Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his kind remarks. I remember the first time we met. It was across the street, and I approached him about wanting to serve on his committee. Little did I know that I was headed back to graduate school.…
Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his kind remarks. I remember the first time we met. It was across the street, and I approached him about wanting to serve on his committee. Little did I know that I was headed back to graduate school. He gave me a binder about 6 inches thick and said: Go study it. I had to look up all the acronyms, about 100 of them, and memorize those to get started.
Mr. Speaker, Chairman Hensarling's leadership and the quality of person he is, he got out in front. He enabled us to become leaders, he enabled us to learn, to give focus, direction on important issues relative to the security of this country, relative to the economic freedoms of this country, and for that, I have the deepest sense of gratitude and respect that he empowered us as he led us.
That is a great testament and a legacy I think that he will carry throughout this United States Congress, and the model that he has been for each of us as we have watched, not just his work ethic, but his character and who he is and how that translated into the public policy for the good of the American people.
So, Mr. Speaker, let me say in my deepest heart my appreciation and my love for him and his sweet wife and his wonderful kids. What a tribute it was to be there with him yesterday when they unveiled the painting that will go in the Financial Services room, to the accolades of the Vice President and Senator Phil Gramm and so many others who were there to pay tribute to a great leader for our country. So I thank the chairman.
And as Chairman Hensarling spoke to the issues relative to FIRRMA, yes, we have great challenges from nation states who seek to exploit our laws, who have sought to secure proprietary technology for their own interests and objectives, and particularly, as Chairman Hensarling mentioned, China.
China, since 2015, has acquired 50 technology companies, semiconductor companies, many of them a part of our Department of Defense. These are critical companies for our own national security. They have been able to circumvent our laws through joint ventures, through minority partnerships to be able to obtain this technology.
In fact, on one occasion, Chairman Hensarling and I were coming back from Asia, and we stopped in Anchorage and we visited our base there, and they showed us the Stealth F-22. And as the general was showing the incredible aspects of this remarkable plane, the greatest aircraft we have, he said: By the way, the technology of this plane, the engine was sold to China by GE.
Companies have been forced, extorted in a sense, to gain access to Chinese markets. This is wrong. It is morally wrong. It is ethically wrong. It is wrong for our national security.
The FIRRMA bill, which Chairman Hensarling recognized and helped pass, it wouldn't have happened without his total commitment and leadership. So this country is more secure today because of what passed regarding the FIRRMA bill.
The rules will be written over the next year or so. We trust that all that was done will come out and close off these loopholes that have allowed foreign entities to exploit our Nation's national security.
So this bill and our interests are even more secure as a result of the jobs bill that the chairman has advanced for us today. It does continue to ensure the security against predatory Chinese investments by modernizing our securities laws to reclaim the U.S. IPO market, all of this as China lays out its blueprint for dominance in the tech industry.
This package would also cut down on the regulations that burden our small business community. This is key to continuing the innovation and economic growth we are seeking today.
This tax relief and jobs package would continue the innovation and economic growth and would allow investors to have legal certainty by allowing them to interact with entrepreneurs without fear of securities violation.
Furthermore, the cost of initial compliance for an IPO filing now exceeds over $2 million. This hinders small businesses that are ready to go public but can't afford these regulatory costs.
So, Mr. Speaker, I commend this bill. JOBS 3.0 would lengthen ``on- ramp'' exceptions for IPO compliance, helping small business owners navigate one of the most expensive aspects of securities law.
It also allows companies to test the waters before going public to help give them time for their IPO to have a better chance of success.
These provisions are vital to encourage business growth and to reassure the small business community. I strongly encourage the Senate, therefore, to pass this bill.
So, yes, Mr. Speaker, what Chairman Hensarling has done through this legislation has helped give greater financial empowerment and liberty and freedom to the American people, that is what it is all about today, is freedom. So my gratitude to him for the leadership that he has given us.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to say a word of thanks to some other folks who I have probably this last moment to address in this Chamber. As Jesse Helms used to say, a wonderful man from North Carolina: That turtle didn't get up on the fence post by himself. And that is true, I think, for each of us in this Chamber, but I know it is true for this Member of Congress.
What I have been able to do, by the grace of God and through the enablement and empowerment of my chairman and others, will hopefully last, but it happened because of people along the way who stood with me, who supported my efforts.
Of course, I start with my family. I have the most wonderful family in the world. I have ten grandkids I get to go home to, 10 years and younger. I am Pitto to them, and that is all the world to me, and we have a fun time chasing around.
But my team, my staff, enabled me to serve the Ninth Congressional District of North Carolina, those people that I love, those eight counties out
there that I am endeared to, but the people who really helped them were the folks back home in my district, in my office. I speak specifically of Linda Ferster, Chris Sullivan, Jamie Bowers, Graham Long, Robert Becker. They were with me from day one. They stood with me the whole 6 years. Nobody flinched, nobody went anywhere. That team was so incredible.
Robert Becker is one of the greatest leaders we have in North Carolina for our veterans. He gets calls from all over the State and he says: What do I do to help this veteran?
Linda Ferster has been working these issues in the bureaucracy for 18 years.
These are great, faithful people who have stood up for my constituents in my district, and all the good that happened in that district was because of them. And I just gave them a door to say: Go through it and you go serve. And they served like they were missionaries. They love those people. Every day they wake up thinking, who can I help today? You know, whose life can I change in a positive way today? And that is the nature of the service that my team provided, the same type of leadership that I had up here in Washington.
My role in FIRRMA just didn't happen by myself. There are many people on my team up here that supported that effort. Clark Fonda was a great leader for me in that. There are other people outside Congress. Heath Tarbert, the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, a remarkable individual who served this country so well over such a key part of what we did in this national security bill on FIRRMA.
So my heart is just filled with gratitude for the privilege of serving the good folks in the Ninth District of North Carolina; my gratitude for the body in this Chamber; my gratitude for being able to serve on the Financial Services Committee under the leadership of Chairman Hensarling. It couldn't be greater. I couldn't be more fulfilled in the 6 years that I had here. I will always treasure and remember this time.
So, Mr. Speaker, I thank you, I thank Chairman Hensarling. He is an absolute important friend for me, and I hope we can continue to work together for many years to come. God bless you.
