Nydia Velázquez

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express support for our Nation's public school systems, particularly, our K-12 institutions that are grappling with a frightening reality. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has posed an unprecedented threat to our schools and without additional further assistance, they cannot afford to take necessary safety measures to reopen. For example, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report, 4 of 10 districts need to update or replace HVAC systems in at least half of their school buildings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified proper ventilation as a key consideration for schools seeking to reopen safely. Today, it has been 6 months since New York City Public Schools and many others across the Nation were shuttered. The decision to close our schools was necessary and slowed the disease's spread, saving lives. However, I understand this was a difficult decision for many families because of the vital support services that schools provide. Not only is the school system where young people learn, but they also serve as a vital community anchor, providing nutritional assistance, special education, teacher support, and childcare. We all want schools to reopen for our students, but it must be done safely, and that requires additional Federal resources. In March, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES Act, were signed into law. Both measures help address the urgent challenges facing every part of our education system. These funds help educators adjust to long-term school closures, fund purchases for online learning materials, and provide a lifeline for public schools. While the relief bills enacted so far took steps in the right direction, the magnitude of this pandemic demands more. Four months ago, the House passed the HEROES Act which will go even further. Without the HEROES Act, budget shortfalls are projected to reach nearly $500 billion for State governments alone. The Senate's inaction has resulted in no relief for State and local governments, which are now being forced to make deep cuts to public education. Without significant Federal funding, our schools cannot upgrade buildings, provide PPE, continue virtual or blended learning, and, ultimately, safely reopen. As the public health crisis has worsened since the passage of the HEROES Act, the amount of funding needed to repair and modernize school facilities for the safe reopening has grown. My colleagues and I are now fighting for $300 billion to safely reopen our schools and maintain services for students. Today, I am calling on the Senate to act immediately and pass a comprehensive relief package that provides significant resources to safely reopen our schools and protect students, staff, and families. We must guarantee the academic achievement and basic development needs of our youth. However, we must also care for the safety and the mental and physical health of our students, educators, staff, and families. At every level of government, we must do more for our teachers, our school administrators, and the families who depend on critical services provided by our public school system. That is why the Senate needs to stop obstructing and pass meaningful legislation for our Nation's families.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 908, which condemns the anti-Asian rhetoric that has arisen because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Madam Speaker, our Asian friends, neighbors and family members have been unfairly targeted by bigotry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using terms like the ``China Virus'' and ``Kung Flu'' is offensive to the communities I represent in the Lower East Side and Brooklyn. Our friends and neighbors in these communities are essential workers and small business owners who provided critical services to our community as the pandemic raged across New York City, and continue to play an essential role in our city's recovery from the virus. Unfortunately, New York City has seen a spike in bias crimes. We cannot let hate crimes go unpunished, let alone condone them. As the resolution states, there are over 2 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders working on the frontline combatting against the pandemic. We must stand in solidarity with our friends and neighbors by denouncing the vitriol and anti-Asian sentiment. Our response to this pandemic should have been a unifying moment for our country. Instead, the administration has actively sought to inflame racial tensions. Today, we say ``no more'' to the anti-Asian rhetoric from the White House. I am proud to cosponsor this bill and I want to thank my colleague from New York Representative Grace Meng, for her leadership on this issue and urge all my colleagues to support its passage.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

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

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill before us today, H.R. 6078, the Microloan Transparency and Accountability Act, which makes it easier for rural-serving microloan intermediaries to provide technical and management assistance to entrepreneurs. One of the key components of the microloan program, and what I believe makes it so successful, is that intermediaries offer technology, management, and marketing assistance to business owners in conjunction with affordable financing. However, when our Committee held hearings on the program, we heard about the challenges that intermediaries in rural areas face in providing technical assistance. These nonprofit, mission-based lenders must sometimes drive 2 or 3 hours, or even more, to a borrower's place of business to conduct training. These expenses all come out of the intermediary's bottom line. The measure Mr. Burchett and Mr. Kim have put forward to make intermediaries with at least 25 percent of their loans in a rural area eligible for a bonus technical assistance grant is a necessary one that I support and would encourage all of my colleagues to support. Mr. Speaker, I applaud our bipartisanship and, more importantly, our commitment to America's small businesses. I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6078) to amend the Small Business Act to increase transparency and to enhance the use of microloans in rural areas, and for other purposes, as amended.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Oftentimes, the biggest barrier to entrepreneurship is accessing affordable capital. But for many entrepreneurs, access to expert advice can give them an added boost and the skills needed to grow a sustainable business. To that end, the microloan program leverages the network of nonprofit intermediary lenders, many of them CDFIs, who have deep roots in the local community, are committed to economic development, and offer technical business and marketing assistance for these small businesses. This bill will go a long way in helping these microlenders reach more small businesses in rural areas, which, in turn, will stimulate the local economies. It also mandates reporting on the program's effectiveness so our committee can continue to oversee the program and make necessary modifications to further improve the program. Again, thank you to Representative Burchett and Representative Kim for collaborating on the bill before us today. I also thank the ranking member, Mr. Chabot, and his staff for working with us in a bipartisan manner, not just on this piece of legislation, but on all the bills we have brought to the floor today. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

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

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6133) to reauthorize the State Trade Expansion Program of the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6133, the STEP Improvement Act of 2020. Before I begin, I thank Ranking Member Chabot for his dedication to small businesses and for his continued effort to ensure the Committee on Small Business works in a bipartisan manner. Staying true to the tradition of our committee, the bills we are debating today are all bipartisan and passed through committee by unanimous consent, thanks to the cooperation of Members on both sides of the aisle. I commend and thank all of the committee members for their work on those bills and their passion to put forth policies that make a difference in the lives of entrepreneurs. Mr. Speaker, today's bill is one of those passion projects. After many hearings about the challenges and benefits of exporting and trade for America's business owners, this bill addresses many of the concerns raised. It reauthorizes the SBA State Trade Expansion Program-- otherwise known as STEP--a proven and effective program that gives small businesses the tools they need to enter and thrive in the global marketplace. STEP has helped small firms export and access new markets, supporting $974 million in export sales in fiscal year 2019 alone. With the COVID- 19 pandemic continuing to decimate local economies and disrupting supply chains, the STEP program will be needed now more than ever. It will help small businesses navigate the complexities of an international marketplace, particularly as the country and world reopen for business. The STEP Improvement Act of 2020 funds STEP through fiscal year 2024 while making important improvements to modernize the program. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that this legislation has the support of the State International Development Organizations. I thank its cosponsors, Representative Finkenauer, who is also the chair of the Subcommittee on Rural Development, Agriculture, Trade, and Entrepreneurship; and Representative Spano, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations, for their continued bipartisan work to improve STEP. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to support H.R. 6133 today, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, small businesses are truly the bedrock of the American economy. Unsurprisingly, foreign markets are essential to their growth. While more and more of our local businesses are making inroads abroad, they are not without challenges. International trade has always been a complex undertaking, dependent on global macroeconomic trends as well as country-specific trade policies and resources. Regardless, it is critical entrepreneurs can compete in this marketplace. Doing so gives them access to more customers, which in turn fuels growth and generates jobs here at home. H.R. 6133, the STEP Improvement Act of 2020, will go a long way to ensuring the recovery and success of our Nation's small businesses. By reauthorizing and modernizing STEP, this legislation guarantees that States and their entrepreneurs will face fewer obstacles to participation and greater opportunities to expand their businesses through exporting. This bill is needed now more than ever as the world seeks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic fallout. Once again, I applaud my esteemed colleagues, Representative Finkenauer and Representative Spano, for their hard work on this legislation. I commend the ranking member and his staff for their commitment to advancing this legislation in a bipartisan manner through our committee. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Ms. Finkenauer), the sponsor of the bill and chair of the Subcommittee on Rural Development, Agriculture, Trade, and Entrepreneurship.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I just urge support of this bill. It corrects an inequity, and I am so proud that, under my leadership and the ranking member, we are providing access to all the programs under the Small Business Administration for the small businesses in the Northern Mariana Islands. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6021) to amend the Small Business Act to ensure that the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is eligible for certain Small Business Administration programs, and for other purposes.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6021, the Northern Mariana Islands Small Business Development Act. There are 1,700 small businesses with 18,000 employees in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, yet these businesses are the only ones in the United States that are ineligible for the SBA's Small Business Development Center, or SBDC, and Federal and State Technology, or FAST, partnership programs. The SBDC program provides free or low-cost counseling and training services to thousands of entrepreneurs and small business owners each year, and the FAST partnership program provides funding to increase the number of Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technical Transfer applications and better prepare applicants for success. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, which rely heavily on tourism, has not been immune from the economic devastation resulting from COVID-19. Moreover, it has been trying to rebuild from two catastrophic typhoons that wreaked havoc on the country in October 2018. By extending SBA's SBDC and FAST programs to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Congress will extend valuable opportunities for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to receive support from qualified counselors on how to launch and grow their small businesses as well as recover from the economic catastrophes. In March, H.R. 6021 was unanimously approved by the House Small Business Committee, and I commend the sponsors of the legislation, Mr. Sablan and Mrs. Radewagen, for raising this inequity to the committee. The dedication they have shown to creating greater parity to the entrepreneurs in all territories shows exactly how small business issues are neither Democratic nor Republican issues; they are American issues. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting the small business owners and entrepreneurs of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands by voting in favor of H.R. 6021. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, in its nearly 30 years, the SBA microloan program has enjoyed a track record of success in delivering affordable startup capital, particularly for women and minority-owned entrepreneurs. The SBA microloan program has helped to launch many successful businesses. As the chair of the Small Business Committee, I have had the privilege to hear about countless success stories, and I have fought tirelessly over the years to ensure all American entrepreneurs have access to the SBA resources they need to launch and grow their businesses. In my time on this committee, I have been proud to watch the microloan program grow from a small pilot program to a robust lending program with strong stakeholder and congressional support. In many ways, the growth and success of the program mirror that of the many small businesses that got their start with an SBA microloan. Despite this success, and like any other Federal program, it must be periodically reviewed and modernized. This bill does just that and ensures the microloan program will remain flexible for intermediaries and borrowers, helping to ease access to the program for even more aspiring entrepreneurs. I want to applaud the work by the gentleman from New Jersey and the gentleman from Tennessee for their bipartisan work on the microloan program. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6079) to amend the Small Business Act to optimize the operations of the microloan program, lower costs for small business concerns and intermediary participants in the program, and for other purposes.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and included extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill before us today, H.R. 6079, the Microloan Improvement Act of 2020, a bill that makes important improvements to the SBA's microloan program. Many entrepreneurs lack the experience as business owners, which is needed to demonstrate their creditworthiness to conventional lenders. We have heard time and again the heart-wrenching stories from entrepreneurs about the challenges they face, not just securing capital, but also operating their businesses. While the SBA has numerous programs designed to meet each of these challenges, the microloan program is unique in that it provides entrepreneurs with both the affordable capital needed to start up and the technical assistance needed to boost their ability to succeed and repay. This program is a key resource for startup, newly established, and growing small businesses. It has provided millions of dollars in financing and technical assistance to small businesses and entrepreneurs since its inception. By providing loans to nonprofit intermediaries, which in turn lend funds to the smallest of small businesses, the program helps borrowers streamline their operations, grow to profitability, and create new jobs. The microloan program was a critical piece of the puzzle to grow the Nation's entrepreneurs before the pandemic. It is now more important than ever to strengthen and modernize the program as we face a sustained economic recession in the middle of a global pandemic. Earlier this Congress, the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access, under the leadership of Mr. Andy Kim, held a hearing on the microloan program where we heard from a panel of intermediaries who reported that some of the program's rules, largely unchanged since 1991, are outdated and restricting them from meeting today's demand for startup financing and providing more technical assistance. In response, Mr. Kim worked hard with Mr. Burchett to craft the Microloan Improvement Act of 2020, a series of reasonable proposals designed to update the program's rules and ultimately help microloan intermediaries extend more affordable capital to first-time entrepreneurs. Just a few of the central changes in the bill include eliminating an outdated and onerous rule that has restricted the ability of high- volume intermediaries to meet demand in their respective States, lowering interest rates for eligible intermediaries, and extending repayment terms in a tiered manner to provide greater flexibility to businesses. These changes are long overdue, and I am pleased that we are taking a vote on them today. Finally, I want to thank Mr. Kim and Mr. Burchett for their hard work and applaud their efforts to make bipartisan improvements to this valuable program. I recommend a ``yes'' to all my colleagues in the House, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Dona Graciela Cruz. It is with a heavy heart that I reflect on our loss of a valued member of our community in my district. Ms. Cruz, who passed in early June, left us with a legacy of compassion and kindness, which lives on in both the memories of her loved ones and those in Williamsburg she inspired. Ms. Cruz spent the majority of her life in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and sought to repay her community for the kindness it showed her. She did not spend her days idly, instead preferring to pour her energy into the neighborhood around her. In the 1970's, she served as the coach for a women's softball league at McCarren park, teaching others how to find the same joy she had for her favorite sport. Throughout her life, she was an active member of her local church, regularly putting all of her effort into events and activities for the local youth. Her work with the children was borne of a true love for seeing those around her flourish. Ms. Cruz possessed the strong spirit of an activist, putting that energy towards the betterment of her community where we needed it most. She always believed in political empowerment and the importance of encouraging more people to vote. Some might say she loved two sports equally: softball and politics. Ms. Cruz, along with other members of her community, fought to start a garden in her neighborhood, later known as the Keap Street Community Gardens. Despite opposition from some local elected officials, Dona Graciela persevered. She and neighbors broke down both physical and political barriers to take a previously unused space and transform it into a valuable community anchor. Over many decades, she became a steadfast activist for tenants' rights, and attended countless rallies over the years to fight for fair, livable housing. Her devotion is truly inspiring to everyone she knew, myself and my staff included. Dona Graciela is survived by her children, extended family, and friends, as well as a community that has felt her loss deeply. My thoughts and prayers are with her family. I hope they may take some comfort during these difficult times in knowing just how deeply she is missed by us all.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. My friends, at times like this, it will benefit us all to remember what the word ``Congress'' actually means. ``Congress'' means a coming together. That is the entire point of this institution. People from different regions of the country, with varying political views, individuals of different backgrounds, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and, yes, genders come together to solve problems on behalf of the American people who elect us. That is where the word ``Congress'' originates from. A coming together. We will frequently disagree heatedly. We argue on this floor and in committee hearings and meetings. We may even disagree on the steps of the Capitol. However, let us disagree agreeably. The words being discussed today did not live up to those ideals, and the gentleman must say that he is sorry. He must apologize. It is not to apologize to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He must apologize to his wife, to his daughters, to women in this country. Today, our political discourse is too often infected with an anger and a malice unbecoming of our democratic traditions. As elected officials, we are expected to do better, to act as an example of how we can debate passionately but treat one another with compassion, dignity, and respect. It saddens me that the words that we are discussing today failed to live up to that standard. For those reasons, Madam Speaker, I stand with my friend from New York in condemning the remarks that were made. Madam Speaker, I ask all of us to do better. We must do better.