Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I rise tonight to offer this amendment on behalf of my colleague and good friend, Congressman John Delaney of Maryland. Unfortunately, Mr. Delaney couldn't be with us this evening. His father passed away a few days ago, and he is at the funeral in north Jersey tonight. He did ask me to make sure that this amendment was given consideration as a part of this legislation. {time} 1900 Mr. Chairman, the Delaney amendment is a simple reform to the Small Business Administration's HUBZone program to give affected communities additional time to respond to the potential loss of their HUBZone status. The Committee on Small Business has expressed a desire to reform the program more broadly, but there are more than 2,000 HUBZones that are affected by this right now, so we can't wait to see if such a provision is enacted as part of those reforms. Our communities and the economies in those areas need help now. The SBA's HUBZone program was created in 1997. It was designed to encourage economic growth in historically underutilized areas, areas that have often struggled with poverty and a lack of opportunity. Small businesses in SBA HUBZones receive contracting assistance and a pricing preference for Federal contracts. For the last two decades, this program has enjoyed bipartisan support. It benefits communities in both rural and urban areas.…”