Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, due to a personal family matter, I had to return back to Texas and I was unable to vote today. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 31.

Madam Speaker, due to a personal family matter, I had to return back to Texas, and I was unable to vote today. Had I been present, I would have noted ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 29 and ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 30.

Mr. Speaker, from given no chance in the preseason polls to making it to the Big 12 championship game, the TCU Horned Frogs have come a long way and are officially headed to the College Football Playoff game.

I am tremendously proud of the team for an incredible season, with 12 consecutive wins, ranking third in the Nation, and making history with being the first team in the State of Texas to make it to the College Football Playoff.

Needless to say, this has been a historic year for TCU, and it could not have been possible without our first-year coach and coach of the year, Sonny Dykes; our quarterback, Max Duggan; all the players and staff who work tirelessly on the sidelines and on the field to make the team one of the best in the country; and most importantly, all the fans, the best in the Nation, who showed up to every game decked out in TCU purple to cheer and support the Horned Frogs.

As a proud alumnus and trustee of the university, I look forward to watching the fighting TCU Horned Frogs take the field on December 31 at the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona.

As Coach Dykes says, I can't wait to watch you play.

So riff, ram, bah zoo, go Frogs.

In God we trust.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the United Way of Tarrant County's 100th anniversary.

United Way has supported the community in many ways and has enriched the lives of the people in the area. They have helped residents, volunteers, donors, businesses, governments, nonprofits, and community stakeholders and brought them together to solve some of the toughest issues affecting Tarrant County.

I join in proclaiming November 17, 2022, as Get United Day, and I am proud of their work to encourage unity among all residents and commitment to building a stronger community.

I congratulate the United Way of Tarrant County for this significant milestone. I am confident they will continue their exceptional service to the community for the next 100 years.

In God we trust.

Mr. Speaker, the Democrats have once again failed their job to provide funding for the upcoming fiscal year. They will now kick the can down the road until after the election and pass a continuing resolution to keep the government open until December.

Funding the government in this fragmented fashion is irresponsible, and it does not allow us to respond to the realities facing our country, like a southern border enduring over 7,000 illegal crossings every day, an energy crisis, and rampant inflation.

Additionally, CRs do not allow our military to start any new contracts, which is a real problem right now, considering the uncertainty around this world.

Every year, we know that these deadlines are coming, yet the Democrats have once again failed to deliver for hardworking Americans. In God we trust.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Fort Hood on their 80th anniversary marked this week.

Recognized as ``The Great Place,'' Fort Hood has a rich history and is composed of great patriots who selflessly and honorably serve this country.

This largest Active-Duty armored post has answered the call to serve throughout our country's military history and has been an invaluable installation for Army soldiers, advanced weaponry, and the local community.

Whenever I am asked where the next generation of greatness is and leaders will be, I say: Go with me. Go to Fort Hood. That is where they are.

Fort Hood is a special part of Texas' 25th District, and it is my distinct honor to represent them in Congress and fight on behalf of the brave soldiers and their families each and every single day in Washington.

Congratulations to Fort Hood for 80 years of exceptional service to the United States Army and dedication to defending our freedoms at home and abroad.

In God We Trust.

Madam Speaker, Biden has repeatedly tried to deflect blame for all the economic problems Americans are currently facing.

Instead of blaming inflation on out-of-control government spending, he claims it is the fault of greedy corporations and that profits are bad.

Instead of realizing that his hostility toward the oil and gas industry is decreasing investments and increasing energy costs, he blames Russia.

Well, I can tell you that the American people are not buying it. The American people are not stupid. People are facing the real-life consequences of Biden's failed economic policies at the grocery store, at the bank, and in their paychecks.

Instead of working to address these economic challenges, the White House is trying to change the definition of a recession before abysmal GDP numbers are released later this week.

The American people deserve a leader that offers solutions, not semantics. In God we trust.

Mr. Speaker, just this week June's inflation numbers hit a 40-year high at 9.1 percent, and average hourly earnings hit a new low.

Instead of providing relief for American families and job creators, Democrats are working on new tax increases. Amidst a potential economic recession and rampant inflation, this tax hike will crush Main Street America, impacting 88,000 businesses just in Texas alone.

As a small business owner for over 50 years, I can tell you that Democrats' out-of-touch policies are making it harder to operate a business. Inflation is making it more expensive to purchase goods and make ends meet, and Democrats' tax hike will further cut the operating margins, making it harder to grow and compete.

While the economy is struggling, we should be cutting taxes, not raising taxes. We must put an end to the Democrats' tax-and-spend agenda and focus on building a stronger Main Street. Bottom line is, we need businesspeople in Washington.

In God we trust.

Five years ago today, the Republican baseball team took to the field for their regular morning practice. That morning took a dark turn when the team suddenly became a target of a Bernie Sanders' supporter with an agenda to shoot and kill Republicans.

It could have been the worst political massacre in American history, but we are alive today, thanks to those brave and honorable law enforcement officers who were at the field that day and willing to sacrifice themselves to protect us.

Every day, I wear this wristband stamped with the date of the shooting and the words, ``In God We Trust'' to remember the angels watching over us on that life-changing morning. It is a testament to that day, always living in our hearts and our minds.

There is no doubt that without quick action of Special Agents Griner and Bailey, along with the Alexandria Police Department, the team would not be here today. We forever owe a debt of gratitude to our law enforcement and our first responders who acted swiftly to take down the gunman and simply save our lives.

In God We Trust.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise in support of H.R. 5879, the HUBZone Price Evaluation Preference Clarification Act of 2021.

The SBA's contracting programs deliver for this Nation's smallest businesses and the country's smallest contractors. Unfortunately, consolidation with all of the Federal Government's contracting programs continues to be problematic. Our committee has examined many of these programs and has offered solutions that would deliver change.

H.R. 5879 takes important steps within the HUBZone program and ensures that the 10 percent price preference is available on all task orders within large multiple award contracts.

I thank the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Newman) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Salazar),

the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure, for working in a collaborative manner to address the HUBZone program. Bills like this have the ability to make a difference within Federal contracting, and I commend the Chair for bringing this bill forward.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5879, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Federal contracting remains a significant endeavor for many of the Nation's small businesses. H.R. 5879 ensures one of these programs, the HUBZone program, is ready to assist small business contractors. This legislation, which passed favorably out of committee by a voice vote, will level the playing field within the program.

I thank the Chair for bringing this legislation through regular order, and I thank the sponsor and cosponsor for working to address these issues. I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7622, the Small Business Workforce Pipeline Act of 2022.

Small businesses across the country are facing labor shortages and skills gaps as our Nation remains 820,000 jobs short compared to prior to the pandemic.

Just last week, the NFIB reported that over half of small businesses have unfilled job openings. This is more than double the almost 50-year historical average of 23 percent. Further, of those owners hiring or trying to hire, 92 percent of owners reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill.

The Small Business Administration offers multiple resources to small businesses to help them face the current economic headwinds and labor challenges. One of these resources is the small business development centers, which have served to be a valuable tool for entrepreneurs and offer free training, counseling, and support for small businesses.

This legislation will further improve SBDCs by expanding their ability to assist small businesses in establishing and improving work- based learning opportunities and apprenticeship programs.

To be clear, this legislation supports all work-based learning opportunities.

I thank Congressman Crow as well as Congressman Fitzgerald, Congresswoman Houlahan, and Congressman Garbarino for working in a bipartisan manner to ensure this bill reached the House floor. I also thank the chair for advancing this bill.

Madam Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support H.R. 7622, which was unanimously reported out of our committee. I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my colleague from Wisconsin (Mr. Fitzgerald), a tireless advocate for small business in Wisconsin and around the country.

Madam Speaker, the SBDC program has delivered for small businesses for many years. The Small Business Workforce Pipeline Act of 2022 will help combat labor shortages by supporting apprenticeships and learning opportunities through SBDCs. This bill will help small businesses grow and equip American workers with new skills.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 7622, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7664, the Supporting Small Business and Career and Technical

Education Act. This important piece of legislation will encourage younger generations to pursue CTE careers, knowing they will have support on the back end to help find a job.

Costly 4-year degrees create burdensome financial obligations and saddle students with decades of debt. It is important individuals have alternatives, such as CTE programs, when wanting to find meaningful careers at a fraction of the cost.

Skilled labor has become a high-demand market, and our country is in need of more plumbers, electricians, welders, and other skilled professionals who are the lifeblood of our economy. This growing skills gap is hurting small businesses across the country.

My bill will fill that void and connect graduates to high-demand occupations and opportunities that earn good wages and will help them provide for their family. Additionally, this bill provides valuable assistance so CTE graduates can translate their skills over to starting their own small business and help build long-term careers and employ more people.

I have been a small business owner for over 50 years, and I can tell you that leading sales meetings, signing the fronts of checks, and giving other people the opportunity to make a living is one of the most rewarding things, if not the most rewarding, I have ever done.

The American Dream is built on innovation and entrepreneurship, and this only continues when the next generation is willing to better themselves, be empowered to take risks, and understand that risk-reward is the dream.

It is our responsibility to unlock the potential of our next generation so we can keep America the greatest nation in the world and keep it strong.

I thank Chairwoman Velazquez and Ranking Member Luetkemeyer for helping to get this bill to the floor. I urge all my colleagues to vote in support of H.R. 7664.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, small businesses and the American worker are the backbone of our economy. By empowering the SBA's resource partners, including small business development centers and women's business centers, to engage with the career and technical education community, we will replenish our skilled workforce and grow our economy.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 7664, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

I rise in support of H.R. 7670, the Women-Owned Small Business Program Transparency Act.

Federal programs, and especially Federal contracting programs, require comprehensive and complete reporting requirements from executive branch agencies. This information ensures that not only the programs are meeting congressional intent but also to ensure that safeguards and oversight capabilities are intact.

H.R. 7670 bolsters the Women-Owned Small Business program by enhancing the program's reporting requirements. Having more information on how many women-owned small businesses are certified and the amount of fees charged by third-party certifiers will only strengthen the program.

I thank the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Houlahan) and the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney) for working in a bipartisan manner to address the Women-Owned Small Business program. I also again would like to thank the chair for advancing this bill.

H.R. 7670 is a good government bill that will provide more information about one of the SBA's Federal contracting programs.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Underserved, Agriculture, and Rural Business Development.

Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, it is important for Congress to study all of the Small Business Administration's Federal contracting programs regularly.

H.R. 7670, the Women-Owned Small Business Program Transparency Act, will enhance our research and assist us as we examine this program. The more information that we have at our fingertips, simply the better.

Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7694. All contractors know the importance of subcontractors. Their work responsibilities are crucial to completing jobs on time and on budget. H.R. 7694 translates the importance of subcontracting to Federal contracting and especially those who participate within the SBA's contracting programs. Simply put, past performance should be acknowledged on all future dealings.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber), my friend, who is one of the biggest advocates for small businesses and subcontractors, and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Mfume) for working in a bipartisan manner to highlight this issue.

I also again thank the chair for bringing this bill forward, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 7694.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber), one of the biggest advocates for small businesses and subcontractors.

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

Madam Speaker, as contract consolidation continues to build momentum, opportunities will continue to falter. Overall, this trendline is heading in the wrong direction. As a result, the emphasis and importance will be placed on subcontracting.

H.R. 7694 takes an important step by requiring that past performance is taken into account on all future contracts. Congress will need to continue to study this issue carefully, and H.R. 7694 will assist us along the way.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it has been more than 2 years since COVID-19 shut down the world and forced businesses to close for months. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Congress has spent--we have already talked about it--$6.6 trillion to help

American businesses get back on track to financial recovery after enduring months of forced government closures.

At that time, aid was critical for businesses to survive the pandemic, but we must now let the free market work and stop frivolously spending billions more in the name of COVID-19.

This attempt by Democrats to spend billions of taxpayer dollars is irresponsible and will only add fuel to the growing inflation crisis that we have. Americans are currently experiencing tough times right now trying to find out how to beat, frankly, the Federal Government.

Inflation and energy prices are the primary concerns for small businesses. And I am a small business owner for 51 years; I still employ hundreds of people. So those are the concerns they have. And more Federal spending is only going to strain businesses further.

It is simple: to lower costs for hardworking families and businessowners, we need to cut spending. We need to cut it, not spend more money that we don't have. When you spend money you print and you spend money you don't have, it is called inflation.

We should be focusing on getting control of the crisis at the southern border, lowering gas prices, managing supply chain disruptions--I am in the car business, so I can talk about that--that are leaving shelves empty and incentivizing people to get back to work, not not work.

In order to get back to the thriving economy we had prepandemic under the Trump administration, Democrats must end this emergency COVID spending charade. Hey, it is over. We are done with it. Let's move on.

And I always get a kick out of people that say they want to protect Main Street. Well, it is funny because a lot of those people wanting to protect Main Street are bureaucrats that never signed the front of a check. They never met a payroll. They have been up here all their lives. But they want to help Main Street. And the fact of the matter is we need to cut taxes. We need to cut regulations.

So if it is so important to help Main Street, why do Democrats and liberals want to raise taxes all the time? That doesn't help Main Street. I want to help Main Street, but I want to raise taxes. That is the wrong way to go about it.

So the bottom line is this: We have a better bill. I urge all of my colleagues to oppose H.R. 3807 and reject Democrats' false claims that this bill is fully paid for. It is fully paid for on the backs of Main Street America. In God we trust.