Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2364) to amend the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to increase the amount that certain banks and savings associations may invest in small business investment companies, subject to the approval of the appropriate Federal banking agency, and for other purposes.

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

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

As members of the Small Business Committee, we hear day in and day out how access to capital continues to challenge job creation and job growth. We must continue to work in a bipartisan fashion to create an environment for small businesses to flourish and grow.

One resource available to small employers is the Small Business Investment Company program, or the SBIC program, which currently runs on a zero cost subsidy to the American taxpayer.

The program enhances access to capital for small business throughout the Nation by utilizing a private sector-owned and SBA-licensed formula to increase equity capital.

Within the SBIC program, banks and Federal savings associations are limited to the amount of capital or surplus they can invest in an SBIC. Under current statute, the limit prevents no more than a 5 percent investment.

The legislation we have before us today, H.R. 2364, the Investing in Main Street Act of 2017, increases this investment threshold to 15 percent and requires any investment above the 5 percent mark to be subject to approval by the bank's regulator. This new 15 percent marker brings parity to the program with rules by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

As the Nation's small businesses continue to experience difficulties accessing capital, assistance like the SBIC program delivers, and has a track record to prove it. Some of the Nation's most prominent companies have received SBIC financing in the past. The update provided in H.R. 2364 will continue and build upon the success of the program.

This bill has broad bipartisan support and was favorably passed out of committee unanimously. I would urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

In closing, I would like to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Judy Chu) and the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams) for their leadership in introducing this and pushing this important legislation forward.

Once again, it is a bipartisan piece of legislation, and we have worked together. Republicans and Democrats working together, isn't that something? So we appreciate their hard work on this.

With small businesses being the cornerstones of nearly every community in the Nation, we must continue to work together to create an environment for growth and job creation. The 29 million small businesses all across the Nation are depending on us actually working together on things like this.

I know the ranking member of the committee likes to say, ``There aren't Republican small businesses; there aren't Democratic small businesses; they are just small businesses,'' and she is absolutely right. So I really do appreciate their working on this legislation.

H.R. 2364 is commonsense legislation that enjoys bipartisan support. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as dean of the Ohio delegation, I am greatly saddened to inform the Members that our former colleague, Ralph Regula, who was the dean of the Ohio delegation, has passed away.

Ralph was 92 years of age. He had the honor of serving his constituents back home in Ohio for 36 years. He was a key player on the Appropriations Committee for many years. He will be truly missed.

I wanted to inform the Members that Congressman Bob Gibbs--Ralph was a

constituent of Congressman Gibbs--will be organizing a Special Order next week. So Members who are interested, on either side of the aisle, in participating in that should contact Representative Gibbs' office.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2200, H.R. 2480, and H.R. 2664, three overwhelmingly bipartisan bills curbing and combating modern-day slavery at home and abroad.

I want to particularly thank Chairman Royce, as well as Chairman Smith and the gentlewoman from California, Ms. Bass, the ranking member, all who have been leaders in this area for quite some time now, and we appreciate that very much.

As a parent, a grandparent now, and as a former teacher, I know that education empowers children. These bills on the floor today ensure that we are doing our utmost to allow every child across the globe the opportunity to reach their highest potential. That is why I introduced the bipartisan H.R. 2408, Protecting Girls' Access to Education Act, earlier this year, along with my Democratic colleague, Robin Kelly.

By providing access to safe primary and secondary education, our bill aims to offer educational opportunities to the approximately 62 million girls globally who are not in school. There are 62 million girls who are not in school.

Similarly, these three bills, and the one that we are discussing right now on the floor today, are aimed at eradicating human trafficking and should improve every girl's chances for a quality education and a more peaceful and stable life, both in the United States and abroad.

Unfortunately, there are young girls and women here in this country who are vulnerable in the greatest country on the face of the Earth. Obviously, the problem is much worse across the globe.

I want to thank all colleagues on both sides of the aisle for truly working in a bipartisan fashion to at least get a handle on one of the toughest things that we face globally, and that is child trafficking, human trafficking, and a whole range of issues along this line.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia, our chairman, for his leadership on this, and I rise in strong support of the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, which has been worked on by a whole number of Members of the House.

The adoption of dangerous sanctuary policies across the country makes it more difficult to adequately enforce our immigration laws, which, in turn, needlessly puts Americans' lives at risk.

Unfortunately, sanctuary cities that fail to comply with Federal law and deliberately refuse to cooperate with Federal authorities become safe havens for undocumented criminal immigrants, because criminals know they are less likely to be detained in those cities, which are, by definition, sanctuary cities.

Far too many innocent lives are put at risk when a criminal alien convicted, for example, of drunk driving or charged with another serious offense is not detained so they could be appropriately dealt with and, if warranted, deported from our country according to the law.

That is why it is essential that we pass this resolution, which will strengthen our Nation's immigration laws, hold sanctuary cities accountable, and enhance public safety by requiring detention of criminal aliens.

The bottom line is, if we expect our Federal immigration authorities to enforce our Nation's immigration laws and protect the American people, State and local officials need to cooperate, not defy Federal immigration laws. And those local officials who refuse to do so and instead give so-called sanctuary to those that have come to our country illegally and then committed crimes here, they are putting the very people who they were sworn to serve and to protect at risk. And unfortunately, this has been happening all over the country, where literally people come here illegally, commit crimes, and local entities decide not to enforce the law.

We need to pass this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and I especially want to thank him for his leadership on this.

Nearly 2 years ago, Kate Steinle, a young woman with a promising future, had her life tragically taken away from her when she was brutally murdered by an undocumented criminal who had been convicted of a series of felonies and had been deported five times; five times, and then he kept coming back, and then he finally killed this innocent young woman, Kate Steinle.

Sadly, this tragic event barely registered with the previous administration and other supporters of dangerous sanctuary city policies. During a July 2015 hearing, shortly after Kate's murder, I asked President Obama's Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson whether the White House had reached out to the Steinle family.

I will never forget what the Secretary said to me. He responded: Who? He had no idea who Kate Steinle or her family were. I had to explain to him what had happened to Kate Steinle. It was embarrassing.

Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, I have heard countless stories from families who, like the Steinles, have fallen victim to heinous crimes because of the failure

to enforce our Nation's immigration laws. We can and must do better to protect all the Kate Steinles all across America from being victimized by undocumented criminals who should never have been here in the first place.

I really can't emphasize enough how important this issue is, and H.R. 3004 will help address this problem finally and enhance public safety by toughening the penalties for criminal aliens who have been deported from our country, but then keep returning to the United States, and, again, far too many of them who commit crimes against innocent Americans like Kate Steinle.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership in this most important area.

Mr. Speaker, the heroin and opioid scourge is running this country into the ground, and, unfortunately, the problem appears to be getting worse, not better. That grim reality is particularly true in my district in Cincinnati, where, during a single week last summer, city health officials reported 174 overdoses in 1 week.

Deaths caused by opioids have doubled in my district, where, during the first 4 months in 2017, the Hamilton County Coroner's Office had already logged in hundreds and hundreds of opioid overdoses-- heartbreaking numbers.

But numbers only tell part of the story. The circumstances surrounding the spike in overdoses can, at times, be horrifying.

A couple of months ago, in Cincinnati, Ohio, a 9-year-old girl called 911 about both of her parents, who overdosed on heroin in their SUV. She told the dispatcher she was scared and that her parents wouldn't wake up. The girl didn't know where she was or what was wrong with her parents, but she, fortunately, knew how to call 911. That call saved her parents' lives.

But no little girl--or little boy, for that matter--should ever be placed in that situation by their parents, or by anyone.

These types of stories are becoming all too common. Opioids don't discriminate based on age or race or socioeconomic class. Opioids can kill anyone, in any neighborhood. Every day, there are more headlines about how heroin and other opioids are basically taking over the country.

The simple fact is that nearly every Member of Congress could come to the floor today and share a similar story from their own district. That is why, Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that we work together to find new and more successful ways to combat the opioid epidemic. We need to put politics aside and help people in need.

Last year, we came together in a bipartisan manner to pass the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, or CARA, and I think there is a good chance that the expanded treatment and recovery options that legislation created will help some of those suffering from addiction to turn their lives around.

While CARA will give local law enforcement and healthcare officials more resources to fight opioid addiction, we need additional legislation to help combat the importation into the United States of extremely dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil, which many have blamed for the spike of heroin overdoses. According to the DEA, much of the supply of these two dangerous drugs on our streets originates overseas, particularly from China and India.

Bipartisan legislation is being led by Representative Tiberi and Senator Portman, the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention, or STOP, Act. It would update the customs process to require that advanced electronic notice of all packages, large or small, be provided to Customs officials. Providing this information to Customs before the packages arrive will help them, meaning the Customs agency, to intercept more illegal shipments and prevent these dangerous drugs from reaching drug traffickers within our borders.

I am hopeful that this legislation will be embraced with the same bipartisan enthusiasm that we saw with CARA because the heroin and opioid problem in this country is too serious, too significant, and too widespread for us not to work together at every level of government to find a solution to this epidemic. It is way overdue. We need to work together in a bipartisan manner about this.

I again want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his leadership in this area.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a beloved Warren County, Ohio, icon, Leslie Spaeth, who passed away recently at the age of 92.

Mr. Spaeth was a dedicated husband and father and grandfather and great-grandfather. What made him so special was his dedication, not only to his family, but also to his community and to his country.

Leslie Spaeth first served his Nation as a corporal during World War

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 10, the Financial CHOICE Act, and I want to thank Chairman Hensarling for his leadership on this important issue.

For the last 7 years, Dodd-Frank has blocked small businesses from getting the capital they need to grow and create more jobs. As chairman of the Small Business Committee, it is no surprise that small businesses from all across the country tell me over and over again that this blocking of capital to them by Dodd-Frank is preventing them from creating more jobs which are needed in this country.

Whether to pay employees or to buy new equipment, we need to make it easier for small-business owners to gain access to capital. H.R. 10 is chock-full of real reforms, including the Helping Angels Lead Our Startups, or HALOS, Act to encourage and inspire entrepreneurs across the country.

The Nation's 29 million small businesses are working hard to achieve the American Dream. Let's not let our own government continue to stand in their way. Support this legislation. It is very important.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and honor a great Cincinnatian and avid marathoner, Mike Fremont, for accomplishing something pretty amazing. A little over a week ago, Mike set the world record for his age group at Cincinnati's Flying Pig Half-Marathon.

By the way, he is 95 years old. Thirteen miles at the age of 95. And he had previously held the world record for a 90-year-old marathoner, which he set 5 years ago in Huntington, West Virginia.

Mike's passion for running and a healthy lifestyle kicked in when he was only 70 years old and given only 3 months to live after being diagnosed with an advanced form of cancer.

I have known Mike since my time on the Cincinnati City Council back 30 years ago, including involvement with the Mill Creek Restoration Project. He is an amazing Cincinnatian and ought to be an inspiration to all who hear of his accomplishments.

Congratulations, Mike. You have made all Cincinnatians proud.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1644, the Korean Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act.

Kim Jong-un murdered his uncle. He murdered his brother. He and his father and grandfather were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of their own people. Now this ruthless tyrant is trying to develop long-range nuclear weapons that very soon could reach the United States.

Let me be clear: North Korea is a threat to the security of the United States of America. It is a threat to our allies. It is a threat to the world. As long as North Korea has nuclear weapons, the world is not safe.

For far too long, we have done very little to deter the Kim regime's persistent march in the development of its nuclear weapons program. That changes today.

The Kim regime's nuclear program lives and dies by its access to hard currency. North Korea acquires that hard currency from various sources. We know that China is the worst offender. But China is not the only bad actor. Terrorist networks around the world purchase weapons, technology, and training from North Korea. North Korea, in exchange, gets that money, the hard currency that it needs.

Autocrats like the Congo's Joseph Kabila have long reasoned that no one would actually enforce the arms embargo currently against North Korea. They continue to support the Kim regime and its nuclear program with no consequence.

This bill would put a stop to that. It requires that the President cut off bad actors from our financial system. No more transactions in dollars. No more using banks that serve U.S. customers. The Kim regime will know that we are finally serious.

I want to thank Chairman Royce for his leadership on this, Ranking Member Engel, and also Subcommittee Chairman Mr. Yoho and Ranking Member Sherman for their leadership.

This is critical legislation. North Korea has been getting away with murder, literally, for far too long in their own country. We need to make sure that hundreds of thousands--perhaps millions--of Americans' lives are not wiped out by North Korea sometime in the very near future if we do not push back and actually stop their nuclear weapons program, particularly the ballistic missile system that they are trying to develop.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Working Families Flexibility Act. I want to commend my colleague, the gentlewoman from Alabama (Mrs. Roby), for introducing this legislation which will help

private sector employees increase workplace flexibility.

This week is National Small Business Week, a time to celebrate America's 29 million small businesses which employ nearly half of the private sector workforce, and, as was mentioned, I happen to be the chairman of the House Small Business Committee.

Small businesses are run by our neighbors and families and friends, and they offer working families the chance to get ahead. Small businesses are also known for treating their employees well and providing workplace flexibility.

This bill will allow small businesses to give their hourly employees another option that public sector employees have enjoyed for many years, the choice of being paid off instead of cash wages for overtime hours worked.

While some employees may prefer wages for the overtime hours they put in, others might want to use that time to attend their child's piano recital or go to a sports event or caring for an elderly parent. This bill gives them that choice. It is the employee's choice, not the employer.

The flexibility is crucial for families where there is a single parent or both parents work full time. Importantly, this bill does not force any employee to take comp time, and it provides protections such as requiring the employer and employee to enter into a written comp time agreement.

The Working Families Flexibility Act will allow small businesses to offer their employees a new benefit. As we celebrate National Small Business Week, let's give small businesses another way to make the lives of working families a little easier.

It seems like a lot of the folks on the other side of aisle oftentimes think that small businesses are going to try to get away with anything that they can possibly get away with, that they want to exploit their workers, they are going to take advantage of them, we just can't trust them. Almost every small business in this country cares not only about their business, but they care about their employees.

Mr. Speaker, let's give them credit for something.

Mr. Speaker, as the Dean of the Ohio Republican delegation (Marcy Kaptur has served a few more years in total), it's my honor to recognize Steve Stivers for his service to the House of Representatives, and also to our nation.

Since being elected in 2010, Steve has brought an enthusiasm and dedication to his work in Washington, and back home in Ohio. He is not only an incredible asset to this body and to his constituents, but he also has a gregarious personality that draws people in and puts them immediately at ease. To put it another way, you always know when Steve Stivers enters the room.

But, perhaps the most impressive thing about Steve is his service in the Ohio Army National Guard. Having served his country with great distinction both here at home and overseas in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Djibouti, he was recently promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. And fortunately, Mr. Speaker, Steve brought the leadership skills he learned in the military to Congress, and we are all better for it.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McHenry) for the work that he has done on H.R. 1219, the Supporting America's Innovators Act, and the entire Financial Services Committee for their work on this important topic.

As chairman of the House Small Business Committee--and I would note that you have here not only the Republican chair, but we just heard speak the ranking member of the Small Business Committee, Ms. Velazquez; both in support of this legislation. It is bipartisan, which, as Patrick McHenry mentioned, doesn't happen around here often enough, but it did in this case.

I often hear from entrepreneurs and small-business folks that the process to obtain capital is too rigid for them to expand and create jobs. Access to capital is a major issue that we need to address, and that is what we are doing here.

When it comes to helping small businesses get off the ground, no effort we can make is too small. The Supporting America's Innovators Act could make all the difference for an entrepreneur, and that is why, again, we are here to support it.

Commonsense reforms like this one, which raises the cap on the number of people who can invest in a venture fund, can go a long way for the Nation's entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses. With 28 small businesses in the United States and nearly half of all private sector workers employed by one, the Nation's economic future lies squarely with this Nation's smallest companies and firms.

Those who risk everything and sacrifice much to take a shot at building the next great American company should be operating in a business environment that is free from overly burdensome rules and regulations. They should be able to concentrate on expanding their companies, gaining more customers, and job creation, not compliance issues and outdated capital formation rules that prevent the largest pool of investors from investing in these companies.

As this economic recovery continues to take shape, let's stand with our small businesses and create an environment for growth. This bill is another important step in that direction.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this very good legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 92, condemning North Korea's development of multiple intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Without question, North Korea's relentless effort to develop ballistic missiles poses a serious threat to the security of the United States, especially to our allies in the region, and possibly all across the globe.

For the past several years, Kim Jong-un has made significant strides in their nuclear missile program. It seems like every few weeks we hear new reports concerning the growing North Korea nuclear threat. North Korea has conducted multiple nuclear tests and demonstrated that it is bound and determined to develop a ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the continental United States.

It has also become abundantly clear that the Kim regime will continue to

work toward a nuclear warhead, no matter the cost. Just today, a senior North Korean defector stated that the young, irresponsible dictator will do anything to remain in power and that Kim believes nuclear weapons will help guarantee his rule.

We must condemn these actions and begin taking concrete steps to mitigate the growing North Korean threat. I also believe we must work closer than ever with our South Korean partners and increase our already strong security alliance by assisting with technological developments, carrying out more joint exercises, and quickly making the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems, or THAAD, in South Korea operational.

I commend my friend, Mr. Wilson of South California, for his leadership in championing H. Res. 92. I also want to thank Chairman Royce and the ranking member, Mr. Eliot Engel, for, again, using the format of the Foreign Affairs Committee in a bipartisan manner.

This is one committee in the House--and there are a few others--that works very much in a bipartisan manner. This is one we do need to be united on. The threat from Kim Jong-un is serious. It is dangerous. It is a threat to world peace. We need to take it seriously. H. Res. 92 goes in the right direction. I, again, want to thank Mr. Wilson for proposing it.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina for her leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to voice my strong support for H.R. 1101, the Small Business Health Fairness Act. I thank my colleagues from Ways and Means and from the Education and the Workforce Committee for getting this great idea onto paper and moving this bill forward today.

As chairman of the House Small Business Committee, I am always very appreciative to see Members from across this body find solutions for small businesses. That is exactly what this bill is.

For virtually any one of us in this Chamber, it can be said that hundreds of thousands of our constituents depend on small businesses for their livelihoods. They have been looking to those same small businesses for options, as ObamaCare has done the opposite of what it was supposed to do and it has diminished choices for workers.

By allowing small businesses to join together through association health plans, the Small Business Health Fairness Act would give small business employees at least as many choices as those who happen to work for larger companies.

Association health plans have long been a solution suggested by small businesses that share their views with me and other members of the Small Business Committee. This bill puts that idea finally into action.

Mr. Speaker, in our current state of affairs, there are fewer and fewer healthcare options available for hardworking Americans. This bill addresses that problem for our hardest hit small businesses and communities.

While we begin the hard work of making health care not only affordable but worth buying at all, this bill is an important step in giving Americans the certainty and choices that they want. I would urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill.