Andrew Garbarino

I look forward to discussing the ways in which we can address the over 700,000 cyber work force gap that exists today.

We must not accept another child dying in a school bathroom or a loved one on the street or in the home from drug poisoning.

Let's put this in perspective: If a foreign country had infiltrated the United States with terrorist agents, released ricin or anthrax that killed over 100,000 Americans in a single year, what would our response be?

I do agree with you, if you hand it to the existing regulators, it will have a tremendous gravity to end up with the same market structures that we have today.

Wouldn't it be better for Congress to do something novel and actually create a regulatory sandbox?

Dodd-Frank has been an albatross across community banking in these United States.

We pat ourselves on the back. We say these programs work. We have no idea of efficacy.

That is why I was so glad to see Ranking Member Waters recently call on the Treasury, the Fed, the CFTC, and the SEC to get together with Congress and address digital asset regulation.

The shared goal is to protect investors, foster innovation, and ensure that America continues to lead rather than follow in this space.

But let me be very clear. This hearing is not a partisan attack on the Securities and Exchange Commission or the banking regulators.

To all of the members of this committee, no matter what your views are about crypto, it is imperative that we recognize the unique role of Congress to legislate.

It is paramount that the Federal Reserve remain vigilant on reducing inflation, anchoring inflation expectations, and restoring price stability at the Fed's 2-percent target.

In 2021, Suffolk County, where I am from, lost 425 residents to overdoses from opioid pain relievers, including fentanyl.

Fentanyl does not discriminate. No family, no community, no region is safe from the threats presented by trafficking a fentanyl across the border.

Sheriff Lamb, you mentioned in your testimony the number of fentanyl pills seized by your deputies increased by 610 percent since 2020.

No family, no community, no region is safe from the threats presented by trafficking a fentanyl across the border.

So, this is really affecting access to capital and we need to fix it?

Exactly, and I love your saying that they are taking 14 percent of the pot of money here that could be going to other people.

Can you give an example? Like you said we go line by line. Can you give an example of something that the office has had a hand in changing one of these agreements to specifically help small businesses?

What is the Office of International Trade, are they taking any action to support trade negotiations with the U.K. or Kenya and other partners worldwide to get more access, to have more countries where we can have these trade agreements?

What about enforcement? I mean, to get the protection is one thing. But are these small businesses--you know, they can't--they are not the Intels or the Microsofts of the world where they have a legal team after their IP has been stolen.

What is being done to protect their intellectual property? They are concerned.

I want to echo some of the comments that my colleague just made about things I have heard from small businesses in my district is the red tape in being able to become an exporter.

Securing the foundational technology that underpins our Nation's most critical functions is a National imperative.

The American public deserves that. We have to have a system that has integrity and that we trust.