    [House Hearing, 108 Congress]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                       S. Hrg. 102-000 deg.

         National Small Business Week: Small Business Success Stories

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   before the

                          COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                          ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                       WASHINGTON, DC, SEPTEMBER 17, 2003

                                   __________

                               Serial No. 108-37

                                   __________

             Printed for the use of the Committee on Small Business

     Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/
                                     house

                                     ______

    92-801              U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
                                WASHINGTON : 2003
    ____________________________________________________________________________
    For Sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
    Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov  Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; (202) 512�091800
    Fax: (202) 512�092250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402�090001

                          COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS

                     DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois, Chairman

    ROSCOE BARTLETT, Maryland, Vice      NYDIA VELAZQUEZ, New York
    Chairman                             JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD,
    SUE KELLY, New York                    California
    STEVE CHABOT, Ohio                   TOM UDALL, New Mexico
    PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania      FRANK BALLANCE, North Carolina
    JIM DeMINT, South Carolina           DONNA CHRISTENSEN, Virgin Islands
    SAM GRAVES, Missouri                 DANNY DAVIS, Illinois
    EDWARD SCHROCK, Virginia             CHARLES GONZALEZ, Texas
    TODD AKIN, Missouri                  GRACE NAPOLITANO, California
    SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia  ANIBAL ACEVEDO-VILA, Puerto Rico
    BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania           ED CASE, Hawaii
    MARILYN MUSGRAVE, Colorado           MADELEINE BORDALLO, Guam
    TRENT FRANKS, Arizona                DENISE MAJETTE, Georgia
    JIM GERLACH, Pennsylvania            JIM MARSHALL, Georgia
    JEB BRADLEY, New Hampshire           MICHAEL MICHAUD, Maine
    BOB BEAUPREZ, Colorado               LINDA SANCHEZ, California
    CHRIS CHOCOLA, Indiana               ENI FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa
    STEVE KING, Iowa                     BRAD MILLER, North Carolina
    THADDEUS McCOTTER, Michigan

             J. Matthew Szymanski, Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel

                         Phil Eskeland, Policy Director

                      Michael Day, Minority Staff Director

                                      (ii)
    ?

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------

                                   Witnesses

                                                                       Page
    Thompson, Maria, T/J Technologies, Inc...........................     3
    Kalick, Erica, Erica's Rugelach and Baking Company...............     5
    Doan, Lurita, New Technology Management, Inc.....................     8
    Nenna, David, Tule River Tribe...................................    10
    Evans, Randall D., AccounTeks Business Services..................    13
    Glazier, Jordan, eBay, Inc.......................................    15
    Collins, John, Fortel, Inc.......................................    16
    Walsh, Brendan, FedBid.com.......................................    17

                                    Appendix

    Opening statements:
        Manzullo, Hon. Donald A......................................    28
        Acevedo-Vila, Hon. Anibal....................................    32
    Prepared statements:
        Thompson, Maria..............................................    34
        Kalick, Erica................................................    40
        Doan, Lurita.................................................    45
        Nenna, David.................................................    53
        Evans, Randall D.............................................    56
        Glazier, Jordan..............................................    62
        Collins, John................................................    66
        Walsh, Brendan...............................................    69

                                     (iii)

    HEARING ON NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK: SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS STORIES

                                  ----------

                         WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2003

                              House of Representatives,
                                   Committee on Small Business,
                                                       Washington, D.C.
        The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 1:05 p.m. in Room
    2360, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Donald A. Manzullo
    [Chairman of the Committee] presiding.
        Present: Representatives Velazquez, Schrock, Franks, King,
    McCotter, Ballance, Christensen, Majette
        Chairman Manzullo. Good afternoon. We gather today to
    celebrate National Small Business Week and the 50th anniversary
    of the SBA. We are also here to recognize several businesses
    that embody the spirit of entrepreneurship. Some are successful
    small businesses, and some are businesses that help create
    opportunities for other small businesses.
        Each year for the past 40 years, the president has issued a
    proclamation calling for the celebration of Small Business
    Week. This year, the National Small Business Week is being held
    from September 14 through the 20th, and in this year's
    proclamation the president said, ``The success of small
    business in America reflects the innovation, determination, and
    hard work of the American people. During Small Business Week,
    we celebrate the entrepreneurs and business people who create
    goods, services, and jobs that bring opportunity and economic
    prosperity to communities throughout our country.''
        Here on the House Committee on Small Business, we know that
    small businesses have been the catalyst for economic growth.
    From 1990 to 1995, one of our nation's most impressive economic
    growth cycles, small businesses created three-fourths of the
    new jobs. Unfortunately, burdensome regulations, complex tax
    code, and the high cost of health care are stifling small
    businesses. Small businesses face a compliance burden for
    regulations that is 60 percent per employee than large
    businesses.
        I look forward to listening to your testimony. In about 25
    minutes, Hector Barreto, the SBA administrator, will be joining
    us and sitting right here, which is very unusual, but I am
    chairman, and those are the rules we set down, because he loves
    to hear the small business success stories, and he will be part
    of this hearing shortly. And I look forward to the opening
    remarks of our distinguished Ranking Minority Member and
    herself involved in small business, Ms. Velazquez.
        [Mr. Manzullo's statement may be found in the appendix.]
        Ms. Velazquez. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
        As we celebrate National Small Business Week, we are
    reminded how this nation's small firms and entrepreneurs are
    truly the drivers of the American economy. Today, our country's
    approximately 23 million small businesses create three out of
    every four new jobs, represent 99 percent of all employers, and
    provide almost 70 percent of workers with their first jobs and
    initial on-the-job training.
        There is no question of the important role small businesses
    play in keeping the U.S. economy strong. Owning a business is
    an integral part of the American Dream. This ideal brings
    hundreds of thousands of immigrants to our shores each year.
    Today, minorities, along with women, are opening small
    businesses in record numbers. In fact, Latinas are the new
    small business trailblazers. Between 1997 and 2002, the number
    of Latina-owned firms increased by almost 40 percent, and their
    sales grew by almost 10 percent.
        Our country was built on small businesses, and this legacy
    continues today. In order for small business owners to continue
    this legacy, they need to have the capability to expand and
    create new jobs, but it is important to understand the reality
    they currently face. We cannot dismiss the fact that it is
    difficult to be an entrepreneur with our nation in the midst of
    an economic slump. Today's environment does not make things
    easy for small businesses.
        This morning, the Small Business Committee Democrats
    released a first-ever, small business index. This report tracks
    the economic conditions facing small businesses. Unfortunately,
    after reaching a five-year high in 2000, the 2003 second
    quarter report represents a five-year low, meaning that
    conditions for small business creation and growth are more
    challenging than ever.
        Since small businesses have the power to turn our economy
    around, we need to start addressing their issues. It would be
    unfair to say that the White House has done nothing to help
    small business. They released a Small Business Agenda in March
    of 2002, but that is about the extent of it. There has been no
    progress to date on getting any of the agenda items
    accomplished.
        Small business owners need action, not empty promises. They
    need access to quality, affordable, health care, since they
    make up the majority of the uninsured. They need targeted,
    permanent tax relief and assistance in navigating the federal
    regulatory process. They need an easier way into the $235
    billion federal marketplace and avenues to access capital other
    than credit cards.
        But this administration has done nothing to help small
    businesses on these critical issues. It has failed to give them
    the tax relief they need. In the 2003 tax cut, just 3 percent
    of the $350 billion went to targeted, small business relief,
    and these provisions are set to expire in 2004 and 2005.
        On the health care regulatory and federal contracting
    fronts, small businesses have been pushed to the sidelines.
    After all they have done for this nation, don't we owe them
    some fairness and some action on their agenda?
        As we observe National Small Business Week and recognize
    some of our country's most successful entrepreneurs, we will be
    reminded of what they mean to the strength and vitality of the
    American economy. But the message this week should be if we are
    going to get this economy back on track, that small businesses
    should be the number-one priority. Without our small firms and
    entrepreneurs, the U.S. wouldn't be the superpower that it is
    today. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Manzullo. Thank you very much.
        The rules are we push the button, and when you see the
    green light you are fine; yellow light, you have got one
    minute; a red light. Okay? We anticipate a series of votes at 2
    o'clock, so I want to end this up by then.
        Our first witness will be Maria Thompson, who will be
    introduced by her member of Congress, Representative Thaddeus
    McCotter; and then the next witness will be Erica Kalick, who
    will be presented by her member of Congress, Ms. Velazquez. Mr.
    McCotter?
        Mr. McCotter. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is my honor to
    introduce Maria Thompson, president and CEO of T/J
    Technologies. We talked in my office prior to this. I won't
    bore you with the details, but I asked her to do two things for
    small business, survive and thrive, and she is doing both, and
    it will be a pleasure to hear her say it.
        Now, Maria's business is located in Ann Arbor, and she is a
    resident of the 11th Congressional District. So the way you can
    look at that is that her business is represented by the
    illustrious dean of the United States House of Representatives,
    John Dingell, and the other part is me.
        So, on my part, I would like to thank you for being here,
    and I look forward to your testimony.
        Chairman Manzullo. Okay.

          STATEMENT OF MARIA THOMPSON, PRESIDENT AND CEO, T/J
                TECHNOLOGIES, INC., ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN

        Ms. Thompson. Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee,
    honored guests, ladies and gentlemen, I want to first thank you
    on behalf of my colleagues at T/J Technologies for this
    opportunity.
        When my husband, Professor Levi Thompson, Dr. Mike Wixom,
    and I started T/J Technologies 12 years ago, we never dreamed
    that our success would lead to speaking before such an esteemed
    audience.
        We have all heard that U.S. small businesses are the growth
    engine of the U.S. economy. Small technology businesses
    contribute to our economic security by ensuring that
    manufacturers have access to unique technologies that create
    new products and markets. The SBA reports that small firms
    produce two and a half times as many innovations per employee
    as large firms but at half the cost.
        Unfortunately, small companies have the greatest difficulty
    gaining access to capital to create these innovations. Contrary
    to popular belief, debt and venture capital do not fund
    research. Furthermore, in recent years, large firms have had
    difficulty funding their own R&D, let alone someone else's. We
    have witnessed these cuts firsthand, and some of the research
    groups with whom we used to interact no longer exist. Simply
    stated, without federal support, much of this research would
    move offshore where the investment climate is more patient, and
    technical labor is available at a fraction of the cost.
        Within this context, federal R&D programs offer a critical
    means for innovative small businesses to overcome the capital-
    access barrier. We have benefited from the Advanced Technology
    Program, for example, which sponsors high-risk, high-payoff
    research with multimillion-dollar grants that cannot be
    obtained elsewhere. It is because we have effectively coupled
    our entrepreneurial spirit with third-party investment, funding
    from the SBIR, STTR, and ATP programs that we are here today.
        Since 1991, T/J has developed and demonstrated proprietary
    nanomaterials for lithium-ion battery, fuel cell,
    ultracapacitor, and environmental applications. To put it
    simply, we make the materials that make these devices better
    and less expensive.
        Some of our government customers include NIST, NSF, DOE,
    NASA, DoD, and EPA.
        Many of you regularly use portable electronics and may not
    be aware that the energy source is the bottleneck preventing
    the introduction of more features and applications. New
    materials are needed to keep pace with aggressive user demands
    and to make alternative technologies like fuel cells practical
    for commercialization.
        Let me share with you some specific examples of why I think
    T/J Technologies was chosen as a success story for the SBA. We
    are developing battery electrodes that will enable lithium-ion
    batteries to become more than 20 percent smaller or last 20
    percent longer for portable electronics. For high-rate
    applications, such as hybrid electric vehicles, we are
    developing a safe battery cathode with twice as much power at
    50 to 60 percent of the cost.
        The recent success of our SBIR from the Air Force and the
    Missile Defense Agency has generated interest in a development
    program with the Air Force to develop a lightweight, low-
    temperature, affordable, lithium-ion battery for Global Hawk.
    Our materials could enable the switch to batteries that weigh
    50 percent less than currently used technology.
        The ATP is also funding our development of a direct-
    methanol, micro-fuel cell combined with an ultracapacitor that
    are expected to achieve energy densities over five times that
    of batteries. To put this in perspective, future fuel cell-
    powered laptop computers could run for more than 20 hours
    instead of the four to five hours provided by current battery
    technology.
        Other programs from NSF, DOE, and the Army have helped us
    to develop low-cost, fuel cell electrocatalysts and high-
    temperature fuel cell membranes. This research is important
    because fuel cell costs must be reduced by more than an order
    of magnitude before they become commercially successful.
        We have leveraged our ATP and SBIR resources by
    subcontracting with other small companies from across the
    nation. SBA programs have also enabled us to partner with some
    of the country's finest universities, including the University
    of Michigan, to accelerate technology transfer.
        Our technical and management expertise has been locally,
    regionally, and nationally recognized, with over 10 major
    awards. We were recently declared the ``Future of Energy'' by
    the Great Lakes IT Report, and we are also proud to be
    designated a Green Gazelle by the Washington, D.C.-based Center
    for Small Business and the Environment. More importantly, large
    global companies have recognized our technical expertise, and
    we are negotiating joint development, materials testing, and
    other technology-transfer agreements.
        Before I close, I would like to invite you all to visit our
    facilities in Ann Arbor. First, I would like to take a moment
    to request your assistance. I request your continued strong
    support of the ATP program and the SBIR Policy Directive.
    Second, the Small Business Association of Michigan requested
    that the SBA host a national SBIR conference in Michigan in the
    near future. This would give SBIR program stakeholders an
    opportunity to see the great things that Michigan small
    companies and organizations, such as the Small Business
    Association of Michigan, the Michigan Economic Development
    Corporation, and Michigan's Next Energy, are doing to help our
    nation maintain technology leadership.
        [Ms. Thompson's statement may be found in the appendix.]
        Chairman Manzullo. I hate to tell you, but you are out of
    energy there.
        Ms. Thompson. Thank you.
        Chairman Manzullo. Thank you very much. How many employees
    do you have?
        Ms. Thompson. We have 22----
        Chairman Manzullo. Goodness.
        Ms. Thompson [continuing]. With Ph.D.s in material science
    and technical engineering.
        Chairman Manzullo. Wow. That is impressive.
        Ms. Velazquez, would you like to introduce your
    constituent?
        Ms. Velazquez. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Today, I would like
    to introduce Erica Kalick, president of Erica's Rugelach and
    Baking Company. Erica's small bake shop is in my district in
    New York City. Her baking business has become an extraordinary
    success. She was just chosen as one of the small business award
    winners by Crain's New York Business. Erica's business has
    significantly grown since its humble beginnings in 1989.
        Today, her baked goods are sold through gourmet outlets,
    such as Zabar's, Dean & DeLuca's, and the Pepperidge Farm
    holiday catalog. Her firm now employs 10 bakers in a 2,500-
    square-foot factory in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and its sales are
    nearing the $1 million mark. Erica has an amazing tale to tell
    and an extremely successful baking business to show for it.
        I would like to thank her for being here today to share her
    testimony. Thank you and welcome.

      STATEMENT OF ERICA KALICK, PRESIDENT, ERICA'S RUGELACH AND
                   BAKING COMPANY, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

        Ms. Kalick. Thank you. I am honored to have this rare
    opportunity this afternoon to be heard by the House Small
    Business Committee. I would like to thank the chairman and
    members of the Committee and especially to extend my deepest
    gratitude to Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez for the unceasing
    care and integrity she has showered upon small businesses,
    regardless of size. She came to my wholesale bakery, met my
    workers, and really listened with undivided attention and
    compassion to the myriad of concerns that Erica's Rugelach is
    dealing with. Actually, my issues are every small business
    owner's issues.
        The approximately 23 million small businesses in the U.S.
    represent and estimated 99 percent of all employers, make up
    half of our GDP, and create three out of four new jobs. We are
    tenderly interconnected, interdependent, and have the untapped
    potential to reach out and help each other. Government must be
    a part of this partnership, yet, in March, the House Small
    Business Committee released a report that showed cuts to or the
    elimination of 25 small business programs in Bush's fiscal year
    2004 budget. We must work together, and federal government must
    walk their talk. At this late hour, with unemployment at new
    highs and a limping economy, we have no alternative but to
    listen to one another and then act with skill and wisdom. This
    is the spirit in which I would like to couch my testimony.
        As you are well aware, there are a daunting number of very
    complex, serious issues that small business owners are
    confronting and struggling with on a daily basis: difficult
    access to capital----.
        Chairman Manzullo. Erica, if I could interrupt you, could
    you tell us your story? I don't want time to run out.
        Ms. Kalick. Cut to the chase?
        Chairman Manzullo. Yes.
        Ms. Kalick. Okay.
        Chairman Manzullo. The other stuff is great stuff, but tell
    us----
        Ms. Kalick. Okay.
        Chairman Manzullo [continuing]. Who you are and how you got
    started. That is why we are here.
        Ms. Kalick. Erica's Rugelach and Baking Company----
        Chairman Manzullo. There you are.
        Ms. Kalick [continuing]. Is a small, Brooklyn-based,
    wholesale manufacturer of gourmet rugelach and specialty
    cookies. I began recipe testing in 1989, and today I employ 10
    people, mostly hard-working women from Puerto Rico, Central and
    South America who speak English as a second language, and we
    have received a business award.
        Obviously, I cannot produce my product without the loyalty
    and hard work of my staff. My product is of premium quality and
    can be found in the top specialty stores in New York City and
    around the country. I cannot cut corners with my product and
    still maintain my market niche. These cookies are expensive to
    produce, partly because of the nature of the complexity of this
    type of cookie, but also for the laundry list or reasons that I
    was just about to outline.
        I must be able to produce with the greatest profit margin
    so I can create better jobs and continue to do the community-
    outreach work I have done since the inception of Erica's
    Rugelach. We support Safe Horizons' Brooklyn Child Advocacy
    Center, City Harvest, the Race for the Cure, literacy projects,
    the American Red Cross and have participated in fundraising
    events concerned with women's health issues.
        Again, along that list: difficult access to capital;
    untenable, seemingly unfixable, industrial real estate-rezoning
    problems; rental-versus-ownership problems; uncappable
    insurance and disability costs; unaffordable health care for
    workers; unjust and capricious fines and penalties levied by
    federal, state, and city regulatory agencies; sky-high energy
    costs with no end in sight--FERC is simply not doing its job;
    labor and immigration problems; unaffordable housing for
    workers in the inner cities; difficulties in producing products
    and services with a healthy profit margin.
        I built my business and pioneered in an area in Brooklyn
    that was once affordable. Today, this is not the case. I need
    to move to an industrial, food-manufacturing area that will
    support my enterprise over the long haul. The federal
    government must support organizations, such as NYIRN, ITAC,
    local business-development centers, the chamber of commerce, so
    that small business owners can make use of the programs and
    incentives they are plugged into.
        You know, the irony of these programs is that, in a New
    York Times article, most small manufacturers will not use these
    services. They are too busy running their businesses and may
    fear that if they contact the government, officials will
    interfere with their business or workers. The federal
    government must provide funding that would help small business
    owners to access and navigate these problems without the red
    tape. I urge you to read this editorial because, in many
    salient points, it sums up the conundrum that the small
    business owners are facing.
        There is a report from NYIRN and the Brooklyn Chamber of
    Commerce that I urge you to read, and I would just say that the
    Internal Revenue Code should be revised to permit IDBs to be
    used for the development of rental, industrial buildings, since
    most small business owners rent, and the program for that was
    cut.
        Just to sum up, we cannot become a virtual city where we
    eat holographic food, nor can America become a ghost town of
    tumbleweed, littered factories with armies of depressed but
    capable citizens with no jobs and nowhere to go each morning.
        Thank you for your careful consideration of these most
    serious issues. We, as business owners, rely and depend upon
    just and fair public policy that supports us all.
        [Ms. Kalick's statement may be found in the appendix.]
        Chairman Manzullo. You sound also like an author there. Did
    you happen to bring any cookies with you?
        Ms. Kalick. Well, virtual cookies.
        Chairman Manzullo. Virtual cookies. All right.
        Ms. Kalick. A picture is worth a thousand words.
        Chairman Manzullo. Okay, okay. Well, thank you for your
    testimony, and for the rest of the witnesses, tell us your
    story first, and then if you have any time left, then you can
    fill in the other things, but we really want to hear how you
    got started, your backgrounds. That is extremely important.
    Thank you, Erica, for switching gears so quickly and getting
    into your story. I appreciate that.
        The next witness is Lurita Doan, who is president and CEO
    of New Technology Management. She is the 2003 Office Depot
    Entrepreneurial Visionary Award winner from the SBA awards
    program, and we look forward to your testimony.
        Ms. Doan. Thank you.
        Chairman Manzullo. Remember, the complete written testimony
    will be made part of the record. Okay? So everything you gave
    us will be a permanent part of the record. Please.

      STATEMENT OF LURITA DOAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NEW TECHNOLOGY
                      MANAGEMENT, RESTON, VIRGINIA

        Ms. Doan. NTMI provides turnkey solutions, including
    design, installation, and maintenance of all the secure
    surveillance technology that is currently being deployed at
    approximately 85 percent of all of the land border points of
    entry at the U.S.-Canadian and U.S.-Mexican borders, and we
    work for the Department of Homeland Security.
        I wasn't going to go into a lot of detail, but I think my
    story is the story of every person who has ever begun a
    business. I have had long hours, endless uncertainty, worry
    about budgeting and funding, inflexible banking arrangements,
    struggling to meet my payroll, fear of failure, and yet
    alongside of all of this is this knowledge, this thrill, of
    knowing I am my own boss, and I am in charge of my destiny, and
    I am able to change my life and life of all of my employees.
        We began work on border security about six years ago, well
    before 9/11 and well before the budgets on homeland security
    became the new gusher of government spending. Just before 9/11,
    there was a realization within Customs that the ``smart
    border'' which we had developed in Arizona should be deployed
    across the United States, and after the terrorists struck on 9/
    11, NTMI began an accelerated deployment of the surveillance
    technology that we had prototyped on the northern and southern
    borders of the United States.
        Some of the projects that we have worked on over the past
    few years are secure wireless systems; enforcement operations;
    command and control systems, otherwise known as CAOS; video
    surveillance technologies; and the FIPS 140 encrypted wireless
    solutions. It was our technology that was used at a critical
    juncture last September 9, 2002, when President Bush met Prime
    Minister Chretien of Canada while he was in Detroit, and during
    the tour portion of his trip, the president saw the technology
    that we use and that we deploy at work on the Ambassador
    Bridge, and he praised the progress that had been made on the
    U.S.-Canada Smart Border Declaration and Action Plan. And I can
    tell you, there was no one prouder to be an American that day
    than those NTMI employees who had given up their Labor Day
    weekend to ensure that the technology functioned flawlessly.
        Ports of entry are located on the land borders with Mexico
    and Canada, and they require an automated operation system that
    maximizes security and reduces predictability, and our product,
    the Customs Automated Operating System, CAOS, was first tested
    in Arizona in 1999, and based on that success, CBP requested
    that NTMI deploy the systems to all of the land border ports in
    the U.S. We were a small, minority HUBZone business when I
    started. I started with $25 and a trip down to Kinko's, and we
    have become a leader in advanced border technology, and we have
    done this and achieved this position because we have had strong
    leadership, I like to think, within the company and with my
    managers but also with our government customers.
        I am mainly concerned because I see some dangerous ground
    ahead. Our contracts started very small, but as they grow
    larger through our innovation and our efforts, these contracts
    become very attractive to big businesses. And as our contracts
    grow bigger, the big businesses are willing to go to very
    unusual lengths to try to play the influence game, and a weak
    government customer who doesn't withstand this onslaught might
    begin to doubt the small businesses who have been working for
    him well and excellently over the past years. I am concerned
    that if the government starts playing favorites among the big
    business, and as they have all of these trends toward bundling
    and the omnibus contracts, that the pivotal role that small
    businesses play is going to be eroded.
        One thing that I see is that the president does have----.
        Chairman Manzullo. Excuse me a second. Hector, why don't
    you come on up here?
        We will give you more time. Don't worry about that.
        Ms. Doan. Thanks.
        Chairman Manzullo. Go ahead. This is where we merge two
    branches of government. You see it right here.
        Administrator Barreto, how are you?
        Mr. Barretto. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.
        Chairman Manzullo. Good to see you. We are just thrilled
    that you are joining us today.
        Mr. Barretto. It is an honor to be here. Thank you very
    much for the invitation.
        Chairman Manzullo. Go ahead. We will tack more time onto
    your clock.
        Ms. Doan. You will? I will try to talk quicker, though.
        Chairman Manzullo. That is okay. Just ignore the red light,
    and I will tap when we get there. Okay?
        Ms. Doan. Okay. Thanks.
        So I was talking about these omnibus contracts, and I am
    concerned that with the large businesses that our country is
    going to run the risk that the solutions will then be dictated
    to the small businesses who are subcontractors by these less-
    flexible, less-innovative, big businesses.
        I think that one of these bright spots is that the
    president has shown a commitment to small business, and, in
    fact, our main customer, the Department of Homeland Security,
    appreciates our flexibility and innovation, and they actually
    let us know as recently as last Wednesday, Don't worry. Keep on
    going. We intend to renew your contracts for this upcoming
    year. No problem.
        But what I look at as the key determinants in the success
    of small businesses is that leadership, governmental and within
    the business but mainly within the government, is a crucial
    ingredient. Although we are getting clear guidance from the
    government that they want small businesses to continue, and you
    can find very innovative niches within the government--for
    example, we have John O'Reilly out of DHS in Tucson; we have
    got Bill Holcombe at Fort Wachuga; Stacey Wright at TMAC. These
    are government persons willing to work with small businesses
    that build a better mousetrap. We need more government people
    like that.
        Speed is essential. Contracts are being bundled so quickly,
    the efforts are growing to put more and more contracts
    together, and I am concerned that at the same time that
    contracts are being bundled, we see the large contractors
    consolidating at this feverish pace, that what is going to
    happen is the small businesses are just going to get swallowed
    up and lost.
        I manage over 100 small business subcontractors in the work
    that I do, and I have picked them because they are more results
    driven, they are more innovative, and they are more focused
    than any of the large businesses that are currently out there,
    and they are more willing to respond to any kind of issue that
    I throw at them. And I think that is because, like my company,
    their companies are run the same way. Each of their employees
    can pick up the phone at any minute and call them with a
    critical issue, and I can tell you right now, I turned off my
    cell phone out of deference to you guys, but if it weren't off,
    it would be buzzing right now, saying, we need to do this or
    that, and I would be responding.
        We talk about breaking down the government stovepipes, and
    I know it is difficult, but it is not impossible because what
    it requires--we have had enormous success working with federal,
    state, and local agencies because we go directly to the source.
    This is where small businesses can really excel because there
    is no small town in the entire United States that doesn't have
    a small business, and they are best able to address reducing
    these stovepipes. And I think if we could get more of a focus
    placed on the sharing now of data within the national, state,
    and local governments, that would, you know, enhance everyone's
    well being.
        Chairman Manzullo. Thirty seconds.
        Ms. Doan. I just want to tell you, I have the privilege of
    living the American Dream every day. I work on the borders of
    our country, and I see the desperate attempts made by the
    citizens to get in here, and I have to tell you, we may be a
    country with problems, but we also have enormous privileges,
    and with those privileges come the responsibilities. I think
    that small businesses are the ones that most clearly address
    these responsibilities, and I want to thank you all for the tax
    cuts you have already started. I hope they continue because it
    ensures the likelihood that our businesses will survive.
        [Ms. Doan's statement may be found in the appendix.]
        Chairman Manzullo. Well, thank you very much for your
    testimony.
        Our next witness, I met several months ago. I had about
    five minutes on my calendar and sat down with David and the
    Tule Tribe until he mentioned something called a Cessna
    Skymaster, and that five minutes grew to an hour, didn't it,
    David?
        Mr. Nenna. Yes, sir, it did.
        Chairman Manzullo. You started talking about airplanes, and
    we started talking about all types of equipment and everything
    and the vision you have for your little tribe from California,
    and we invited you to come out here to testify as to what you
    are doing with that tribe, and we look forward to your
    testimony.
        Mr. Nenna. Thank you, sir.

      STATEMENT OF DAVID NENNA, ADMINISTRATOR, TULE RIVER TRIBE,
                        PORTERVILLE, CALIFORNIA

        Mr. Nenna. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Administrator, honorable
    members, it is a great honor to be here and to be able to offer
    my tribe's story on some of the successes that we have been
    able to achieve.
        I left the reservation at an early age in 1972 and joined
    the military, and one of the things that we didn't have on the
    reservation at the time was jobs. There was about an 80 percent
    unemployment rate. I spent a career in the military, retired in
    1993, and returned to the reservation. And once again, some of
    the same people that I left were doing the same thing they were
    doing when I had departed; they just had gotten older. And once
    again, there was no economic development.
        So my tribe hired me as the tribal administrator, and
    together with their leadership, we sat down and tried to be
    creative on what we needed to do to provide jobs to the
    community and get people employed. We knew there was a federal
    statute out there called the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act,
    so we looked into what the possibilities were on creating a
    casino. When we look at a casino, we don't think of it as this
    gambling institution. We look at what it takes to make the
    thing operate, and that is the jobs, the technology that goes
    into it. We need accountants. We need clerical skills. We need
    people that have computer backgrounds. All of the different
    things that are created to make this thing operate; that is
    what we see, the jobs and the opportunities for people. But
    along with that, we were able to realize some revenue.
        As it came over to the tribal side and to the tribal
    government, we knew one of the things that we had to do, and
    that was to diversify and diversify as quickly as possible
    because we saw this gaming thing as a window of opportunity. So
    what we did initially, we poured about 50 percent of the
    revenue into economic development, trying to create little
    businesses. We had some land in the City of Porterville, and we
    couldn't develop it because we didn't have the financial means
    to get there. Well, with the revenue that we realized from the
    gaming industry that we had created, which was a small way to
    employ some of our people, we put the money into the
    infrastructure, and, in rapid succession, we were able to put
    up our first buildings.
        The first building we put up housed our economic-
    development office, a water-testing laboratory, a food-
    distribution center. We service 11 other reservations with food
    commodities. The next building houses a distribution center for
    office supplies, a small bakery. The third building we put up,
    we worked jointly with the U.S. Forest Service. We put up the
    central communication command center. They have the command and
    control for all of the initial air attack and bombers that
    fight fires from Tehachapi all the way to Folsom up by
    Sacramento, so it is a pretty broad area. We receive a lot of
    benefit from the Forest Service because we have free
    dispatching for our fire trucks.
        We have approximately 81 programs and subcomponents that we
    operate on the reservation, but one of the gems that I would
    like to talk about because we even diversified that within the
    company, and we started a little company called Tule River Aero
    Industries. What we do is remanufacture light aircraft. We have
    taken the 337 Skymaster, which is a very unique airplane in
    itself, an in-line, twin-engine airplane, and we were able to
    remanufacture it and essentially give the customer a brand-new
    airplane when we completed it, very state of the art, upgraded
    avionics, electronics, and essentially they get a brand-new
    airplane.
        Well, opportunities came in front of us, and we didn't turn
    anything away. We looked for the opportunity to joint venture
    with other companies and other people. We were approached by a
    foreign company that found out what we were doing and asked if
    we wanted to be the first North American engine retrofit
    facility to utilize diesel engine technology to put it into
    general aviation aircraft.
        So we jumped on the opportunity, and hopefully next month
    we will be able to roll our first aircraft out of the shop with
    a diesel engine in it. We are hoping to open up the aviation
    industry and aviation world to third-world countries where
    aviation fuel is too expensive, and hopefully we will move on
    from there and be able to create other things and also
    diversify that small company.
        Another thing that we have; we joined partners with a
    company out of Vero Beach, Florida, called Gyrocam. It is a
    multifunctional camera, and we really hope to participate in
    homeland defense because of the uses of the camera integrated
    with the airplanes that we manufacture.
        One of the things when I was talking with one of our state
    legislators in California, I asked him, how many people does it
    take when we go into a higher threat level to guard the Bay
    Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, some of our treasures? It is
    a pretty massive amount of people and a lot of money required
    for this protection. With that camera, we are able to do it
    with two people. We are able to see the entire expanse of the
    Bay Bridge and also look through the fog because of the ability
    that the camera has and the multifunctional uses.
        So we are very pleased, and, once again, I am very honored
    to give you some of our stories of success, and I wish there
    was much more time.
        [Mr. Nenna's statement may be found in the appendix.]
        Chairman Manzullo. We need that camera to look through the
    fog in Washington.
        [Laughter.]
        Chairman Manzullo. And all of that, and the total tribe
    numbers are what, 1,150?
        Mr. Nenna. There are 1,600 members, Chairman. I might say,
    there were only 35 people employed in 1993, and now we have
    951.
        Chairman Manzullo. Good for you. What a story.
        Did Mr. Evans come in late? Okay. Let us skip over to,
    then, Mr. Glazier. Oh, come on up. I feel like a game show
    here, come on down, you know.
        Our next witness--let me introduce you while you are
    sitting down--our next witness is Randall Evans, the small
    business owner from Silver Spring, Maryland. Mr. Evans is
    president of AccounTeks Business Services. When you see the
    yellow light, you have one minute. When you see the red light,
    it is time to stop. The total time is five minutes.
        Mr. Evans. Okay.
        Chairman Manzullo. We look forward to your testimony, and
    could you move that mike a little closer to you?
        Mr. Evans. Okay.
        Chairman Manzullo. Thank you. A little bit closer than
    that.
        Mr. Evans. How is that?
        Chairman Manzullo. That is fine. Thank you.
        Mr. Evans. Okay.

     STATEMENT OF RANDALL D. EVANS, PRESIDENT, ACCOUNTEKS BUSINESS
                   SERVICES, SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND

        Mr. Evans. Well, thank you for inviting me to provide
    testimony today.
        My name is Randall Evans, and I am the president and CEO of
    AyanAliyah Corporation. We do business as AccounTeks Business
    Services, and we provide managerial accounting and bookkeeping
    services to small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Our
    services include design, installation, setup, and maintenance
    of all facets of the accounting requirements for small
    organizations. We also provide training and software.
        We were incorporated in the State of Maryland on April 13,
    1998, and the name, AyanAliyah comes from a combination of both
    my daughters' names. At the time, I had two daughters, and now
    I have three, so that is going to create a little bit of a
    problem in the future, but I will deal with that when she gets
    of age.
        We emerged from a bookkeeping business that was started by
    a close friend of mine in my undergraduate career, and I grew
    discontented with the relationship with them and decided to
    break off on my own in '98 and formed AccounTeks. I wasn't
    quite sure what this testimony was all about, so I just kind of
    went through how I got involved with this.
        Chairman Manzullo. Tell us how you got started. Tell us
    your story.
        Mr. Evans. Okay. All right.
        Chairman Manzullo. It is testimony time.
        Mr. Evans. Okay. Well, my desire to become an entrepreneur
    began at the age of 12, when my parents started contemplating a
    career in entrepreneurship as a result of my father's
    retirement from the U.S. Army. He retired in '78, so in '76
    they purchased a franchise, a janitorial service, from
    Servicemaster, I am sure you are all familiar with, and as a
    result of that, like most business owners, when you get
    involved, there is a lot of enthusiasm about, hey, how do you
    succeed in business, and a lot of this wore off on me. So as a
    result, I was like, hey, how can I start my own business?
        So we were military brats, had access to a military
    commissary where prices are a little cheaper relative to the
    outside, and I would go out and purchase candy and gum and go
    to my junior high school and sell it, come home with 20 bucks,
    and say, hey, this is a lot of money. I had always been strong
    in math, so I was kind of compelled to say, well, I have got to
    keep an accounting of this. So my father gave me a ledger book.
    I started to keep track of all of the proceeds from my small
    business, and said, hey, this is kind of neat. So quickly I
    learned the concept of buying for a dollar and selling for two.
        There were a multitude of small business lessons in that
    experience, and, as I said, I was always strong in math and
    compelled to keep strict accounting and record all of my
    proceeds, but, in addition, the concept of inventory
    management--how much candy do I buy today?--market research--
    what do the kids want to spend their parents' hard-earned money
    on? I also had my first experience with partnerships when my
    best friend wanted to go into business with me. I kind of
    recalled Rockefeller saying that the best partner is no partner
    and politely declined, but fortunately our friendship survived
    to today.
        After I earned enough money to buy a new stereo and set up
    a savings account and loan my parents about 700 bucks to pay
    their taxes, I closed the door on my hallway locker candy
    store.
        My next venture was an auto-detailing business, which I
    began at age 14, and the seeds for this venture came in
    response to my neighbor, Carl, who was a 19-year-old at the
    time. He had gone out drinking with his buddies, ended up with
    stained carpets as a result of his buddies spilling beer on
    them. He asked me to use my father's carpet-cleaning equipment
    to shampoo and clean his upholstery, and he paid me 12 bucks.
        About a week later, I was approached by another neighbor,
    who was a little older, in his forties, whom Carl had mentioned
    that I had done the work for, and he asked me about cleaning
    his car, and then he asked if I waxed cars as well. Now, this
    was a great question because, you know, I am listening to these
    motivational tapes and everything. I had never waxed a car in
    my life, but I told him. I said, Yeah, I know how to wax a car.
        So I got my father to drive me to the--I forgot the name--
    Rally Auto Supply or something like that. I bought a can of
    wax, read the instructions about 20 times, and proceeded to
    completely clean my neighbor's car inside and out. Now, this
    was a valuable experience for me, as I developed a solutions-
    oriented mindset, which has serviced me up until to day, even
    today, as the inevitable challenges of life, and particularly a
    small business ownership, persist.
        My focus is on what to do as a result of something
    occurring, adversity; not that the adversity occurred, but what
    do you do as a result of it, and how do you solve the problem?
    Being a bit of a car guy, I was extremely motivated to develop
    my knowledge, skills, and ability in this trade. I was
    fortunate to have a mother who adamantly discouraged her
    teenaged son from getting a job.
        Chairman Manzullo. Randy, we are out of time. I want to
    give you one more minute to tell us about your present
    business.
        Mr. Evans. I attended the University of Virginia and took a
    class called entrepreneurship, and I was compelled by my
    professor, who dared me to go out and start the business, so I
    floated a check, bought some supplies, cleaned the car real
    quick and covered the check, and ended up being in that
    business for eight years.
        As result of hurting my back, I segued into the business I
    am in now, which is managerial accounting, and we have been in
    business, like I said, all told, for almost 10 years, nine
    years, but formally under my own umbrella for the last five
    years. We have employed about 30 certified public accountants
    and 30 staff accountants and bookkeepers.
        [Mr. Evans' statement may be found in the appendix.]
        Chairman Manzullo. I need to cut you off there, and then on
    Q&A, we can come back and pick up some more on it.
        Mr. Evans. Okay. Great.
        Chairman Manzullo. Thank you so much.
        Our next witness is Jordan Glazier, general manager of eBay
    Business, not exactly a small company, but he has got a story
    to tell. We look forward to your testimony.
        Mr. Glazier. Thank you.

    STATEMENT OF JORDAN GLAZIER, GENERAL MANAGER FOR eBAY BUSINESS,
                    eBAY, INC., SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA

        Mr. Glazier. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name
    is Jordan Glazier, and I am the general manager of eBay
    Business. I thank you for the chance to speak with you today
    about eBay and its community of small business users. It is an
    honor to be here.
        With more than 75 million users in over 200 countries, eBay
    is truly a global trading platform where practically anyone can
    trade practically anything. In essence, eBay is a large
    community of users on a local, national, and international
    scale. For example, within my home state of Illinois, we have
    more than 1.9 million users; in California, where eBay is
    headquartered, we have close to 6 million users; and in New
    York State, we have over 3.2 million users.
        People use eBay to buy and sell items across more than
    35,000 categories, from automobiles, clothing, and computers to
    antiques and industrial equipment. In short, eBay, which itself
    was a small business less than seven years ago, is now an
    incubator for other small businesses. We estimate that more
    than 150,000 small businesses and entrepreneurs make a living
    selling on eBay. Also, we estimate that over 20 million eBay
    users in the U.S. are employed by small businesses. That
    represents nearly one in three small business employees in the
    United States.
        Small businesses benefit from using eBay in three main
    ways. First, they use eBay as a sales channel; second, they
    equip themselves on eBay; and, third, they benefit from
    programs we have developed to support their success.
        I would like to share some small business success stories
    with you today. The first is the Reliable Tool Company, a
    dealer of metalworking machinery. Based in Pasadena,
    California, Reliable is owned by Mariano Ruiz, a first-
    generation Mexican-American. Five years ago, they were
    struggling to survive. They turned to eBay to sell off some of
    their slow-moving inventory. The sales went so well that
    Mariano built a business selling on eBay. They went from having
    four employees to having 28 employees today.
        On the buying side, small businesses from saving money
    buying on eBay to equip their operations. Danny Rale owns DDTI,
    an engineering firm based in Gainesville, Georgia. When Danny
    wanted to expand his operation from engineering into
    manufacturing, he turned to eBay to buy the equipment he
    needed. With $100,000, he was able to equip his entire
    operation. Danny estimates that he saved more than $600,000
    using eBay. DDTI now employs five people.
        Randy Will is another example of a small business who
    equipped his business on eBay. For pennies on the dollar, Randy
    purchased the equipment he needed to start Novoli's Pizzeria in
    Salt Lake City, Utah. Novoli's opened its doors and hired five
    people. Randy told us, and I quote, ``Without eBay, I would
    still be dreaming about this place, and instead, I am running
    it.''
        There are thousands of additional stories just like these
    of hard-working small businesses who make up the eBay
    community. It is not easy running a small business, so eBay has
    developed a broad range of programs to support our community of
    entrepreneurs. Let me give you three examples.
        eBay University provides in-person training on how to be
    successful selling on eBay. This year, we will educate over
    20,000 people in 30 cities across the nation.
        We have also developed a program that allows our Power
    Seller community to have greater access to health insurance
    programs. Power Sellers are a group of over 74,000 users who
    number among our largest and most dedicated sellers.
        Also, we have recently formed an exciting relationship with
    the Small Business Administration. Together, we will provide
    eBay small business users more direct access to the SBA's
    educational, content, and financing programs while introducing
    the SBA's community of users to eBay as a tool for their
    business. Administrator Barreto and his team have been
    outstanding partners in this endeavor. We look forward to
    working with the SBA to meet our shared goal of empowering the
    small businesses of America.
        In summary, eBay enables small businesses to open their
    doors, to expand, to hire more people, to bring more home to
    their families, and to achieve their dreams as entrepreneurs.
        Thank you again for the chance to speak today, and I am
    happy to answer any questions.
        [Mr. Glazier's statement may be found in the appendix.]
        Chairman Manzullo. Thank you for your testimony.
        Our next witness is John Collins. John is the CEO of
    Fortel, Inc., and we look forward to your testimony.

     STATEMENT OF JOHN COLLINS, CEO, FORTEL, INC., WASHINGTON, D.C.

        Mr. Collins. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank you and the
    members of the Committee for the opportunity to deliver this
    testimony.
        Fortel was set up in the year 2000 at Front Royal, and it
    was mainly set up for the telecom industry, and near the end of
    2000 and into 2001, there was an almighty crash in that
    industry. Since then, we have turned all of our forces onto the
    aerospace and defense industry, whereby our process and
    technology can develop and produce the aerospace and the
    defense antennas, such as this SATCOM antenna, at a greatly
    reduced price and a weight reduction of some 10-to-1.
        Over the last year, we have been looking also into the
    telecom industry, whereby there seems to be good opportunities
    in the in motion for the car, and we have developed processes
    whereby we can take the aerospace designs, if the volume is
    there correctly, and make them amenable to the in-car, either
    the entertainment or the cellular phone industry.
        The infrastructure is already available within the U.S. and
    around the world to deliver high-content broadband to moving
    vehicles, whether it is the defense or the consumer. For
    instance, a DBS satellite can send down a two-hour film in some
    80 seconds, while a higher frequency KA-band satellite can send
    the same content, whether it be data or film based, in some 40
    seconds. This requires for the consumer a low-cost antenna
    system which can track the satellite and fit flush with the
    family car.
        We have ongoing development whereby we have spray-on
    electronics which we can spray onto our lightweight antennas
    and, therefore, have the enabling technology not only for the
    consumer but for the military, for the homeland security, and
    there are ongoing additional technologies that can allow the
    high content that is stored in the vehicle to be delivered to
    the cellular phone. The technology exists, provided you have
    the air interface at a low cost to do amazing downloads and
    uplinks with broadband.
        What we have done is turned full circle now and are going
    back into the telecoms. We are meeting initially with some of
    the larger telecom groups, and we believe that we are opening
    business opportunities within the telecoms, the multimedia, the
    cellular phone, and all of the associated businesses, the
    spinoffs. For instance, the main problems we foresee in getting
    a two-hour film to the cellular phone isn't the cellular phone
    technology because the microdrives exist; it is the battery
    life, and somewhere along the table we heard about battery
    life.
        So things move around and go around, and our main problem
    at the moment is getting exposure to our technology within the
    consumer and telecoms business. We are well into the defense
    business, although mostly large defense contractors do not like
    spending their own money, so we are talking with government
    agencies to help spend the government's money with the defense.
        So basically, that is the end of our testimony. We need
    exposure in the telecoms and multimedia markets. Thank you,
    sir.
        [Mr. Collins' statement may be found in the appendix.]
        Chairman Manzullo. Thank you very much for that testimony.
        Our last witness is Brendan Walsh. Brendan is the co-
    founder and vice president of FedBid.com. I look forward to
    your testimony.

      STATEMENT OF BRENDAN WALSH, CO-FOUNDER AND VICE-PRESIDENT,
                     FEDBID.COM, FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA

        Mr. Walsh. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and our Ranking Member
    Velazquez, Administrator Barreto, and the other members of the
    Committee. It is an honor today to testify on behalf of the
    contribution that the Small Business Administration and their
    programs have made to our success, the success of Daston
    Corporation's FedBid.com business unit. Today I hope to share
    some of the successes and how the federal agencies that are
    using FedBid today and the small business community are
    benefitting from the efforts that we have undertaken.
        I would also like to express our gratitude to the Committee
    and its members for their efforts in ensuring that the nation's
    small business community has a resource like the Small Business
    Administration to rely on for guidance, financing, and
    inspiration.
        Each year, the federal government awards over $200 billion
    in contracts. That $200 billion includes over $50 billion in
    commercial item buys or simplified acquisitions. This
    combination of high volume, attrition in the federal
    acquisition workforce and often conflicting procurement
    directives has created a very unique situation for the federal
    procurement buyer. This situation requires the buyer to
    simultaneously increase the awareness of procurement
    opportunities among the nation's vendor and supplier
    communities; increase the levels of competition among the
    qualified vendors; ensure a fair, competitive landscape for all
    interested bidders; and guarantee there is price reasonableness
    without sacrificing quality of service or product.
        This dynamic, this situation or challenge, we saw in 2001
    as an opportunity to bring to market a service that would help
    both the buyer and supplier communities, especially the small
    business communities, and that is what I will speak to as we
    get further into it.
        As a privately held, woman-owned, minority-owned small
    business, a Section 8(a)-certified company that was already
    offering IT services to the federal government and some
    industry customers, we knew the true nature of competing in the
    federal market, what it really meant, how the system worked,
    and how you win contracts. Using this knowledge, combined with
    our understanding of the situation the two buyer and seller
    communities are faced with, is why we created this Web service
    called FedBid.com.
        FedBid.com is a communication and competition tool. Since
    Mr. Glazier is sitting next to me, I want to make sure that the
    attorneys understand my next comment. Federal buyers often say
    when they use FedBid that, ``Oh, this is eBay for the
    government; it is reverse eBay for us.'' The dynamic, the
    nature, is very similar, but there are some differences.
        Anyone in the world can have access to FedBid if they have
    access to the Internet--very important for both the buyer and
    supplier community. We have over 60 U.S. embassies around the
    world using FedBid today. We have naval air stations and naval
    bases--one in Otsugi, Japan--using FedBid today. One of the
    embassy staffers even said, ``FedBid.com is our lifeline to
    capitalism.'' When you are sitting overseas, and you are
    directed to buy from U.S. suppliers, how do you do it? And that
    is one of the niches we fill.
        But that is now. That is not how it always has been at
    FedBid. When we started FedBid, the biggest challenge was
    getting agencies to give us a chance. A common comment was,
    ``How do we contract your service--where is the vehicle?'' And
    our answer, thanks to the SBA, was, our 8(a) status issued by
    the Small Business Administration in 1995. The SBA's Section
    8(a) program gave us the opportunity and the contractual
    mechanism to initiate a pilot with the Department of State. The
    Department of State was our first large customer.
        During the pilot, the case studies, the business logic was
    there to develop and to adopt online procurement tools and
    techniques across both the State Department's domestic and
    international buying community. I believe that the State
    Department is a model for procurement innovation within the
    federal market, and they have, in the last year and a half to
    two years, completed over 1,300 reverse auctions through
    FedBid.com. But the important part about that statistic is not
    the 1,300 reverse auctions; it is that over 90 percent of the
    dollars that they competed through FedBid went to small
    businesses.
        So I think I can say, without the Small Business
    Administration and the 8(a) program, we would not be able to
    share statistics such as: In 2002, over 80 percent of the
    dollars competed on FedBid went to small businesses. The
    government agencies are tracking today to purchase over $100
    million through the site, with over 75 percent to small
    businesses. And in 2004, with, hopefully, the help and
    continued support of the Small Business Administration, we
    anticipate government agencies to purchase over $200 million
    through FedBid.com. Balancing the benefits to the buyer and
    supplier community are very, very important----.
        Chairman Manzullo. And I have got to balance the clock.
        Mr. Walsh. Well, I want to say thank you very much.
        Chairman Manzullo. You are welcome.
        Mr. Walsh. I appreciate the time.
        [Mr. Walsh's statement may be found in the appendix.]
        Chairman Manzullo. Thank you for your testimony. Thank you
    for the testimony of all of you.
        Administrator Barreto, do you have a few words of greetings
    for us as we merge to the administrative and the legislative
    branch at this hearing?
        Mr. Barretto. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I am not
    used to sitting up here, so I don't even know how to work the
    microphone. I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member
    and all of the members on the Committee: Congressmen McCotter,
    King, and Franks; Congresswoman Christensen and Congressman
    Ballance. Thank you for allowing me to be here, and I want to
    thank each and every one of you for that very enlightening
    testimony.
        I think it is very appropriate that you are here during
    Small Business Week, and it definitely reminds me about the
    mission of the SBA. You know, we are 50 years' old this year,
    and I was looking at that Small Business Act, and, you know,
    the mission really hasn't changed. We are supposed to be aiding
    and counseling and assisting and protecting small businesses,
    and this Committee does a wonderful job of doing that. We do
    our part at the SBA and take your lead because you are the ones
    that are really getting it done every single day in this
    country.
        One of the things that I was so amazed when I was hearing
    the testimony was the diversity of the businesses, the
    diversity of the people, the regions of the country that are
    represented. When I travel around the country, people always
    ask me, What are the businesses that are successful? Who are
    the people that are getting ahead? Where are the opportunities,
    and what kind of businesses can I get started in? And as I look
    at all of you, I am reminded that it is all across the board,
    in manufacturing, in technology, in consulting, in services, in
    e-commerce. It is very, very exciting.
        So I want to thank the chairman for allowing me to be here.
    I want to thank this Committee for their leadership, and we
    look forward, not only in acknowledging the 50th anniversary,
    but truly positioning the SBA for at least another 50 years of
    service to the small business community. Thank you very much,
    Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Manzullo. Thank you. I am going to keep all of the
    members to five minutes, including myself, because of the
    imminent votes coming up.
        Mr. Walsh, you mentioned that you have the contract with
    the State Department----
        Mr. Walsh. Yes, sir.
        Chairman Manzullo [continuing]. So that in their overseas
    offices, they will use your----.
        Mr. Walsh. Web service.
        Chairman Manzullo. [continuing]. Web service to buy
    products made in America. Is that correct?
        Mr. Walsh. Primarily. The different countries have
    different rules, depending on the relationship of the
    governments, but primarily they are directed, when they can, to
    buy from U.S. suppliers. And what they have lacked in the past
    is a tool that is there, readily available, depending on their
    country infrastructure, that will reach out and work with the
    U.S. supplier community.
        Chairman Manzullo. And then, with the Department of State,
    is there a dollar amount that they buy each year through your
    facilities? Do you have any idea?
        Mr. Walsh. Sure. This year, they are going to probably
    track to 45 to 50 million dollars through FedBid, primarily in
    commodity commercial items.
        Chairman Manzullo. What percentage of that would be items
    from America? Do you have any idea?
        Mr. Walsh. Almost 100 percent from U.S. suppliers.
        Chairman Manzullo. From U.S. suppliers?
        Mr. Walsh. Yes, sir.
        Chairman Manzullo. Give me an example, can you?
        Mr. Walsh. Everything from bullet-proof vests, tactical
    body gear, generators, computer parts, supplies, MREs.
    Remember, they are staffing facilities abroad, but also they
    are domestic buyers--a lot of IT products. We have done
    automobiles, boats, motorcycles, snowmobiles for other agencies
    besides, obviously, just State Department: the Navy; IRS;
    Transportation headquarters; EPA; we have got contracts with
    prisons; the Department of Justice; DOE. So we have over 30
    agencies already using FedBid today.
        The challenge is working within the 1102 community, or the
    contracting officer community, giving them the umbrella to try
    new things, and the 8[a] program gave us our chance, and now we
    are expanding upon that every day.
        Chairman Manzullo. If somebody wants to list a product--
    there are not too many chairman out there, fortunately, but say
    I manufacture this hammer, and I want to sell it to a
    government agency. Would I contact you?
        Mr. Walsh. Not at all. That is why we are ``reverse eBay.''
        Chairman Manzullo. Tell us how it works.
        Mr. Walsh. A federal buyer will come onto our Web site, and
    they will post a specification saying, ``I need 20 mallets or
    gavels. They have to be wood, they have to be under two pounds,
    and they have to have a lacquer finish.'' Vendors are notified
    of the opportunity, and they can then bid, with the price going
    down, on what they want to deliver the price for.
        Chairman Manzullo. Do those vendors sign up with you in
    advance?
        Mr. Walsh. Yes, sir.
        Chairman Manzullo. Okay.
        Mr. Walsh. We have thousands of vendors today registered.
        Chairman Manzullo. If I made these, I would just call you,
    and then you would list me on your----.
        Mr. Walsh. We haven't done too many gavels.
        Chairman Manzullo. That is because, fortunately, there
    aren't too many chairmen.
        [Laughter.]
        Chairman Manzullo. I guess there are too many, huh,
    Congressman Schrock?
        You know, there are four major hammer manufacturers in the
    country. Two are in the district that I represent. But, say, if
    one of those wanted to----.
        Mr. Walsh. At no charge, they could register in 10 minutes.
    We would check their qualifications and statuses against SBA's
    PRO-Net, which has been a wonderful data resource, and also the
    Central Contractors Registry. So if they claim to be a small
    business, we are going to double-check and make sure they are.
        Chairman Manzullo. Okay. I appreciate that very much.
        Mr. Evans, the Mr. Entrepreneur there that waxes the cars
    and everything, your business now, you said you have how many
    CPAs working for you?
        Mr. Evans. During the course of time that we have been in
    business. Right now, we have five active CPAs and two active
    staff accountants/bookkeepers.
        Chairman Manzullo. You do the financial work for small
    businesses.
        Mr. Evans. That is correct. We go in and set up the
    accounting systems. Actually, in effect,----.
        Chairman Manzullo. Right from the beginning.
        Mr. Evans. Right. Oftentimes, we work with startups. A lot
    of times, we come in and clean up messes that were created
    because people were undercapitalized and couldn't afford to--
    --.
        Chairman Manzullo. Used the wrong wax.
        Mr. Evans. But people were undercapitalized and couldn't
    afford to get the appropriate staff in place from the onset, so
    we come in and clean up the books, get them audit ready, if you
    will, and also position them to attain financing. So we work
    with capital-formation people, and they get involved with SBA
    loans, so we do a lot of that.
        One of the particular challenges that we have faced
    recently is trying to get a very fast-growing small business
    bonding. He has got a very good opportunity to provide
    surveillance and security equipment for a housing authority,
    and he needs a bid bond and a performance bond. We did a
    compilation, got a CPA to come in and do a formal review, and
    put together a very thorough package, and he has not been able
    to secure the bond.
        Chairman Manzullo. The boss is here, so maybe there is
    something that he can think of before you leave.
        Mr. Barretto. I would love to follow up on that. You know,
    we have an Office of Surety Bonds in the SBA, and if there is
    anything that we can do in our area, we would love to talk to
    you, and if not, we would like to help you find somebody that
    would be able to.
        That is a big area for a lot of small businesses. They have
    business, but they can't get the business done because they
    don't have enough bonding capability or some other kind of
    guarantee or insurance that they need to be able to perform the
    business, so definitely I would like to follow up with you on
    that.
        Chairman Manzullo. And the reauthorization of the SBA
    increases the amount of that bonding limit. Well, maybe we will
    get your problem solved. Ms. Velazquez?
        Ms. Velazquez. That is why we need to bring that
    reauthorization bill to the floor.
        Yes, Lurita Doan.
        Ms. Doan. Yes.
        Ms. Velazquez. You talked about contract bundling, and that
    is an issue--the federal contracting practices of our federal
    government has been an issue that I have been working on for so
    long----
        Ms. Doan. Yes, I know.
        Ms. Velazquez [continuing]. And I have issued four
    scorecards on which we showed how the federal government is
    closing the door on small businesses. And you mentioned the
    fact in your statement, as NTMI's contracts grow larger through
    innovation and effort, these contracts become attractive to big
    business. Do you have a plan in place as to what you are going
    to do if that happens?
        Ms. Doan. If the contract bundling happens? We have two
    different ways that we are approaching it--well, three. One of
    them is to just scream as loud as we can and pick up the phone
    and call you, the first one.[Laughter.]
        Ms. Doan. The second one that we are trying to do is, of
    course, we are trying to negotiate very strong legal agreements
    with the larger companies that have most of the bundled
    contracts. This is a very dicey area and actually another area
    where the SBA can help. I am fortunate that although I started
    my business with 25 bucks, we are now quite large, and I can
    afford excellent legal advice to put in place very stringent
    and rigorous legal contracts. Very small businesses can't
    afford to do that, and what I have found is that while the
    government does say that the large businesses have to adhere to
    certain percentage set-asides in obtaining those large omnibus
    contracts, actually the legislation is already in place, but it
    is never enforced.
        Ms. Velazquez. Tell me.
        Ms. Doan. And so what I find is that good legal agreements
    are very important, and if you don't have access to that, you
    are in big trouble.
        The third thing that we try to do is actually get a little
    bit out in front. We have always survived by word of mouth. We
    do great work. We do very innovative and niche work that no one
    else--very high-risk, high-visibility work, and all of our
    business for the last 13 years has been by word of mouth with
    our government customer. Now, for the very first time, we are
    having to step out and try to get a little bit more visibility
    in the public through participating, sponsoring, advertising,
    things of that nature.
        In addition, if I could just say, what we do is we believe
    that our subcontractors, all of whom are small, minority- or
    woman-owned businesses, are also our biggest bet because--I
    call it my ``dream team''--because I get the best people and
    the best businesses in each of these niche areas. We are
    bundling ourselves together so that we can go and compete
    against the larger contracts like Spirit and things of that
    nature.
        Ms. Velazquez. The reality is that the trend has been that
    while the federal government is spending more, and it is $235
    billion in contracting money, the number of contracts going to
    small businesses is going down.
        Ms. Doan. Exactly.
        Ms. Velazquez. Mr. Glazier, during the tech boom of the
    late-1990's, venture capital played an important role in the
    creation and growth of small businesses. How has the
    substantial decline in venture capital affected the current
    environment facing tech entrepreneurs?
        Mr. Glazier. It is not my area of expertise, but, in
    general, we see less venture capital flowing in the Silicon
    Valley these days. I know several entrepreneurs personally who
    have great ideas who are not able to find funding. It still
    exists for some, but, in general, I think it is less available
    now than before.
        Ms. Velazquez. I guess that that is an area where the
    federal government can play a role.
        Ms. Erica Kalick, if I asked you what is one issue, from
    the access to capital to health care, that would mean to your
    business, if you have access, for example, to affordable health
    care, what it will do for your business?
        Ms. Kalick. Well, primarily, it will create more confidence
    and loyalty among workers. Workers are frightened, terribly
    frightened. I didn't get to read this in my testimony, but, you
    know, in a New York Times article there was a very poignant
    quote, if I can read it?
        Ms. Velazquez. Sure. It is on my time.
        Ms. Kalick. What?
        Ms. Velazquez. This is my time.
        Ms. Kalick. Mr. Greathouse; he was an unemployed, 55-year-
    old, tool-and-die man laid off from the Hoover Vacuum Cleaner
    Factory in Canton, Ohio, and he says, ``Manufacturing has been
    the strength of this country. If we can't make anything here
    anymore, what does that do? The fabric of this society is
    falling apart. When you have CEOs who think of moving jobs
    offshore, what are you doing but terrorizing the people who
    lose their jobs?'' And this is from a New York Times article,
    ``As Factory Jobs Disappear, Workers Have Few Options, and as
    Jobs Disappear, Health Care Disappears.''
        Workers are frightened. It makes it harder for us to be
    productive. I had that laundry list of all of the sky-high
    costs that just seem to be uncappable.
        Ms. Velazquez. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Manzullo. Is that editorial attached to your
    testimony?
        Ms. Kalick. Yes.
        Chairman Manzullo. Okay. Mr. McCotter.
        Mr. McCotter. I am sorry, Mr. Chairman, no questions.
        Chairman Manzullo. No questions? Congresswoman Majette? Oh,
    she has gone. Okay. Frank. Congressman Ballance?
        Mr. Ballance. Mr. Chairman, what I am going to do is just
    congratulate. I apologize for coming in late. I would like to
    know, and maybe I will just start with Maria, the issue of
    financing your business. I don't know if you want to talk about
    your own situation or someone you know of. How difficult is
    financing and continued financing for a small business?
        Ms. Thompson. For a small business such as ours, it can be
    difficult because, as I mentioned in my testimony, venture
    capitalists do not fund research. We have gone to venture
    capitalists before. They don't want to fund research. They
    don't want to make anything. We have gone through things where
    they say, Great idea. I would love to have my cell phone or
    computer last longer, but you have to make something. We don't
    want to fund anything you have to make; we would rather fund
    software. And I said, Sorry, guys. I think that party is over
    with. We need to start making things and producing real things
    that you can touch and feel in this country. We have gotten
    more interest from overseas than we have from this country.
        But there is a new danger that we have started to see on
    the horizon, and it is the fact that the intellectual property
    that is being developed in this country by scientists and
    engineers is quickly being replaced in places like China where
    they can hire 20 Ph.D.s for what I have to pay one. That is
    very scary. I have heard inklings of it. I am starting to see
    it. I was talking to another high-tech entrepreneur, and he
    said his lab is empty because his company that had originally
    hired him to fund his lab is now doing everything in China just
    because the cost of labor is so much less expensive. So I have
    to compete against that.
        What has been the saving grace for our company has been the
    SBIR program and the ATP program that has provided us capital
    that we can leverage to then go to some of these big companies
    who have cut their research budgets to almost zero and say, You
    have research that needs to be done. ``You need your batteries
    and your fuel cells to be cheaper and last longer. Let us
    leverage the money that we are able to bring in with what you
    want to do and see if we can come up with a new product and new
    technology.''
        Mr. Ballance. All right. One more short question. Is there
    one barrier in our SBA programs that you would like to see us
    change?
        Ms. Thompson. Well, I know for companies when we first
    start out--I understand you have FARs, and I am not trying to
    complain, because if you get free money, it is very nice; you
    fill out your timecards and stuff. But I have an MBA. I don't
    consider myself a dumb person, and I have a lawyer who is a
    friend. When you are starting out, you don't have the energy or
    the resources to hire a $350-an-hour lawyer. Luckily, I had
    some friends who had been to law school and were able to help
    me.
        We went through our first contract, and I read every FAR.
    They have the FAR, and then they have a sub-FAR, and then they
    have a sub-FAR, so it is like opening those boxes that you keep
    opening smaller and smaller boxes to get to the meat of it. So
    I spent about three days going through that, and I said, Oh, my
    goodness. If there is some way that we could have ``The FAR For
    Dummmies'' or something that would make it easier to
    understand, or some crib notes, it would make things a lot
    easier for small companies. I had a company that helped me
    understand some of the issues in the FARs and DFARs, and I have
    actually hired some consultants to help us with that. We
    counsel each other back and forth. But that sure is a tough way
    for a lot of these companies to try to figure it out and get
    involved in taking advantage of these contracts.
        Mr. Ballance. Thank you.
        Chairman Manzullo. Thank you. Mr. Franks, do you have a
    question? We are going to have votes in about five minutes.
        However you want to do it among the three of you.
        Mr. Franks. Well, I guess I just want to add my
    appreciation to all of you. You know, I ran a small agency in
    Arizona, the Department for Children, and one of the things
    that we found is that when government funded something, if they
    also did the work themselves, it didn't work out very well; but
    if they, in turn, allowed the money to follow the recipient or
    they jobbed it out to someone in the private sector, it always
    worked better.
        And I look forward to a day when nearly all of our
    government contracts will go out to bid, FedBid or these kind
    of efforts, and take advantage of the genius that all of you
    offer here because I believe, whether it is Medicare or
    whatever issue we are facing, that you have the answers. And
    unless the kinds of innovations that I have seen here today are
    applied to certain things that we face in the future, we have
    got some financial impossible challenges to overcome, apart
    from what you do, and I just hope you stay with it. You are on
    the front line of America, and we are proud of you.
        Chairman Manzullo. Mr. King?
        Mr. King. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you all
    for your testimony. Before I ask my questions, I want to tell
    you, first off, that I have been in small business for about 28
    years and met payroll about 1,480 consecutive weeks, so I am on
    your side.
        The questions I would pose, then, are maybe a little bit
    devil's advocacy questions, and the first one would be to Ms.
    Doan. You remarked that all of your subcontractors are small,
    minority-, or women-owned businesses. Why is that?
        Ms. Doan. Well, first, I truly believe you need to keep the
    money in the family, so if I am a small business, and I am
    receiving money because I am a small business, I think I almost
    have an obligation to try to help the other small businesses
    get their foot up. The hardest thing in the government now is
    that past performance judges everything, and if you don't have
    a past performance, you don't have much of a chance of getting
    another contract. So if you see an innovative technology, and I
    am on the leading edge of it, if you see that perfect product,
    just because it is a small company, you don't give up on them.
        Mr. King. So I would add to that that I have found over the
    years that it is not really possible, or it is very difficult--
    I should put it that way--very difficult to hire the loyalty
    that you can raise. That is why we have so many successful
    family businesses. We have had difficulty hiring minority
    people to work for us. That is the other side of that equation.
    So I would assume, then, if my son met your daughter, they
    could bid in some work together with you. I hope that we could
    do that, and I trust we could. I am looking for a bride for my
    son, and that is in the record. Now I understand.
        Ms. Doan. I am probably a little young at 14.
        Mr. King. I am not a patient man, I guess. I do admire
    everybody's spirit here, too, by the way, and I appreciate
    this. Ms. Kalick, Adam Smith wrote in 1776----.
        Chairman Manzullo. Let me do this. Adam Smith is a nice
    guy, but I want to let Ed Schrock ask a question. Did you have
    a quick question?
        Mr. Schrock. All I wanted to say, Mr. Chairman, I am sorry,
    very sorry I was late. I represent Virginia Beach, Virginia, so
    you can imagine some of the issues we are dealing with today.
        Chairman Manzullo. You should get out of here.
        Mr. Schrock. Well, my state police have told me already I
    can't get in. They have closed the road.
        I wanted to come here to hear success stories because we
    don't usually hear that sort of thing. Ms. Kalick, the bundling
    thing; I think Ms. Velazquez and the chairman and I agree with
    that, that there has just got to be a stop to some of this
    stuff because it is going to kill part of you guys.
        My last comment is, Mr. Collins, are those little things
    you have on there miniature gold ingots, and if they are, are
    you giving away samples?
        [Laughter.]
        Mr. Schrock. What are those?
        Mr. Collins. They are gold, and we are keeping them for
    ourselves, sir.
        Mr. Schrock. They really are, then.
        Chairman Manzullo. We would settle for some cookies.
        Mr. Schrock. Oh, they are empty. Oh, okay. Thank you.
        Chairman Manzullo. Back to Adam Smith.
        Mr. King. Okay. My train of thought was this. With your
    remarks with regard to competition going overseas, Smith wrote
    that if we can buy it cheaper than we could make it, we ought
    to buy it. The cost of all goods are the sum total of the cost
    of the labor it takes to produce it and the cost of the
    capital. So if we can buy it cheaper overseas, outside of
    national security, why should we do that?
        Ms. Kalick. Well, in relation to the quote that I just
    read, as Mr. Greathouse said, manufacturing really is the
    backbone of this country, and as I summed it up, you can't eat
    virtual cookies. You just can't. I think it erodes the
    confidence of all Americans when they can't get up in the
    morning and be connected to their community, feel a loyalty to
    company. We have all seen Roger [sic] Moore's films, you know,
    the devastation in Michigan in Flint, factories closing, and
    the incredible ripple effect this has: serious despair and
    depression. How can this nation thrive if everything is
    exiting?
        Mr. King. I see Maria has an answer. It is in her eyes.
        Ms. Thompson. We would hate to mortgage the future of our
    country. The nineties were powered by a lot of technological
    innovations that were created in this country, and if the
    innovation moves overseas, I think we will be mortgaging our
    future.
        Mr. King. My very quick comment is if we can reduce taxes
    and regulation, we can compete more effectively, and that will
    protect us better than protectionism. Thank you very much.
    Thank you, Mr. Chair.
        Chairman Manzullo. You know, this is America at its best,
    great stories. Randy, my dad had a grocery store, and when I
    was five years' old, my brother and I took the fruit that he
    had put out back because it was overripe or spoiled and put
    them in our wagon. We were selling fruit in the neighborhood.
    And then some of the people called and said, Frank, your sons
    are selling rotten fruit. We thought it was mature fruit.
        [Laughter.]
        Chairman Manzullo. So that was our introduction to
    entrepreneurship.
        Thank you for your testimony. Thank you for your tremendous
    witness to what makes America great.
        Administrator Barreto, thank you so much for sharing your
    valuable time with us. What a joy it is. This is the best
    hearing that we have once a year when guys come in and talk
    about what they did to become part of the American spirit.
    Thank you again.
        [Whereupon, at 2:25 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.001

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.002

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.003

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.004

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.045

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.046

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.005

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.006

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.007

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.008

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.009

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.010

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.011

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.012

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.013

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.014

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.015

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.016

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.017

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.018

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.019

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.020

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.021

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.022

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.023

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.024

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.025

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.026

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.027

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.028

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.029

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.030

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.031

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.032

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.033

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.034

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.035

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.036

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.037

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.038

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.039

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.040

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.041

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.042

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.043

        [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T2801.044