Political Quotes

“I rise, as I say, in opposition to this amendment. The proposed amendment offered by my colleague from Washington would increase funds appropriated for the Small Business Administration's entrepreneurial development programs by $3.8 million for the purpose of restoring funding to the SBA's ScaleUp initiative, which the SBA itself discontinued in fiscal year 2017. The ScaleUp initiative was never congressionally authorized, and, as such, has never been subject to congressional oversight. As the chairman of the Committee on Small Business, I am a staunch supporter of the SBA's efforts to increase access to training and counseling to our developing small businesses and to the next generation of entrepreneurs. It is also my responsibility to ensure that these programs are run efficiently and in the best interest of the American taxpayer. They are actually the ones footing the bill for every one of these programs. That is why, even though it can sometimes be tough, we have to balance these programs with limited budgets and always being aware that we have now a $20 trillion debt hanging over our heads. As the ScaleUp initiative has never been subject to a congressional hearing nor congressional review, I believe it would be irresponsible to authorize taxpayer dollars to fund this program and must respectfully oppose this amendment. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to do the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.”