'These Policies Are Cruel': Lateefah Simon Torches Trump, GOP Over Tariffs And Mass Layoffs

3 hours ago

During a House Small Business Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA) spoke about President Trump's tariffs and DOGE cuts to the federal workforce.

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Transcript

00:00I now recognize Ms. Simon from California for five minutes.

00:04Thank you, Chair, and thank you to the witnesses.

00:09We don't have to argue that small businesses are the backbone of our

00:12economy. I love this committee because we

00:14consistently lift that up. You know, there are

00:17many issues that have been covered in this hearing, and I will repeat some of

00:21them. You know, my concern, the concern of many,

00:24is that we have come together as a committee

00:28with a profound mission of advancing opportunities for

00:32small businesses in this country. You know, just in the last few days, we

00:37know that 4013s and 401ks have been thrown out of the window for

00:44folks. Folks have lost so much. We also know that in this

00:48committee, we have said, together, cross aisle, we will make a

00:53commitment to disabled folks, to our veterans, to

00:57women-owned businesses on Main Street, on Telegraph Street, on Broadway streets,

01:02and here we are, having a conversation, trying to figure out how to advance our

01:08way forward. I think we all know what we want. We want a more

01:11efficient sector. We want a government agency that

01:15can show up at the doors, where the websites work.

01:19Within the last two weeks, hundreds of SBA workers have been

01:23fired, fired. We are talking about closing down

01:27six agencies in major cities in this country.

01:31So I want folks who are watching to know the dry cleaner,

01:34the auto repair dealer, the barber shop, the woman who

01:38called my office yesterday, who's starting a home care business to make

01:42sure that our elders have trained wonderful MAs at their

01:46homes every single day, doing work that many of us have never done.

01:52Where is she going to go? She's called from outside of my district

01:55to get support. You know, she'll be on the phone for hours. The websites,

02:00they were already difficult to access. Three administrations to go, four

02:05administrations to go. What are we doing? What are we doing?

02:09And now we have this conversation that has become real, that tariffs have

02:14met the doors of our small businesses. We know that

02:18entrepreneurs are already working day and night to keep

02:21their doors open. We also know that the cost of doing

02:26business in the last couple of weeks has shot

02:29up. These policies are cruel. They're cruel. And they don't focus on

02:35low income and middle income and working class people

02:38who are trying to get off a government dole, who want to make good for

02:42themselves and offer the folks in their communities and their sons and their

02:44daughters jobs. They want to send their kids to

02:47college. We are kicking them in the ribs. Not only the folks who work

02:50for small business agency, but the folks who are on the ground. You

02:54hire, you hire an inspector general and you

02:57fire them. You fire tons of workers, hundreds of workers.

03:01And then we have a policy that chooses to enact tariffs

03:05that will destabilize this country. It's cruel.

03:08And we know that. We don't have to litigate that.

03:11Any one of us who've run small businesses, who've run payrolls, I've ran

03:15payroll since I was 19 years old. I've hired hundreds of workers. I've trained

03:20workers to leave incarceration in the streets

03:22and foster care to get jobs, whether they're doctors or

03:25lawyers or medical providers. I've done that work. I know how hard it is

03:30to keep an institution alive when you're by yourself.

03:34Fine, close six agencies and see what happens to our economy.

03:38We'll see. We'll see when you fire IRS workers, when you fire frontline workers

03:42in communities that are helping small businesses. I

03:45have to ask, do we care? Do we truly care about folks on the ground? You know, I

03:52have one quick question, which I think I know the answer to.

03:55You know, with all that we're talking about, I want to say before I

04:00ask my question, it will be quick. This fiscal year alone in my district,

04:05our local SBA office has served, served on the, like literally on the

04:12front lines, 822 small businesses offering

04:17351 million dollars of direct loans to keep businesses afloat.

04:25If we care, we would advance those opportunities,

04:28not take them away. You're automating support

04:32through these actions. You know, Mr. Trent,

04:36I only have a couple of seconds left. How can

04:40having field offices near metro areas be a strategic choice

04:45and also an effective use of taxpayer dollars to serve small businesses?

04:50How can having these offices near metro areas be a strategic choice

04:54to support small businesses? Just a quick answer.

04:58I'll just quickly say that because a lot of these city centers are hubs for

05:01entrepreneurship, where there's a real preponderance of small business activity.

05:05The gentlewoman's time has expired.

'These Policies Are Cruel': Lateefah Simon Torches Trump, GOP Over Tariffs And Mass Layoffs

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