Blaine Luetkemeyer

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser), who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney), who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Underserved, Agricultural, and Rural Business Development.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, fraud associated with the EIDL program is a serious matter. Due to mismanagement and poor oversight capabilities, the EIDL program has been overwhelmed with fraud. As I mentioned earlier, the SBA's inspector general has found more than $80 billion within the $400 billion program that could potentially be fraudulent. This represents a double-digit fraud rate. However, recouping these dollars has just begun and the current statute of limitations is limited. My bill, H.R. 7334, will ensure the statute of limitations runway is recalibrated and extended out to 10 years. By passing this bill, Congress will allow the time needed to correct all wrongdoing within the program. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 7334, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams) be allowed to manage the remainder of the time for the minority.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, the WBC program has delivered for women-owned small businesses for many years. This legislation reauthorizes the program, increases accountability and oversight, and ensures the program continues to serve our entrepreneurs in the future. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6441, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney), a strong advocate for small businesses and the ranking member of the Small Business Subcommittee for Underserved, Agricultural, and Rural Business Development.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise in support of H.R. 6441, the Women's Business Centers Improvement Act of 2022. Women's Business Centers, WBCs, support over 150,000 women entrepreneurs each year through training, mentoring, business development, and financing opportunities. This legislation, H.R. 6441, will bring increased oversight to the WBC program and long overdue modernizations. This legislation improves collaboration with the SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership and requires the SBA to provide an annual report to Congress to measure the effectiveness of the WBC program. We have found that we have got some problems with some of the WBC offices, and this legislation will help weed out the bad actors by requiring SBA to develop policies and procedures to reduce the possibility of awarding grants to a WBC that will likely not remain in compliance with the program. This important legislation will not only ensure the integrity of the WBC program, but also support female entrepreneurs in their business ventures.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Davids and Ms. Tenney for working in a bipartisan manner to ensure this bill reached the House floor. I thank the chair for advancing this bill. I encourage all of my colleagues to support H.R. 6441, which was unanimously reported out of our committee and has previously passed the House floor in a similar form. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6445, the Small Business Development Centers Improvement Act of 2022. Before we begin, I will highlight next week's National Small Business Week celebration. This will be a time to honor and reflect upon some of America's hardest working businesses and their employees. It is with this in mind that I am glad that we are gathering on the House floor today to discuss a number of bills that improve and enhance the Small Business Administration. Importantly, all five bills that we will be discussing today have been favorably reported out of our committee in a bipartisan manner. I thank the chair for working with me to advance these bills to the floor. Small Business Development Centers provide valuable resources and free counseling to entrepreneurs across this great Nation. This Congress, I have heard from several small businesses who have benefited from the SBDC's services. In my home State of Missouri, the Missouri Small Business Development Center helped a local brewery create a business plan and apply for a 504 loan to grow their business. They also helped a veteran-owned food shipping business scale up and find new partnerships during the pandemic. They supported countless small businesses in accessing SBA's COVID relief programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster loans. I am grateful for their wide range of services to entrepreneurs. This important legislation will allow SBDCs to continue their important services and expand their network of small business beneficiaries through marketing. This legislation also ensures SBDC's client information is protected and that cooperation, communication, and collaboration between SBA and SBDC networks is improved. I thank Mr. Golden for working on this legislation with the late Jim Hagedorn. As we all know, Jim was a champion for small businesses and a truly invaluable member of our Small Business Committee. He will certainly be missed. He leaves a huge hole on our side of the aisle with regard to support of small businesses, and we remember him today. I also thank the chair for working with me in a bipartisan manner to advance this bill. I urge my colleagues to ensure that SBDCs can continue serving our small business constituents and communities, and to support H.R. 6445, which was passed favorably out of our committee by a voice vote and passed the House in a similar form last Congress. The Small Business Development Center network is critical in assisting our small business owners during their entrepreneurial business journey. H.R. 6445 will enhance and improve this journey and ensure the program remains strong and vibrant on behalf of America's small businesses. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6445, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support today of H.R. 6450, the SCORE for Small Business Act. SCORE is the largest network of free private-sector volunteer mentors. They provide entrepreneurs with trainings on starting a business; succession planning; and management, finance, and marketing tools. SCORE mentors have helped small businesses pivot their business model during the pandemic. They have shared marketing and data analytics expertise to help entrepreneurs grow their customer base and counseled numerous startups on the first steps to begin a business. In addition to reauthorizing the program, H.R. 6450 takes important strides to add new program safeguards, data standards, and reporting requirements. I am confident the provisions of this bill will support small business, improve SBA's and Congress' oversight of the SCORE program, and ensure that the integrity of the SCORE Association is restored and maintained. Congresswoman Kim is a great advocate for small businesses and their resource partners, and I appreciate her work on this legislation. I also thank Ms. Craig and the chair for advancing this legislation. H.R. 6450 was favorably reported out of the Committee on Small Business unanimously and passed the House last Congress in a similar form. I urge my colleagues to similarly pass the bill today on the House floor. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim), the ranking member on the Small Business Subcommittee of Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development; a small business owner herself; and a great advocate for small businesses.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, small businesses consistently highlight the importance of resources to grow their business and serve their communities. The private sector driven SCORE mentorship program is an important tool for small businesses seeking assistance and guidance during these challenging economic times. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 6450, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4877, the One Stop Shop for Small Business Compliance Act of 2021. Federal agencies are required to publish small business compliance guides for certain regulations. Presently, these guides are housed in different agency websites making it difficult for small businesses to find and utilize. This bipartisan legislation will create a one-stop-shop that will make it easier for small businesses to comply with Federal regulations. This bill will also require the centralized website to list contact information for the appropriate agency staff who could provide regulatory assistance to small businesses. Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. Delgado) and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Van Duyne) for working in tandem to bring this issue to the forefront. H.R. 4877 passed out of committee by a voice vote and similar language passed the House floor in the 116th Congress. I encourage all Members to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, in closing, having the rules of the road clearly and succinctly in one location for all small business owners is instrumental. The One Stop Shop for Small Business Compliance Act of 2021 will ensure this occurs at the SBA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chair for advancing this legislation that better informs the Nation's small businesses, and I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6454, the Small Business Advocacy Improvements Act of 2022. The Nation's regulatory environment directly impacts small businesses and America's entrepreneurs. With limited resources and staff, small business owners are often wearing many hats throughout the entire workday, including ensuring compliance with all Federal regulations. Now more than ever, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and startups need a strong advocate in Washington supporting them when it comes to regulations. My bill, which was favorably reported out of committee by a voice vote, will improve and enhance the Office of Advocacy. H.R. 6454 will ensure the office is able to speak on international and trade matters. In addition to passing out of committee earlier this year, this legislation also passed the House floor by voice vote in the 116th Congress. Congress has the ability to structurally enhance an executive branch office that operates independently and reinforce it on behalf of small businesses. I thank my colleague, Representative Troy Carter from Louisiana, for working with me in a bipartisan manner to improve the SBA's Office of Advocacy. I also thank the chair for helping bring this legislation forward. Mr. Speaker, I recommend a ``yes'' vote on this bill that puts America's small businesses first. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, the Nation is getting ready to celebrate National Small Business Week. This will be a time to honor and recognize Main Street USA. Additionally, it will be a time to hear from them about what is impacting their operations and what Congress can do to further support them. The five small business bills before us today take steps to enhance and support programs at the Small Business Administration, which is the sole Federal agency that was created to assist the Nation's smallest firms. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair for working in a bipartisan manner to advance all these bills. I urge a ``yes'' vote on all of them, including H.R. 6454, and I yield back balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Madam Speaker, today I rise to recognize Missouri's Third District Eldon High School Volleyball teams from 1980 to 1996 in my home district for being inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. This accomplishment is not one to be taken lightly and reflects the Eldon community dedication to youth athletics and the sport of volleyball. Their induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is a testament to the impact Eldon High School Volleyball has made on high school sports in Missouri. One of the best eras in Missouri high school sports history running from 1980 to 1996 with an astounding 14 district titles in this span of time and eight straight final four berths also winning the Class 3 state title in 1991. Eleven different players received AllState recognition and Coach Ann Gulshen has been inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Famer. You likely will not find a team more deserving of this tremendous achievement. The impact it has made on high school sports in Missouri cannot go unnoticed. Madam Speaker please join me in congratulating Eldon High School's Volleyball teams from 1980 to 1996 for being inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Madam Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.

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

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

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3807, as amended. Here we are today to discuss yet another spending bill that will add to our Nation's debt and deficit and continue to spike inflation; another bill that creates a new government program without regard to the effectiveness or management of existing programs; another bill that has been rushed to the floor without a committee markup or a CBO score. In fact, the latest draft of this legislation was sent out last Friday night and has been amended since. This is not how we should legislate, Mr. Speaker. We must do a better job for our Nation's small businesses that create two out of every three new jobs in America. I am sure I am not the only one who has experienced deja vu by my colleagues' agenda to spend now and think later. This agenda is not working for Main Street America. The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council conducted a recent poll of small business owners and found that only 5 percent of small business owners report that ``Congress' policies are helping the economy and small businesses like mine.'' Just 5 percent, so that means 95 percent, Mr. Speaker, don't like what is going on. While we are sitting here in Washington, D.C., deciding whether to spend more money for certain industries, Main Street is experiencing price shocks that have not been felt in over 40 years. Inflation is burning through our Nation at a rapid pace. From food and shelter to gas and energy, prices in every category of life are increasing exponentially with no end in sight. The Consumer Price Index stands at 7.9 percent annually, and the producer price index, which is the wholesale price index, is now at 10 percent. That makes short-term inflation look pretty bleak from the standpoint that if the wholesale price index is 10 and the CPI 7.9, we are going to have some more inflation, some high prices. There is no doubt about it. American families are feeling the pain, Mr. Speaker. Businesses feel this pain. The Nation's smallest firms are suffering. In fact, small business owners are reporting that their number one problem is inflation. The second most pressing issue for small business is the price of gas. These price shocks hit them every single day. Today, we are considering injecting more money into the system, which will simply fuel the fire of inflation. There is no doubt that small businesses suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that shut down Main Street. It has been just over 2 years since the CARES Act was signed into law. Since that time, we have spent approximately $6 trillion as a Nation to fight COVID-19. Small businesses alone have received $1.2 trillion in forgivable loans and other grants. I am proud of the bipartisan relief that Congress provided small businesses throughout this pandemic, including the Paycheck Protection Program, which supported many small businesses, including restaurants, in keeping their businesses afloat and employees on the payroll. The goal then was to quickly get dollars out the door to support our Nation's job creators during this time of crisis. But now, our Nation as a whole has learned much more about this pandemic. We have learned how to safely go about our lives. This bill is a disingenuous attempt to posture to small businesses by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. If Democrats were serious about helping restaurants and small businesses, they would have called for an end to the ever-changing mandates and lockdowns that forced so many businesses to close their doors. They would have accepted my amendment during committee to adequately fund this program from the start. They would have considered my bill when it was introduced in July, the ENTREE Act, which responsibly refills the Restaurant Revitalization Program and is fully paid for, which this bill we are here for today is not. When the government attempts to solve problems without the input of small businesses, they create more problems, Mr. Speaker. Have my Democrat counterparts on the other side ever asked a small business owner if they are now capable of opening and operating safely? Have they ever asked them whether they can now unlock their doors, turn on their lights, and protect their workers? Have they ever asked them if they are able to now welcome customers and community members back into their storefronts carefully? I have, and the answer from small businesses is a resounding yes. Small businesses are some of the most innovative and nimble enterprises in America. They can pivot quickly, and most importantly, they can adapt to any situation with speed. They are the entrepreneurs of our country that drive our country. They can figure out how to slice the bread thinner. They know how to do this. We saw this over the last 2 years. At this time, small businesses need the freedom to operate independently without Washington watching over them. We must end the COVID economy of government handouts. Furthermore, this bill creates another new grant program at the SBA. The SBA, in my judgment, is incapable of operating grant programs. Let's briefly examine how they have performed over the last 2 years, Mr. Speaker. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, known as EIDL, is filled with fraud and identity theft issues. This is per the IG, the inspector general, in his report. The SBA is a black hole when it comes to answering questions for constituent businesses. We have all had businesses in our district struggle with getting information for the grant application. Frankly, this direct lending and direct grant program in the SBA has been a disaster with a 30 percent fraud rate. That is the IG report number. Yet, the SBA continues to defer EIDL payments. The second program was the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program. The SVOG was signed into law in December 2020. Disappointingly, and after long delays, the SBA attempted to launch this program in April, 4 months later. My colleagues and I sent multiple letters to the SBA regarding this delay. The night before it went live, SBA's inspector general sent out a warning signal. He said: SBA, you are not ready to do this. You are not up and running yet. But did they listen? Of course not. They went ahead anyway, and within hours, the whole program crashed. The program then took 2 more months to launch. This is unacceptable, Mr. Speaker. We have to do a better job than this. They have to do a better job than this. The last program was the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. I would like to remind everyone that this program was woefully underfunded by my Democrat colleagues. However, more shocking was the fact that congressional Democrats, the Biden administration, and the SBA prioritized certain businesses over others. The RRF program was fundamentally unfair. They picked winners and losers with American taxpayer dollars. It was so bad, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals declared this program unconstitutional, Mr. Speaker. They declared the whole program unconstitutional. The Court's majority opinion stated that the SBA injected explicit racial and ethnic preferences into the priorities. Enough is enough. If you judge the future by the past, as my dad once said, it is clear the SBA is unable to properly and prudently manage grant programs and safeguard American taxpayer dollars. Not only does the SBA have a disastrous past of administering grant programs, but any new dollars flowing will add fuel to the inflation fire. I want to be clear; this bill is supposedly paid for by recovered funds. At best, this is an IOU, Mr. Speaker. It is not a real or immediate offset. I agree that we need to track down and hold fraudsters accountable, and I applaud that process. I support it entirely. But this process takes time, and it is not going to get all those dollars back. For example, according to testimony provided by SBA's inspector general at a hearing in January, the total recoveries by his office in fiscal year 2021 was $4.2 billion. In the same testimony, and in collaboration with Secret Service, the inspector general reports that they have seized another $1 billion in the EIDL program. And lastly, and, again, according to the IG, financial institutions returned approximately $3.1 billion in fraudulent funding. That is not near enough to cover the $55 billion that this program wants to spend. Now more than ever, small businesses need to escape the overbearing reach of the Federal Government. If we want to help small businesses, then we need to stop this out- of-control spending. We should prioritize lowering taxes so small business owners and their workers can keep more of their hard-earned money. We must reduce regulations that bog small businesses down with paperwork and compliance costs. I would argue that the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is the reason we have the good economy we have today because we continue to allow the business individuals to keep their hard-earned dollars and invest them as they see fit, whereas, if we tax them to death, those dollars come out of the system, and we limit their ability to drive our economy. We simply need to move on from this COVID economy. In my judgment, this is an irresponsible bill. I urge my colleagues to oppose it. This is about economic independence. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the majority leader's remarks. I also support trying to help restaurants. That is the reason we are here this morning. But I do have a bill that is paid for that this one does not do. And I think that the preferences that were allowed that were shown to be unconstitutional is the reason we are here this morning, so we can find a way to fund the rest of those folks, which I think is important for our communities. And I agree, and I appreciate those remarks by the leader. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams), the vice ranking member of the Committee on Small Business and a small business champion in his own right.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what ruthless, idiotic ideology the gentleman was just talking about, but I think capitalism is a pretty good ideology with which to generate the kind of activity it takes to make an economy go. I think we saw the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 has done that job. Whenever they talk about the largest increase in employment history, it is pretty easy to have a low bar when you start talking about where we were in the pandemic. The bar you should be talking about is where we were prior to the pandemic, and we are still below that number. Mr. Speaker, it is exciting for me this morning to be able to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser), who is the ranking member of the Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining on each side?

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Donalds), one of our newest members on the committee.