Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I submit the following regarding rollcall No. 210, No. 211, No. 212, No. 213, No. 214, No. 215, No. 216, and No. 217--recorded votes On a Motion to Recommit with instructions, On passage of H.R. 4438, the American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014, On agreeing to the Castor (FL) amendment to H.R. 10, On agreeing to the Jackson Lee amendment to H.R. 10, On agreeing to the Wilson (FL) amendment to H.R. 10, On agreeing to the Langevin amendment to H.R. 10, On agreeing to the Bonamici amendment to H.R. 10, and On passage of H.R. 10, the Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act.

I was not present for rollcall vote No. 210. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

I was not present for rollcall vote No. 211. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

I was not present for rollcall vote No. 212. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

I was not present for rollcall vote No. 213. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

I was not present for rollcall vote No. 214. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

I was not present for rollcall vote No. 215. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

I was not present for rollcall vote No. 216. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

I was not present for rollcall vote No. 217. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, which occurred on May 17th, 1954, and paved the way for integration of American schools during the Civil Rights Movement.

This unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court established that state laws allowing for segregated public schools were unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment, energizing the movement to end Jim Crow laws dictating voting rights, public transportation, dining establishments, and almost every other aspect of American communities. One of the most important decisions in our nation's history, Brown was a deliberate rejection of a system of racial inequality.

Virginia's Fifth District is an integral part of the history of the Brown decision as Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward School was one of the five combined cases decided by the Supreme Court in Brown. In 1951, 450 students at Moton High School, an African-American school in Farmville, Virginia, staged a walkout to protest the inferior facilities and unsuitable conditions at the school. The protest began as an effort to equalize educational opportunities for all students in the county, but quickly escalated to a battle for desegregation as the NAACP joined the Moton students' cause along with the other cases decided in Brown. Thanks to this pivotal decision and the efforts of so many upstanding Virginians, the students of Moton High School won a great victory against segregation to ensure equality for young people across the country. While it did not end the struggle for desegregation, it certainly was a catalyst for change.

The promise of equal opportunity is a core facet of our Constitution. Today, we thank those who courageously fought for equality, leading to the Brown decision that led to the dismantling of racial segregation in our nation's public schools and giving life to the promise of our Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal.

Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 200, on agreeing to the resolution on H. Res. 569. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 202, on referring the resolution on H. Res. 574 to Government Operations. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Madam Chair, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 189. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Amendment No. 4 Offered by Mr. Broun of Georgia

Madam Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 169, on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 544. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for his leadership on this important issue.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Save American Workers Act. This important bill will restore the traditional 40-hour definition of full-time employment as it relates to the President's health care law.

Under the Affordable Care Act, the 30-hour rule has resulted in fewer jobs and has reduced working hours for Virginians and for Americans, putting 2.6 million workers with a median income of under $30,000 at risk of losing their jobs and losing their working hours.

In Virginia's Fifth District, we have heard from many constituents who have seen their hours cut due to this 30-hour rule. When hours are cut and wages are cut, the American people suffer. I urge my colleagues to support this important bill so that America can get back to work.

Mr. Chair, I thank the chairman for yielding, and I thank the gentleman from South Carolina for his leadership on this issue.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the ENFORCE Act which reins in the growing problem of executive overreach in this administration, and helps reestablish the checks and balances inherent in our Constitution.

Our founders crafted a Constitution with limited and enumerated powers for the three branches of government. Unfortunately, executive branch overreach, especially into the prerogatives of the legislative branch, has significantly increased in recent years.

This overreach is so significant that this administration has not only ignored and undermined statutory requirements, it has effectively made law without congressional consent.

While the executive branch undoubtedly has great powers, the Constitution expressly prohibits it from picking and choosing which laws it will enforce. If the constitutional limits on executive power are simply being ignored, it is up to Congress to demand accountability on behalf of the American people.

This should not be a partisan issue but, instead, should focus on restoring the proper role of the executive to ensure that the laws of Congress that are passed are faithfully executed.

I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation which restores the balance of power to our government and preserves the foundation of our Constitution.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of myself and Representative Morgan Griffith, I submit these remarks to commemorate the life of Elizabeth Heim Haskell, who passed away February 11, 2014.

Mrs. Haskell was a pillar in her community and across the Commonwealth. She ran her own environmental consulting firm for nine years and authored many books and articles on the environment. She served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Air Pollution Control Board. She then served as Virginia's Secretary of Natural Resources under Governor Douglas Wilder.

After completing her term, Mrs. Haskell returned to Martinsville to work in her family's newspaper business as the director and vice president of The Martinsville Bulletin. She became involved with local civics, serving four years on the Martinsville City Council. She also was a member of the New College Planning Commission and then New College Institute's Board of Directors, where she promoted her firm belief in the important role of higher education in the area's economy. For her many contributions, particularly her work to further higher education in Southwest Virginia, the Virginia General Assembly named Mrs. Haskell the Outstanding Virginian in 2005.

Elizabeth Haskell exemplified commitment to bettering the lives of all Virginians. She will long be remembered for her distinguished service. She was predeceased by her husband, Robert H. Haskell III, and is survived by her son, Andrew Haskell of Morristown, N.J., three grandchildren, Chase Winn Haskell, Catherine Antoinette Haskell, and Harrison Robert Haskell, and her brother, Henry C. Heim of Gig Harbor, Washington.

Congressman Griffith and I note with great sadness the loss of Elizabeth Haskell, a prominent leader in the Martinsville community and all of Virginia.

Mr. Chair, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 86. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Connolly

I thank the chairman for his leadership on this issue. I thank him for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, today I rise in support of the Consumer Financial Freedom and Washington Accountability Act.

As I travel across our Virginia's Fifth District, I continue to hear troubling stories about the impacts of the CFPB. I have heard from consumers, community banks, and credit unions about how the unchecked authority of the CFPB is restricting consumer choice, creating an atmosphere of economic uncertainty, and increasing costs.

Real consumer protection requires that we shift power from Washington bureaucrats to American consumers by providing access to competitive markets with choice, information, and accountability. This bill would help achieve that goal by adding much-needed oversight and transparency to this far-reaching new government agency without weakening consumer protection.

These bipartisan checks and balances will protect our community banks and credit unions who play a critical role in providing capital to our small businesses and working families. At a time when too many Americans remain out of work, it is critical that we continue to support policies that will help restore certainty to the marketplace, create jobs, and protect our consumers.

I urge support of this good bill.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of myself and Representatives Bob Goodlatte and Morgan Griffith, I submit these remarks to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Ferrum College.

A private institution, Ferrum College was founded in 1913 and has a long and storied history that has left an enduring footprint on Franklin County, as well as Virginia and the nation. The 700-acre campus is located in Ferrum, Virginia, the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Ferrum is home to the second oldest environmental science program in the nation. Today, over 1500 students, from 25 states and a dozen countries, are currently enrolled in 33 areas of study. Ferrum offers bachelor's degrees in twenty-eight programs and received accreditation as a four-year college in 1976. The students are active members of the surrounding Franklin County and Rocky Mount communities.

We wish the students, faculty, and staff the best, as they celebrate Founders Day and their 100th anniversary on February 8th. We also look forward to the continued success of Ferrum College as it carries on its mission of educating our young people and preparing them for their future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 19, on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 458. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1105, the Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation Act, a bipartisan bill that our colleagues, Representatives Cooper, Himes, Garrett, and I introduced earlier this year. I thank all of them for their leadership on this issue.

I would also like to thank Chairman Hensarling and again Chairman Garrett for their support and leadership on this bill, as we were able to achieve a bipartisan vote out of the Financial Services Committee.

Every Member of this body can agree that with millions of Americans out of work, our top focus in Congress should be, and it must be, enacting policies to spur job creation throughout our Nation.

Today, the House takes up another bill to encourage economic growth and job creation by increasing the flow of private capital to small businesses that are found on Main Streets all across America. At a time when the available avenues of capital and credit for small businesses continue to decrease, capital investments from private equity into our communities are more important than ever.

Unfortunately, Dodd-Frank has placed a costly and unnecessary regulatory burden of SEC registration on advisers to private equity while exempting advisers to similar investment funds. These registration requirements do not improve the stability of our financial system, and they restrict the ability of private equity to invest capital in our small businesses to spur job growth.

In Virginia's Fifth District, my district, there are literally thousands of jobs that exist because of the investment of private equity. These critical investments allow our small businesses to innovate, expand their operations, and create the jobs that our communities need. If enacted, the unnecessary burdens on advisers to private equity funds that do not have excessive leverage would be eliminated, and they would be given the same exemption from the SEC's registration requirements that venture capital advisers enjoy.

These registration requirements, which do not make the financial system any more stable, impose an undue burden on small and mid-sized private equity firms, and decrease the ability of their investment to create jobs.

During our Financial Services Committee hearing on the bill, witnesses discussed the cost these requirements have imposed on private equity firms. They force investment advisers to private equity to expend substantial resources that disproportionately affect small and mid-sized funds with costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, or more, to comply with these requirements.

It is important to note that most people, including SEC Chair Mary Jo White, concede that private equity funds did not cause the 2008 financial crisis and are not a source of systemic risk, despite that argument being the impetus for the registration requirement under Dodd- Frank. These funds are not highly interconnected with other financial market participants; and, therefore, the failure of a private equity fund would be highly unlikely to trigger cascading losses that would lead to a similar financial crisis. Additionally, these funds invest primarily in illiquid assets, including small Main Street businesses found across our country. These businesses are diversified across multiple industries and therefore lack concentrated exposure to any single sector.

Furthermore, investors in private equity firms are all sophisticated investors who negotiate for the strongest investor protections. These sophisticated investors include public pension funds, university endowments, nonprofit foundations--many of whom are the primary beneficiaries of private equity successes. Those investors typically are represented by counsel and heavily negotiate fund terms in advance of investing, including reporting governance and conflicts of interest.

It should also be noted that H.R. 1105 does nothing to change current Federal law with respect to common law and statutory fiduciary protections owed by investors to advisers to private equity funds. There are already existing significant investor protections available both contractually and in the form of State and Federal fiduciary duties and antifraud protections--investor protections that exist whether or not the advisers are registered with the SEC.

In the end, the costs of unnecessary registration represent real capital that otherwise could be used to invest in companies such as Virginia Candle in our district--a company that, through private equity investment, expanded from a garage in Lynchburg, Virginia, to millions of homes across the world.

Beyond Virginia Candle in Virginia, private equity-backed companies employ over 7.5 million people. Let me say that again: private equity- backed companies employ over 7.5 million people nationwide in over 17,000 U.S. companies. The impact of the registration requirements stand to diminish job creation in each of the congressional districts represented on this floor today.

I ask all of my colleagues today to join me in voting ``yes'' on H.R. 1105 and pass this bill from the House in order to increase the flow of private capital to our small businesses so that they can innovate, grow, and create jobs for the American people.

Small Business Investor Alliance,

December 3, 2013.

Hon. John A. Boehner,

Speaker, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Nancy Pelosi,

Democratic Leader, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Speaker Boehner and Democratic Leader Pelosi: On

behalf of the Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA), the

premier organization of lower middle market private equity

funds and investors, we urge you to support passage of the

bipartisan Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation

Act (H.R. 1105), sponsored by Representatives Robert Hurt

(VA-5), Jim Himes (CT-4), Scott Garrett (NJ-5), and Jim

Cooper (TN-5). Passage of H.R. 1105 would reduce expensive

regulatory costs for small business investors enabling

increased capital formation and job creation for growing

small businesses.

Private equity funds are critical to the capital raising

process for many small businesses. In fact, a Pepperdine

University study found that private equity backed businesses

generated 129 percent more revenue growth and 257 percent

more employment growth than non-private equity backed

businesses. America needs more private equity small business

investing, not less.

It is commonly overlooked that small business investors are

generally small businesses too. They are being held back by

expensive regulatory costs as a result of new expanded SEC

registration requirements put into place by the Dodd-Frank

Act. Investment Adviser registration is very costly in both

money and time, especially for smaller funds that do most of

the small business investing. Most of our private equity

funds do not have legal departments, compliance teams, and

other forms of overhead that are required by the new

regulatory system. Compliance costs are often $250,000 or

more per year--a heavy expense to a small business investment

fund. Many of the new burdens are caused by the fact that the

SEC rules are designed to deal with publicly traded

businesses and investing, not for investing in domestic,

privately-held small businesses. Small business investors are

not mutual funds, multi-national conglomerates, or giant

financial institutions and should not be treated as such.

Private equity funds, particularly those supporting small

businesses, are not a systemic risk and did not contribute to

the financial crisis. H.R. 1105 would reduce regulatory

costs, but would still maintain record

retention and information for regulators and thus maintain

investor safeguards.

Congress can reduce unnecessary burdens for our private

equity funds and allow them to do what they do best--invest

in job creating small businesses to empower them to succeed,

create jobs, and grow the economy. SBIA strongly supports

passage of the bipartisan Small Business Capital Access and

Job Preservation Act.

Sincerely,

Brett Palmer,

President.

I thank the chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the gentlelady's amendment.

I appreciate her work and interest on this important issue; but with all due respect, this amendment would defeat the entire purpose of the bill.

If adopted, all advisers to private equity who are currently undergoing the burdensome and unnecessary registration process would still be required to do so. Additionally, it would establish an entirely subjective, so-called ``simplified'' compliance standard that would have to be defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. There is no reason to believe that such a so-called simplified standard would provide any meaningful relief for those private equity companies investing in small companies across this country.

As has been stated, small and mid-sized private equity firms are expending hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual compliance costs and would still have to be registered with the SEC. Instead of addressing this problem, this amendment, if adopted, would continue to restrict the ability of small and mid-sized private equity firms to invest in small businesses.

As Members of both parties have pointed out, there are not persuasive arguments that private equity generates systemic risk; and, indeed, to the extent that leverage at the fund level could potentially trigger such risk, we have already adopted a standard proposed by Mr. Himes in committee that would require registration for advisers to firms with leverage that exceeds 2 to 1.

I know that the gentlelady understands that access to private capital is the lifeblood for small business. The current SEC registration requirements are unnecessary. They produce a significant burden on private equity firms and, therefore, restrict the flow of private capital to small businesses across the country.

I urge this body to defeat this amendment and to vote in favor of the underlying bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to the gentleman from Nevada, the problem with his motion to recommit is that it would punish a company like Vitamin Shoppe. Vitamin Shoppe is a leading U.S.-based vitamin and supplements distributor. Earlier this year, Vitamin Shoppe went global, opening its first international franchise in Panama City, Panama. By partnering with a private equity fund, Vitamin Shoppe grew its business from a Northeast-based specialty retailer to a national chain, adding more than 400 stores and 2,500 new jobs.

With all due respect, this bill is not about overseas jobs. This bill is not about Wall Street. This bill is about Main Street American jobs to the tune of 7.5 million jobs working in 17,000 U.S. companies. This bill is about encouraging private capital investment in those Main Street jobs. This bill is about not adding $500,000 in compliance costs to Main Street job creation.

To put this in perspective, I dare say, of every congressional district represented on this floor, this bill is about a window manufacturer in Rocky Mount, Virginia, in Virginia's Fifth District, our district, which has operated there for the last 70 years. It has provided good jobs in our community. It has provided jobs for generations of people living in Franklin County, Virginia, and for families who have worked there for generations. In the last 10-20 years in Rocky Mount, Virginia, just like all across southside Virginia and so many congressional districts across this country, we have seen hard times because of the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs. We have seen over the last 10-20 years double digit unemployment.

This window manufacturing plant was able to survive because of private equity investment, and now that window manufacturing company boasts 1,000 employees. Those jobs still exist today because of a private equity investment.

Last night we had a meeting of the Rules Committee, and one member of the committee asked a question. He said: If a big PE firm has to pay an extra $500,000 for compliance costs, what is the big deal?

It seems to me that it would be better, perhaps, to ask that question to an employee at that windows manufacturing firm in Rocky Mount. If asked, I suspect he would say, you know: I have a good job. I love my job. I work 60 hours a week to be able to pay my mortgage, to pay my bills and take care of my family. He would say, Please, to all of you in Washington, do everything that you can to make sure that 1 year from now I still have my job and make sure that my neighbor has a job, too.

That is a big deal, and that is what this bill is about. I urge the defeat of this motion to recommit, I urge the adoption of this good jobs bill, and I ask for your vote for H.R. 1105.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this year marks Delegate Lacey E. Putney's retirement from 52 years of distinguished public service and accomplishment representing Bedford and the surrounding area in the Virginia House of Delegates. Born in Big Island, Virginia, Delegate Putney is the longest-serving member of the Virginia House of Delegates in the Commonwealth's history, having served since January 1962. He was a member of the Appropriations Committee for nearly 50 years, including 5 years as its Chairman, providing critical leadership in the development of our state's balanced budgets each year. Legislators on both sides of the aisle have always had the utmost respect for Delegate Putney because he has always led based on his conscience and his convictions rather than partisan interests. He will be remembered for his service to our country in the United States Air Force, his devotion to fiscal responsibility, his commitment to economic development, and his legacy of independent-minded leadership for our great Commonwealth.

Lacey Putney devoted his life and career to the betterment of his community and our entire state. On behalf of myself and Representatives Bob Goodlatte, Bobby Scott, Randy Forbes, Rob Wittman, Morgan Griffith and Scott Rigell, I thank Delegate Putney for his decades of service to the great Commonwealth of Virginia. It has been an honor to serve with him, and I wish him and his wife, Carmela the best in his retirement.