the legislation has passed. It passed the House. It passed the Senate. The President signed it into law.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And I know you will do everything in your power to live up to the high standards set by Chairwoman Velazquez.

Today I rise to address an issue that impacts all our congressional districts and communities: the opioid crisis. For years now, it seems that the only news about it has been bad news: 70,000 overdose deaths in 2017, widespread importation…

I applaud this committee and I applaud the Trump Administration in their strong stance in recognizing Guaido rather than Maduro, who is a complete fraud and ought to be removed from office as quickly as possible.

I want to congratulate you and Madam Chairwoman for the introduction of 1648 and 1649, two bills that are bipartisan in this environment is remarkable.

This legislation should really help. And it is H.R. 1648 and H.R. 1649 as you mentioned, and Ms. Velazquez and I introduced it together.

Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and good morning to all those that are here today.

I want to thank the witnesses especially for taking the time out of their busy work day to be here with us.

Passage of this bill would cement firmly in place the policy that the United States will not recognize Putin's bogus claims over Crimea.

It is vitally important that we support a democratic and unified Ukraine by not giving in to Putin's thuggish behavior.

I want to thank Mr. Connolly for his hard work on this important legislation.

I think I am the last questioner if I am not mistaken here, so I am the only one that is standing between the folks in this room and lunch.

And just to clarify that, we are not talking about taking away Ms. Velazquez's New York project.

With respect to local, especially the Brent Spence Bridge, do you have any thoughts on that area where that might come into play on those two particular projects, either one or both?

I am happy to invest in a gas tax that goes to roads and bridges.

Under Administrator Linda McMahon's leadership, the SBA has made progress in delivering its services and ensuring that it is offering the services that small businesses need.

According to the latest economic numbers, the U.S. economy is continuing to improve and economic forecasts are strong.

I want to thank the Chair and her staff for working in a bipartisan manner on the Budget Views and Estimates.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that a former member of the House, a former United States senator is now our new governor in Ohio, and that is Mike DeWine.

Thank you very much. And just to conclude, one thing I wanted to mention, I am sure you are aware of this, we--and when I say 'we' again, not just myself, other members here on both sides of the aisle--have been successful in getting…

The Small Business Administration (SBA) and its programs are key to helping small firms expand, create jobs, and grow our economy.

I often say that every small business starts as an idea. America is a Nation of creators, inventors, and risk-takers.

I would like to thank Congressman Chabot especially for all he has done over the years to put the needs of the Brent Spence Bridge front and center in front of Congress.

I know that we have heard from small businesses from all across the country in this very room about the importance of repairing our nation's infrastructure.

I know we have heard testimony that there is a pretty high percentage of small businesses that literally go out of businesses after a hack.