Roger Williams

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of Arkansas (Mr. Hill).

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr).

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Madam Speaker, as my colleagues and I have stated today, my biggest fear is that many lenders may decide to fully exit small business lending due to the overly burdensome collection requirements, or because they don't want to put their small business customers in an uncomfortable situation. I do not believe this is the outcome Congress, or the CFPB, intended with the implementation of this section of Dodd-Frank. However, I know, as a small business owner myself, that if this rule goes into effect it will not bode well for small businesses seeking the credit needed to grow and support their communities. That is the bottom line. We need to help small businesses. We need to help them create jobs but also to create net worth among their employees. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from the great State of Nebraska (Mr. Flood).

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5427) to prohibit individuals convicted of defrauding the Government from receiving any assistance from the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 5427. This legislation prohibits any individuals convicted of defrauding the government's COVID-19 lending programs from ever receiving future financial assistance from the SBA. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit America, the SBA took on an outsized role in helping small businesses. They partnered with banks and credit unions to set up the Paycheck Protection Program that ultimately got over $800 billion to Main Street to keep businesses from laying off employees. Additionally, the SBA ran the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, better known as the COVID EIDL program, that gave out close to $480 billion in low interest loans. While both of these programs were successful in keeping businesses afloat during the pandemic, we have seen some very troubling data come out in recent months. SBA's Office of Inspector General has estimated over $200 billion of these relief funds were given to fraudulent actors. This means that roughly 20 percent of all the money that was supposed to help businesses went to the wrong people, and, unfortunately, we have seen some estimates show that this 20 percent figure might be on the low end. The committee is working to find creative ways to get this money back to the taxpayers, but in the meantime, we also cannot let those who committed these crimes off easy. That is where my legislation comes in. This bill prevents anyone who was convicted of defrauding the SBA's lending programs from receiving any future financial assistance from the agency. If someone saw the pandemic as an opportunity to enrich themselves, then they should never be given the opportunity to utilize any of these financial programs again. These criminals took money away from businesses across the country that were in desperate need of assistance. This bill provides an additional layer of security for government programs so people who have taken advantage of past programs cannot commit a similar crime in the future. A lot will need to be done to correct all of the issues within the SBA that allowed these unacceptable levels of fraud to occur, but as those internal issues are corrected, this bill will help rebuild confidence in the agency. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this commonsense bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from the great State of Missouri (Mr. Alford).

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5427 is simple. It needs to be passed. I also want to thank my colleague from Maryland (Mr. Mfume) for all his support working on this bill. I thank him for his support. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I support H.R. 4670, the Small Business Contracting Transparency Act, introduced by Congressman Stauber from the great State of Minnesota. The U.S. Government is one of the largest customers in the world. They contract out purchases of things as simple as office supplies to complicated rockets that go into space. Each year, the government sets a contracting goal that they look to hit so that small businesses can help service the various needs of the Federal Government. To be considered a small business in contracting, there are certain verification procedures to ensure that a small business does, in fact, qualify. It would be problematic if larger corporations were posing as small businesses in order to compete for some of the small business set-aside contracts. For some of these small business categories, the businessowner simply gets to self-certify that they are who they say the business represents. For others, the Small Business Administration or third- party entities do a more rigorous certification process. Since there isn't a uniform process to verify the small businesses are who they claim to be, it calls into question the accuracy of the contracting data that we receive. The Small Business Contracting Transparency Act brings much-needed insight into these certification activities and whether the SBA is meeting its requirements. Mr. Speaker, I applaud Congressman Stauber for introducing this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. 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 bill.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4666) to require the Inspector General of the Small Business Administration to submit a quarterly report on fraud relating to certain COVID-19 loans, as amended.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in full support of H.R. 4480, also known as the SERV Act, introduced by Representatives Davids of Kansas and Alford of Missouri. Our Nation's veterans have an incredible impact on our small business community. The skills veterans gained in the military make them leaders uniquely positioned to start and grow successful businesses. Unfortunately, veterans often face barriers when starting or growing their businesses which can feel insurmountable. In May, the Committee on Small Business heard directly from veterans on how access to capital as well as awareness of available resources are major barriers to them. The SERV Act seeks to identify these barriers and directs the Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development to create an action plan to improve outreach to veterans informing them of available resources to address their unique needs. If we are spending taxpayer dollars to help these individuals, then we must ensure they are making the greatest impact possible. Mr. Speaker, I, once again, thank the sponsors of this legislation, I urge my colleagues to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4480) to require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to report on the veterans interagency task force, to require the Comptroller General of the United States to report on access to credit for small business concerns owned and controlled by covered individuals, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. 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 bill.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford).

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4480 is a step in the right direction. It is about our veterans, and what is more important than our veterans. Congressman Alford and Congresswoman Davids have it right. It needs to be passed. We need to pass it tonight. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Velazquez for her support, and I yield back the balance of my time.