Expressing Sense of the House that American Small Businesses are Entitled to a Small Business Bill of Rights
EXPRESSING SENSE OF THE HOUSE THAT AMERICAN SMALL BUSINESSES ARE ENTITLED TO A SMALL BUSINESS BILL OF RIGHTS -- (House of Representatives - April 27, 2005)
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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
As we are in the middle of recognizing National Small Business Week, most small business owners are going forward with their daily routine; waking up, heading into work, opening up their stores, and figuring out ways to pay their bills, manage their employees, and satisfy their customers.
All day today we have been hearing about the numbers of challenges facing small firms, and we will continue to hear about these challenges over and over again. But the sad reality is that small businesses are facing tougher times today, now more than ever. With skyrocketing health care, energy and gas prices, rising interest rates and a $427 billion budget deficit, there are already restrictions facing those entrepreneurs who want to start and expand their business ventures.
And now I want to ask, what is Congress' answer to all this, to all these challenges facing small firms? The answer is: Give small businesses some rights. You should have the right to access health care, the right to be relieved of regulatory burdens, and the right to tax simplification. This is all good when it is said and done, but what is Congress going to do to carry through on those promises? What action is going to be taken to back up the rhetoric?
Supporters of this bill will tell you that opposition to this resolution is opposition to helping small businesses. However, the truth is that if you votes "yes" on House Resolution 22, you have voted to do nothing more than offer empty promises to small businesses, empty promises that Congress probably will not keep.
This is because tonight, when this Nation's small business owners go home, probably somewhere around 10 or 11, well after we have been done and gone for the day and after having missed a family dinner and maybe even a Little League game because they believe so much in their business venture, not one of their challenges will be solved because we voted "yes" for House Resolution 22. Today's actions will not fix even one of the problems that most small business owners went to work with this morning.
The Small Business Bill of Rights will not provide health care, it will not give entrepreneurs more access to capital, it will not relieve them of regulatory burdens, and it definitely will not help minority- and women-owned firms to grow a successful business. So continue talking about what you want to do for small businesses today, keep talking about what the challenges are, but what I want to know is when my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are going to stop talking and start taking action.
The bottom line here is that voting for House Resolution 22 today will not make a single thing better for this Nation's small businesses. It might make a great press release for some and another opportunity to boast support for entrepreneurs, but, sadly, that is all it will be.
This Small Business Week all that our Nation's entrepreneurs will be getting are more empty promises. By voting for House Resolution 22, you are voting to make more empty promises to small businesses this week. What we need now is for small businesses to see some well-deserved and long-overdue action taken to address their challenges. No more rhetoric. That is the least we can do for this Nation's small businesses this week.
This should be seen for what it truly is, a sham, and it should be voted down.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 20 seconds. I would say that a blueprint is important, but at some point we need to start building a house.
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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, yes, I agree with the gentleman that we have association health plans, and that is a bipartisan issue that has support; but we have voted in this House four times on that issue. How many more times do we need to vote in the House? The other side controls the White House and the Senate. On the one issue where there is bipartisan support, the other side cannot get the President to call the Senate and get this legislation passed. That is how much the other side of the aisle cares about access to health care for small businesses.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva).
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Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, with respect to what was considered by the committee, the committee, minority members included, got a full hearing. Everybody got to ask questions twice. They then had three provisions added to the original Small Business Bill of Rights by me through substitute amendments, and then they got a vote on four of their six amendments before time expired. No, there was not a vote on the 8(a) program. There is nothing in here that says 8(a) is bad or good.
Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. KELLER. I yield to the gentlewoman from New York.
Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, two things. Only one person, one witness, testified on behalf of the 8(a) program. So she represented 100 percent of minority businesses in this country. Secondly, is it not true that in the list of priorities for NFIB, frivolous lawsuit does not make the top 50, it does not rank?
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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I just would like to say that more than 50 percent of the microloan program loans went to minority entrepreneurs, making it a critical source for funding for new minority-owned firms. That is quite a niche for us. It might not be for the other party.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Napolitano).
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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, small businesses got only $500. That is nothing compared to the $3,000 that they have to pay in fees through the 7(a) program.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes, 15 seconds to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).
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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remaining time.
My colleagues have all heard about the challenges facing small business today during this debate. It has become very clear that House Resolution 22 will do nothing to address these issues, and it is nothing more than pure rhetoric.
This resolution fails terribly in providing strong solutions and action items to help this Nation's small businesses. It also fails terribly in representing the needs of all sectors of the small business community. With all the respect due to the main sponsor of this resolution, 20 small businesses from his district do not represent 20 small businesses in my district, or 20 small businesses in any other Members' district. By voting for House Resolution 22, you are merely casting a blank ballot. This bill of rights is nothing more than empty promises to our Nation's small businesses.
I am going to request a motion to recommit this bill back to the committee. By voting for this motion to recommit, you will be voting to give small businesses the opportunity to truly receive more capital through SBA lending programs and to protect them from free trade agreements. Most importantly, you will be voting to make the needs of women- and minority-owned businesses a true priority. These are critical provisions that need to be addressed.
This resolution does not represent the needs of all our Nation's small businesses. In order to enhance House Resolution 22, I urge you to vote "yes" on the motion to recommit this legislation to the committee. And I urge you to vote "no" on final passage.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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MOTION TO RECOMMIT OFFERED BY MS. VELáZQUEZ
Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentlewoman opposed to the resolution?
Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Yes, in its current form.
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