Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4468, and in full disclosure, I am a car dealer. I am, frankly, the expert in the room.

This legislation would stop the EPA from implementing a rule that is an attack on hardworking Americans and, if implemented, would decimate small businesses and wreak havoc on the pocketbooks of families.

As chairman of the House Committee on Small Business and owner and operator and expert in car dealerships in Texas for over 52 years, I have seen firsthand the impact that overregulation can have on small businesses. Competition drives my industry, not government innovations. By the way, no one wants to buy an EV vehicle.

We are a country of competition, of risk and reward, and the Federal Government should not be in the car business. We must allow individuals to choose the vehicle that best suits their needs, not the government or Joe Biden.

The EPA's proposed rule would have heightened impact on hardworking American families with an estimated increase in costs from maintenance to interest costs to lack of equity. It is clear President Biden's EPA are out of touch with the American people by ignoring out-of-control inflation while pushing a green energy bailout.

The customer is getting hammered again and your local car dealer is getting hammered again. The proposed rule would also increase our dependency on China, something the administration seems determined to ensure happens.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand with the American people and Main Street America and vote for H.R. 4468.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 891, I call up the joint resolution (S.J. Res. 32) providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection relating to ``Small Business Lending Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B)'', and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of this joint resolution of disapproval. We must overturn the CFPB's small business lending rule to ensure small businesses across America, which are the backbone of our country, have continued access to affordable credit to support and grow our economy.

Access to affordable credit is key to ensuring communities across America remain vibrant. Unfortunately, the CFPB's small business lending rule undermines the goal of affordable and available credit, which I think we all should share.

Here is why. First, the CFPB's rule is overly broad. It will require lenders to collect massive amounts of data whenever a small business owner applies for credit. Most of the information is unnecessary to make a fair, equitable, safe, and sound loan. Requiring lenders to provide the information infringes on small business owners' rights to privacy about their personal and business information when applying for credit.

Second, the CFPB's rule is burdensome. Community banks and credit unions across America account for the majority of small business lending. They are doing their part. Despite claims from my colleagues across the aisle, this rule does not go after big banks. It will have the biggest impact on the small community financial institutions already operating under the thinnest of margins because of runaway inflation and increased interest rates through the Federal Reserve--in general, the Biden economy.

The rule also discourages banks and credit unions from expanding their lending portfolios. They might simply decide that the droves of new compliance officers they would have to hire to comply with this onerous rule would simply not be worth it, and Main Street is hammered again.

The CFPB Director says he is trying to be sensitive to the needs of small community financial institutions, oftentimes advocating for relationship banking. However, in the rule, CFPB sets the transaction threshold at an incredibly low 100 loans in the preceding 2 calendar years. This means the smallest of banks, small businesses, and their owners will be the ones to bear the brunt of the unnecessary data collection, and Main Street is hammered again.

Third, the rule will be difficult to implement. The rule itself is nearly 900 pages and requires lenders to report 81 data fields. Developing compliance systems to achieve this will be extremely costly for firms, which takes resources away from actually lending to small businesses, and Main Street is hammered again.

The timeline for implementation is also insufficient for lenders to develop the necessary systems to comply with such a complex and burdensome regulation. Each hour a lender spends on the overly broad data collection demanded by the rule is an hour not devoted to ensuring credit is available and affordable for small businesses, and Main Street is hammered again.

Finally, it is unclear what the Bureau intends to do with its exceedingly expansive data demands. What we do know is the CFPB plans to post the data publicly on the CFPB's website. This is concerning, given the Bureau's alarming record of facilitating the naming and shaming of companies whose business activities progressive activists want to attack, adding to the concerns of the CFPB's abysmal track record of protecting the highly sensitive data it already collects.

In fact, back in February of this year, there was a major unauthorized data breach by a CFPB employee, which included personally identifiable information and confidential supervisory information. Therefore, why should we ever trust them to protect sensitive information of small business owners this time around?

To sum it up, the rule is backward-looking, anti-small business, anti-capitalism, anti-competition, anti-free markets, and anti-risk and reward.

It is critical that we pass this resolution to overturn this reckless CFPB rule to protect small business access to the credit needed to continue to innovate and grow our economy. A new idea while we are at it: Let's put people back to work again.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from the great State of Texas (Ms. De La Cruz).

Ms. De LA CRUZ. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise today to express my strong support for S.J. Res. 32, a resolution disproving of the CFPB's overreaching and burdensome rule under section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act.

This rule is nearly 900 pages long. It imposes onerous data collection requirements on small business lenders in places like south Texas.

This regulatory overreach is not just impractical; it directly threatens the lifeline of America's economy--our great small businesses.

Mom-and-pop shops are the backbone of our communities and need access to create, to grow, and to thrive. This rule, with its misaligned definitions and excessive demands, will only hinder their access to the necessary financial resources.

By supporting this resolution, we stand for common sense, for small businesses, for community banks, for local families, and for a regulatory environment that fosters economic growth.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution to safeguard the health of our Nation's economy.

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

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

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

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

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

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McHenry), the chairman of the Financial Services Committee.

Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim).

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. 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. 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. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, first, I say I am anxious for this to happen. I think we are going to show America that we have some bipartisan legislation that we can pass from both sides of the aisle. I am thankful that we have some good legislation, and we will see that that may happen, too.

I rise today in support of H.R. 4666 introduced by my friend from Florida (Mr. Bean). For any small business owner, once a problem is identified, they need to get periodic updates until the problem is fixed. The Small Business Administration's pandemic lending programs should be held to the same standard.

The PPP and the EIDL Fraud Report Act of 2023 requires the Inspector General of the SBA to submit quarterly reports to Congress that keep Congress updated on the ongoing fraud investigations in the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

It is estimated that $200 billion in potentially fraudulent COVID-19 EIDL and PPP loans were disbursed by the SBA. This massive loss of taxpayer dollars is unacceptable. The American people need to know what the status is of recouping these stolen funds as the SBA's Office of the Inspector General works through their investigations.

The report will provide Congress the most recent vital information on the number of both new fraud cases opened, the type of fraud suspected, and the number of investigations resolved to date.

Tracking the progress of the OIG's actions will be vital for Congress as we look to piece together the complete picture of how much fraud truly flowed through the SBA and how many of these funds were able to be recovered on the back end. This information will be vital to evaluate the role the SBA should play in future emergencies.

I urge full support from my colleagues on this commonsense bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from the great State of Florida (Mr. Bean).

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

Mr. Speaker, with an estimated $200 billion outstanding in potentially fraudulent COVID-19 EIDL and PPP loans, there has never been a more critical time for legislation like H.R. 4666.

I thank Representative Bean for his work on this bill, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join our committee in demanding answers to where this money is and how to rightfully return it to the American taxpayers.

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

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. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4667) to require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to issue guidance and rules for lenders and the Small Business Administration on handling amounts of Paycheck Protection Loans returned by borrowers, and for other purposes, as amended.

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. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in full support of H.R. 4667, better known as the RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act, introduced by Representative Salazar of the great State of Florida. During the COVID-19 pandemic, banks and credit unions stepped up to administer the Paycheck Protection Program, or

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Salazar).

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

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic broke the SBA, and as a result, American taxpayers and our Nation's

small businesses have had to foot the bill for the hundreds of billions of dollars in stolen funds.

I thank Representative Salazar for introducing H.R. 4667 as it creates a much-needed accountability and transparency with the SBA as we work to retrieve the taxpayer dollars wrongfully lost.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join us in our fight to reclaim these stolen funds and unanimously support

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. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4668) to amend the Small Business Act to require the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman to publish guidance documents for certain rules, and for other purposes, as amended.

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. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in full support of H.R. 4668, also known as the POST IT Act, introduced by Representative Molinaro of the great State of New York.

Small business owners face some of the biggest challenges in understanding how to comply with Federal regulations. Oftentimes, small businesses are hiring compliance officers, which are a drag on their bottom lines, rather than focusing on their core business model and looking for growth opportunities.

This legislation would make it easier for small businesses to track the ever-changing agency guidelines on how to comply with any given regulation. The POST IT Act requires agencies to post their guidance, and all subsequent changes on how to comply, in a centralized location on the SBA's Office of the National Ombudsman's website.

Businesses should not have to search through many different websites to try to find all the latest information on how to comply with any given requirement. If an agency updates a regulation or puts out more information, it should be easily accessible for any business to look up.

I hope this bill is just the first step in much-needed regulation modernization efforts in the committee. We have seen far too many new requirements coming from government agencies that are hurting our Nation's job creators. As businesses continue to deal with high interest rates and elevated inflation, we should not be adding additional costs in the form of new regulations.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Molinaro for leading this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Molinaro).

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

H.R. 4668 is a step in the right direction to lessening the regulatory burden placed on our Nation's small businesses.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Molinaro for his work on this crucial piece of legislation, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join us in creating a regulatory environment that allows Main Street America to thrive.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4670) to amend the Small Business Act to require reporting on additional information with respect to small business concerns owned and controlled by women, qualified HUBZone small business concerns, and small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4670 provides a necessary check on the SBA as it brings much needed insight into certification activities verifying small business contractors and provides further transparency.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Stauber and Houlahan for leading this bill. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to take a page out of our playbook and put politics aside to unanimously pass

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

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

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

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

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.

Mr. Speaker, due to a personal family matter, I was unable to be in D.C. and vote on November 13, 2023. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 643 and NAY on Roll Call No. 645.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in full support of my amendment to H.R. 4664.

Congress alone has the ability to authorize new programs. Unfortunately, this past year we saw the SBA get around this basic fact and effectively made a pilot program permanent through the rulemaking process. This is unacceptable, and this amendment makes it clear that the agency must respect the rule of law and not skirt congressional authority.

This amendment would prevent the SBA from creating any new lending programs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the SBA took an outsized role in the economy. Unfortunately, the after-action reports show the SBA's track record was awful, horrible. SBA's inspector general estimates that between $200 billion and $600 billion of American taxpayer dollars from pandemic lending was lost to fraud.

Think about how large that number is. The entire FSGG bill we are debating today has a top line appropriation number of $25 billion. This agency alone had almost 10 times this amount of fraud flow through the agency.

Where did it go? Well, we know it went to people who phonied up their Social Security numbers. We know it went to people who said they were somebody when they weren't. We also know it went to foreign nationals.

Now, in the private sector, where I come from, something with such a poor track record would be shut down, not given additional responsibilities. This amendment would stop any additional attempts for the SBA to simply decide they can take on more lending activities.

In the Committee on Small Business we have worked to hold the SBA accountable for its shortcomings and to increase transparency. With many rule changes imposed by the SBA just this year, my amendment is a commonsense approach that continues to build on the committee's mission to restore and preserve the integrity of the agency.

Mr. Chair, the SBA should focus on their core mission, which is helping entrepreneurs, Main Street America, capitalism, and what this economy is all about. Let's get them back on that mission to where we can get our economy going and small business can rely on what the SBA says and does. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I have a hard time relating this bill to Ukraine and Putin, which we just heard. Risk reward is a great thing. Taking a risk and getting a reward is what made America great. We find ourselves trying to fight for that all the time.

The SBA is needed for Main Street America. It is needed for small business, but it needs to be fluid. It needs to be capitalized properly. The SBA has misplaced $200 billion, as the auditor has said. We need to find that. The SBA doesn't need to be getting bigger right now. It actually needs to be getting smaller. Let's get this $200 billion and put it back in the economy so Main Street America can take advantage of it. That is why this bill is important.

In closing, Mr. Chair, I think this bill is important. I think it is going to actually help the SBA. It needs to be passed. The SBA is a great agency when it is cooking on all cylinders, but it is not doing that right now. Let's get them back in line. Let's get them to a size that they can compete with and help Main Street America and get our economy going again.

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in full support of Congressman Bean's amendment to H.R. 4664. Mr. Bean's approach is noncontroversial in ensuring government agencies do not overstep their authority.

Serving on both the Committee on Small Business and Education and the Workforce, Congressman Bean is a passionate voice for our job-creators in Congress. I am grateful to serve with him.

Mr. Chairman, I urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, for the first time in their 63- year history, I am proud to say that after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in game 5, the Texas Rangers are World Series champions.

I have the great honor to represent the Rangers in Texas' 25th Congressional District. I am tremendously proud of this team who not only won their first World Series but won a record-setting 11 straight postseason road games.

Needless to say, this is a historic moment for Texas and Arlington. It could not have been done without manager Bruce Bochy; series MVP Corey Seager; all of the players and staff who left everything on the field; and especially team owners Ray Davis and Neil Leibman; and general manager Chris Young. Most importantly, I thank all the fans, the best in the Nation, who showed up to every game decked out in their Ranger red, their Ranger white, and their Ranger blue to cheer and support the Texas Rangers.

I am proud to say the Rangers went and took it.

Again, I congratulate the staff and players. May they enjoy the well- deserved celebrations. I look forward to opening day in 2024.

Go Rangers and look fastball.

In God we trust.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to be up here today, and I want to, first of all, say on June 28 of this year, we raised $1.8 million for charity through our baseball game. We had 27,000 people pay to attend. We honored law enforcement, and Toyota was our sponsor.

Tonight, I stand here with Bill Johnson, one of our captains, Gary Palmer, and Chuck Fleischmann, who we surely call MVP.

This game is a tradition in Washington. Both sides play hard. The Democrats played hard this year. We played a little harder. The score was 16-6 in the Republicans' favor.

I just want to say that we truly are America's team, and we are proud of it. We have had a three-peat. Practice starts September 4 of this year as we move to a four-peat.

So that being said, we accept our trophy. We are honored to play our Democratic colleague friends. We will be looking forward to next year's game, and I just say, may God bless America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Don Beach, who left a lasting impression on everyone that had the privilege to know him.

Dr. Beach dedicated his life to education. His love for the classroom began with teaching science and biology to high school and elementary school students. In 1981, after 8 years at UT Arlington, Dr. Beach joined Tarleton State University as the dean of the School of Education and Fine Arts, but he could not be kept out of the classroom, later returning to full-time teaching as the professor of educational leadership.

Today, we are joined by doctoral students from Tarleton State University here on their annual education doctoral trip, originally created by Dr. Beach. His dedication and guidance have inspired the students sitting here today who deeply mourn his absence.

Dr. Beach is remembered by many of us as one of the most impactful faculty members in Tarleton history. His contributions to Tarleton, both as a faculty member and as a mentor, will never be forgotten.

In God we trust.

Mr. Speaker, due to a personal family matter, I was unable to be in D.C. and vote today. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 289.

personal explanation