Joni Ernst: “as ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I have had the firsthand opportunity…”

“as ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I have had the firsthand opportunity to see the impact that small businesses have on local communities and the work of dedicated public servants to ensure that they remain the backbone of the economy. Today, I would like to recognize Mr. William Shear, a public servant who has dedicated over 20 years to America's small businesses and wish him a happy retirement. Mr. Shear serves as the Director of Financial Markets and Community Investment at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO. In this role, he has distinguished himself as an expert on the Small Business Administration's disaster assistance lending, government contracting, and small business credit programs. In his time at GAO, he served as Acting Director for Physical Infrastructure and was Assistant Director of Financial Markets and Community Investment. Mr. Shear is a graduate of the University of Chicago with both a master's degree in public policy and a Ph.D. in economics. In addition to his time at GAO, he is a former lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught city and regional planning. Mr. Shear is no stranger to the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. As the Director of Financial Markets and Community Investment, he has testified numerous times before the committee as a champion of saving the American taxpayer their hard- earned dollars.…”