Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, thank you for your work on this bill which provides funding to critical programs within a difficult but fiscally responsible allocation. I appreciate the opportunity to clarify on the Record a question I have on funding for the National Emergency Grant program.

The National Emergency Grant program provides critical job training and reemployment funding for workers who have lost their jobs as a result of plant closures or mass layoffs.

Does this bill fully fund the National Emergency Grant program?

I thank the chairman for his response and commitment to the National Emergency Grant program. I have seen firsthand the importance of this program in my district, including the recent layoffs at the VC Summer power plant and throughout the country.

Getting people who are laid off from their jobs back to work as quickly as possible is critically important for affected communities and for the economy. I fully support this program and this bill.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2333, the Small Business Investment Opportunity Act of 2017.

As a businessman, I am keenly aware of how vital small businesses are to keeping our Nation's economy moving forward.

Small businesses alone employ nearly half of America's private sector workforce. However, the dreams of many small business owners in South Carolina can't be fully realized because of the serious obstacle of accessing capital. This burden prevents the creation of more jobs and better opportunities for the hardworking American people.

H.R. 2333 will allow the SBIC program, offered by the SBA to help tackle lending roadblocks, to be utilized to its full potential by increasing the individual leverage limit from $150 million to $175 million. With this legislation, small businesses will have a greater chance to grow and help spur our economy.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 2333 and for all of the small businesses nationwide.

Mr. Speaker, members of my South Carolina Congressional delegation, it is an honor to be here. Let me have my family and friends stand. It is South Carolina's Brady Bunch. You all stand up there.

It is a tremendous honor to serve with such an esteemed group. I think it is a special time in history. As Congressman Lewis said, we are family. With the shooting of Steve Scalise, we know that we are all Americans.

We have got such an opportunity, and I look forward to playing a part in working with Members to move this country forward.