Nydia Velázquez

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, again, I appreciate the great work of my colleagues on this bill, and I yield myself the balance of my time. I will close by noting that 3 weeks ago, the committee held a hearing on small business size standards and contracting policies and the barriers they can pose to growth. As we discussed, the Federal Government needs to both recruit and retain small business government contractors. We are seeing that retaining small firms, like those in the 8(a) program, is a necessity for the health of the industrial base. This bill will contribute to the retention of growing small businesses. It is a productive step designed to ensure that minority businessowners can succeed, thrive, and grow in the Federal marketplace and beyond. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Today we are considering H.R. 5426, which will require the SBA to put a link to the IG's fraud hotline on its website for whistleblowers to report suspected fraud. The good news is that the Biden administration SBA already has a link to the OIG's hotline on its main landing page, but with this bill, it will be here to stay. In July, Inspector General Ware testified that his office has received 250,000 hotline complaints since the beginning of the pandemic, and more than 90,000 have been identified as actionable. This amounts to more than 100 years of investigative casework. To that end, the single most important action we can take to support the OIG is to make sure we give them the resources they need to investigate bad actors. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the efforts of Ms. Van Duyne and Mr. Landsman to curb fraud, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Over the past 3 years, this committee has played an important role in examining the pandemic relief programs, which helped millions of small businesses stay afloat in unprecedented times. While there may be disagreement on the actual estimates of fraud, it is clear we need to work together to protect the integrity of the SBA programs from bad actors. The SBA, under the leadership of Administrator Guzman, has taken strong steps to root out fraud in the pandemic relief programs and put strong controls in place to prevent future fraud. In 2022, SBA established a Fraud Risk Management Board, aligning its practices with GAO's oversight policies. A new role was also created, the SBA Special Counsel for Enterprise Risk, to advise the administrator of fraud and risk management activities. The agency continues to work collaboratively with the SBA Inspector General, the Interagency COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, and the Department of Justice to recover stolen funds. I thank Ms. Van Duyne and Mr. Landsman for looking for ways to enhance the work that the SBA is undertaking to combat fraud, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Representatives Maloy and Scholten, for their work on this bill. Since its inception, the WOSB program and the administration of the program have been a challenge for SBA. Similarly, Federal agencies have faced challenges using the authorities that Congress has put in place to streamline contracting with women-owned small businesses. While working to boost participation of WOSBs and enhance the use of these authorities, Congress must also advance initiatives that are designed to protect the integrity of the program. One issue we are addressing today is the inspector general's report that states there is a discrepancy in SBA's implementation of the program. The purpose of this bill is to align SBA processes with the IG's report and to clarify that we expect SBA to have a process similar to the other socioeconomic contracting programs for WOSB certifications. Mr. Speaker, again, I appreciate my colleagues for their work on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation, and I thank Ms. Maloy and Ms. Scholten for this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we are considering H.R. 7102, the Native American Entrepreneurial Opportunity Act. Let me begin by commending Ms. Davids for her leadership and bipartisan efforts to codify the Office of Native American Affairs at SBA. She is a valued member of the Committee on Small Business and has remained committed to working with stakeholders to make this bill a reality. The office has been a tremendous resource for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians seeking to launch and grow their small businesses. Throughout the year, it engages in several outreach activities, including consultations, development and distribution of promotional materials, and participation in national economic development conferences. Codifying the office would ensure that Tribal small businesses have access to SBA's full range of business development tools regardless of the administration. Importantly, the legislation requires that the assistant administrator report directly to the Administrator, ensuring the voice of the Tribal communities will be heard at SBA. I also thank Mr. Crane for joining Ms. Davids in her efforts, and I strongly support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Kansas (Ms. Davids).

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, Native American-owned businesses are powerful economic engines, contributing over $33 billion to the U.S. economy every year and employing more than 200,000 people in their communities. By enhancing the Office of Native American Affairs, SBA will be able to work on behalf of Indian Country and better target resources to Indian Tribes. I once again thank Representatives Davids and Crane for their bipartisan work to provide assistance to these critically important businesses and entrepreneurs. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Mr. Joe Sobota. Over the course of his career, Joe spent over 40 years in public service primarily advocating for the best interests of American small businesses. Joe worked under four different chairs of the House Small Business Committee from 1978 to 1998. While working on the committee, he gained a reputation for his consummate professionalism and exhaustive knowledge of Small Business Administration programs. Joe had a wide range of responsibilities, including SBA oversight and budget activities, acting as liaison between the agency's authorizing and appropriations chairs, and serving as the committee's expert on disaster assistance issues. As the top Democrat on the committee for over two decades, I know just how vital the work of staffers like Joe is and recognize his positive impact on American entrepreneurs during his time in the House. After leaving Congress, Joe joined the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy in March 1998. At Advocacy, his primary responsibility was addressing the issues facing millions of veteran entrepreneurs nationwide. He has a great deal of reverence for veterans who continued to serve their communities by starting a small business, and it showed in his work. Much of Joe's tenure at Advocacy was dedicated to overseeing the implementation of the landmark Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999. His work to help achieve the goals of this vital legislation helped provide much needed counseling and training to millions of veteran small business owners across the country. Colleagues in government will remember Joe as a dedicated public servant whose work on behalf of small businesses helped support the dreams of countless American entrepreneurs. His impact and commitment to small businesses will not be soon forgotten. My thoughts are with his family and all who were fortunate enough to know him. May he rest in peace.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Waters for yielding. I rise today in strong opposition to this resolution. As one of the central architects of section 1071, I understand better than most what this provision does and doesn't do. During my time as ranking member of the Small Business Committee and as a senior member of the Financial Services Committee, I have seen women- and minority-owned small businesses struggle to access capital due to the lack of data and transparency related to small business lending. The scant data that does exist continues to show these businesses lack the same access to financing compared to White-owned firms. Section 1071 attempts to remedy this by requiring financial institutions to collect and report on the demographics of small business owners applying for financing. Doing so facilitates the enforcement of fair lending laws and identifies businesses and community development needs. Supporters of this resolution claim it will excessively burden smaller institutions. However, CFPB Director Chopra recently testified that approximately 2,000 banks will be exempted from the rule's reporting requirements. Others claim the rule is too intrusive. Yet, safeguards like voluntary reporting--and you are going to hear time and again that this is a mandate even when I took the text in the manual and read it to the Members. It is voluntary. It is not a mandate. Unique identifiers are included in the rule. Without this information, discriminatory lending will continue. When crafting this rule, the CFPB conducted considerable outreach to small firms and considered thousands of public comments from entrepreneurs. During a recent Small Business Committee hearing, we received testimony that this rule will help the market better address both the lack of access to affordable capital and the rise of irresponsible lending.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I will not yield. It will allow lenders to help tailor their products and services to meet their borrower's needs and spur additional investment in small businesses without creating another government program. If you are for smaller government spending, look right here. Let's remedy this situation where we have empirical data that minority women, small businesses, female-owned businesses, and rural businesses do not have the same access to affordable capital. It has been 13 long years. We cannot reverse course now. To do so would be an insult to the minority-owned businesses that are counting on our support. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this resolution.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Chair, I thank Ranking Member Grijalva for yielding. I rise today in opposition to this disingenuous bill introduced under the guise of protecting National Park Service land. If Republicans were really concerned about protecting our national parks, why did they vote to cut the National Park Service budget by approximately half a billion dollars in the appropriations bill that they passed less than a month ago? The point here is not to protect the National Park Service. The point here is cruelty. If extreme MAGA Republicans really wanted to preserve public lands, why have they passed bills that include shameless giveaways of our public lands and waters to the destructive oil, gas, and mining industries? If Republicans really cared about our Federal lands, why have they continuously tried to gut bedrock environmental laws, like the Endangered Species Act, since taking the majority? Republicans do not care about our national parks. They are simply looking for more excuses to spread anti-immigrant rhetoric. I know firsthand that the situation in New York is a humanitarian crisis and not a partisan issue. If you want to tackle the root cause of this, let's get together to draft legislation. We have legislation that has been introduced--in many instances, bipartisan legislation. Let's get real and deal with the broken system that we have in this country and address comprehensive immigration reform.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. We must ensure that people fleeing violence and persecution, regardless of nationality or other demographics, can access asylum and the refugee resettlement system in this country, as required by law. New York City is doing all it can to accomplish this, but it cannot do it alone. The real solution here is to increase support for the city and the individuals exercising their protected right to seek asylum in the United States. The bill before us today is performative and vilifies migrants, making it harder for New York City to meet this moment.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment, which would allow the Secretary of the Interior to provide housing when States sending asylum seekers to New York City fail to meet certain conditions. Today, there are over 65,900 asylum seekers currently in the care of the city. To respond to this influx, our city has opened 213 sites, including 18 large-scale humanitarian relief centers. A guiding principle of New York City's response has been that people fleeing violence and persecution deserve a functioning asylum and refugee resettlement system in this country. To my colleagues who are intent on labeling these people illegal, I ask, do they not have the legal right to seek asylum enshrined under the Geneva Refugee Convention and U.S. law? Asylum seekers are human beings who have fled disaster, conflict, and persecution to come to the United States for a better life. They deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. They should not be used as pawns in cruel political stunts. Politicians from States like Texas and Florida have bused asylum seekers to New York to get on cable news. These buses are often sent with little to no communication from officials in those States. Tens of thousands of migrants have been sent to New York from various originating States, no matter if they wanted to come or not. They may not have a clue about the conditions they will find in New York or the resources available to them. As temperatures fall below freezing, there are lines of asylum seekers waiting outside of centers because they have reached their 30- day limit at city-run shelters. They have nowhere else to go. However, here we are, debating a bill that will close Floyd Bennett Field. My amendment will ensure that asylum seekers--not illegal aliens but asylum seekers--who are bused from State to State without support, scant information, and no other options can access the resources they deserve. Specifically, my amendment allows the Secretary of the Interior to authorize the use of land controlled by the National Park Service for the purpose of housing migrants when a State fails to provide 48 hours' notice to the receiving State or provide truthful information to the migrants about where they are being transported to or provide the opportunity to refuse the busing. We have heard hundreds of migrant stories about not knowing where they are being sent. We cannot allow this practice to continue without consequences. My amendment will help create an accountability system for the States that decide to deceptively bus migrants to other States like New York. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva).

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Mfume), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of the six bills we are considering today. America's 33 million small businesses are the foundation of our Nation's economy and account for two-thirds of new jobs. The Small Business Committee has a long tradition of working together on behalf of our Nation's small businesses. I am pleased we are coming together yet again. Let me start off by thanking Representatives Bean and Mfume for their bipartisan work on H.R. 4666, which will help the committee fulfill its oversight responsibilities. SBA was a lifeline to millions of small businesses throughout the pandemic. More than $1.2 trillion in economic aid was distributed to help businesses keep their doors open. During these unprecedented times, the SBA, under the Trump administration, weakened and removed these internal controls in an effort to disburse funds swiftly. This resulted in roughly 87 percent of likely fraud originating in the first 9 months of the pandemic, largely due to organized criminal syndicates and transnational gangs exploiting the weakened controls and stealing billions of dollars from the American people. Upon taking office, Administrator Guzman strengthened internal controls, and they remain in place to this day, but the damage was done. In order to improve our understanding and prevent future fraud, H.R. 4666 requires the OIG to send periodic reports over the next 2 years to provide the Committee with detailed information that it needs to conduct robust oversight. Let me take a minute to commend our IG and their commitment to rooting out fraud and abuse. I also highlight the need to fully meet their budget request rather than make any cuts. Doing so harms their ability to hold fraudsters accountable. As of this October, their work has resulted in nearly 1,200 indictments, almost 950 arrests, and over 600 convictions. Almost $400 million in seized or forfeited assets and more than $500 million in restitution orders have been returned to the American taxpayers. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4666, as amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, while much of the focus today has been about pandemic fraud, we must also be mindful of the stellar work that the SBA did to help small businesses stay afloat throughout the pandemic. Distributing more than a trillion dollars in economic aid was a tall order for a small agency. Today, we are seeing the fruits of their labor. Small businesses have been recovering with unprecedented speed and success, and more Americans are launching small businesses than ever before, with more than 14 million new starts since January 2021. Once again, I thank Representative Bean and Representative Mfume, and I urge my colleagues to support this measure, as amended. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4667, as amended, which will ensure any unused PPP funds are properly returned to the American taxpayers. The legislation requires SBA to issue guidance for financial institutions on how to return PPP funds. In May, the IG released a management advisory that said SBA's lack of guidance, regulations, and ability to account for returned PPP funds is an obstacle for anyone who opts to return unused PPP funds. Unfortunately, this has led to confusion for borrowers and lenders, leading some lenders to even inform borrowers that the SBA could not accept funds. This bill will resolve the problem by requiring SBA to establish clear and detailed guidance for returning PPP funds to the SBA. The legislation will also require the SBA to establish a process on how to deposit unused PPP funds in the Treasury Department's general fund. I thank Ms. Salazar and Mr. McGarvey for introducing this bill to enhance the PPP recovery process. The Federal Government needs to be a good steward of taxpayers' dollars, and this bill goes a long way to improve the Nation's fiscal health by ensuring the SBA has processes in place to account for returned PPP funds. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. McGarvey), the ranking member of the Innovation Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development Subcommittee.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, the RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act requires SBA to establish clear guidance for borrowers, lenders, and financial institutions on how to return PPP funds. It will ensure best practices are in place in the event of another global catastrophe. I thank Representative Salazar and Mr. McGarvey for their effort, and I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, as amended. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I lend my support to H.R. 4668, as amended, which requires the Office of the National Ombudsman to publish links to guidance documents for rules that have been certified to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Guidance documents help inform small businesses of regulations, but they can be difficult to find. Having a centralized website with hyperlinks to these documents will save entrepreneurs time and resources. This legislation builds off the One Stop Shop Act, which was enacted into law last Congress. The new law requires the Office of the National Ombudsman to create and maintain a centralized website with hyperlinks to small business compliance guides. I am pleased the SBA has their website up and running. H.R. 4668 will add more useful links for small firms and give them tools to make it easier for them to comply with Federal rules and regulations. Mr. Speaker, I commend Mr. Molinaro and Ms. Scholten for working together on the POST IT Act. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.