Providing for Consideration of H.Res.22, Expressing Sense of the House that American Small Businesses are Entitled to a Small Business Bill of Rights

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H. RES. 22, EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE THAT AMERICAN SMALL BUSINESSES ARE ENTITLED TO A SMALL BUSINESS BILL OF RIGHTS -- (House of Representatives - April 27, 2005)

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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California for yielding.

As we take this week to honor our Nation's small businesses, it is important to notice the everyday challenges that are standing in their way. As the main job creators and stimulators of the economy, there are far too many obstacles that still remain.

Small businesses have received a number of promises over the last 4 years. But as the ranking member on the House Small Business Committee, I can tell you that what entrepreneurs need now is no more rhetoric. What they need is more action. Unfortunately, rhetoric is all that they have gotten up to this point.

One of the most obvious challenges is that a number of small businesses are not able to access health care. Six out of every 10 uninsured families are headed by a small business employee. This is simply unacceptable. Yet Congress has passed no solutions to the health care crisis.

My colleagues on the other side love to talk about how many times this House has passed association health plans. The bottom line is that Republicans control the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. How many more times do we have to pass association health plans to get it done? Stop the rhetoric. What we need is action.

With the skyrocketing prices of gas and energy, small businesses are having an even more difficult time starting and expanding their ventures. Just last week the House passed an energy bill that does not do anything to help this Nation's small businesses. For the small business owner that works in the transportation industry, this bill has done nothing to help reduce the record highs in gas prices we are seeing today.

Compounding entrepreneurs' difficulties even further are regulatory burdens. Too often a small business owner does not have the resources to comply with a number of Federal regulations. Despite the promises made by this administration, small firms have seen little relief. The reality is that this administration holds the record for the single largest increase in paperwork burden in 1 year in our Nation's history. Again, the rhetoric needs to end.

Our Nation's entrepreneurs deserve to see some real action, some real solutions. And as we honor our Nation's entrepreneurs this week for National Small Business Week, all Congress is going to give them is this legislation, the Small Business Bill of Rights. Let me tell you, this Nation's small businesses deserve much more than some rhetoric included in House Resolution 22. And that is all this bill does. They deserve to be assured that Congress will work to address their challenges, that we will go on the record listing the priorities we will work to address for their businesses. Sadly, that is not what House Resolution 22 does.

Yes, the Small Business Bill of Rights contains some lofty rhetoric on taxes, regulations, and capital. But what it fails to do is really recognize the fact that small businesses do not get capital the same way that large businesses do. Small firms cannot head over to Wall Street. Instead, they rely heavily on loan programs. To tell them that loan programs are not important is disingenuous.

House Resolution 22 also says that some contract bundling is okay and that is okay for small businesses to lose out on contracting opportunities. The Small Business Committee has always been on the record protecting small businesses. Every economic analysis and indicator says that contract bundling is bad. Yet, this bill wants to say it is okay.

Most upsetting is that House Resolution 22 mentions absolutely nothing about the needs of minority and women business owners, the fastest growing sectors of our economy. This is despite the fact that the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barrow), the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Linda T. Sánchez) all tried to include these provisions in a markup in which the chairman of the committee blocked these amendments from even being offered.

The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) spoke about due process that was provided. What the gentleman does not tell you is that the chairman took the unprecedented step of moving the previous question. I will challenge any chairman to come to the floor and talk about when they moved the previous question to block the minority from offering amendments. They were then rejected again by the Rules Committee.

Despite the overwhelming growth of minority- and women-owned businesses, this Small Business Bill of Rights tells them that their needs are not a top priority, and that is ridiculous.

This is Small Business Week, and all we are giving to our Nation's entrepreneurs, the main job creators, are some promises in House Resolution 22. These promises are not helping to give small businesses more loans. They are not opening up the fair marketplace, and they are certainly are not giving small firms any solutions to the health care crisis. Maybe next time Congress can promise to help small businesses to pay their bills and again follow through with no action.

This rhetoric needs to end. Our Nation's small businesses deserve much more than rhetoric this week. They deserve commitment and action all year long to address their challenges. Clearly, House Resolution 22 will not do that. We should vote down this rule, and we should not be passing promises without action in the House of Representatives.

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