John Hickenlooper Asks SBA Nominee Point Blank If He Will Abide By Congressional Appropriations Law

2 days ago

During a Senate Small Business Committee last week, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) asked SBA Deputy Administrator nominee, Bill Briggs if he would abide by appropriations law.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Senator Justice, we'll go now to five minutes to Senator Hickenlooper. Thank you.

00:05Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you both for being here, Mr. Briggs, Mr. Mulligan.

00:10Appreciate your willingness to enter service. I'll start with you, Mr. Briggs, that Congress

00:17created the SBA in the law so that it could promote access to capital for small businesses.

00:22When I was governor, in a different lifetime, we did what we call the bottom-up economic

00:27development plan. But one of the five main things that literally every part of the state said

00:32is we need better access to capital. And I think that's why Congress appropriates

00:37money to SBA programs is to get access to capital. In the last few months, we've seen

00:43the president administration try to defy Congress and restrain those funds again against frozen

00:48money that Congress appropriated and really tried to shut down whole agencies that we had created

00:55through law. And I just am worried that that funding for small business is going to disappear

01:02if we're not on top of it. So I want to make sure that you're willing to do everything you can

01:07to running the SBA in line with the law, including appropriations as Congress intended.

01:14Senator Hickenlooper, thank you for the question. If confirmed by the Senate,

01:17I will uphold the law in a fair and impartial manner.

01:19Okay, well, I'll take that as a yes, then. Mr. Mulligan, small business owners often face a range

01:26of challenges and barriers and stuff that we – until you've done it. I mean, it took me almost

01:33two years to raise the money to open my first restaurant. But those barriers change over time.

01:38They evolve. And I think it's important that we stay on top of this evolving small business

01:44landscape and make sure that we're understanding that trends like AI, changes in the lending

01:51market, that we're recognizing how they affect entrepreneurs, how they change the access to

01:57capital. So in your view, what developments in the small business environment should we be

02:02focusing on trying to understand better? How would you use your – the Office of Advocacy to make sure

02:08that Congress and the SBA stay informed? Thank you for your question. I agree with you 100%.

02:18The small business economy changes pretty fast, and it's been changing fast in recent times.

02:24And that means the data we had before is obsolete. And you really want to get access to

02:31new data that reflects the current situation. You mentioned AI, I think, is a factor.

02:35Different types of employment relationships are evolving over time. And one of the great

02:41things about the Office of Advocacy is even before there was a Regulatory Flexibility Act,

02:47Congress understood this issue of measurement, and they created the office to have an Office of

02:54Economic Research and do measurement. I think a lot of the members, even to this day, are relying

02:59on the small business numbers that come from the office. And it would be a huge priority not just

03:05because I've been an economic researcher for so many years, but it would be a huge priority for me

03:08to make sure the statistics are the best and up-to-date and reflect the current situation.

03:12I could not agree more. And I think that – what I tell my staff all the time is information is

03:16power. And the more we share that power with – where people can put it to use, like small

03:21business entrepreneurs, the better off we are. Mr. Briggs, small businesses in Indian country

03:29face unique challenges, and that's no surprise. The landscape is, in many cases,

03:35more challenging in a variety of ways. Last Congress, we worked with senators on both sides

03:42of the aisle to create a bill that would codify the SBA's Office of Native American Affairs.

03:51That bill came out of this committee with an 18-to-1 vote. If you're confirmed,

03:58are you willing to commit to doing everything you can or to aggressively try to see if the – if

04:06we make sure that the Office of Native American Affairs has the resources it needs to try and

04:12support Indian entrepreneurs who oftentimes have far more difficult access to capital than

04:18anyone else? Senator, thank you for the question. I'm aware of the challenges facing the Native

04:24American community. My sister lives in New Mexico and has worked on a reservation in Taos,

04:29New Mexico, and has told me of the challenges facing that particular community. I commit to

04:34certainly looking at this legislation and working with your office and the full committee on this

04:38issue as part of – if I'm confirmed by the Senate. Right. Well, I appreciate that. I think

04:44– in so many ways, the SBA is that bastion, that place where entrepreneurs can turn.

04:55Usually, with all due respect to the SBA, you have to have a little bit of capital,

05:00a little bit of momentum before the SBA will even answer your call. But once you get to that point,

05:05the SBA can provide solutions and resources to people that, when they get that access – and

05:12I remember when we first got our 7A loan, and it transformed our business in ways that, I mean,

05:17take hours to take – to explain. So, anyway, I tremendously respect both of you for your effort

05:25to come and help small businesses. They are, without question, the core of our economy.

05:30Thank you. I yield back to the chair. Thank you very much, Senator.

John Hickenlooper Asks SBA Nominee Point Blank If He Will Abide By Congressional Appropriations Law

Category

Transcript

Recommended