250 Years of American Legacy: Small Businesses and the American Dream

Good morning everyone, and uh I now call the committee on small business to order. Uh without objection the chair is authorized to declare a recess of the committee at any time. I now recognize myself for my opening statement. I wanna welcome everybody to today's hearing, two hundred and fifty years of American legacy, small businesses and the American dream. Happy birthday. Uh, I wanna thank uh our witnesses for joining us today at this time and for sharing uh their time with us and their experience and perspectives with this committee. In just a few days our nation will celebrate the two hundred fiftieth anniversary of an American independence. Uh, throughout this year this committee has been welcoming to small business owners from every corner of the country to share their experiences and their perspec- uh, perspectives. Time and time again their stories have reflected the same qualities that have defined America for the past two hundred and fifty years, hard work, innovation, and resilience in the pursu- in the pursuit of an opportunity. As we reflect on our nation's history, it's clear that any American story would be incomplete without recognizing the role of the small business entrepreneurs. American history is in many ways the story of a small business. From the earliest settlements to the modern economy, entrepreneurship has been woven into the fabric of our nation. uh farmers, they were merchants, craftsmen, innovators, and manufacturers. From America's earliest days, small businesses created jobs, introduced new ideas, and helped transform a collection of colonies into the most prosperous nation in history. The American Revolution itself was shaped by entrepreneurs. Taverns served as gathering places for discussion and organization. Printers, including Benjamin Franklin, distributed ideas that uh have inspired us and for a new nation and for centuries. Small businesses were not merely witnesses to American history, they were the architects of American history. And just as a small business helped build America, this country has provided an environment where small businesses can thrive. Free markets, access to capital, and strong protections for private property and intellectual property have, uh, created the most dynamic economy in the world and the best place to start a small business. So consider the American innovators who changed the world. Benjamin Franklin. Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and the Wright Brothers, Walter Chrysler and countless others. Their achievements transformed industries, strengthened communities, and improved everyday life for millions and millions around the world. Uh, that spirit of innovation comes today across the country. Millions of small business owners are developing new technologies and carrying forward the tradition of the American enterprise. Today's hearing is not only about celebrating the past, it's also about preserving the American dream. for future generations and we have some in this room today. And several of our witnesses represent businesses that have endured wars, recessions, technological change and shifting markets. Their stories uh d- demonstrate that entrepreneurship is not simply about starting a small business, it's about building a legacy. So as we look forward to America's next two - next two hundred and fifty years, uh, and I'll be there if you wanna come f- we'll set something up, okay? Uh, we must ensure that small businesses remain equipped to compete, innovate and grow. The success of our nation has always been tied to the suc- the success of entrepreneurs, and if America is to remain prosperous and strong, it will be because future generations continue the work of building, creating, and taking risk. I'd like to thank our witnesses again for being here on the fourth of July, uh, and again for being here, and I look forward to the discussion. I now yield to our ranking member from Maryland, my friend, uh, Mister Olszewski, for his opening remarks.

Uh, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and good morning to all. Uh, I appreciate you calling this very timely hearing. Thanks to all of our witnesses for your presence today. Uh, I wanna just express my excitement about America's two hundred and fiftieth. Mr. Chairman, I look forward to joining you in two hundred and fifty years more as well. Um, but as, as we approach, um, this milestone, this two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of our country's founding, as a former American government teacher, I am reminded of the first words in the preamble to our constitution. We the people of the US, in order to form a more perfect union. For two hundred and fifty years, our effort to build that more perfect union has endured countless trials and tribulations, tragedies and triumphs. We are blessed to live in the greatest country in the world, where opportunity and prosperity are available to all. America became the greatest country in the world in part because of the ingenuity and grit of our small businesses and the hundreds of millions of immigrants. our forefathers who came ashore to start building their dreams. Immigrants, like your ancestors and mine, are how we formed that more perfect union. But today, we know our union is also under attack. Corporate greed is causing our markets to consolidate, making it harder for scrappy new startups to enter and remain in business. Simply put, the deck is stacked against the little guy. As everything becomes less affordable due to tariffs, and the war, small companies are struggling to pay their bills and their staff. These are our constituents and they are being left behind. ICE is swarming our cities, provoking fear in workers, small business owners and our neighbors. That does not make us safer, it makes us less strong. To that end, Mister Chairman, I request unanimous consent to insert the statement of the American Business Immigration Coalition and small business majority into the record.

So moved.

Thank you. But there is good news. Our Main Street businesses are resilient and they show up for our communities in the face of hardships. That's the American way. That's the spirit of our nation. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and their issues aren't democratic. They're not Republican. They are American issues. It's why I'm proud to have worked with Chairman Williams and members across the aisle, in this committee, to pass common sense legislation to improve small business assistance across the federal government. But we cannot celebrate Main Street one day and look the other way when this administration's policies make lives harder. So I look forward to a robust discussion about what has truly driven the success of Main Street in our nation, and what hasn't, the impacts of tariffs, health care costs, and the massive unnecessary disruption to our immigrant communities. So as we commemorate America's two hundred and fiftieth anniversary let's honor the generations of entrepreneurs immigrants, and the motivated hard workers who helped build this nation. Let's choose action over inaction and bipartisan solutions over good luck. I yield back.

Uh, gentlemen, yields back, we'll now move to the witness introductions. Uh, our first witness today is Mister Adrian Ador Netta Netta. Uh, Mister uh Ador Netta is the owner of Ador Netta's and and Jock Amas in Zanesville, Ohio. Is that right? These family-owned businesses have been serving customers in Ohio for more than sixty-five years. Uh, mister uh, Adornetta's family's American story began when his grandparents immigrated from Sicily, Italy, and helped build the foundation for Adornetta's Pizzeria, which his father Jimmy opened in nineteen fifty-eight. Jimmy later founded Jochamas Bakery in nineteen ninety-four, fulfilling his passion for small uh, for artesian bread. Both family businesses continue to serve fresh, scratch, made Italian food and baked goods. Mister Audenette has purchased the family business in twenty twelve, continue his tradition of quality Italian food and community service. Today he is investing in the next generation by teaching his eleven year old son, who's here, uh, the family business, uh, with the hope that he will one day become its third generation owner. Uh, thank you for being here today, very much. Next witness is Mister Philip Freeman. Uh, Mister Freeman is the founder and CEO of Murphy's Naturals, a North Carolina-based manufacturer of natural outdoor products, and the loading dock on innovative co-warehousing space for entrepreneurs. Mister Freeman spent twenty-three years in packaging sales before founding Murphy's Naturals in his garage in twenty thirteen, when uh what began as a as a search for an effective natural mosquito repellent has grown into an a nationally recognized brand. And as the business has expanded, he founded the loading dock, a coworking, coworking and warehouse community that has helped hundreds of small business uh launch and grow by providing affordable flexible workplace. Those mosquitoes, do you have a, you got an office in Texas? Huh.

Think we're very popular with that.

OK. Mister Freeman is part of the US Chamber of Commerce small business council, where he advocates for policies to strengthen America's small businesses. He earned a communications degree from Virginia Tech and served eight years as deep-sea diving officer in the US Navy. Uh, thank you for your service. And I look forward to our discussion here. Our next witness today is Miss Anne Shai Bunkamore. Uh, Miss Shai Bunkamore is the CEO and owner of s- of GSE Dynamics, a US defense manufacturer founded by her father, Daniel, in nineteen seventy-one. GSE Dynamics serves the defense industrial, uh, base by applying their supplying in the US Air Force, Navy, Army and major aerospace manufacturers. Uh, she is joined by her father's, uh, comp- jo- joined the father's company in two thousand one and has led to its expansion into one of the nation's largest federally certified women's owned small business. Uh, she also has served on the Manufacturing in America Advisory Committee, where she provides strategic guidance to the federal government on strengthening supply chains and proving global competitiveness in supporting America's small business manufacturers. Uh, Miss Sky Bunker-Moore i- and her husband, Jamie uh, have four sons who may, uh, one day carry on the family business as its next generation of, uh, leaders. I look forward to your testimony. I now recognize the ranking member from Marilyn Misrileski to briefly introduce our last witness, appearing before us today.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, uh, happy to welcome Miss Veronica Kuhl, who is the President and CEO of Kuhl and Associates, LLC, a bilingual outreach and strategy firm specializing in marketing and engagement for the Latino community. Before her time as an entrepreneur, Miss Kuhl was a banker with Wells Fargo and Bank of America, respectfully, respectively. Previously, Miss Kuhl also sat on the Open Society Institute board and the Maryland Governor's Workforce Investment board, and has served as the chairperson of the Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Uh, prior to coming to Congress as Baltimore County Executive, I had the privilege to partner with Miss Kuhl's firm to provide my constituents with translation services for our town halls. Thank you so much for being an outstanding partner in our language interpretation work, and for helping to level the playing field for our immigrant entrepreneur communities, both then and now. Miss Kuhl holds a bachelor's degree in finance and international business, from Cutstown University of Pennsylvania, and a master's degree in finance from Loyola University of Maryland. Welcome, Miss Kuhl.

There's a cool Texas in my district. Yeah. If you run for officer, you'll have instant name ID. Uh, before recognizing the witnesses, uh, I would like to remind them that their oral testimony is restricted to five minutes in length. Uh, if you see the light turn red in front of you, it means your five minutes have concluded and you should wrap up your testimony. If you continue to go further, you'll hear this. And that means you need to stop. But we'll - we'll be fine on time. I now recognize Mister Adoneta for his five minute opening remarks.

Chairman Williams, ranking member, Doctor Osheski, and distinguished members of the committee, good morning, and thank you for inviting me to testify today. It is a privilege to appear before you and share my family's story, and what entrepreneurship has meant to generations of Americans like mine. I am grateful to have my wife, Erika, here with me, along with our two of our four children, Enzo and Giada. The other two, Gabriel and Jace, are back home in Ohio. They are the reason this work matters, because everything my family has built has always been about creating opportunity for the next generation. My name is Adrian Adornetto. I'm a husband, a father, a proud American by birth, a Sicilian by heritage, and entrepreneur by calling, and a product of the American dream. My grandparents, Philip and Catherine Adornetto, came to this country from Sicily with hope, determination, faith and an an unwavering belief in opportunity and a lot of courage, might I add. My grandmother was only nine years old. My grandfather was a teenager when they left everything they knew in search of a better life in America. They actually later met in America and married and settled in a small town called Zanesville, Ohio, where they raised three sons. One became a doctor of optometry, one built a career in financial management and leadership, and then my father, James, Jim Maternetto, chose entrepreneurship. With the encouragement and sacrifice of his parents and his two brothers, my father opened Adernetto's Pizzeria in nineteen fifty eight, when he was just nineteen years old. He later opened Giacomo's, Bredemore in nineteen ninety four. I grew up in those restaurants. Um, just the other day I realized my first boardroom was not in the corporate office, it was every Sunday morning after church, around the breakfast table where my grandmother, father, aunts, uncles, and relatives talked about the previous week's business, what worked well. what didn't work well, how do we improve it, what's on top for next week. Growing up I became, uh I'm sorry, growing up I dreamed of becoming an actor, and my family never pressured me into the restaurant business. But over time the restaurant business found me, and I fell in love with the energy, the teamwork, the busy nights, and the chance to create memorable experiences for guests. In two thousand thirteen, my father and I completed the transition to family business. I I purchased the operating business while he retained the real estate. We wanted to be a transition specifically. We were father and son first, business partner second. Those lessons and other lessons I uh have viewed leadership beyond my own restaurants. As a board, as a past board chair of the Ohio Restaurant and Hospitality Alliance, I had the opportunity to work with and advocate for restaurants and hospitality businesses across our state. That experience reinforced something I already knew from my own family businesses, small business leadership matters. It matters to employees, communities, local suppliers, young workers, and the future of Main Street. You see, my grandparents sought the American dream. My father spent his life building it, and I have been blessed with the opportunity to continue it. Now my greatest responsibility is to preserve it for my children, and hopefully someday for my grandchildren. No pressure. No pressure, guys. But preserving that dream requires more than the family pride. It requires business environment where small businesses can survive, reinvest, hire, and pass opportunity on to the next generation. Running a restaurant has never been easy over the years. We have faced recessions, supply disruptions, inflation, labor challenges, rising operating costs, but nothing, nothing compared to COVID, which nearly shut us down permanently. We survived because of our employees, our community, and our ability to adapt. I've spoken a lot about my family. There's also my employee family. My family's business will not be where it is today without the thousands of Ohioans that have worked for us. over the past six decades. Many started entry-level jobs as teenagers, saw opportunity in this industry and offered that the industry offered and worked their way to positions of greater responsibility. I'm grateful to members of Congress who recognize the small businesses are still carrying the burden from the pandemic, inflation, rising costs. Tax provisions, such as accelerated depreciation, make a real difference. They allowed me to reinvest in my business, complete overdo improvements, renovate locations, and hire local Zanesville, Ohio contractors to do the work. Family businesses do not pass down, do not just pass down recipes, they pass down values, responsibilities, work ethic, integrity, and the belief that every generation should leave something better than it found. Restaurants and small businesses like mine are part of the American fabric. To our patrons, we're gathering places for first dates, anniversaries, birthdays, sports celebrations, and family milestones. To our communities, we are employers, training grounds, and taxpayers, and anchors the local economy. Thank you again for allowing me to share my life. or my family's story. It is in many ways a story of America. May God bless our small businesses, the customers who support them, the employees who work them, the families who build them, and the United States of America.

Gentleman Neal is back. Gentleman Neal is back. I now recognize Mister Freeman for his five minute opening remarks.

Chairman Williams, Ranking Member Olszewski.

distinguished members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Philip Freeman, and I'm the founder and CEO of Murphy's Naturals, a natural products company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, that manufactures plant-based mosquito repellents. I'm also the founder of The Loading Dock, a coworking and co-warehousing community serving nearly thirteen hundred members and four hundred and fifty small businesses. I'm proud to testify on behalf of the US Chamber of Commerce and its Small Business Council, of which I'm a member. As we mark two hundred and fifty years of American independence, there's no better time to reflect on the ultimate engine of this nation's prosperity, American small business. My entrepreneurial journey didn't start in the traditional way, and I didn't have a formal finance background or education. It started on the Virginia farm where I was raised and later during my service as a deep-sea diving officer in the United States Navy. For decades, I filed away business ideas, telling myself the time wasn't right. But sitting in my garage in Raleigh, I looked at a simple problem that we had at home. My wife, Pam, who's here, um, she is an absolute mosquito magnet, and we both disliked the chemical repellents that were on the market. Because I couldn't find an effective natural alternative, I developed one myself. So, Garage Born. That is the American story, identifying a need, taking a risk, and building something from nothing. What started in our garage has grown into a hundred and twenty thousand square foot manufacturing facility, where we make eighty-five percent of our products, and employ nearly fifty full-time team members. But scaling is never a straight line. Early on, I hit a massive roadblock, which was space. Traditional commercial leases were rigid, expensive, and completely mismatched for the bootstrap startup. I signed a multi-year personal guaranteed lease for a small space, outgrew it in six months, and found myself trapped. There had to be a better way. When I finally found a larger facility, I decided to build a concept to help other entrepreneurs facing those same hurdles. I leased extra space and load and launched the loading dock. Today, we provide flexible, affordable, co-warehousing for hundreds of startups across three campuses. Essentially, we were a startup starting a startup for startups and and that is a little bit crazy and not well advised but it's worked. But that is what small business owners do. We don't just solve our own problems, we build the um infrastructure to help others solve theirs. But we can't do it alone. On behalf of entrepreneurs working around the clock, I want to highlight three urgent priorities for the committee. First, access to capital and flexible space. The single greatest barrier for an early stage company is infrastructure. Congress can unlock immense growth by expanding access to SBA lending tools, and supporting flexible small business infrastructure. Second, regulatory clarity and innovation. Small businesses can't afford teams of lawyers. We need clear, accessible guidance from federal agencies so entrepreneurs have a clear path to bring forward disruptive beneficial ideas. Three, pathways for veterans and second career founders. Our most successful founders are often veterans who bring decades of wisdom, Congress must continue to fund vital pipelines like Hiring Our Heroes and the Honor Foundation. We provide generous education opportunities for veterans. Imagine the economic impact if we could provide similar grants and favorable loans for veterans taking a start-up risk. Members of the committee, two hundred and fifty years ago, are founders of this nation, bet everything on a radical idea, that free people, given the opportunity, would build something extraordinary. The American dream is not a relic of the past. It is alive in every garage, bare bedroom, and warehouse bay across your districts. But it requires tending, it requires policies that lower barriers, reward responsibility, and trust in American ingenuity. I'm here because I believe this committee has the power to make it easier for the next Philip Freeman, to take that leap a little sooner with the confidence that their country is the wind at their back. Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.

Gentleman, Ido's back. Uh, now recognize Miss Shibunko Moore for her five minute opening remarks.

Chairman Williams, ranking member Olszewski, and members of the committee. My name is Ann Shibunko Moore and I am the owner and CEO of GSC Dynamics. We are a family-owned defense manufacturer on Long Island, New York. I'm honored to be here on behalf of the small businesses and manufacturers that drive our nation's economy. My company grew out of the cradle of aviation on Long Island. It was from Long Island's Roosevelt Field that Charles Lindbergh began his flight across the Atlantic and it was on Long Island during the golden age of aviation, following the Great War, that manufacturers pioneered aircraft, not for wartime, but for peacetime. opening the skies for commercial flight. And it was a Long Island company named Grumman Aerospace that transformed carrier-based aircraft during World War Two. Grumman helped give the arsenal of democracy its wings. Later, Grumman answered the call to make the impossible real, crafting the Apollo lunar module that landed America on the moon. Grumman also built something else. My father, Daniel Shibunko's career. My father was an engineer when the company encouraged him to start a small side business, in nineteen seventy-one. And eight years later, he left Grumman to run GSC Dynamics full-time. Decades after I walked the factory floor as a child, he invited me to join the company in two thousand one. And in two thousand three, GSC became a woman-owned small business, and I continued to beside my dad until his passing in two thousand nineteen. And today, GSC is a top woman-owned supplier for the US military, building complex assemblies for the B-fifty-two bomber, the M-one Abrams tank, naval submarines, and many more. We are the top woman-owned small business supplier to DLA aviation and a critical supplier for the US Navy's periscope mast fairings. And with over ninety employees, we are among the ninety-three percent of US manufacturers classified as small businesses. This is my family's story. And this is GSE's story. This is a true Long Island story. And today, just days from America's two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, this is an American story. America's small businesses have always been where innovation takes flight. But as everyone in this room knows, America's success does not just happen, it must be built, it must be protected, and it must be strengthened. The best investment in manufacturers comes from public policies that help small businesses like mine invest, grow, and thrive. First and foremost, that means protecting pro-growth tax policies like those Congress passed last year in H R one. Provisions like immediate expensing are helping GSC invest in the future. Already this year, we have purchased a new five-axis machining center that will help us build better and faster. We're also expanding a facility and investing in new research to help keep GSC on the cutting edge. Secondly, we need reliable access to capital, because long before a product leaves the factory floor, Manufacturers must invest in expensive equipment and raw materials to build it. That's why increasing SBA lending limits is so important, precisely as this committee did through the Made in America Manufacturing Finance Act. Third, we must address workforce shortages. Manufacturing offers great careers for highly skilled technicians, machinists, welders, tradespeople, along with administrative and professional staff. We must strengthen employer-led workforce training and encourage more young people to see manufacturing as a career of purpose and opportunity. And finally, we must remember that our national security depends on a strong defense industrial base. To build more resilient supply chains, we need a twenty-first century permitting system. We need to protect pro-America, pro-manufacturing trade agreements like the US MCA, and we need more access to key inputs like critical minerals. And when I think about America's two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, I think about the chance my father took fifty years ago in a country that rewards risk-takers. I think about GSC's contribution, not just to Long Island's story as the cradle of aviation, but to America's story as the land of opportunity, a place where manufacturers don't just build products, we build families, and we build communities, and we build a stronger country. Fifty years from now, I hope another family business will be here telling its story, or maybe even my son James will be sharing GSC's next chapter. That will happen through your courage and your vision to back policies that strengthen America's industrial base. If our leaders work together, America will lead as the best place in the world to create and make things, and our dreams will take flight. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Well said. Uh, gentlelady, it was back, I now recognize Miss Kuhl for her five minute reopening remarks.

Chairman Williams, Banking Member Velazquez, Congressman Johnny Oh, thank you very much for having me today. Fifteen years ago, I was sitting in my kitchen table, wondering willi- whether filing the paperwork for a tiny government subcontract was even worth the effort. Today, it's one of the greatest honors of my life to appear before Congress because that little opportunity became the foundation of a company that now helps strengthen communities across our entire country that is the American dream. My name is Veronica Kuhl. And I'm the founder, president and CEO of Cooling Associates LLC, a Maryland-based small business I started in twenty eleven. I was born in Dominican Republic and I came to the US believing what millions of immigrants have believed for generations, that if I worked hard, if I kept um learning, treating people with integrity and I persevered, I could build a better life. And America gave me that opportunity. When I started my business, I didn't have investors, I didn't have venture capital or a family business I inherited. I had twenty years of banking experience, grit, and an idea that organizations could better serve people by building trust, not just translating words. And that little tiny idea became the basis for my company. Today, our team helps government agencies across all aisles, hospitals, nonprofits, universities, and businesses communicate more effectively, engage communities, and solve very complicated issues. But our success, just like my fellow witnesses here, didn't happen overnight. Like every single entrepreneur, we had to work really hard and earn it. One of our very first government contracts was a tiny little thing, as I mentioned earlier, and I remember thinking it probably wasn't even worth it. The paperwork was excessive, the compliance reporting was extensive, and for us being tiny, it actually felt like more work than the work we were getting paid to do. But, of course, we kept delivering and working on it. That one opportunity became another, and then another, and every project taught us something. Every satisfied client became a reference. every single problem, mistake and challenge made us stronger. Recently I had one of those uh full circle moments that we all celebrate and hope for. During a really competitive procurement bid, I learned that the prime contractor and every subcontractor in that group had adjusted their schedule around ours because the agency wanted the cool team included in the proposal not because we were the biggest, not because there was a large marketing budget, but because over fifteen years We had earned a reputation for delivering quality, building trust, and helping organizations genuinely connect with the communities they serve. I've been fortunate to receive awards throughout my career, but that one moment meant more to me than any other plaque of recognition. It told me that our work became trusted enough to influence outcomes that improve communities and create opportunity. To me, that is what entrepreneurship is all about. Small businesses do not just create jobs, we solve problems. with strengthened neighborhoods, and we mentor future leaders. We create opportunities for others. We build legacy. It's what my father taught me. My team experienced that firsthand during the COVID-19 pandemic. We supported the state of Maryland, Governor Hogan at that time, by translating and culturally adapting urgent public health information in a matter of hours. So essential workers and multilingual communities could receive lifesaving information when they needed it the most. We were proud to do it, even thought it required around the clock work, significant personal sacrifice and tremendous resilience. Experiences like that have taught me that one important lesson, communication is economic infrastructure. And being in Baltimore, we know that ports and highways are communi- are transportation, but communication is an integral part of that. When people understand how to access health care, workforce opportunities, government services and small business resources, they show up and they participate. When they participate, businesses grow, communities become stronger, and our economy benefits. And as Congress looks to that next two hundred and fifty years, I'm hoping for something simple. Please continue to create an environment where entrepreneurs can do what they do best, innovate, adapt, and build. Please provide greater predictability, reduce unnecessary administrative burdens, invest in workforce development and technology. Please ensure that um that ensure that qualified small businesses have the opportunity to compete. The American dream I know did not guarantee success, but it did promise opportunity. That opportunity changed my life and I hope together we can ensure remains available for the future generation of entrepreneurs. I thank you for the opportunity and look forward to your questions.

Channel AD goes back. Those were great opening comments. Thank you for all of you. Uh, we'll now move to the member questions under the five minute rule. we that we went over with you. I now recognize myself for five minutes. Uh, mister Adornetto, uh, successfully been in business for sixty-eight years, you said, crossing two generations. And according to the Pizza Today, your business is in the top one hundred independently owned pizzerias in the nation. And my question is, what has enabled, uh, you to remain successful across multiple generations? And as you look to the future, what lessons do you passed down to the next generations that's sitting behind you uh to ensure that you continue for many years and many more generations to come.

You know, as I said in my opening statement, Mister Chairman, thank you for the question, by the way. Um, just the work ethic that was passed down to me from my grandparents, my father, um, has helped us achieve that. Our community, our great workforce that we've had in the past and currently, and hopefully in the future, reference to the future, hopefully have more workforce development. We need that and hospitality industry, uh, making sure that people realize that they can make a career of that. And obviously access to capital and expansion will help out greatly in continuing to achieve that award with pizza today and the future as well, for the next generations to come.

Great. Uh, Mr. Freeman, uh, to you, you started your first company, Murphy's Naturals, uh, in search of a natural bug repellent for your wife. That's a great story in itself. So, uh, after experiencing the firsthand challenges of

Yes, sir. Uh, and thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the question. Um, one of the biggest hurdles that I ran into starting off was I was a solopreneur. Um, I was doing things on my own. I didn't have, uh, much of a base of support to work from, to ask questions about how you start a new business. It was really figuring it out myself in that scrappy way. Um, there were many hurdles that I had to overcome. Um, some of them were, as I mentioned before, signing a multi-year lease for a warehouse and having to personally guarantee that when I really didn't know if my business would thrive or not. I figured there had to be a better way to do this. So what we did is we created a vast amount of warehouse space and we divided it up into individual units and that allowed small business to come in and is used as little as a hundred square feet to support their business um and that's an incredible thing for them to have that flexibility and now we have units as big as twenty four hundred square feet but we don't require a lease and we don't require a personal guarantee. Matter of fact, they don't even have to buy the material handling equipment that they need to move their goods, to receive goods, to warehouse goods, and to ship goods. We supply all of that and it's shared. Um, so by removing some of those hurdles, it made a massive difference for people to be willing to start something. And I would never want anyone to regret never starting something because of those hurdles. Now, We can't remove the hurdles, the entrepreneurialism, but we can lower them. And if we lower them and we get a few more people to say, yes, I'm gonna give it a try, then that matters. Um, and then lastly, as far as that's concerned, is we've built a community. When you think about all those different entrepreneurs working in the same building together, they share ideas, they commiserate, uh, they speak about the victories, the challenges, and, um, You know, that's that's a big deal. Um, when you have other people to work with, even though they're not part of the same company, that's that's a very, very big deal, and to have that community, and that's all around Murphy's Naturals at our main headquarters. So we we derive energy from all of those people, and several of those people became team members at Murphy's Naturals as well. So, very beneficial.

Well, thank you for that, and, uh, in limited time I got Miss Shibunko Moore since the founding of our nation. small businesses have played a vital role in strengthening America's ability to defend itself. Uh, could you speak uh briefly to the unique role that small businesses like yours, play in supporting America's war fighters today and more broadly, can you uh talk about what it uh the critical, what's critical for our national security that we continue to foster an environment where small business can start, grow and thrive?

Thank you very much for the question. It's a big question uh for something very important that we all do. So Uh, to support obviously the defense industrial base brings pride every day, not only to me and my family, but to my employees, which is the most important, uh, thing that I have, right, my workforce. Uh, so I I think right now I'm gonna get to the the end of your question first with the time allotted here. Uh, we have to focus on workforce and make sure that we continue to train the workforce that can manufacture the parts that we need for our national security. Uh, we need to make sure that we are building our supply chain. We need to make sure that we're building capacity and capability. uh in this nation in which right now I believe it was referenced it's diminishing right now, uh with all the different business dealings that are going on we absolutely have a diminishing supply chain in our defense industrial base which poses a threat. And I also believe we need to do some more branding and marketing for manufacturing, we have to make sure that people understand that it is uh a noble job to be in a manufacturing company.

My time is up.

I I saw that. That's why I went to the end of your question first. Thank you. Thank you for that. Thank you.

I now recognize a ranking member for five minutes of questions.

Uh, thank thank you very much, Mister Chairman. Um, it's the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, so, Miss Kuhl, I'll start with a with a fun question. Why is America the best place to start a small business?

Oh my gosh, the United States of America rewards innovation. When an immigrant can come with the focus and the determination to build a business from the ground up like me, that's rewarded. That is absolutely rewarded. And being able to create jobs, invest in my neighborhoods, invest in my communities, you can't do that anywhere else in the world. So, happy birthday.

Happy birthday, America, indeed. And, Miss Kool, your story is an inspiration. Um, and I think speaks to that promise. Um, I know that, uh, minority committee staff released two reports a warning uh about the ways in which the Trump administration is draining Main Street of critical immigrant staff and entrepreneurs. So, Mister Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to put those reports into the record.

Please.

Thank you. Uh, Miss Kuhl, can you speak to how you see President Trump's mass deportations uh as hurting your clients' ability to find and keep workers and make sales?

Well, I can speak for the perspective of seeing what's happening in my communities and the organizations we serve. When there's uncertainty around immigration, many employers report greater difficulty recruiting and retaining workers. And the community declines in participating because hesitation, they're fearful. So whether we're talking about health care, workforce, um, we need stability, trust matters, my hope is that we can maintain a legal or a lawful immigration system that also serves the small businesses so that our workers can grow and our communities can feel more stable.

Appreciate that perspective. Um, Ms. Shibanka Moore,

Yes.

someone who has a difficult name, I appreciate um sharing that with you. Um, women owned small businesses saw two point three billion less in federal contract dollars than in twenty twenty four. The WOSB program is severely underused and the goals are unmet. Can you speak to um how bolstering this critical program might help small businesses and the industrial base.

Yeah, absolutely, and thank you for uh for that question indeed. So the I think in general before you get to the woman-owned small business specific though, I think you have to uh accept the fact that there are more barriers to entry into federal contracting as a whole. Uh so so I would say that across the board it's hard to um get companies to again enter into federal contracting. And then as you narrow into the woman-owned small business, you have to insure that they're mentored and trained and understand all the requirements and regulations. in order to succeed. Uh, and when I was on the National Women's Business Council, uh, a few years back, that was really the focus. You, you can bring them to the federal contracting world, but you really have to insure that they will succeed in it. And I think that's, uh, a definitely a focus of mine in terms of making sure that we are mentoring and training and working together as partners, uh, in that federal contracting world. A small business community is very close, um, and we do tend to want everyone to rise. um and succeed uh so i think it's imperative that again we continue to look at what the red tape is um to get into federal contracting that we minimize it i know the administrator is working on that um the access again to capital so that women owned businesses can uh succeed and and grow um and overall just um be able to have a a conversation communication direct with the government uh which i will say in my years of experience uh i am thrilled to see there is strong communication right now between the small business leaders and, specifically, Defense Logistics Agency. I've never seen, uh, the support right now because I think they recognize, uh, the need and the imperative nature of making sure that these businesses thrive.

Appreciate that. Um, and then, Mister Friedman, uh, you write that several of your product components can't be sourced in the US and that, quote, " tariffs will eliminate profits and put this innovative technology into a loss position. Can you just expand a little bit upon that and sort of your the impacts you're seeing?

Sure, yeah.

Thanks.

I'll be happy to, thank you. Um, so, yeah, tariffs, tariffs are definitely a a challenge, especially when you don't have the time to plan for them, cuz oftentimes we're pricing products for retail and giving those uh price points well in advance. Um, and and we've had the situation where tariffs have have hit us um in a way we had to absorb a lot of that additional cost. Um, but - but we show adaptability. Um, and - and where it created some challenges for us, it also created opportunities as well, um, in terms of because we are a manufacturer, people actually asked us if we could manufacture for them as a US-based company. So - so there are challenges with it, but there are also benefits.

Th- thank you for that. I see my time's expired. Uh, happy birthday, America. And, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

Uh, gentlemen, he yields back, I now recognize Mister Muser from the great state of Pennsylvania for five minutes.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, thank you all for being here very much, we're glad to be with you. It seems like a very strong and positive, uh, uh, discussion we're having, so that's, uh, that that's very, uh, important to hear. You know, I spent a lot of time helping grow a small business to a large business myself for almost twenty-five years, and you know, sometimes I, when people say, " What's it take?" I say, " Well, find out what you like." be committed to it and in twenty years you might have something um

yeah

yeah so it um you know we um there's a lot of the environment matters um of course small business accounts for ninety nine percent of uh of um emplum not employment but of the businesses about sixty percent of the employment uh so it's really the truly the the proverbial but um uh uh literal backbone of the United States economy. Taxes, regulations, skills development, workforce, overall environment that can be created, uh, within a state, you know, state regulations, like in Pennsylvania matter a lot. We tend to have we're very, very overly burdened with, uh, regulations in Pennsylvania. We need to change that versus Florida, Jo- Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, uh, Texas, where all the jobs are going to. You know, consumer demand, I mean, that that's a big part of of government Right, making sure that interest rates are there, access to capital, of course, all of those regulations. But outside of that, well, you know, there's an old saying, too. You know, just get out of my way, uh, which you probably say on occasion. But then again, from from OSHA and many of the other regulations and workers' compensation, you know, all these things are are are definitely necessary. You know, there's a reason. I just looked this up. You know, the EU in nineteen ninety five had a, uh, GDP of eight point three trillion dollars. So f- eight hundred um billion more than than the United States. We're at seven point six. Today, the EU is at twenty one point two and we're at thirty trillion. So we're we're obviously doing a lot right as as far as um uh growing an an economy. Um, so um, uh, just based upon the conversations and statements you've been making, and it's more I'm gonna start with you if you don't mind. Um, I'm from Long Island originally by the way, so I see your business is in Ha Phog.

Yes.

And I grew up there and I remember Grumman and extremely well. I think everybody worked at Grumman there for a while.

They did.

Uh, but congratulations on your, on, on your business. Um, what, what, what, if you were sitting in my seat. You know, if you were, uh, making some of these governmental rules and all, uh, what, what, what do you think you need to make you grow better over the next five years?

Yeah, thank you and, and, uh, happy to hear that you're from Long Island. Uh, I think right now people need to recognize that, um, first of all, small businesses and manufacturing to me is a center-isle issue. Everyone should support small businesses in manufacturing. Uh, and at the end of the day, no matter what decisions are happening here, we still have to work every day, make our product, and feed for myself ninety families, right? At the end of the day, that's what I'm responsible for. Uh, so I am always looking at the decisions that are being done, uh, and made here, uh, ensuring that, again, in order to grow, access to capital, uh, is always the key. Uh, I'd like to buy more equipment. I'd like to grow my capacity. I'd like to grow my capability. capability, continue to grow and expand and support the US defense industrial base, um, and then obviously create jobs, uh, that people can, uh, be proud of, that people can support their families on. Um, so sometimes I have to stop hearing the noise, uh, that is sometimes out there and focus that I just have to continue waking up every morning, uh, and making the products that I make and, uh, and meet the goals and production rates that I have.

Products. people process all the all the p's you gotta you gotta you gotta nail payment very important in business

ok yes

um the working family tax cut which was in the big beautiful bill you mentioned earlier the importance of the one ninety nine a the bonus depreciation the r and d tax cuts uh perhaps the overtime also help your your employers um we move on to miss cool could you maybe answer the same question as far as

yeah

what what would you like to see improve from a regulatory government tax stand point for your business to grow better over the next five years

I would say predictability. We need to be able to plan for us to invest, buy equipment, hire people. Same thing with my clients. I cannot get commitments on contracts or proposals because they themselves are impacted what may happen tomorrow. So as we're planning to feed our families, to keep our folks employed, to pay for kids' colleges, mortgages,

Yeah.

we can't afford to go out and make willy-nilly decisions because tomorrow the rules have changed.

I agree very much, thank you.

So being able to have predictability is it's a priority.

Thank you, now it's ver- very important, I I couldn't I very much agree, mister Orinato Orineto, your same question to you.

Adornetto. Yes sir, thank you for the question.

Orinato, got it.

Um. I would say obviously predictability as well, access to capital, continue to do, you know, specifically you've done some things with uh no tax on tips on the federal level, and that's helped my industry specifically.

Sure.

um, the employees that receive this.

Pardon me, my time has expired.

OK.

Chairman, I yield back.

Gentleman yields back, and now I recognize Mister Tran from California, grace say to California, for five minutes.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, thank you, ranking member, for convening today's hearing. Thank you to the witnesses for being here. Uh, for two hundred fifty years, the American dream has been built by people who believed hard work and took a leap of faith to build something of their own. Nowhere is that story more powerful than in Southern California. There's our small business community in Southern California, in Los Angeles and Orange County, I see it every day. These are family-owned restaurants, manufacturers, contractors, startups, and neighborhood shops. They are run by entrepreneurs from every background, including Asian Americans, Latinos, and immigrant business owners who have helped power our economy and create good paying jobs. They represent the very best of America. This committee has done real bipartisan work. for this Congress, moving bill after bill with support from both sides of the aisle. At a time when Congress feels more divided than ever, this committee has shown that bipartisan progress is still possible. But good bipartisan bills sitting on the Senate floors floor does not help anyone on Main Street. In fact, there are over twenty bipartisan small business bills that have passed this House and are now stalled in the Senate. The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, under the leadership of Senator Joany Ernst, has held just a handful of markups this Congress, all last year, and none this year. And while those bipartisan bills stall, small businesses across America cannot afford to wait. They are facing raising costs, uncertainty, uncertainty, and economic pressures every single day. They are dealing with President Trump's trade war, tariffs that rai- that raises the costs of supplies, inflation, the loss of the Affordable Care Act, uh, tax credit, and the cost of oil and energy skyrocketing due to the president's war of choice in Iran. That is why Senate gridlock gridlock is so costly. Every month bipartisan bills sit without Senate consideration as a month small business owners go without relief while cost keeps climbing around them. Main Street is asking Congress for help. And right now, Chairwoman Ernst isn't answering. The Small Business Committee has proven bipartisan progress is possible. Now the Senate needs to match that urgency and act. Miss Kuhl, from your perspective working with small businesses, is President Trump's erratic policies making it harder for entrepreneurs?

Speaking from my perspective, the lack of predictability certainly impacts me as a small business, you know, and so again, anyone we work with, whether it's a client, whether it's a partner, whether it's a vendor, without knowing what's happening tomorrow, we're hampered.

Let me, uh, follow up with, um, what would it mean for Main Street if Senate Republicans, uh, sit on these bipartisan bills while financial pressure keeps building up?

You know, again, speaking from my perspective, I can tell you that we as small businesses need improved procurement access, improved access to technical assistance, you know, support for new technologies like AI. So when things are delayed repeatedly, we cannot make decisions. We cannot hire comfortably. We can't invest in future plans.

Ms. Kuhl, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced they'll make temporary visa holders leave America to apply for green cards, uh, something that I'm actually working with the Judiciary Committee to oppose. How will that policy hurt immigrant entrepreneurs and the Americans that they employ?

You know, we mentioned at the very beginning how the United States uh rewards innovation. When we do not know, regardless of the status, whether you're able to stay or not, whether tomorrow the rug gets pulled from you, that impacts our ability to make decisions. I feel like a broken record. So apologies for that. But not knowing if a status or uh a current small business will not be able to function tomorrow, prevents us from bidding on things, prevents prevents us from hiring, from paying our workers. It's that simple.

Sh- shifting gears a bit, health care costs are still a barrier to entrepreneurship for Americans looking to take the leap of faith and start a small business. Um, Ms. Kuhl, how would expanding health care through Medicaid and the ACA help aspiring entrepreneurs join the business community?

That's actually one of the main reasons people do not start small businesses, because they need to have their family covered. So when we don't have access to health care, we're unable to make or take that innovative

With the few seconds I have left, Miss uh Shaibanko-Moore, do you have anything to add to that question?

Again, I echo the predictability, but I think you also, if you were to look through the lens of a small business owner, just please look at all the risks that we are trying to mitigate every day. It's health care, it's the cost of material, it's the cost of salaries, it's the cost of living. Uh, so please, these are stackable for us. We're dealing with this every day as you're voting on one issue at a time.

Thank you so much, and with that I yield back.

Gentleman yields back, I now recognize Miss King-Heinz from the great Northern Mariana Islands for five minutes.

Thank you, Mister Chairman. So I think I, as we celebrate America's two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, one of the greatest lessons that uh we can learn from small businesses is resilience. Uh, I've heard you tell your stories about having to endure the pandemic, have to endure changing regulations, lack of clarity, uh and just the the the changing business dynamics right and so you know folks back home small business back home right now uh have are barely have barely recovered from a super typhoon that hit us two months ago and as i head back home tomorrow uh i gotta board up uh because another typhoon is on the way right and you know the one beautiful thing that we saw after the this last was you know these businesses they lost inventory you know they they lost their roofs um they lost equipment but they quickly came back the next day they cleaned um you know they started rebuilding and people just started helping one another and the one thing that i've realized having been a member for eighteen months is that you know um whether you're from the marianas or or from the united states the continental united states right our communities are built by the same values which is faith you know family heart work and the belief that tomorrow can be better than today and i feel that my responsibility as a member of congress is to ensure that you are given every opportunity in terms of you know just some of um the policies that are out there to thrive so that this country can continue on uh you know this this great american path and so i wanna yield the remainder of my time to you uh and uh and we'll start with mister adornet adorneto uh to just you know brief if there if there's one policy that that you can change you know what would it be and uh i want everybody to have equal time so i have about two two fifty please share

in my industry credit card swipe fees. They are uh approaching more my profit loss than what I pay for benefits for my employees.

Uh, for my industry uh at Murphy's Naturals, um we fall under the uh US EPA um and it would be really helpful from a innovative standpoint if we were able to um have ways have people who could advocate for us for bringing forward new and inventive ways of using natural products um that don't necessarily conform to the strict guidelines that are in place now where we could actually add new ingredients um cause the list has been the same for a very long time on active and inerts. So to have the ability to introduce new ingredients, natural ingredients would be a huge help.

Thank you very much for the time. Uh, again in my in my industry, I'm gonna say the the word predictability again and ensuring that demand signals are clear for the defense industry, uh, making sure that we are able to buy again the raw material that we need to get. So we need to talk, um, much more about funding and how we can manage cash better in the small business so that we can grow and buy new equipment and grow capability which I have mentioned. Um, but the other that I'll say, uh these few seconds left is that uh i think we have to we're we're celebrating two hundred and fifty years and we're all now thinking what is this next long game look like the next two hundred and fifty years uh and i am hoping praying everyday uh not only in my short life and and perspective uh that i can pass on my company uh to my family but also that we just continue to focus again on this long game of small businesses and manufacturing Uh, I believe, Chairman, you mentioned the architects, right? Um, well, I'm curious what drawings we're drawing right now for the next two hundred and fifty years of what US manufacturing looks like. Uh, and I do hope that we are again looking at the long game, the decisions that are gonna impact us for these next two hundred and fifty years. Thank you.

So, echoing a lot of my what my fellow witnesses have mentioned, uh, for me is needs to be language access. It's not just symbolic to put something in a foreign language so we can access it. The world is global, our community is global, regardless of what anyone's thinking, and when we don't provide access in simple language, we are missing a swath of the population. That's our workforce, that's the future doctors, the future architects, these are the people that are driving the next two hundred and fifty years. When issues are complex and not easily digestible, we are excluding folks. Along with language access, one of the main things that can be done is technical assistance. especially around new technologies like AI. It's not going anywhere. So do we have access to resources where small businesses can be supported in learning and implementing those tools so that we are able then to function, and continue to be competitive?

I'm out of time. I yield back. Thank you.

General Leite yields back. I now recognize Miss Goodlander from the great state of New Hampshire for five minutes.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, and thank you to our witnesses for being here today and for sharing your American small business stories. It's exactly the right spirit for this week, for this moment, because we've gathered in the two hundred and fiftieth year of the greatest experiment in self-government that the world has ever known. Two hundred and fifty years ago this week, the second continental congress, and congress doesn't get a lot of great reviews these days, but we did do one very good thing two hundred and fifty years ago. And that was in creating a five-person subcommittee to draft a declaration. The effort was led by a thirty-three year old Virginian, Thomas Jefferson. He spent seventeen days in a rented room in Philadelphia, and what he produced, what that congressional subcommittee produced, was probably the best thing Congress has ever produced. And it was probably the most consequential document in the history of human freedom. We hold these truths to be self-evident, straightforward, not bureaucratic. Just a clear statement that every human being is created equal and entitled to rights, to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I had a chance a f- a few weeks ago to spend some time with three extraordinary small businesses in, in my state of New Hampshire. Our Our our motto as a state is live free or die. And we have family farmers who have been operating their farms for two hundred and fifty years. Their ancestors fought in the revolution and they are continuing to fight to keep these small businesses afloat. One of the things I talked about with these these three incredible small businesses, was h how do you how have you stayed in business for two hundred and fifty years? And Really, I think the answer to how small businesses, how America stays forever young is a constant reinvention. And Miss Kohl, you, you, you said it so well, that reinvention is the small business superpower. It is an, it is constantly reinventing to solve problems and to seize opportunities. And you have all done that in your own small businesses. But The through line to me in this hearing has been the absolute urgency in giving you the predictability and the clarity that you need to continue to stay forever young and to fuel fuel our economy. We know that kleptocracy, that arbitrary and capricious decision making, is the enemy of predictability and clarity. Kleptocracy is bad for small business. Lawless and unconstitutional taxation. is bad for small businesses. In fact, they were the sources of the revolution. And so as I've, as I've listened to small businesses across the state of New Hampshire, we come back again and again to the unconstitutional, to the corrupt and extremely costly tariffs that President Trump unilaterally imposed on s- every small business in this country. We challenged those tariffs in court. We were successful. in the Supreme Court, we are pressing for reimbursement for every unconstitutional dollar that was taxed by this president. Mister Freeman, you you spoke about the impact of tariffs on your small business. Have you sought to be reimbursed for these unconstitutional taxes?

Uh, certainly as a small business, um, every bit of cash that we can have, that we can deploy is is critical. Um, so Yes, I mean we we have submitted four refunds of uh tariffs. Um, and

And have you received those refunds?

Um, no, but we just received an update, uh, actually yesterday, um, that we will be receiving a credit and actually coming through one of our vendors, who actually imported, they were the importer record. And, uh, they let us know about a credit that we would be receiving. Um, and We just recently were able to go through the process of getting on the portal and submitting for those that we had purchased uh directly from overseas suppliers.

Look, the the amount of time and effort and cost that has been put on every small business in this country to recoup taxes that never should have been imposed in the first place is outrageous. We are working around the clock to press this administration to issue these reimbursements way more quickly and with way less red tape and hassle, you shouldn't have to have a s- an army of lawyers to be able to get back what is owed to you and never should have been taken from you in the first place. So I thank you all for being here today and with that I yield back, Mister Chairman.

Gentlelady yields back. I now recognaize Mister Petronas and one of the great entrepreneur restaurateurs in Florida from that great state for five minutes.

I got so excited by Adrian being here. I'm I'm telling you, uh, so, uh, thank you, Mister Chairman. This is a, this is a cool slate of folks you invited up. Uh, no offense to anybody else, but I'm gonna nerd out a little bit. Um, my family's been in the same family restaurant business for seventy years. Uh, my uncle and dad started back in fifty eight and, and now my kids are working, there's three generations, but it's, it's tough, it's tough working with family. Um, and yeah, you're you're singing to the choir when you speak to interchange fees, uh, and card swipe fees. Not everybody here understands what that means, but, uh, everybody here in the, has a credit card. Every single one of you use a credit card when you go out to eat. But did you know that at Adrian's restaurant, every time you swipe that card, it costs them anywhere from four to five percent out of his pocket. So you can get your miles. So you can get your rebates, you know. It's it's great when you use that Costco card and you get three percent back, but you probably didn't realize Adrian's the one paying for it. And so, uh, yeah, the the credit card swipe fees is something, and we're in a society now, um, back when I was in the state legislature, I I even advocated for a bill that said businesses had to take cash, because I still feel like there's a uh, an importance to having legal tender that's not, you know, some credit card managed, you know, type of doing business, but it is what it is. We're in a society now where credit cards make up seventy five percent of your business or more, you know. Yeah, but that's, look, it's, but thank God, you know, it's intoxicating. The restaurant business, where else do you get to see somebody celebrate an engagement or an anniversary or a birthday and they can go eat at anybody's restaurant in the whole entire town, but they decide to come to yours, you know. And so, um, it's, uh, it's exciting to, to see. I, I will ask some questions. Um, I'm I'm assuming as long as your business has been around, is is your dad still around?

No, sir, my dad passed away in twenty twenty three.

Yeah, I lost my dad in twenty twenty. Uh, so my dad and uncle were partners. They shared a desk. You know, um, they worked shifts. Uh, my brother's, I was there for thirty years, and then my brother's now still, I'm the baby. Um, we still, they kind of get along from keeping at each other's throats. Um, they still clock in and clock out. If you want a paycheck, you're in the building taking care of the customer. If you're not there taking care of the customer,

Mm-hmm.

then uh no sense being paid. Um, so now, since I'm in Congress, I don't get paid. So Um, so when you worked through that transition,

Mm-hmm.

uh, did you have siblings also in the business with you?

I did not. I did not. I was an only child. Uh, we actually, uh, congressmen share the same, starting year, nineteen fifty I think I heard you say, and after my father started his.

Yeah.

Um, no, I'm an only child, so the barrier wasn't that, uh, that I didn't want it and worked for it to have the opportunity to talk to my father. My father wanted me to take it over. For us being a small business, it was just the access of how do we do this, the legalities,

Yeah.

watching for what tax implications we could trip into, talking to accountants. And, uh, they were all great people and professionals that helped us out through it, but we spent a lot of time and i got to one point where i believe we're six months since hey listen the founder wants to do it he is a buyer it's the it happens to be his son let's figure out these legalities and the and the tax implications and let's get this done we're just drug out money and bills and and further and further so it was uh it was a good situation i do know a lot of family businesses maybe some in this panel that have uh different family members whether it's aunts uncles siblings that uh can be quite contentious And uh, that's unfortunate because that's how some businesses lose.

Sure.

And uh, uh fall apart and families split apart. So

And then those are the struggles we're going through right now. Now I've got um, it was just four boys working for my dad and my uncle had no kids. Um, but now all my nieces are in it. And so my mom went from having four boys to seven granddaughters. So now the the business is overrun with women running it now, which is great. They do a great job.

Hmm.

Um, but it's uh, it's still uh, as much as I would love to um, work with my family every day some days, I would love to, you know, vote them off the island. Uh, cuz of the of the the challenges you run into. We

My kid's right there. I don't want them to vote me off the island.

It's okay. You don't you you don't have stock yet, but maybe if he's if he takes advantage of the tax law, he'll start gifting you the maximum amount every single year early on. So, um. But it's uh, it's just uh an honor to to see still people wanting to be in the restaurant business. You, what you've got, you could not start it today.

Mm-hmm.

And uh, you know, God bless your dad for doing what he did.

Thank you.

I yield, Mr. Chairman.

Gentlemen, it is back, I now recognize Mister Schmidt from the great state of Kansas for five minutes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I appreciate the witnesses being here, it's been a pleasant discussion to listen to with uh folks sort of analytically discussing uh information doesn't always happen around this place. I was in a hearing yesterday in a different committee where I was embarrassingly between two folks shouting at each other and I carefully read my notes, uh while trying to look um impartial, so uh I had just a handful of questions. I was thinking about that famous line that President Reagan used, the nine most terrifying words in the English language or " I'm from the government and I'm here to help". Uh, and thinking about what I, what I would characterize as, as part of the intellectual tension that I've heard discussed here. On the one hand, uh, we need certainty. We need government policy that is predictable. We need to not be whipsawed all the time. I understand that. And on the other hand, sort of the spirit of seventeen seventy-six, there are times when you just have to make bold change, and you're worried a little less about the short-term uncertainty, and a little more about the long-term trends, and, and kind of where you're headed. And, and those have been intention throughout our history. So, a couple of questions along that line. Um, regulatory reform, generally. Uh, I always love the the the sort of top-line back-and-forth debates that uh, that you hear about are regulations good or bad, and and the answer is they're both. Uh, they often have good purpose and many of them we need. Uh, and on the other hand it's possible to have too much of a good thing, and you impose compliance costs that are unnecessary Right? And so it's a balance. I pointed out before that the year I was born in nineteen sixty eight, the Code of Federal Regulations, which of course is the, the compiled list of all of the law made by bureaucrats, made by folks uh with authority, we've delegated to them in Congress, was about fifty thousand pages. Uh, today it's about two hundred thousand pages. It's quadrupled in my lifetime. Uh, and I guess I'd just invite, we'll just go.

You know, the first one that comes to my mind is the Affordable Care Act. As a small business, I was stretching around everywhere trying to find w- how does this work what can i do who what's my resource even call the um one eight hundred number at the time uh whether it be going back to two thousand thirteen fourteen um still get confused by it i've talked to insurance agents that i try to deal with and they're confused by it um recently we retired a brand that was fifty one years old that we didn't mention in my testimony as a result of that i went from a from a large employer if you can believe not three restaurants and uh rural ohio open in the evening so large employer to a small employer just that change alone was about three and a half thousand dollars a month for virtually the same healthcare that we had prior because of status and so that's where i had some ongoing issues with trying to figure out the regulations on that and make sure that i'm staying compliant make sure i'm doing the right paperwork cause i do have our own payroll and things like in house and just make sure we're we're not getting ourselves in trouble So.

Thank you very much, Mr. Freeman.

Uh, thank you for the question and the opportunity to speak to it. I I mentioned um EPA regulatory earlier. Um, the another thing that's a that's a challenge there um and and definitely the EPA, you know, serves its purposes but there are challenges for small businesses too, when you have red tape that you have to work through. Each individual state, many of them, I'd say about thirty-seven to thirty-eight of them, have their own regulatory bodies, but sometimes they're in conflict with one another. Um, and we have to hire consultants, as consultants are very expensive. It would be nice if there were greater coordination between the US EPA and the state bodies, um, to streamline that so we didn't have the conflicting regulations between them. But that would be something that would be, uh, incredibly beneficial to us, to have one guiding uh policy for um repellent uh products.

Thank you very much. Time's up. Amisha Bungle-Moore.

Sure. Uh so in my business federal acquisition requirements is everything, and so uh my issue right now is obviously we're advancing technology uh in the sector, manufacturing sector, but the federal regulations flow-down with cyber security right now are incredibly burdensome. I don't think the flow-down of the supply chain in small businesses was necessarily assessed in terms of how it impacts operations every day. And I think we need to look at how we are flowing down the cyber security requirements with CUI and other issues.

Thank you. Miss Gould, I have two seconds. I, if you wanna speak fast, and then I can go back,

Super fast.

Miss Chairman.

Procurement. Procurement. Simplify and procurement.

Thank you, Miss Chairman. Thank you for with us.

Uh, gentlemen, yeos, gentlemen, yeos back. Now we have uh uh recognized uh Mister Jack from the Grey State of Georgia, and it appears all the little Jacks are here.

I w- I wish that were the case, but Mister uh Mister Chairman, I I am delighted to be joined today uh by my former high school basketball coach, and you as the coach of our you as the coach of our congressional baseball team,

Hey.

I thought he could uh hopefully share some embarrassing stories about me to you, but I um I wanna acknowledge coach Michael Wilder uh Wilder and his uh his wife, Cathy, and their entire family for coming. Thank you, and they're here to celebrate America's two hundred fiftieth birthday as are we all this weekend and To celebrate, last year the President of the United States enacted HR one, the working family's tax cuts, and I would like to start my line of questioning hearing from the small business owners before us as to how helpful HR one was and continues to be to your business. So if we could start with Mister uh Adornetto, I would welcome your comments and feedback.

Forgive me, I'm not well versed on that. Can you explain what those tax cuts What they do.

The one big beautiful bill that, yes.

Thank you. Course I mentioned my open uh testimony, but I'll reiterate the accelerated depreciation, uh where I can buy equipment, uh American made equipment, true out of Saint Louis, Missouri. Um Manitowoc ice machines out of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. They were great help to us in accelerating doing remodels and facelifts to our restaurants.

Wonderful. Thank you, Mister Freeman.

Uh yes sir, um definitely uh when you take pass through organizations, um making those tax cuts permanent, um, uh, so that we're more in line with the C corp type, uh, corporations. That's, that's a big deal for us as well to, um, to make those tax cuts permanent.

And if I could ask you as well, Mister Freeman, what more could Congress be doing to make, uh, life easier and more affordable for small business?

Um, in a little bit different vein, um, access to capital, that, that is the biggest thing and has been the biggest, um, challenge and hurdle for us is having um access to capital sufficient for the growth that uh we have in front of us and the opportunity.

Uh, I should ask, Mister Internetto.

I would actually have to agree. Again, going through uh restaurant remodel, that was one of the hardest challenges, was to access capital and to uh get hands-on money to reinvest in an industry that sometimes banks don't want to open their pocketbooks for.

One of the issues I care deeply about is deregulation. And would welcome thoughts from both of you gentlemen on uh deregulatory efforts, what you would like to see accomplished across that as we have a few more months left in this Congress.

I welcome deregulation. Um, there's some things with uh uh some regulatory things with health care that I would probably be more concerned with, with anything else.

Sure, Mr. Freeman.

Uh from a regulatory perspective, um I under understand regulation, I would say when it goes too far and it's a hindrance to business and the progress of business anything that can be done to uh help reduce the friction for small business would be incredibly helpful.

Miss Shibanka Moore.

I would say any tax policy that promotes growth is obviously critical. So uh the immediate expensing um in regards to capital investments that I'm making, the R and D tax that was done, uh anything that puts cash into my operations where I can then reinvest and, again, be innovative and and be that entrepreneur that we are is critical.

Well, Mister Chairman, I wanna highlight just a few of the the things that I've heard from constituents in my district, specifically what we accomplished one year ago. Uh, this Saturday we prevented the largest tax increase in American history by making President Trump's tax cuts permanent, saving the average American family from a seventeen hundred dollar tax increase. We delivered the largest tax cut in American history for working and middle class Americans, including an estimated fifteen percent tax cut for Americans earning between thirty thousand and eighty thousand dollars annually. We preserved the double standard deduction for more than ninety percent of taxpayers, strengthened the child tax credit, and eliminated taxes on tips, taxes on overtime, so hardworking Americans can keep more of what they earn. Also wanna note specifically in my home state of Georgia, uh, since H R one became law, manufacturers have announced billions of dollars in new investments, not just across the country but also in my state. including new steel mills, pharmaceutical facilities, battery plants, and advanced manufacturing projects. In my home state of Georgia specifically, companies have announced two hundred and twenty-three million dollar rare earth magnet manufacturing facility, and a four hundred million dollar poultry processing plant, which means a lot to our farmers, means a lot to the ag community in Georgia. So for those uh actions and stories that I've heard from my district, I'm very grateful. I uh I wish you all well this weekend, hope you're able to enjoy the festivities, and Mister Chairman, applaud you for hosting uh this committee hearing I hope two hundred and fifty years from now people are looking back to our transcript and uh enjoying the conversation we had as our country celebrates its five hundredth year anniversary two hundred and fifty years from Saturday I yield back

Nice.

Three of us have already committed to be here two hundred and fifty years Gentleman yields back and uh now before we close uh I have another question as does the ranking member have a question uh so Let me say this, each of you is part of a multi-generational business or has got the potential to have one and pass one down to generations. And my business back in Texas, we know I'm second generation, third generation is running it, and fourth generation is coming down on Saturday. Uh, so we're pretty excited about that. But, and I was glad to see the federal income tax exemption, uh, go from fifteen million per person to thirty million per couple, under the working tax cuts. So, what does that? You know, we talk about always we're saving the family

Very grateful for the change. It's greatly impactful. Um, it'll help in our situation. Hopefully, Mister Chairman, I'll be living many more years to come, but I hope that that stays that level or possibly increases another

Mm.

vehicles to help out in passing a family business down to the next generation.

Uh, yes sir, as as a founder of our our companies, um, one thing that would be meaningful for us is, um, the ability to to tweak what has been put into place. Um, for us if you are, uh, a C corp, there is the founder discount, um, which is significant when there's any sort of transaction for the company. Um, but we were established originally as an S corp. Um, so not eligible for that reason. So if it could be expanded, um, to S corps that later became C corps, which we did, that would be very meaningful for, for our particular situation.

Yeah.

I think in my industry, the unpredictability is the only thing that is predictable. Uh, so any decisions that are made that can again provide stability uh is critical for me uh anything that we can do to invest and reinvest not only in my company but regional manufacturing and national manufacturing is just uh something that is i'm incredibly passionate about um and so i wanna make sure that uh when you're making decisions uh that they're based on entrepreneurship and innovation and risk mitigation and how do we create the best manufacturing companies um in this next generation and and more importantly how do we stay relevant with the pace at which technology is moving. Uh, make sure that we're looking at steps that can be made so that, again, we can continue to pass on our companies and keep them private. Right, that's important to me personally. Uh, that my sons are able to maintain private ownership and that it maintains a manufacturing company not a financial company. Uh, I think that's uh something we have to focus on.

'Kay, that's cool.

Yeah, for me it's similar. Um, you know, we haven't been able to explore all the benefits, I mean, to engage my accountant and my lawyer on that and similarly we're an S corp so there's definitely uh opportunity or additional cost for me to figure out how to do this and i'll echo what my witnesses my fellow witnesses have mentioned when major legislation like this is passed and we are looking at small businesses and seeking their input in advance we have to catch up so as long as we're investing the energy to ensure we have the resources to hire to invest over the long haul to think about the

All right, I yield back, uh, to the ranking member.

Uh, and I thank the Chairman for an opportunity to - to - to go a little deeper. Thank you all again, um, for your time. I have a quick observation and then a quick question, I hope. Uh, one is, it seems clear. Access to capital, huge issue. Yes, yes, yes, yes. I've heard it over and over again from - from this panel and I - I couldn't agree more. Which is why I'm concerned about a change that the SBA made back in February of twenty-six, around lending policies that would bar all small businesses with any amount of ownership by non-citizens lawfully in the US from participating in the flagship seven A and five O four CDC lending programs.

Mm.

That change was subsequently extended to the surety bond and microloan programs. And so my concern is as we're talking about access to capital, uh, we are affirmatively taking away access to capital through through some of these changes and so um since i didn't have time before just wanted to add to the record again and ask you now in this consent to put a letter of concern that that members from the committee have shared uh mr. chairman thank you and just would reiterate that

so many

um i hope that we can do something on that issue i think it's a very specific tangible way um that we can make access to capital available for more people and would welcome uh you all in that work um um my question is really around housing um about sort of the cost of housing generally uh miss Shibanko more I know that you spoke specifically about the Long Island Press, if others went away in as well but just sort of talking about you talked briefly about sort of the impact you're seeing for employees as the cost of housing uh for starter homes is now over a million dollars in many places people are turning forty before they can buy their first home and just what you're seeing on on that landscape

Sure and Long Island certainly uh is facing a lot of housing issues Uh, so I will say that I've been working with local legislation on whether there can be an employee employer um effort where we can somehow assist with their down payment. I think that's something that had been done years ago on Long Island. I'd love to see that um in our region and then broadly um as well, 'cause I think they they do need assistance and I think that's uh owning a home is an American dream that everyone should have before they're fifty. So um you know it's something and and when I'm looking at obviously the operations of my company I am concerned about um all the costs that my employees are trying to carry and obviously trying to maintain my workforce. It is hard to attract people to Long Island, it is hard to attract people to New York because of the cost of living. Um so I think we need to be creative in the way that we can somehow work with families and uh government and private businesses to figure out if we can find a solution with all those parties involved.

Yeah, I appreciate that. I saw a lot of head shaking so I'll I'll in the interest of time I'll take that as a agreement. Uh, I I'd love to have this committee continue to engage with you and others about, to the extent it's in our purview, finding those kinds of um, opportunities to do partnerships with business, to make homeownership more real. Um, I I will just note as I conclude very proud of the ways in which this Congress passed an overwhelmingly bipartisan housing package. Probably the only major item of significance um, that I've seen be that kind of bipartisan approach that overwhelmingly addresses cost of living and some of those issues without some of the the back and forth or the concerns that we've had there are some provisions for example in the reconciliation package that they actually supported, like the no tax on tips like the no tax on social security um like the depreciation there are other elements I think are problematic for Americans and for small business, um but this was legislation that was overwhelmingly bipartisan will have the impact of lowering costs, I think it's the model for our way forward. It's why I really appreciate the partnership I've had with the Chairman in passing out some bipartisan legislation from this committee. I echo uh representative Tran's sentiments. We hope to see the Senate uh move on them. Um, it's not a big yawn, as the President said, I think it's important, it's impactful, and I hope that we can keep working with all of you to keep making progress on those legislation and I again uh thank you for the time and I yield back.

Yeah, I mean, you're Back, I got three of my fellow Congressmen here, do you all have about a one minute question real quick, or?

Uh, I think all I wanna plug, Mister uh, Chairman, is a very special opportunity for our guests here. Um, just because uh, the American two fifty display's gonna be in the Rayburn room, especially for the little guys. That's at one thirty to three thirty. We're gonna have James Madison's copy of the Federalist. We're gonna have the second printing of the Declaration of Independence. We're gonna have an original letter from Thomas Jefferson, celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of our country. So, anybody in the room? Good stop. The labor room is right across from the uh the House chamber.

Congressman Schmidt.

Hey, Mr. Chairman, just appreciate the witnesses.

Congressman Jack.

Echo, Mr. Schmidt. Thank you, I give back.

All right, I'd like to thank our witnesses for their testimony and for appearing before us today. It's been a great hearing and uh we always like to say that uh you see a lot of hearings on TV, some go different directions. Uh this committee here, we real- we really do work hard to be bipartisan and it shows what we get out of here and I appreciate all the members. And without objection, members have five legislative days to submit additional materials and written questions from the witnesses to the chair, which will be forwarded to the witnesses. I ask the witnesses to please repr- redo that promptly. If there is no further business without objection, the committee is adjourned. Thank you.

Thank you, Alder.