thank Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Conyers and Mr. Cohen for their support.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 802) to authorize the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development to provide assistance to support the rights of women and girls in developing countries, and for other purposes.

Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to thank Congresswoman McCollum and also the ranking member, Mr. Engel, for their leadership on this issue. Both of them have been very important parts of seeing this through the House. It went through the other body recently as well, so it is working its way to the President's desk, and we are very encouraged by that. Madam Speaker, many of us are deeply concerned by the appalling acts of injustice that are committed against women and girls around the world on a daily basis. The headlines are, oftentimes, hard to believe--acid attacks in Iran, death at the hands of a savage mob in Afghanistan, the kidnapping of schoolgirls in Nigeria--yet the disenfranchisement of women and girls around the world is not just an humanitarian issue; it is a development issue, and it is a security issue as well. How can a nation thrive when half of its citizens are oftentimes denied their most basic human rights? The Girls Count Act--this act, the one that we are talking about this evening--recognizes the suffering and aims to empower those who have been cast into the shadows of their societies. Birth registration is one of the first steps in the fight to preserve an individual's basic rights under the law in that particular country. It is also a critical means to ensuring the full participation of women and girls in their communities. Whether it is voting or owning property or employment or health care or a whole range of things. Let's help girls count. Again, I want to thank the House for supporting the passage of this measure. This will be the second year now--2 years in a row--that this House, I believe, will support it, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support it. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time and my right to close.

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

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

Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of S. 802, the Girls Count Act of 2015. It is identical to H.R. 2100, the House version of the bill, which my staff has worked on for 3 years now. I want to thank Senator Marco Rubio and his staff for moving this bill through the Senate so we can soon get this important piece of legislation to the President's desk. Madam Speaker, the Girls Count Act of 2015 is an important measure because what many people don't realize is that approximately 51 million children around the world are not registered at their births. That is one-third of all children under the age of 5 worldwide. What does this mean? It means that these children lack a birth certificate, preventing them, oftentimes, from having access to fundamental rights which we here in the United States take for granted. It means they have no proof of their ages, parentage, or even of their citizenship. They are essentially nonpeople, oftentimes, in the eyes of the law. For girls in particular, the lack of a birth registration certificate increases their vulnerability to trafficking and exploitation. These girls grow up facing high barriers to work, education, and political participation. Tragically, too often, these girls are treated in their own countries as if they really don't exist, as if they really don't count at all. All of this is happening in places where we need women and girls to actively shape their countries' futures because, indeed, women serve as the backbone of stable, healthy societies all around the world. They are breadwinners and caregivers and peacemakers and the educators of the next generation. For these reasons, I introduced and authored the Girls Count Act to direct the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development to support efforts aimed at improving birth registry-birth certificate programs in developing countries and others. This step, which actually seems quite simple, will ensure that every child gets access to voting rights, land tenure rights, health services, and an education. Critically, Girls Count authorizes the State Department and USAID to support programs to protect girls' legal rights, particularly economic and property rights, and to build legal and policy frameworks to prevent discrimination against women and girls. Your support of the Girls Count Act of 2015--those who have supported this legislation--will not only help to prevent human and sex trafficking in developing countries by aiding in identifying displaced persons and international adoption cases, but it will give girls and women around the world access to the fundamental rights that they so rightly deserve. I want to thank Congresswoman McCollum and Congressmen Smith and Sherman for their support in introducing this legislation in the House, as well as to thank the 44 other bipartisan Members--this is a Republican and a Democratic bill--who have given their support. I also want to thank my colleagues in the Senate, especially Senator Marco Rubio, for backing this legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CHABOT

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

Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, the whole world continues to recoil in horror at ISIS' depravity. The ancient cities that face destruction at its hands are considered the birthplace of modern civilization. Just weeks ago, ISIS conquered the ancient city of Palmyra, the so-called jewel of the desert. Recent reports that ISIS has not destroyed these sites may give some of us hope, but judging from their prior barbaric acts, it is probably just a matter of time before they do the same thing there as they have done so horrifically in other places. The legislation before us today--and I again want to thank Mr. Engel for introducing the legislation--and oversight of the U.S. agencies responsible for recognizing and protecting cultural property, ensuring that such treasures are protected to the best of our ability, that is what this legislation would do. I appreciate the other committees of jurisdiction for working with the Committee on Foreign Affairs on this measure, particularly the Committee on Ways and Means for its assistance on the critical import restrictions on this bill. As Mr. Engel mentioned, when one is looking at this, we are looking at cultural things which have been--let's face it--destroyed forever. Some of these things are thousands of years old, and you can't bring them back. And you can't help but think--we are talking about physical things here, but we have also seen them do other horrific things. When they take a Jordanian pilot and in a particularly barbaric fashion essentially set him on fire in a cage, when they take people out to a beach and one by one behead them, when they sell innocent women and young girls into slavery, over and over again, we have seen these horrific things happening, and it is time the world stood up to this group, both for the horrific things they are doing on historic artifacts which can't be brought back, but also the human lives that they have so callously extinguished. This group must be stopped. Let's hope that this evening we are at least taking a step in that direction. I again thank Mr. Engel, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I submit for the Record letters between the committees of jurisdiction. Madam Speaker, the history of civilization is under attack. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, continues to wreak havoc throughout Iraq and Syria, laying a path of death and destruction in order to establish and expand its caliphate. No offense is more appalling than the terrorists' complete disregard for human life. ISIS has unleashed a campaign of sickening violence against Shi'a Muslims and fellow Sunnis who do not share their radical beliefs, as well as against vulnerable religious and ethnic minorities. This includes its public beheadings and executions and the selling of women and girls into sexual slavery. Besides the human toll of ISIS' deplorable acts, we also mourn the loss of society's cultural heritage, as the extremists loot and destroy their way through ancient sites in the territories they conquer. We have seen heartbreaking footage of ISIS drilling their way through priceless artifacts in Mosul and bulldozing magnificent Mesopotamian ruins in the 3000-year-old city of Nimrud. ISIS claims the annihilation of cultural sites is meant to counter idolatry, but clearly these terrorists have another goal: to remove all traces of the region's rich and diverse religious and cultural past. By eliminating all evidence of humanity's common heritage, they are paving the way for their own horrifying brand of Islamist extremism. What we are witnessing is a cultural genocide. For ISIS, however, this looting of antiquities is big business. Some reports indicate that they are earning as much as $100 million annually from the sale of stolen artifacts, which they often sell to middlemen who can peddle these treasures in old-fashioned markets or online. Earlier this year, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution that urged member states to take steps to prevent the trafficking of Iraqi and Syrian cultural properties, and just last week, all 193 U.N. members agreed to step up the prosecution of those engaged in this illegal trade. I want to commend the Committee on Foreign Affairs' ranking member, Elliott Engel, for introducing this bipartisan bill that we have before us this evening and for his continued leadership on this critical issue. This bill, the Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act, will help the U.S. do its part to counter the smuggling and sale of stolen Syrian antiquities. Specifically, the bill will improve coordination of U.S. efforts to protect cultural property and prevent these artifacts from being removed since the start of Syria's civil war from being sold or imported into this country, into the United States. It is important to note that the legislation's emergency import restrictions are not designed to continue into perpetuity and can be waived under certain conditions for the temporary safekeeping of cultural property within the United States. I also want to make clear that this bill only restricts the import of certain Syrian antiquities that have been removed from that country during the current conflict. Nothing in this legislation is meant to interfere with the legal sale of antiquities that do not fall under this category nor with other aspects of the import process. I want to again thank Eliott Engel, the ranking member of our committee, for his work on this measure. I reserve the balance of my time. Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, Washington, DC, May 29, 2015. Hon. Edward R. Royce, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Royce: I am writing with respect to H.R. 1493, the ``Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act.'' As a result of your having consulted with us on provisions in H.R. 1493 that fall within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means, I agree to waive consideration of this bill so that it may proceed expeditiously to the House floor. The Committee on Ways and Means takes this action with the mutual understanding that by forgoing consideration of H.R. 1493 at this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over the subject matter contained in this or similar legislation, and the Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as the bill or similar legislation moves forward so that we may address any remaining issues that fall within our Rule X jurisdiction. The Committee also reserves the right to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate conference involving this or similar legislation, and requests your support for such request. Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming this understanding, and would ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the Congressional Record during floor consideration thereof. Sincerely, Paul Ryan, Chairman.

Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1493) to protect and preserve international cultural property at risk due to political instability, armed conflict, or natural or other disasters, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I would first ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 944.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the sixth anniversary of the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka. In a brutal war that lasted 37 years, we saw nearly 100,000 people killed--many of them civilians-- as a result of the tensions between the country's Buddhist majority and Hindu minority. Since the war ended, however, corruption and ongoing human rights abuses have prevented Sri Lanka from reaching a national reconciliation. Then in January of this year, we saw President Sirisena democratically elected with significant support from the Sinhalese, Tamil, and Muslim communities. Mr. Speaker, on this fortuitous occasion, I call on the new government to release the 200 detained political prisoners, account for the nearly 20,000 missing civilians from the war, and end oppressive restrictions on the Tamil provinces. This sixth anniversary serves as a reminder of Sri Lanka's war-torn past and a chance to move it toward a future of democracy, justice, and equality for all its people because only then can Sri Lanka finally achieve the stability, peace, and prosperity that it deserves.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise today as chairman of the House Small Business Committee to support the en bloc amendment, which includes the bipartisan amendment offered by Mr. Connolly of Virginia and myself. It is really commonsense acquisition reform. There are numerous small business contracting programs aimed at ensuring that the Department of Defense has a reliable small business technological and industrial base, but we rarely look at the results of these programs. The current method used to assess the health of the small business base focuses almost exclusively on one factor, and that is prime contract dollars. While this is an important factor, we are missing a lot of the picture. For example, the current method ignores the fact that since 2013 we have lost over 25 percent of the small firms registered to do business with the Federal Government. That is over 100,000 small businesses that are no longer competing for contracts. We also have a declining small business participation rate, which threatens the core principle of competition. It is basic supply and demand: when there are fewer offers, prices go up. And that harms the taxpayer. That is what we are trying to deal with. I urge my colleagues to support this.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I come to the floor to speak today. Last Friday, Lauren Hill, a basketball player at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, succumbed in her battle with DIPG, a rare form of inoperable brain cancer. Following her tragic diagnosis, Lauren became an inspiration to an awful lot of people. After miraculously and courageously playing in her first college basketball game last November, she dedicated her remaining days to combating this dreadful disease, raising more than $1 million for pediatric cancer research. While we are obviously saddened by the news of Lauren's passing, I would prefer to focus on just how blessed we have been to witness Lauren's courage and her resiliency and her grace in the face of insurmountable odds. She has touched and inspired our community and, in fact, our Nation. Mr. Speaker, I am also deeply grateful to Lauren's family for their willingness to share her story with the rest of us. Our thoughts and our prayers are with them as they grieve the loss of such a remarkable young woman.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. I will not take that much time. Mr. Speaker, there seems to be a lot of bad news these days and negative stories, but I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some uplifting stories from the Cincinnati area, the area that I happen to represent here in the United States Congress. First, I would like to congratulate a Cincinnati broadcasting legend on a storied career. A week from tomorrow, Friday, April 3, Cincinnati will say good-bye to a longtime morning show host, Jim Scott, who is retiring after 47 years on the radio in Cincinnati. Over the years, Mr. Scott has been synonymous with mornings, as hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Cincinnatians started their day listening to him cover the topics of the day. From politics and local news to entertainment and sports, Jim Scott covered every story in a style uniquely his own. His excellence was recognized back in 2002 when he won the Marconi Award for large market personality of the year. Jim Scott has also been a pillar of the community, helping out with numerous charities and community service organizations, activities I am sure that he will continue. He has become a staple of the opening day parade for the Cincinnati Reds, who I hope have a great year this year. I want to congratulate Jim Scott on his retirement and his outstanding career. Mornings in Cincinnati will not be the same without him. Mr. Speaker, Cincinnati has also been blessed by the inspiring stories of two young ladies battling pediatric cancer, and I would like to take a moment to thank each of them for the example that they have provided and the hope that they have given to millions. First, I would like to talk about Lauren Hill. For those who haven't heard Lauren's story, there really aren't words to describe her courage and resiliency in the face of insurmountable odds. Lauren loves to play basketball, a sport she had planned to play throughout her college years at Mount St. Joseph University. Unfortunately, Lauren was diagnosed with a rare form of inoperable, terminal brain cancer, DIPG, and doctors really weren't sure how long she would live. For most people, the story would end there, but not for Lauren. She was determined to play in a college basketball game, and back on November 2, she joined her teammates on the court, and in front of a sold-out crowd at Xavier University's Cintas Center, she scored the opening basket. That wasn't enough for Lauren. She also wanted to dedicate her remaining time to raising awareness of pediatric cancer. Through Layup 4 Lauren and other charitable efforts, she has helped raise over $1 million for research to combat pediatric cancer. Mr. Speaker, I like to believe that each one of us is put on this Earth for a reason, and it is clear to me that Lauren's purpose was to inspire a city and a nation and to raise awareness for a terrible disease, a purpose she has fulfilled with a dignity and grace that is an inspiration to me and countless others. I am deeply grateful for Lauren's spirit and the example that she has provided for our community and for our Nation. Our thoughts and prayers are with Lauren and her family. But Lauren is not the only young lady with Cincinnati ties inspiring our Nation. We have also been blessed to learn the story of Leah Still, the 4-year-old daughter of Cincinnati Bengals' defensive lineman Devon Still. Last year, Leah was also diagnosed with a rare form of pediatric cancer. Faced with this devastating news, Devon Still was determined to help his little girl in whatever way he could. Part of his effort was to use their story to help raise money to combat pediatric cancer and give hope to other families facing the same struggle they were. The Cincinnati Bengals and the NFL joined Mr. Still in his efforts by agreeing to donate the proceeds of sales of Devon's number 75 Bengals jersey to Cincinnati Children's Hospital, which, by the way, is the number one children's hospital in the Nation in combating pediatric cancer. Together, they also raised over $1 million for pediatric cancer research. While that is certainly great news, the story has an even happier ending. Yesterday, I, along with millions of others, was thrilled to learn that Leah's cancer was in remission. Leah still has treatments ahead of her, and she should remain in our thoughts and prayers. But that was wonderful news, and a reason to be grateful. May God bless all three of the remarkable people that I have just talked about. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, the House went through regular order to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security, but in keeping with our constitutional right, we elected to not fund the President's executive amnesty. We have a policy difference with the President, that is clear. He supports amnesty; we support the rule of law. Let's debate that. Harry Reid and the President want to play games and, in doing so, are jeopardizing America's security to win political points. It is sad. Republicans funded the Department of Homeland Security. We have not funded the President's illegal actions. Now, Democrats are playing politics with it. This is not the time or place. This is about funding the Department of Homeland Security, which we have done. Now, Senate Democrats are playing political gamesmanship to defend his executive amnesty. Democrats are the ones putting the Department of Homeland Security in peril to defend an illegal action taken by this President. We have passed a bill that funds every aspect of the Department of Homeland Security, except for the President's illegal actions. That is a reasonable stand to make. President Obama did what he said he couldn't do more than 20 times. He said he couldn't do what he did. He went outside the bounds of the Constitution to make law that was politically expedient, in his point of view. He didn't work with the legislative branch. He went outside of it. We disagree with that action. We have the power of the purse. It is our responsibility to appropriate money and to make law. The House has funded the Department of Homeland Security, and we have responsibility to go through regular order to do so. We did that. Harry Reid and the President are the ones throwing a temper tantrum right now. This rule for this bill is necessary. Let's pass this rule. Let's pass this bill. Let's fund the Department of Homeland Security. Let's stop playing political brinksmanship.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Mr. Tiberi for yielding me this time. One of two Americans gets up each day and heads to a small business. That is where they work. Small firms are critical to America's success. They create seven out of every 10 new job opportunities and provide the means for millions of our neighbors to put a roof over their head and food on their table and to get ahead in life. The bill before us today would help those small businesses and the working families that rely on them by providing much-needed certainty. It would make permanent several tax policies that end up being retroactively applied anyway at the end of every year, but not without scrambling at the eleventh hour. We have all seen this happen year after year after year. Let's give these small businesses all over the country the certainty that they need. These provisions will help small businesses purchase equipment and technology to grow and create more jobs; and, after all, that is what we on both sides of the aisle say we are after is creating more jobs in this economy. Right now businesses are oftentimes operating in the dark. They don't know whether they will be able to utilize these progrowth tax provisions or not. That lack of certainty discourages growth, and it discourages job creation. Passing this bill will make it easier for small businesses to plan for the future, knowing that Washington won't pull the rug from under them. As chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, I strongly support this measure and any measure that removes barriers to small business job creation. This bill provides relief to our Nation's small businesses and will result in more opportunities to working families all over this country. I would like to thank my colleague from Ohio, Mr. Tiberi, for his leadership on this legislation. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. CHABOT

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Chair, this amendment proposes to strike section 10 from the bill, which gives the Small Business Administration's Chief Counsel for Advocacy authority to approve small business size standards for the purposes of any act other than the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958. That includes, of course, authority to approve size standards for the purposes of the RFA. This makes sense, since the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, not the Small Business administrator, is charged with overseeing agency compliance with the RFA; and the Chief Counsel exercises that authority independently from the SBA administrator. The theory of the amendment is that, under section 10, a new size standards office, duplicative of the SBA administrator's own size standards office, will be created. But that is just not the case. The SBA administrator will retain the authority to set size standards under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958. But alternative size standards for the purposes of RFA compliance are a different matter, and under existing law, agencies must consult with the Chief Counsel for Advocacy with regard to those alternative size standards. To authorize the Chief Counsel for Advocacy to actually approve size standards about which it already must be consulted is simply to formalize an existing reality, not to create a duplicative function or a duplicative office. Stated differently, it is erroneous to think that the Office of Advocacy will have to establish a new office of size standards to do what the Office of Advocacy already essentially does. Therefore, I would urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment. And just in summary, I would reiterate that 70 percent of the jobs that are created in this economy today are created by small businesses. They are overregulated. The RFA was basically set up to avoid the impact on small businesses by all these regulations that are being imposed upon them. For small businesses, it is much more expensive for them to comply than it is for larger corporations who have lots of staff. They have attorneys. They have accountants and everything else. If you are a small business owner, it can be the death of that business. And it is not just that business that goes down the drain, but those jobs do, too. That affects families all over this country all the time. The purpose of this legislation is to improve the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and that is why virtually all Republicans and many Democrats also have endorsed and supported this legislation in the past and do this time. There is something like 160 different companies and agencies around the country that are supportive, and I just wanted to name a few of those: The American Dental Association; the Farm Bureau; the Trucking Association; Associated Builders and Contractors; the credit unions; the National Association of Manufacturers; the Realtors; the National Federation of Independent Business, NFIB, which is the principal organization that advocates on behalf of small businesses in this country; the National Restaurant Association; the Retail Federation; the independent drivers; the Chamber; and on and on. Obviously, I don't have time to read them all. This is good legislation. I would urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CHABOT. Madam Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, but I will speak in favor of the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. CHABOT. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Knight), who is a new member of the Committee on Small Business.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Curbelo), who is also a new member of the Small Business Committee.

Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of this bill, H.R. 527, the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2015. I want to thank Chairman Goodlatte as well as Chairman Marino for the opportunity to work with them on this important piece of legislation. Small businesses are critical to this country's success. They provide a means for millions of workers and their families to attain the American Dream. They employ one out of every two private sector workers and create two of every three new private sector jobs. There are over 926,000 small businesses in my home State of Ohio. Small firms rarely have in-house legal departments or regulatory compliance experts on staff. Often, it is the small business owner, the individual running the business and meeting payroll, who also must keep up with regulations and the payment of taxes. Small manufacturers, retailers, and construction firms want to comply with the law. However, when they divert resources to costly regulatory compliance, they cannot hire workers or start new projects or make other job creation investments. If there is a way to find less expensive means to achieving regulatory objectives of our agencies, small businesses could protect the environment and workers and still create the good middle class jobs that this country needs. There is such a law, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, or RFA, which requires agencies to understand the costs to small businesses and find less costly alternatives while meeting the regulatory missions required by statute. However, despite admonitions by multiple Presidents, including the current one, agencies continue to ignore the RFA. The bill before us today, H.R. 527, the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2015, addresses a goal shared by virtually all Republicans and some Democrats and will ensure that agencies no longer ignore the law and craft more cost-effective regulations. The bill will force agencies to analyze both direct and reasonably foreseeable indirect effects of their rules, just as they are required to do when promulgating major regulations that affect the environment under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. The bill provides for early input in the regulatory process so that agencies do not craft regulations that are so cost prohibitive that small businesses cannot comply, and seeks to ensure consistent application of the RFA by all agencies through regulations written by the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, a process first used to ensure that all agencies performed adequate environmental impact statements under NEPA. Even with the additional procedures, nothing in H.R. 527 will prevent an agency from issuing a regulation. H.R. 527, to paraphrase President Ronald Reagan, simply requires that agencies know before they regulate. Common sense. H.R. 527 will ensure that agencies adopt commonsense regulations that achieve their objectives while reducing unnecessary burdens on our best job creators, which are small businesses. About 70 percent of the jobs that are created in our economy nowadays are created by small businesses, after all. That is why the legislation has bipartisan support, and over 150 associations representing the full range of small businesses support passage of this legislation. Mr. Chair, to fully understand how the bill will work, it is important the committee report filed by the gentleman from Virginia be read together with the committee report on the predecessor bill, H.R. 2542 filed in the 113th Congress by my predecessor as chairman of the Committee on Small Business, the gentleman from Missouri, Mr. Graves. With that, I urge my colleagues to support this very good legislation, I believe, and I reserve the balance of my time.