On the recordMay 28, 2020
I thank Chairwoman Velazquez for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about truth. Now, you would think that truth would not be up for debate in this Chamber, yet here we stand literally debating my bill, the TRUTH Act, which simply injects transparency and accountability into the very largest expenditure of taxpayer money in American history. That is it. There is no hidden agenda, just a straightforward requirement for the Small Business Administration to publish information about how Federal relief dollars are flowing and where they are going. And that truth should be important to every American: business owners and patrons, bankers and borrowers, Republicans and Democrats. We cannot accept a situation in which bigger businesses with access to other sources of liquidity are pushing to the front of the line at the expense of those with the greatest need, particularly minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses that are struggling the very most during the pandemic. I won't accept it. I am on a mission to restore Americans' faith in their government. But trust is earned by action, not by words. So I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting the TRUTH Act, in allowing the American people to see where their money is going and in ensuring that businesses that need relief the most are getting it. They say that sunlight is the best disinfectant, and we could surely use more of it here.
