I have to correct the record. I am not on the record doing that.

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 had somebody in my office. This was some years back. They were from, I believe, the American Trucking Institute, and they were talking about how we had a lot of our young men and women were coming back from Afghanistan, Iraq, et cetera…

Given the vital nature of small businesses providing resources that help entrepreneurs and small business owners succeed must be a priority.

Time and again, this Committee has lauded the importance of small businesses to the American economy.

I don't favor separating children from their families and I don't think most of the people in this room do.

I think John Arensmeyer was right that health care is a huge issue for small business.

We call small businesses the lifeblood of our national economy because they are the essence of American strength and vitality.

There are more than 30 million small businesses all across this country. We call them the backbone of our national economy.

Dodd-Frank introduced tons and tons of regulators into the system to ensure that there was no discrimination.

The nonpermanence of those tax cuts were a result of the Senate rules, not because of anything the House did or wanted to do.

Small businesses make up 99-99/100 percent of all firms. They employ nearly half of private sector employees.

We were very much for making sure that preexisting condition coverage was there as well.

There are other important matters within the purview of the Justice Department and within the oversight responsibilities of this committee besides fishing expeditions, trying to get the goods on this President in an apparent effort to…

Yesterday, this committee in a bipartisan manner passed the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2019.

While government shutdowns often prompt people and politicians alike to assign blame, I hope that today we can put those differences aside.

Now that the Federal Government has reopened, many small businesses are wondering what is next.

The partial government shutdown left many small businesses in a state of uncertainty, and it is important that we address how quickly we can bring the small business economy back up to speed.

I think all the witnesses have indicated why we want to avoid another shutdown occurring in the very near future because these things impact the economy.

We have worked together in a very bipartisan manner at nearly every step of the way and I want to thank her for continuing this tradition.

Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. And as we begin I want to mention, as you did, that Chairwoman Velazquez and I have served on this Committee for over 20 years together.

This package provides continued protection for the rights of the minority, now that we are in the minority.

The first, the minority will continue to have control of fully a third of the Committee's budget.

I want to thank you and your staff for working so collaboratively on the Committee rules package.

These provisions are not just anti-democratic. They are patently, patently unconstitutional.