On the recordNovember 9, 2023
The gentleman indicates that he came from the private sector. I am sure he was very successful in the private sector, as he has been in public life. In the private sector, one of the things that we admire is the ability to innovate, adjust, and to make changes when those are demanded by the marketplace. This amendment undermines the ability of the Small Business Administration to do exactly that: to innovate and reach more small businesses by taking away the agency's pilot loan authority. The gentleman is the chairman of the committee and knows better than I, but pilot loan authority is the flexibility to assess the market, assess the need, and take action. If they don't have that authority, then, as some have argued in numerous amendments here, the Congress ought to take that responsibility. Congress has not taken responsibility very well, Mr. Chairman. We are not doing things we ought to do. If the private sector or the SBA were as inefficient and ineffective as the Congress of the United States, we would shut it down, but of course we can't shut down the Congress. We can just lament the fact that we can't do our work, that we don't respond in a timely fashion. I am particularly concerned about Ukraine, under assault by a despotic power. They need resources from the United States. By the way, I read a report today that the United States is not the biggest contributor to Ukraine. We are certainly the major partner.…





