Commerce, Justice, Science, And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

Floor Speech

Mr. MEEKS of New York. I thank the gentleman from West Virginia.

You know, I have been listening for a while, and if ever there was a bill or position I think that we should agree upon, it's this piece.

I heard Mr. Hensarling say on the floor that we are losing small businesses by the thousands, and I agree with that. People are losing jobs, small businesses, which is the backbone of America. And I've heard my colleagues on the other side of the aisle talk often and defend the backbone of America, our small businesses; without them, the average everyday American is in trouble.

And so it is that as you look at the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce Export Center, which supports the needs of small and midsized freight-forwarding businesses--small business--that surround John F. Kennedy Airport and that aims to provide economic and industrial relief to New York City communities that are grappling with an exodus of export and freight-forwarding jobs and businesses, we're losing the jobs, small businesses are closing. The average everyday American is asking those of us in Congress to help them.

John F. Kennedy Airport, once the premiere airport for shipping cargo, has fallen, causing the loss of thousands of jobs. As a primary employer, the freight-forwarding firms in Queens County employ approximately 41,000 people directly. Studies project that for every 1,000 air transport jobs that are lost means there are an additional 470 jobs in associated industries that are also lost. So it seems to me that the perfect remedy to save jobs in various areas is to help keep small businesses running and thriving.

It's estimated that the industry has already lost 4,000 jobs in the areas surrounding John F. Kennedy Airport. This issue became even more pronounced after the tragic events of 9/11, which had a devastatingly negative impact on the airlines and related industries in New York City. In an effort to help sustain the 1,300 small and midsized firms located off the airport site, the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce opened the Export Center.

The center's incubator, one of its main features, happens to encourage minority and female entrepreneurs to operate freight-forwarding businesses by offering technical assistance from a major university business center, keeping them in business and lowering their costs through the collective use of facilities.

If this project is earmarked, the funds would be administered by the Minority Business Development Agency under the Department of Commerce, whose goal is specifically--this is what they're there for--to foster the establishment and growth of minority-owned businesses in America. It aims to address the historical disparity in the number of minority businesses and the large gap that still remains so that small businesses and minorities can get involved in the great American Dream of owning a business and creating jobs in a community in which they reside. It specifically encourages the development of entrepreneurship programs that increase the success of minority- and women-owned businesses.

The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce Export Center does exactly and supports the goals specifically that the program within the Department of Commerce is charged to do. So there is a perfect match here to create jobs, to get people to become small business owners, to maintain low overhead. I think that that's what the American people want. And by doing this, we are saving jobs not only in one area, but in many areas. To me, that is something that should be applauded, not something that should be taken away.

We match the very definition of what the Department of Commerce has talked about, a perfect match. And we give, in this process, daylight so that the American people can understand we're trying to help them.

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