Inaction is not an option as small business place Help Wanted signs on their doors and innovation is stifled due to a lack of workers.

However, I am confident that we can work together to empower small businesses with resources to address the skills gap.

I am pleasantly delighted to hear that your father served in the Korean War.

Right. We are working hard to pass that bill, H.R. 1490, so thank you. I hope to see this stand into law quickly.

Over the last 5 years, one of the local CDCs serving my district, the California 39th District, is CDC Small Business Finance. And this has provided over 24 small businesses with financing over $34 million and supporting 667 jobs.

The SBIR and STTR programs are critical tools for small businesses to research, develop, and commercialize innovative technologies.

I am concerned that the effectiveness of the programs vary by agency and some agencies are more successful in others in responding to requests in a timely manner.

The reality is that most small businesses in my district are not raising the antitrust laws being discussed here.

So clearly, regulations are choking capital and credit access for entrepreneurs with less banks being chartered.

I think we can all agree that we all want fair competition and a level playing field for our small businesses which are the backbone of our economy.

Congress stands united in continuing to condemn the violent coup in Myanmar last year.