Brad Finstad Asks Witness How Congress Can Ensure Main Street Businesses 'Grow And Prosper’

2 days ago

During a House Small Business Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Rep. Brad Finstad (R-MN) questioned witnesses about resources needed for small businesses to thrive.

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Transcript

00:00I'll recognize Mr. Finstad from Minnesota for five minutes.

00:03Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for holding this important subcommittee hearing today,

00:07and thank you to our witnesses for taking time to be with us.

00:10Over the past four years, small businesses across our country have been struggling to keep their

00:14doors open with the impacts of record-high inflation, supply chain disruptions, and

00:18burdensome regulations hindering their growth. I've heard firsthand from small businesses across

00:23my district about the impact that they have felt over the last few years here and what it's meant

00:29to their businesses and opportunities or lack of opportunities across southern Minnesota.

00:34So, that being said, I want to go to Mr. Ortiz. As President and CEO of the Job Creators Network,

00:39you know the important role the SBA plays in supporting small business owners.

00:45One of the things that I've seen in past experience working in federal government is the

00:52ability to meet the customer's needs, and that's usually a relationship-based,

00:58face-to-face, how can I help you kind of situation. So, I'm really happy to hear

01:04that Administrator Loeffler has returned the SBA to in-person work.

01:08So, I just want to know from you, do you believe this move will improve the services at SBA?

01:16Congressman, thank you for the question. I believe the face-to-face is critical for

01:21interaction for small business owners for their success. I still would say that we have to get

01:27more people out to the field, to the resources, where the small business owners are. It's great

01:32that there are some small businesses here in the D.C. area serving the community and serving

01:37Congress, but that's not where the bulk of our small businesses are. It's out in the field,

01:42it's out in Pella, Iowa, in Portland, Oregon, it's all across the country. That's where they

01:48need to be and that's where the resources need to be allocated. And so, I think it's a great step

01:54in the right direction, but I think we need to go further and we need to reallocate those

01:57resources out to the fields. Thank you for that, and all I would say is preach. Keep preaching,

02:03and I represent a district of 21 counties, pretty rural, southern Minnesota, and a lot of times

02:08these counties feel like they're flyover land for organizations like SBA. And so, I completely agree

02:15with you. Moving a little bit, in February, I was proud to reintroduce, for the second time,

02:22the House Pass Prove-It Act. And the Prove-It Act, it received the Job Creators Network endorsement,

02:28and this bill would give our small businesses a voice in the regulatory process as they work to

02:33serve their communities and pursue the American dream. What impact, Mr. Ortiz, do you think that

02:40the passage of this legislation would have on small businesses in navigating the regulatory

02:44environment? Thank you again for the question, Congressman. This is a game changer for small

02:49businesses, no doubt about it, and we're glad to see that Senator Ernst also introduced companion

02:55legislation in the United States Senate on this. This is critical. I think for too long, agencies

03:01have been given a pass in terms of trying to do what they're supposed to do, which is show the

03:06impact to small businesses on regulations. Too many waivers have been signed to basically say,

03:11no, it's actually fine, and small businesses have been hurt all along the way. They don't have the

03:16resources to come and bring all their lawyers and, you know, 12 lawyers and all everything else that

03:22they need at the end of the legislative process to try to challenge stuff and go to the Supreme

03:26Court. They don't have the resources to do that. They're trying to run their businesses 24-7. And so

03:30having the opportunity to, you know, finally force agencies to actually consider the effect

03:35of regulation on small business is critical. And having the opportunity to have a seat at the table

03:40at the beginning of the process rather than the end of the process is absolutely critical.

03:44Again, this is a game changer, and I think we need to do everything we can to make sure that it passes

03:49quickly, swiftly, and in this Congress. I appreciate those comments, and I couldn't

03:54agree more with you. It is, you know, really a dereliction of duty from Congress because we

04:01pass these good intended laws. We leave it up to the regulatory state to create all the hoops and

04:06loops and bells and whistles and the rules and regulatory climate that our business has

04:10to live under with no opportunity to weigh in on, wait a minute, you know, this is going to

04:15impact us. And to your point, small businesses don't have stables of lawyers and compliance

04:20officers. And so giving them more power in the regulatory process is something I'm going to

04:27work hard for. So I appreciate your support on that. One last question here for Mr. Gutierrez.

04:33As Missouri's SBDC director, you more than likely have a great pulse for what impacting

04:40small businesses across your state. How has the regulatory environment impacted small businesses

04:45in your community, and what can we do here in Congress to ensure Main Street businesses have

04:48the ability to grow and prosper? Sure. One big topic for a lot of small businesses, well, for

04:54most small businesses has been the Corporate Transparency Act that was introduced, I believe

04:59it was last year, and then rescinded and then paused and going back and forth. That's some

05:04very, very tough situations. Gentlemen's time has expired.

Brad Finstad Asks Witness How Congress Can Ensure Main Street Businesses 'Grow And Prosper’

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