[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK: CELEBRATING 
                        OUR MAIN STREET CHAMPIONS

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

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                      COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
                             UNITED STATES
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                              HEARING HELD
                           SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

                               __________


[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
                               

            Small Business Committee Document Number 117-032
             Available via the GPO Website: www.govinfo.gov
             
                              __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
45-479                     WASHINGTON : 2021                     
          
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                   HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS

                 NYDIA VELAZQUEZ, New York, Chairwoman
                          JARED GOLDEN, Maine
                          JASON CROW, Colorado
                         SHARICE DAVIDS, Kansas
                         KWEISI MFUME, Maryland
                        DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota
                         MARIE NEWMAN, Illinois
                       CAROLYN BOURDEAUX, Georgia
                         TROY CARTER, Louisiana
                          JUDY CHU, California
                       DWIGHT EVANS, Pennsylvania
                       ANTONIO DELGADO, New York
                     CHRISSY HOULAHAN, Pennsylvania
                          ANDY KIM, New Jersey
                         ANGIE CRAIG, Minnesota
              BLAINE LUETKEMEYER, Missouri, Ranking Member
                         ROGER WILLIAMS, Texas
                        JIM HAGEDORN, Minnesota
                        PETE STAUBER, Minnesota
                        DAN MEUSER, Pennsylvania
                        CLAUDIA TENNEY, New York
                       ANDREW GARBARINO, New York
                         YOUNG KIM, California
                         BETH VAN DUYNE, Texas
                         BYRON DONALDS, Florida
                         MARIA SALAZAR, Florida
                      SCOTT FITZGERALD, Wisconsin

                 Melissa Jung, Majority Staff Director
            Ellen Harrington, Majority Deputy Staff Director
                     David Planning, Staff Director
                            
                            C O N T E N T S

                           OPENING STATEMENTS

                                                                   Page
Hon. Kweisi Mfume................................................     1
Hon. Blaine Luetkemeyer..........................................     2

                               WITNESSES

Mr. Tod Greenfield, Vice President, Martin Greenfield Clothiers, 
  Brooklyn, NY...................................................     6
Ms. Jan Haviland, Owner and President, Haviland Corp., Linn, MO..     8
Ms. Shelonda Stokes, President, Downtown Partnership of 
  Baltimore, Baltimore, MD.......................................    10
Ms. Natasha Hudson, Owner, Hudson's on Mercer, Dripping Springs, 
  TX.............................................................    12
Ms. Gena Felder, Chief Financial Officer, TJ Hale, Menomonee 
  Falls, WI......................................................    14
Mr. Eric Childs, Owner, Mind's Eye Comics, Burnsville, MN........    27
Ms. Krystal Hernandez, Owner, La Plaza F!esta, Madelia, MN.......    29
Mr. Maurice Contreras, President, Volcanica Coffee Company, 
  Suwanee, GA....................................................    30
Mr. Mark J. Lunde, Chief Executive Officer, Lunde Auto Sales, 
  Wadena, MN.....................................................    31
Mr. Barry Schlouch, President, Schlouch Incorporated, Blandon, PA    33
Mr. Jaime Di Paulo, President and Chief Executive Officer, 
  Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC), Chicago, IL......    44
Ms. Susan Shaw, Owner, Shaw Insurance Agency, Hurst, TX..........    45
Mr. Donald Fox, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fox 
  Theatres LLC, Wyomissing, PA...................................    47
Mr. Mitch Cook, Co-Owner, Avalon Bagels to Burgers, Yorba Linda, 
  CA.............................................................    49
Mr. Greg Owens, Chief Executive Officer, Sherrill Manufacturing 
  Inc., Sherrill, NY.............................................    50

                                APPENDIX

Prepared Statements:
    Mr. Tod Greenfield, Vice President, Martin Greenfield 
      Clothiers, Brooklyn, NY....................................    61
    Ms. Jan Haviland, Owner and President, Haviland Corp., Linn, 
      MO.........................................................    63
    Ms. Shelonda Stokes, President, Downtown Partnership of 
      Baltimore, Baltimore, MD...................................    66
    Ms. Natasha Hudson, Owner, Hudson's on Mercer, Dripping 
      Springs, TX................................................    74
    Ms. Gena Felder, Chief Financial Officer, TJ Hale, Menomonee 
      Falls, WI..................................................    76
    Mr. Eric Childs, Owner, Mind's Eye Comics, Burnsville, MN....    79
    Ms. Krystal Hernandez, Owner, La Plaza F!esta, Madeila, MN...    82
    Mr. Maurice Contreras, President, Volcanica Coffee Company, 
      Suwanee, GA................................................    84
    Mr. Mark J. Lunde, Chief Executive Officer, Lunde Auto Sales, 
      Wadena, MN.................................................    86
    Mr. Barry Schlouch, President, Schlouch Incorporated, 
      Blandon, PA................................................    88
    Mr. Jaime Di Paulo, President and Chief Executive Officer, 
      Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC), Chicago, IL..    94
    Ms. Susan Shaw, Owner, Shaw Insurance Agency, Hurst, TX......   104
    Mr. Donald Fox, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fox 
      Theatres LLC, Wyomissing, PA...............................   106
    Mr. Mitch Cook, Co-Owner, Avalon Bagels to Burgers, Yorba 
      Linda, CA..................................................   109
    Mr. Greg Owens, Chief Executive Officer, Sherrill 
      Manufacturing Inc., Sherrill, NY...........................   111
Questions for the Record:
    None.
Answers for the Record:
    None.
Additional Material for the Record:
    The National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA)......   115

 
  NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK: CELEBRATING OUR MAIN STREET CHAMPIONS

                              ----------                              


                      TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

                  House of Representatives,
               Committee on Small Business,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 11:05 a.m., via 
Zoom, Hon. Nydia M. Velazquez [chairwoman of the Committee] 
presiding.
    Present: Representatives Velazquez, Mfume, Phillips, 
Newman, Bourdeaux, Delgado, Houlahan, Mr. Kim, Craig, 
Luetkemeyer, Williams, Hagedorn, Stauber, Meuser, Ms. Young 
Kim, Van Duyne, Donalds, and Fitzgerald.
    Mr. MFUME. [Presiding.] Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. 
I am Kweisi Mfume from the State of Maryland; obviously not 
Nydia Velazquez who has, unfortunately, been detained, but I 
suspect should be joining us a little later in today's hearing. 
I want to officially call this hearing to order.
    Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a 
recess at any time in the proceedings.
    Let me begin by saying that the standing House and 
Committee rules and practices will continue as they usually do 
to apply during remote proceedings. All Members of the 
Committee are reminded that they are expected to adhere to 
these standing rules, including decorum, when they are 
participating in any remote event.
    Now, with that said, the technology that we are utilizing 
today requires us to make some small modifications to ensure 
that Members can fully participate in these proceedings. It is 
important to note that House regulations require Members to be 
visible through a video connection throughout the proceedings, 
so please keep your cameras on. If you have to participate in 
another proceeding, please exit and then log back again later.
    And in the event that a Member encounters technical issues 
that prevent them from being recognized for their questioning, 
I will then move to the next available Member of the same 
party, and I will recognize that Member at the next appropriate 
time slot provided they have returned, obviously, to the 
proceeding. Should a Member be interrupted by technical issues, 
again, I will recognize that Member at the next appropriate 
spot for the remainder of their time once those issues have 
indeed been resolved.
    In the event a witness loses connectivity during testimony 
or questioning, I will preserve their time as the staff 
attempts to address the technical issues. I may need to recess 
the proceedings from time to time or at a particular time to 
provide for a witness to connect. We would like to have 
everybody's participation obviously.
    And, finally, remember to remain muted until you are 
recognized to minimize background noise. In accordance with the 
rules, staff has been advised to mute participants only in the 
event if there is an inadvertent sound or set of background 
noises. And should a Member wish to be recognized, they must 
then unmute themselves and seek recognition at the appropriate 
time.
    Again, I would just like to say for those of you who may 
have joined a moment or two late, as you can see, I am not 
Chair Velazquez, the Chairwoman of the Small Business 
Committee. She, unfortunately, has been detained and expects 
perhaps to join us at some other part of this hearing. But as 
Vice Chair of the Committee, let me begin by thanking the small 
businesses that are here with us today. Time is always a luxury 
for entrepreneurs like you, so I really, really appreciate your 
testimony.
    Since 1963, Americans have come together to celebrate 
National Small Business Week. Every year during this week, we 
recognize the small businesses in our communities and the 
entrepreneurial spirit that helps to make this country great.
    Reading the biographies of today's witnesses, it is clear 
that this spirit is alive and well, and, moreover, their 
stories are evidence that regardless of circumstance, small 
business owners will always rise to the occasion and achieve 
great things.
    The integrity and the character of these businesses shine 
bright over the past 18 months, a dark time, as we know, in our 
nation's history. COVID introduced challenges that would have 
been unthinkable a short time ago, but through it all, small 
businesses have done what it takes to survive and to serve 
their communities, nonetheless, during a time of great crisis. 
From grocers supplying essential goods to small manufacturers 
producing PPE, small firms have been there for our country 
every step of the way. And for that we thank you.
    Today, we are joined by small businesses operating in the 
districts that we have the privilege to represent. These 
entrepreneurs may be separated obviously by long distances and 
operate in different industries, but their determination and 
their will to succeed unite them today.
    So I look forward to hearing your success stories, and I 
know the Ranking Member and everyone else in this Committee 
feels the same way. What has happened and what has hurt your 
business we are interested in. We want to know how we as a 
Committee can help your businesses become stronger than ever, 
because businesses like yours number merely 30 million and 
employ half the private workforce.
    So, long story short, you are indeed the foundation of our 
economy and the glue that holds our communities together. For 
our country to ultimately recover, we need your businesses 
operating at full strength.
    And I would like to, if I might now, yield to the Ranking 
Member, Mr. Luetkemeyer, for his opening statement.
    Mr. Luetkemeyer.
    Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank all of 
the small business owners here with us today as we celebrate 
National Small Business Week, including my constituent, Jan 
Haviland, owner and president of Haviland Corporation. Small 
business owners like you are the drivers of the United States' 
economy and workforce, and you have been absolutely vital in 
getting our nation's economy back up and running after the 
forced nationwide shutdowns and altered capacity restrictions 
this past year.
    Small businesses are the life blood of our communities. 
They are comprised of job creators and innovators alike. Across 
the United States, there are an estimated 32.5 million small 
businesses, making up 99 percent of all our nation's 
businesses, employing over 61 million workers.
    Whether you realize it or not, small businesses have 
impacted the lives of every single American. As Ranking Member 
of the Small Business Committee, it is an honor to work 
alongside my colleagues to create commonsense policies that 
uplift our nation's small businesses while also protecting the 
American taxpayer. I understand the duty we have in fighting 
the deregulation, lower taxes, access to capital, and increased 
SBA oversight, especially in the wake of the pandemic.
    As you all know, COVID-19 devastated small businesses with 
overreaching State and local shutdown measures and altered 
capacity restrictions. Through no fault of their own, small 
businesses have faced extreme challenges that are still 
ongoing. As a response, Congress has created numerous small 
business relief programs to provide much needed assistance to 
main street USA. Some of these programs, such as the Paycheck 
Protection Program, have successfully assisted millions of 
small businesses from coast to coast providing hundreds of 
billion of dollars in assistance. Unfortunately, small 
businesses continue to face increasing obstacles.
    NFIB's August job report found that 50 percent of all small 
business owners reported job openings they could not fill in 
the current period. A record high reading. Additionally, 
inflation continues to skyrocket to the highest rate in 30 
years. And my Democratic colleagues continue to top their 
reckless tax and spend spree, leaving struggling small business 
owners with the bill.
    As our nation celebrates small businesses this week and 
every week, we must support main street USA by advancing pro-
growth policies that allow small business owners and their 
employees to contribute to the economy and create jobs. We must 
get irresponsible partisan spending under control, provide tax 
relief for job creators, and remove burdensome government 
mandates that are being forced upon small business owners.
    Again, I want to thank our panel of witnesses for taking 
time away from their businesses for this important hearing as 
we celebrate small business resiliency. Look forward to your 
testimonies.
    And, with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Mr. MFUME. Thank you. The distinguished gentleman from 
Missouri, the Ranking Member, yields back.
    I just noticed that we have been joined by our Chairwoman, 
the distinguished Nydia Velazquez of New York.
    Madam Chair, I would be happy to yield back to you 
appropriately so at this time so that you can continue.
    Chairwoman Velazquez. [Presiding.] Well, I just want to 
thank you and all the Members for being in this Committee 
today, and I just want to excuse myself. Both the Ranking 
Member and myself, we are voting on the Financial Services 
Committee reconciliation package.
    But I would like to introduce our witnesses. And our first 
witness is Mr. Tod Greenfield, the vice president of Greenfield 
Clothing in my district, Brooklyn, New York. Greenfield 
Clothiers is a Brooklyn manufacturer of hand-tailored men's 
clothing. The company was founded in 1977 by Martin Greenfield 
when he bought the factory from his former employer.
    Survivor of the Holocaust, an immigrant to America, he 
joined in 1947 as an entry level floor boy, ultimately rising 
to vice president of production before buying the company. Now, 
Martin, along with his two sons, Tod and Jay, run the company 
as a trio of managers. Tod has worked around the clock during 
the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure his company stays open, whether 
by adapting his business to make PPE or utilizing pandemic 
assistance programs from the SBA to ensure his workers maintain 
pay.
    Thank you, Mr. Greenfield, for being here today.
    And now I call on the Ranking Member to introduce his 
witness.
    Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Ms. Jan Haviland is owner and president of Haviland 
Corporation in Linn, Missouri. Founded in 1946, Haviland 
Corporation began manufacturing custom floor and window 
squeegees in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1974, they moved to the 
current location, Linn, Missouri, where the manufacturing is 
still done today.
    As industry evolves and grows, Haviland continues to expand 
its product offerings accordingly. And during the pandemic, 
they were able to expand their operations to provide crucial 
PPE supplies to Missourians and beyond. This kind of 
adaptability and ability to cater to new demands is part of 
what makes small businesses great. They operate to meet the 
needs of their customers and community, not answer to big 
corporations.
    Haviland has been a family-owned business since they opened 
their doors and has a mission to continue manufacturing of 
products in the United States, creating jobs and innovations 
that keep our country and economy strong. It is companies like 
the Haviland Corporation that have helped Missouri lead the 
charge in our nation's economic recovery.
    Ms. Haviland, thank you so much for being with us today, 
taking time out of your schedule to share your small business 
testimony. Thank you so much.
    And, with that, Madam Chair, I yield back.
    Mr. MFUME. [Presiding.] I think the Chair may have exited. 
I do want to thank her for coming in to the hearing to explain 
the situation that both she and the Ranking Member are faced 
with as the dualities of this process that happen from time to 
time.
    So, having said that, I would like at this particular time 
to do two things. One is to introduce a witness myself, and 
then the other obviously following that would be to yield to 
the distinguished gentleman from Texas for his chance to do the 
same.
    As we know, this is a time to formally pause and to 
recognize the services, the sacrifice, and indeed the integrity 
of our small businesses that exist throughout our communities. 
In Maryland's Seventh Congressional District, which I have the 
honor to represent, small businesses like in your district 
represent the real fabric of our community. In my district, 
from Randallstown to Woodlawn to Catonsville, Baltimore City, 
Baltimore County, downtown Columbia, and several other 
communities, those businesses have become the foundation of the 
recovery that we have witnessed here in central Maryland.
    This morning we will hear from my guest, Ms. Shelonda 
Stokes, who is president of the Downtown Partnership of 
Baltimore and the CEO of the Downtown Management Authority, a 
business improvement district in the heart of Baltimore City. 
In these capacities she is responsible for building an 
environment that is conducive to businesses of all types and, 
indeed, all sizes.
    Ms. Stokes Co-Chaired the Small Business Recovery Task 
Force during last year's COVID-19 shutdown, and she serves on 
the National Women's Business Council as a Presidential 
appointee.
    Prior to taking over the Downtown Partnership, Ms. Stokes 
was president and CEO of a full-service marketing and 
entertainment agency that she cofounded. Her deep understanding 
of what it takes to create and to sustain a small business, 
particularly Black-owned businesses, has led to an innovative 
new program helping small business start-ups in downtown 
Baltimore City.
    And so it is my, indeed, pleasure to welcome Ms. Stokes to 
speak with us today about small businesses here in my district 
but also across the country.
    Ms. Stokes, thank you very much for being with us.
    Ms. STOKES. Thank you for having me.
    Mr. MFUME. Go right ahead.
    Ms. STOKES. Thank you so much. And so I will not go into 
the formal introduction.
    Mr. MFUME. Oh, Ms. Stokes? Ms. Stokes, I am sorry. This is 
what happens when you are not the Chair. I think the process 
here is we are going to do the introductions and then come back 
and allow each one of the guests today to speak. So it is my 
error. I apologize. Thank you for letting me step on you as you 
got started there.
    And, with that, I would like to yield now to the 
distinguished gentleman from Texas, Mr. Williams.
    Mr. WILLIAMS. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    And thank you, Ranking Member, for extending me the 
opportunity to introduce one of our witnesses and one of my 
friends. I am proud to introduce Natasha Hudson.
    Ms. Hudson is the owner of Hudson's on Mercer Street, a 
live music venue in Dripping Springs, Texas, which is located 
in my district in the great State of Texas. Mrs. Hudson and her 
husband started the business 6 years ago to bring fashion and 
knowledge of the music business to the historic district of 
Dripping Springs just outside of Austin, Texas.
    Prior to starting this business, Ms. Hudson was a lifelong 
musician from Nashville, Tennessee. After teaching music out of 
her home for 2 years and building a clientele, she expanded the 
business to a 4,000-square foot event space and hired a 
teaching staff of 12 people. Her hope is to spread the power of 
music and the arts to the community has made Hudson's on Mercer 
the place--I repeat, the place--for night life and community 
events in Dripping Springs.
    Ms. Hudson, I can't thank you enough for joining us today. 
We look forward to hearing more about your small business 
experience and your work with local communities. And I know 
that because of small business owners like yourself, and even 
myself, we will turn this economy around from the devastation 
we have seen from COVID.
    So I also want to thank all of our other witnesses for 
joining us today, and thank you for being the heartbeat of this 
country.
    And I yield my time back.
    Mr. MFUME. The gentleman yields back his time.
    The Chair recognizes Mr. Fitzgerald of Wisconsin.
    Mr. FITZGERALD. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Good morning. Good morning. It is my honor to introduce Ms. 
Gena Felder, chief financial officer for TJ Hale Company.
    Gena, welcome.
    TJ Hale Company is a manufacturer of fixtures. It is 
located in my district, the Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. The 
company was founded in 1950 in a 3,000-square foot shop in 
Butler, Wisconsin, which is also in the district, and 
specialized in supermarket interiors and architectural 
woodworking. The company has since expanded to 120,000 square 
feet of integrated manufacturing facilities and offers interior 
service for retail, hospitality, restaurants, and businesses, 
as well as architectural millwork in other industries 
throughout the United States and across the globe.
    Ms. Felder has spent over two decades with TJ Hale and is 
responsible for the overall financial strategies and financial 
management functions of the company. She is responsible for 
accounting, treasury, budgeting, and financial planning, 
taxation, risk management, legal, and information systems. That 
is just about everything. I can't think of anything else they 
could have you doing. She is also a member of the company's 
executive committee, and wanted to welcome Ms. Gena Felder as 
not only a constituent, but as a witness. So glad you are here 
today.
    I yield back.
    Mr. MFUME. Thank you very much. The gentleman yields back.
    The Chair would like to recognize Mr. Greenfield to proceed 
with his testimony, and then we will go in the order in which 
the guests have been introduced.
    Mr. Greenfield.

   STATEMENTS OF MR. TOD GREENFIELD, VICE PRESIDENT, MARTIN 
GREENFIELD CLOTHIERS, BROOKLYN, NY; MS. JAN HAVILAND, OWNER AND 
   PRESIDENT, HAVILAND CORP., LINN, MO; MS. SHELONDA STOKES, 
 PRESIDENT, DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP OF BALTIMORE, BALTIMORE, MD; 
    MS. NATASHA HUDSON, OWNER, HUDSON'S ON MERCER, DRIPPING 
 SPRINGS, TX; AND MS. GENA FELDER, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, TJ 
                   HALE, MENOMONEE FALLS, WI

                  STATEMENT OF TOD GREENFIELD

    Mr. GREENFIELD. Thanks.
    Good morning, Chair Velazquez, Ranking Member Luetkemeyer, 
and distinguished Members of Congress. Thanks for giving me the 
opportunity to testify today.
    I am Tod Greenfield. I live in Nassau County, New York. I 
am an owner of Martin Greenfield Clothiers in Bushwick, 
Brooklyn. We manufacture custom clothing for business people 
and weddings, as well as Presidents and celebrities.
    As you just heard, my father, Martin Greenfield, emigrated 
to the United States as an orphaned Holocaust survivor in 1947. 
He got his first job as a floor boy at the GGGs clothing 
factory we now operate at. In 1977, after his employer decided 
to shut down the factory, Martin purchased it and established 
Martin Greenfield Clothiers.
    Dad has always been grateful for having been liberated from 
Buchenwald by the United States Army. He started his career as 
a union member and always felt a strong desire to give back to 
the communities that welcomed him. When the neighborhood got 
rough and factories started moving away, Martin pulled other 
owners together and helped establish one of the first 
industrial parks in New York City now known as Evergreen.
    My father always considered the needs of the employees, the 
neighborhood, the vendors, and customers in his decision-making 
process. These values instilled into my brother Jay and I who 
currently run the company. I also serve as the current board 
Chair of Evergreen.
    Our company wasn't prepared for the COVID shutdown and 
sudden loss of business. We could not have survived the 
devastating effect without the two PPP loans, the EIDL loan, 
and the Employee Retention Credit we received. These enabled us 
to hang on and continue paying our employees' healthcare during 
the shutdown and the long months after.
    Our business, custom-tailored clothing, is very dependent 
on events. Business people dressing for the office, lawyers 
dressing for court, and film and television production. Our 
industry was particularly hard hit because of this dependence 
upon in-person events. This came on top of decades competing 
against cheap imports from foreign manufacturers who benefit 
from unfair government support. Directly because of COVID, our 
sales were down over 50 percent for an entire year. We are 
finally experiencing a return in demand for our clothing; 
however, sales are still down over 25 percent.
    As the only union men's clothing manufacturer left in New 
York City, we are an important resource, providing living wage 
jobs to over 50 mostly immigrant craftspeople. Just as our 
father was able to send my brother and I to college, so have 
hundreds of our employees been able to establish their families 
here in Brooklyn. We were able to provide safe access to sewing 
machinery and space for Parsons School of Design students while 
their school was closed because of COVID. Over the years, we 
have hosted classes from Parsons, FIT, School of the Art 
Institute of Chicago, and many other schools who seek hands-on 
learning experiences.
    When the COVID lockdown silenced our factory, we were able 
to safely reopen to produce and donate tens of thousands of 
masks and thousands of hospital gowns needed by our local 
frontline community. Before our first PPP loan was funded, we 
raised money through a GoFundMe enabling us to purchase mask-
making supplies. We donated masks to St. Nick's Alliance, 
Downstate Medical Center, the New York City Administration for 
Children's Services, as well as many hospitals and frontline 
workers.
    I want to thank you. Your actions through the CARES Act and 
the American Rescue Plan provided life-saving support to our 
company, our employees, and our community here in Brooklyn. 
However, this support has ended before the pandemic. I urge you 
to consider some additional relief targeted to especially hard-
hit industries like ours which depend on in-person events.
    Thank you for your time today.
    Mr. MFUME. Mr. Greenfield, thank you very much for your 
testimony, and congratulations on being a generational business 
that has survived many decades here in this country. We 
appreciate your time here with us.
    The Chair would like at this point to recognize Ms. 
Haviland for her testimony. Please go right ahead.
    Ms. Haviland, you are muted.
    Ms. HAVILAND. There we go. Is that better?
    Mr. MFUME. There we go. That is a lot better. Thank you.

                   STATEMENT OF JAN HAVILAND

    Ms. HAVILAND. Okay. Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member 
Luetkemeyer, Members of the Committee, I am honored for the 
opportunity to testify for the Committee today about National 
Small Business Week.
    I am Jan Haviland, owner of the Haviland Corporation in 
Linn, Missouri, a rural town of about 1,500 people. I am 
Chairperson of the Missouri Leadership Council for the NFIB, 
industrial representative for the Meramec Regional Planning 
Commission, and on the board of directors for the Missouri 
Chamber of Commerce.
    Haviland Corporation is a 75-year-old business started in 
about 1946 by my in-laws Warren and Van Haviland. Warren served 
in World War II and the Korean Conflict and was a combat 
disabled veteran recognized in both with a Purple Heart and 
Bronze Star. After World War II, Warren worked with his father-
in-law, a sanitary supply distributor in St. Louis. Warren 
enjoyed the industry and saw a need for premium floor 
squeegees, thus Haviland Corporation began.
    Van Haviland was a majority stockholder since the inception 
of Haviland, until my daughter and--Alice and I, purchased the 
business in 2014, thus making Haviland a woman-owned business 
for all 75 years. And since that time, we have done different 
types of squeegees to increase our product plans.
    In 1974, Haviland outgrew its location in St. Louis and 
moved to Linn, Missouri in Osage County. There the factory was 
built in a new Linn Industrial Park, and we have had two 
additions in the eighties and the nineties to that building. 
Our staff has been consistent for many years, and in 2010, I 
was named president of Haviland and my daughter was named 
executive vice president, and she is now well on her way to 
becoming the third generation to run Haviland.
    The business practices changed, we had to contend with 
changes, one of which was increased in products imported from 
China. We had some purchases of materials from China, but 
greatly reduced those purchases around 2009 because quality 
decreased and we wanted to continue being a made-in-the-USA 
product as we are today.
    Raw material lead times have become a huge problem. We have 
seen an increase in our lead times go from 2 to 5 days to 4 to 
6 weeks or even more, caused by the lengthening of time needed 
to get the materials. We have adjusted our order times to make 
sure those materials do arrive so our products get out the door 
in a timely manner. When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in March 
of 2020, we saw a drop in business for several months. And with 
the help of the PPP funds, we were able to go through the rest 
of the year. We also provided our county with personal 
protection equipment in the form of washable gowns.
    Since January of 2021, we have experienced numerous cost 
increases from all suppliers, from corrugated boxes, steel, 
steel finishes, rubber, freight, plastic parts, nuts and bolts, 
and numerous other product parts. In return, it has also caused 
us to increase prices we have to charge. We usually had a 2 to 
5 percent increases every 2 years, but this year we are looking 
at a 10 to 12 percent increase.
    As the tax increase in the federal government is proposed 
for C corporations, this would wipe out about two-thirds of our 
price increase. In running a business it is essential to have 
the money to cover cost increases, repair and replace 
equipment, do building repairs, and to provide health insurance 
and wage increases for employees, hoping those don't get wiped 
out with inflation. The price increasing on materials, what 
would remain in our pocket with that price increase, would be 
very little to cover the federal tax increase on C 
corporations. The choice of either pricing ourselves out of the 
market or covering the cost of doing business because of higher 
taxes will have Haviland in a nearly impossible situation.
    In 1946, Haviland had a choice of becoming a C corp, a 
partnership, or a sales--a sole proprietorship. The C corp 
model is chosen because it provided liability protection, even 
though it carried with it two levels of taxation, corporate and 
individual. And small businesses like ours are reluctant to 
change over to another type of business model. By treating all 
sizes of C corps the same with the current proposed tax 
increases, this would jeopardize the small business C corps by 
taking a disproportionate share of profits, dollars needed to 
make their businesses grow.
    We are a small business with less than 20 employees. We 
provide health insurance for our employees, their families, 
pension plans, stock ownership, profit-sharing plans, and 
college tuition donations for our employees' children, as well 
as other benefits. We proudly manufacture in the United States, 
and Haviland Corporation believes in Americans helping 
Americans, and this has been a corporate mission since 
inception with Warren and Van Haviland. It is about providing 
jobs to pay for those little league uniforms or for piano 
lessons, paying taxes to improve roadways, and providing 
insurance for our staff to relieve some of the stress that 
comes with illness.
    It is important we work with one another, and by 
manufacturing in the United States of America, we can do that. 
Now we need your help to ensure that this ability to operate 
and grow and own those small businesses continue.
    Thank you.
    Mr. MFUME. Well, thank you very much, Ms. Haviland. 
Congratulations to you and your daughter on three generations 
of business owners, but even more so, I guess, to have founded 
a woman's-owned business 75 years ago I am sure was a story in 
and of itself. We appreciate your time and your testimony.
    The Chair would like to again now recognize Ms. Stokes, who 
I inadvertently cut off previously for her testimony. You know, 
it is just great that you are here, Ms. Stokes. I have known 
you for years, and I am going to give you a few minutes so that 
people here on the panel will get to know you as well.
    Please proceed.

                  STATEMENT OF SHELONDA STOKES

    Ms. STOKES. Thank you so much, Vice Chair Mfume. I know in 
the absence of Chair Velazquez, I want to thank her, you, and 
Ranking Member Luetkemeyer, and all of the Members of this 
Committee.
    As you mentioned, I am Shelonda Stokes, an honor to stand 
before you today.
    You are talking about a poor girl from Baltimore City who 
matriculated through the Baltimore public school system, 
graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and then Morgan 
State University with a degree in electrical engineering, to 
owning a minority business and now serving as the president of 
Downtown Partnership of Baltimore.
    To the Committee, I thank you for your leadership and 
commitment in advancing economic opportunities for all 
Americans through your work on behalf of small businesses. Your 
efforts and your foresight over the last 19 months is really 
making a difference to countless small businesses and their 
employees as we continue to navigate a health and economic 
crisis unlike anyone has seen in at least five generations. And 
so I would be remiss if I didn't use this opportunity to thank 
all of the Members of Maryland's congressional delegation.
    Vice Chair Mfume, a special shout-out to you. I thank you 
for your support and commitment to Baltimore. To you, to 
Senator Cardin and Van Hollen. I mean, you guys have been 
tireless advocates for small businesses and our city. I would 
also like to thank just my board and our team, of course, and 
my family.
    So a little bit about the organization, and I want to talk 
about a program that we are highlighting in representing 
Downtown Partnership, which we oversee 106 blocks. It is an 
improvement district in downtown Baltimore representing 
property owners, businesses, 118,000 employees, 43,000 
residents, and millions of annual visitors.
    So we provide services that make this area clean, safe, and 
vibrant for businesses, residents, and visitors, and our impact 
extends beyond downtown to the communities. We are proud that 
many of our frontline team members are returning citizens, who 
we support with full benefits and a $15 an hour starting wage. 
And we are excited that, you know, downtown is home to several 
federal agencies, thank you, thriving corporations, and 
entrepreneurs. And although we are small in geography, we are 
the city's largest economic engine with jobs and tax revenues 
that support our businesses.
    So beginning with the pandemic, you know, my team and I 
have been extremely busy adding new tools to support the 
communities, the small businesses that we are talking about--
restaurants, retailers. I mean, we generated grants and gift 
card programs to really help pay rents, provide meals, and do 
those things that we know our community needed. And during the 
shutdown, I was asked to Co-Chair, along with Councilman Eric 
Costello from Baltimore City, the mayor's Small Business 
Recovery Task Force. And in this rite, we were able to help 
coordinate the city's economic response by channeling the 
dollars you all provided in federal relief funds, reducing 
business fees, streamlining permitting, and doing things and 
expanding and creating opportunities like outdoor dining.
    What we know is that federal stimulus and assistance 
provided substantial infusion of resources to State and local 
governments to help us turn the tide of the pandemic and lay 
the foundation for a strong and equitable recovery. 
Specifically, we benefit from both PPP and EIDL, those funds, 
and we are excited about the potential in working with Mayor 
Scott's administration to advance our city with the ARPA 
funding you have coming. And if we could put on the record just 
an early support for the pending infrastructure bill.
    So as we recognize Small Business Week, I would like to 
highlight a new program that we created titled BOOST. BOOST 
stands for Black-Owned and Operated Storefront Tenancy. And we 
created this program to do three things. We wanted to fill main 
street storefronts that were left empty by the pandemic. You 
know, our vacancy rates increased. We want to be intentional 
about accelerating the growth and success of minority 
businesses and we want to make sure that we are serving as a 
catalyst for making downtown Baltimore more reflective of the 
demographics of our city.
    And so we launched the program in February. We selected in 
this first cohort five Black-owned businesses to participate. 
Each organization receives up to $50,000 in grant funding. They 
get below-market rents in beautiful storefronts, and they get 
robust training in the areas of technical, legal, accounting, 
and marketing. We designed this program to have a force 
multiplier effect on the health and wealth of our citizens, and 
we designed it with all of our learnings from past programs.
    So we see BOOST as this perfect example of how public-
private partnerships work. So thank you for your continued 
support.
    And in addition to what we received from public support, we 
had sponsoring corporations like our title sponsor, Fearless, 
of the program. This is a model not just for being a title 
sponsor, but this is now a $40 million minority-owned firm that 
is headquartered in downtown Baltimore. We had other giants 
like Baltimore Gas and Electric, M&T Bank, T. Rowe Price 
Foundation, so many others who jumped in to say how could they 
help and layer on to the public support to help grow and scale 
our businesses.
    Our program is simple, and when combined with other federal 
and NGO programs, BOOST improves the return on investment, 
because we see these businesses as they are more likely to 
succeed and then hire from within the community.
    To highlight those winners for this first cohort, we had 
the Black Genius Art Show, which is a multimedia creative space 
and fashion brand; Codetta Bake Shop, which was just featured 
on Good Morning, America, but this is a cafe and bakery 
specializing in creative desserts; Elite Secrets Bridal, a 
bridal design house and boutique; NKVSKIN, a natural beauty 
company featuring both products and services; and Media Rhythm 
Institute, a hip-hop inspired media space with a cafe and 
educational studio.
    So Vice Chair Mfume, in your opening, you asked what the 
Committee could do to help, and I will respond with three 
things. One, we need you to keep doing what you are doing to 
provide federal support. Our businesses and our communities, we 
need it. You can also continue to infuse downtown with federal 
agencies that really help catalyze the community, and serve as 
customers for our restaurants and our retailers, and advocate 
for the continuation of programs like BOOST. And so we just 
thank you. It is an honor to be here.
    Mr. MFUME. Thank you. Thank you very much. Ms. Stokes, your 
time is expired. I want to thank you for being a----
    Ms. STOKES. Thank you.
    Mr. MFUME.--former small business owner yourself and now a 
fierce advocate for small businesses, particularly here in the 
State of Maryland. And your work with the National Women's 
Business Council and all the other things are greatly 
appreciated by this Committee.
    The Chair would now like to recognize Ms. Natasha Hudson so 
that she too might be able to offer her presentation.
    Ms. Hudson, thank you very much for being with us. The 
floor is yours. Please proceed.

                  STATEMENT OF NATASHA HUDSON

    Ms. HUDSON. Good morning. Thank you so much. Thank you for 
your admiration for small businesses. These stories so far this 
morning have been truly inspiring, and I feel very grateful to 
be a part of such a group. So let me tell you a little bit 
about us. It is a privilege and an honor to address you today. 
Thank you for listening to our story.
    My name is Natasha Hudson. My husband, Chad, and I, own 
Hudson's on Mercer Street, a live music venue in Dripping 
Springs, Texas. Dripping Springs is a fast-growing community 
about 20 minutes west of Austin. It is lovingly described as 
``West of Weird.'' Dripping Springs is home to many local-owned 
wineries, breweries, distilleries, boutiques, and wedding 
venues, and is a great spot for tourists and locals.
    We started Hudson's on Mercer Street almost 6 years ago, 
and it has become a creative and encouraging musical hub and 
event center for our community. We feature local and regional 
acts, party bands, singer/songwriters, and open mic. We also 
offer music lessons for any age and skill level with an 
emphasis on live performance. We are all about building 
confidence and loving everyone who comes through our doors.
    Having a huge passion for our community, we never say no 
when asked to donate our venue to raise funds for foundations 
and individuals in need. Our chance to give back is what we 
missed the most during the pandemic closures.
    A music venue sounds frivolous to some, but to us it is our 
dream and the way we serve our community. This venue is also 
the way we support our family of five kids and provide jobs for 
many to do the same.
    In 2020, we were shut down for nearly 7 months. By offering 
live streams of musical acts and virtual music lessons, we 
fought to keep our business afloat and help provide income for 
local musicians and bands who counted on us for work, but that 
only took us all so far. When we were near the bottom of our 
business and personal accounts and had gone through all 
personal savings to try to stay open, we were given a sign of 
hope when we were approached by Congressman Williams' team. 
They shared with us a plan that made us feel encouraged and 
validated. We waited eagerly for the Shuttered Venues Operators 
Grant to officially open their application process.
    We read all we could and joined webinars to help us 
understand what information they would be requesting. As 
prepared as we thought we were and with the help of our CPA, 
the process was still a bit overwhelming and was difficult to 
navigate at times. With website complications and application 
dates pushed back, we grew weary. However, complications were 
completely understandable because this was the first time 
support of this stature had been offered to music venues.
    Thanks to the grace of God, the hard work of our brothers 
and sisters in Congress, and the SBA, we were awarded a 
generous amount to cover our losses from 2020. It came in the 
nick of time and single-handedly put Hudson's on Mercer Street 
back on the map with no fear of demise. For that we are 
eternally grateful. What you did for our family-owned business 
is incredible, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
    The Shuttered Venues Operators Grant repaved the road for 
success and ensured that our business will remain alive and 
strong. We aspire to provide more community outreach and hope 
that the joy of music and fellowship is the legacy of Hudson's.
    Thank you for your time today.
    Mr. MFUME. Well, thank you very much. I have heard a lot of 
locations, but I have never heard west of weird, so----
    Ms. HUDSON. Yes.
    Mr. MFUME. I really appreciate that very, very much.
    Ms. HUDSON. Thank you.
    Mr. MFUME. And thank you for making time to be here with 
us, obviously.
    Ms. Gena Felder is the last witness for this panel. And Ms. 
Felder--and I hope I am--is it Felder or Felder?
    Ms. FELDER. Felder.
    Mr. MFUME. Felder. Excuse me. Ms. Felder, thank you for 
your patience, and please feel free to proceed.

                    STATEMENT OF GENA FELDER

    Ms. FELDER. Thank you.
    First, I would like to thank you, Vice Chair Mfume and Mr. 
Luetkemeyer, for giving us the opportunity to present today.
    As CFO, I am proud to represent TJ Hale for this 
Subcommittee meeting and appreciate the opportunity to discuss 
our interactions, struggles, and involvement with the SBA.
    As Mr. Fitzgerald explained our business, we have been in 
business over 70 years. We work with retail and hospitality. So 
as our CEO says, our business went from 60 to 0 very fast. The 
impact of TJ Hale from COVID-19 was catastrophic. Our annual 
revenues for many decades hovered around $25 million to $30 
million. With our revenue stream virtually dried up, open 
orders were canceled, completed orders that were ready to ship 
were put on hold. Overall, we saw 80 percent reduction in 
revenues compared to 2019. And the majority of 2020 revenues 
came in the first quarter.
    Through our existing lender, we were able to secure a PPP 
loan, which was funded in April of 2020. During this process, 
TJ Hale had no contact with the SBA.
    In March of 2020, TJ Hale employed 104 employees. We 
strived to maintain a skeletal crew of 40 to 50 employees to 
ensure that our business and future business activity could be 
managed if and when it returned. We also recognized the need to 
retain key employees.
    Throughout 2020, the company continued to fund medical 
insurance for all furloughed employees. During this time, we 
lost many talented employees, who we still struggle to replace. 
As of the current date, we have 73 employees.
    On October 8, 2020, we filed for PPP loan forgiveness with 
96 percent of our loan projected to be forgiven. And that is 
where the struggles begin.
    In January 2021, the company filed, through its current 
lender, an application for a PPP 2 loan. On January 25, we 
received confirmation that our application was in the queue. 
Our expectation was that our PPP 1 loan forgiveness and our PPP 
2 loan funding would occur in March of 2021. On February 5, our 
lender received a request from the SBA for the forgiveness of 
TJ Hale's PPP loan through some affiliation requirements. TJ 
Hale submitted the appropriate form 3511 on February 8.
    On March 11, the SBA requested that we resubmit the form 
again. And unknown to TJ Hale and our current lender, at that 
time our forgiveness application was put on hold and 
consequently our funding for PPP 2 was also put on hold.
    On May 12, we were notified by our current lender that our 
PPP 2 loan application had been withdrawn by the SBA because 
the funds--their program ran out of funding. We were then told 
we had until May 31 to submit a new application for funding 
with the Community Financial Institution.
    On May 14, we were able to connect with a CFI lender who 
submitted an application on our behalf. On May 18, we received 
confirmation we were in the queue. Hallelujah. However, we were 
then, again, asked for the affiliation rule documentation, 
which we provided again. On May 24, we were told the 
affiliation rule hold was still on our account. And as you may 
be aware, time was ticking because May 31 was the projected end 
date for funding.
    So on May 25, we reached out to our local SBA office in 
Milwaukee, the entire executive board of the SBA, as well as 
Congressman Scott Fitzgerald's office, to assist us to resolve 
this hold that was placed on our PPP loan that was also holding 
up our second loan. We were finally able to connect with Ellie 
Berg at the local office; however, she stated, ``please know 
the district offices do not have the ability or authority to 
clear any hold accounts in connection with PPP loans or 
applications.''
    On June 15, Congressman Fitzgerald's office started--excuse 
me--it is very emotional for me--leading the charge to assist 
TJ Hale through their efforts, the hold was finally released on 
June 25, and our PPP loan 2 loan was now pending validation. On 
June 30, the loan was finally approved.
    An important takeaway from this process for us is that 
although we are making a recovery, we are way behind pre-COVID 
revenue levels. The initial PPP loan was to survive as a 
company and secure employment and benefits for as many 
employees as possible. Our PPP 2 loan, as we see it, is to help 
revive the business for 2021 and the future rebuilding to pre-
COVID levels.
    Respecting the fact that the program was developed and 
rolled out in an extremely short period of time, our 
observation with the SBA is they would have benefited from 
forming some kind of SWAT team to help resolve issues with 
lenders and borrowers in real time.
    Again, thank you for the opportunity to let me share my 
story.
    Mr. MFUME. Well, thank you very, very much, Ms. Felder. It 
clearly sounds like it has been an emotional period and an 
emotional ride. Glad to know that the business is still there, 
though. That is the difference between so many others who have 
shuttered and have not been able to come back. So best of 
everything to you and the 73 employees that are still there 
with you.
    At this particular time, we have been rejoined by the Chair 
of the full Committee. So I would like to recognize Chair 
Velazquez before we move into questions.
    Madam Chair, you are muted.
    Chairwoman Velazquez. Thank you, Mr. Mfume, for yielding, 
and thank you for sitting on the Chair today.
    I really appreciate all the witnesses for sharing your 
stories. And we all know that this has been an unprecedented 
crisis in our nation, the extent of which we never were 
prepared to face.
    And so let me start by asking Mr. Greenfield, a constituent 
from my district, the first question. And first, let me thank 
you for sharing your story.
    Last year, we fought hard to ensure our businesses could 
get sources of funding to retain their workforce and keep their 
businesses going. Can you share with us your experience with 
SBA COVID-19 relief programs and the challenges you have faced 
during the pandemic?
    Mr. GREENFIELD. Sure. Thank you, Chair. So we received--we 
applied for and received both PPP loans and also the EIDL loan. 
We are also working to get the Employee Retention Credits.
    Our company was hit very hard and still hasn't resolved the 
issues. Until all in-person events, courts, and business 
meetings come back online, our business is going to continue to 
suffer.
    When we applied for the forgiveness for our first PPP loan, 
we actually spent 200 percent of the loan proceeds on 
forgivable expenses. So it was a great help, but it didn't 
provide the funding needed for that 6-month period.
    Chairwoman VELAZQUEZ. And so you mentioned that you were 
able to transition your business in the early days of the 
pandemic to help first responders all while many were working 
from home. How was that adjustment with manufacturing employees 
working from home?
    Mr. GREENFIELD. Well, it was very challenging. I have a lot 
of elderly employees, but they had sewing machines at home. I 
got permission from the union to do home work. All other 
industries were operating from home with Zoom. We can't produce 
things, but we can sew at home. So we were cutting the masks 
and bringing them to employees in their homes to sew at home 
and getting them back and donating them to the first responders 
and the frontline community.
    And, you know, as a clothing manufacturer in New York City, 
we were there and we were able to make tens of thousands of 
masks and hospital gowns when they were desperately needed by 
our community. And, you know, that is part of the value of 
preserving manufacturing in the inner city locations.
    Chairwoman VELAZQUEZ. But the workers also step up, and 
that is why it is so--I would like to ask you, can you explain 
why it is so essential to be supported by union workers and 
what this mean for the quality of your product?
    Mr. GREENFIELD. Well, we always have a strong attachment to 
our workforce, our workers. We are a family-owned business. We 
are really like a family here. When my father started the 
business in 1977, he hired seven people when he started and 
four still work for us today.
    Chairwoman VELAZQUEZ. Thank you.
    Mr. GREENFIELD. So our connection to our workforce is 
strong. And we supported them during the shut down, they 
supported us, and together we were able to help support our 
community.
    Chairwoman VELAZQUEZ. Thank you so much.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Mr. MFUME. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
    The Acting Chair would like to now recognize the 
distinguished Ranking Member, Mr. Luetkemeyer.
    Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Thank you, Vice Chairman. And, Mr. Mfume, 
you are doing a great job today. You are a natural for this.
    Mr. MFUME. No.
    Mr. LUETKEMEYER. You are flowing very well through all of 
the meeting here. Keep up the good work.
    Mr. MFUME. Well, thank you. You are very kind, but I can 
assure you this is like being thrown in the pond. I am just 
trying to stay afloat.
    Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Well, you have got a good life preserver 
on then, I guess. You are doing well.
    Mr. MFUME. Thank you.
    Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Ms. Haviland, thank you for being here 
today. And, you know, as you well know, my little hometown is 
not very far from Linn, Missouri, ride by your company a lot as 
we go on Highway 50 there.
    Can you tell me--you know, you survived all the years as a 
family-owned business. What has it been like--what kind of 
changes have you had to adjust to? And in the environment that 
we are in today, what sort of changes are you making now on the 
fly to be able to continue to exist?
    Ms. HAVILAND. Today, we, again, as I said, we like to be 
American made, so we are constantly trying to find suppliers 
that we can use that are American products or supplies that we 
can put into the products we do. We have been very lucky that 
our workforce has been very consistent. And so consequently, 
the knowledge of making our product is very, very deep within 
our company. But we are always looking for maybe something new, 
somebody may need a little different product. We would be happy 
to make and try and create that for them, and that has helped 
us tremendously.
    We went from just doing floor squeegees to windows and also 
doing the blades that go on automatic floor scrubbers. And so 
that is--you know, just looking ahead and trying to figure out 
what is the next product or project coming down the road.
    Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Well, I know you were able to transition 
to be able to help the local county health department with some 
protective personal equipments and washable gowns. And how did 
that feel to be an essential business where you had to show up 
every day and be able to produce these things and be a part of 
the support group to try and stem the pandemic and help all of 
us get through that?
    Ms. HAVILAND. Well, being in the sanitary supply business, 
we are an essential business to begin with, but being able to 
reach out to the community and say, hey, this is something that 
we can produce for you and feel a good feeling that everybody 
had that we were helping out our community to reach a level 
that might not have been able to be met easily. And we were 
able to produce that.
    Mr. LUETKEMEYER. You mentioned in your testimony that you 
are a C corp. I know that this last day or two here, we found 
that there is a--that the administration and the Members on the 
other side of the aisle are proposing a huge tax increase for C 
corps. How is that going to affect you? Have you looked at that 
yet?
    Ms. HAVILAND. I have not looked through the whole thing, 
but as a C corp, when we were originally started in 1946, we 
only had three choices: C corp, sole proprietorship, or 
partnership. And it wasn't until 1958 that the S corporation 
came in. By that time, we were well on our way. And it will--if 
we have to look at paying a large--much larger tax in C 
corporations, small businesses are going to have a very hard 
time trying to increase prices and stay in business and be 
marketable still, and I think this is really going to be a 
challenge.
    Mr. LUETKEMEYER. I got a question along those lines, you 
know. You talked a while ago about some of the increased costs. 
I know that supply chain disruptions are part of increased 
costs. There is an inflationary factor across the whole board 
right now. How much of this can you eat and how much of it do 
you have to pass on, and how competitive is your market for 
your products so that you at some point can't market your 
products because you are not competitive anymore with your 
pricing?
    Ms. HAVILAND. Well, compared--many of the people that do 
the squeegee business in the United States have gone to 
importing. Right now, they are limited in what they are able to 
get. We have seen some increase because of people not being 
able to get those imports anymore. And when that reopens, we 
will, you know, be losing probably some customers because of 
cost prices. And if we increase our prices beyond what we can 
compete with, we will lose much of the increase that we planned 
to do for this year. And, you know, when we are looking at two-
thirds of the increase being gone just to pay taxes, that is 
significant.
    Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Wow. I know you mentioned that you got 
some PPP funds. How instrumental were those with your company 
by being able to continue to exist because of those funds and 
your employees continue to be employed?
    Ms. HAVILAND. We used those to the full extent. It kept 
everybody here employed and working throughout the pandemic, 
and it was forgiven. And we were very happy that we were able 
to get those.
    Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Well, I wish you much success, continued 
success. We will continue to salute you as we, you know--you 
know, help all the folks in Linn, Missouri, there. So thank you 
for being with us today.
    And, with that, Mr. Chairman, I will yield back.
    Ms. HAVILAND. Thank you.
    Mr. MFUME. Thank you very much. The gentleman from Missouri 
yields back.
    I will now recognize myself for 5 minutes.
    And, Ms. Stokes, I would like to come to you for a couple 
of quick questions, and obviously take as much time as you can 
within the allotted time to expand. But when I was listening to 
Ms. Felder from Wisconsin and all that she was going through, 
it occurred to me that a lot of businesses like hers have to be 
their own advocates.
    Ms. STOKES. They do.
    Mr. MFUME. I think, in her case, she was fortunate to have 
Representative Fitzgerald there in the Fifth District to help 
her out, but everybody needs advocates. And since you have gone 
out of a small business operation and working with this 
national business council of women, but more importantly 
advocating, can you tell us what this Committee or what 
government agencies or what other organizations might be able 
to do to assist you and others who go out when you are not in a 
congressional hearing day in and day out and fight for and work 
for and advocate for small businesses such as hers?
    Ms. STOKES. No. Thank you so much. And you are really 
asking the number one question. Coming from being a business 
owner myself, I think some of what you experienced and the 
challenges was figuring out where information--like, how could 
you find out where resources were available.
    So the first thing that you guys do--and I mentioned it 
earlier--making the resources available is step one. But 
aligning with organizations like Downtown Partnership through 
the SBA and the way that you do with other things is so vitally 
important, especially as we look to talk to individual business 
owners that just need help.
    And there is so many--there is a myriad of things that they 
need. Some of what we learned, similar to the experience just 
referenced, was that people--I mean, that their doors were 
closing. They had no idea where to turn. In some cases, they 
qualified but just didn't have anybody to hold their hand 
throughout the process.
    So as a convening organization, we could step in the role 
of that. There are others in the city--BDC and others--who 
could really step in and hold hands of organizations as they 
did that.
    And so, you know, I would just ask that, as you continue to 
roll these out, that you align with organizations like Downtown 
Partnership and others who can help foster that information and 
share it more broadly.
    Mr. MFUME. And because every small business is different 
and located in different places throughout our country, rural 
or urban or east, west, north, south, are there some 
fundamental basics and universality that you could or think you 
should recommend for businesses, particularly those who may be 
watching this and not participating, or even for those who are 
on this particular panel who have worked so hard to advocate on 
behalf of themselves? Are there some rules to this, some key 
points that we ought to keep in front of us?
    Ms. STOKES. Right. One of the biggest lessons, I think, 
that we learned in a lot of this, Vice Chair Mfume, also came 
from the work that we have done with the National Women's 
Business Council. And for all of it, it is leveraging what 
exists. The SBA is a great starting point for some of the 
information that is available to these businesses.
    But, more importantly, I think as they go through all of 
this, no doesn't necessarily mean no in this, right? I mean, we 
are, as Downtown Partnership, a 501(c)(6) organization who in 
the first round of PPP did not qualify.
    And so having, you know, advocacy and all of those types of 
things, really being able to tell the stories as you allowed us 
as businesses to share today, help you all see where other 
areas can be. And so if there is a need, you know, galvanizing 
and aligning with other organizations to get the message out so 
that we can get that to you, so that those initial noes can be 
shifted or maybe given in other ways is extremely important.
    Mr. MFUME. Thank you very much. I get the sense that a lot 
of those stories are reflected in Ms. Greenfield and--Mr. 
Greenfield and Ms. Haviland's comments before us. In both of 
those instances, these businesses have been around for 
generations and had to advocate, particularly then, when nobody 
else would.
    So I am just hoping that this testimony is reproduced and 
made available for people, particularly made available for the 
SBA and others who oftentimes are looking for ways, I hope, to 
continue to advocate for and to help businesses, particularly 
those who run up against bureaucracies and can't seem to get a 
lot done.
    So my time has expired. I want to thank you very much, Ms. 
Stokes.
    The Chair would like to now recognize the distinguished 
gentleman from Texas, Mr. Williams.
    Mr. WILLIAMS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Before I get started, I would like to say to everybody on 
this call, we need to cut taxes. We do not need to raise taxes 
for small business.
    Ms. Hudson----
    Ms. HUDSON. Correct.
    Mr. WILLIAMS.--good to have you with us. And the Shuttered 
Venue Grant Program recognized that businesses like yours were 
some of the first to close and last to open as a result of the 
COVID-19 we saw. Even with the SBA disastrous rollout, I 
applaud you for being so resilient in reopening your doors. I 
know that the SVOG grant was a huge lifeline for Hudson's on 
Mercer, along with thousands of other venues. I am thankful you 
were able to weather the SBA's incompetence and keep your doors 
open. It is community-driven business owners like yourself who 
are going to rebuild main street America and regrow our 
economy.
    So my first question to you is: I just want to give you a 
moment to elaborate on how the grant helped your venue recover 
and how business has grown since the reopening.
    Ms. HUDSON. Yes, sir. Thank you so much. One of the 
blessings has been to be able to pay rent and utilities 
consistently and not have that worry in the back of our mind of 
how are we going to get there to the next month.
    Another thing is being able to hire more staff again and 
get them working and needing a bigger staff because we are able 
to hire bigger bands and musicians and work them again on 
stage. They bring in a crowd, and we all worked together to 
generate income for each other. So that--the grant made that 
able to get started again. So it has--that has been wonderful.
    Mr. WILLIAMS. In your testimony, you mentioned some 
complications with the SVOG application process. Unfortunately, 
it is not uncommon to hear that Biden's SBA has been difficult 
to work with. I hear from countless businesses in my district 
about lack of communication and inconsistent updates from the 
SBA that have kept many of you in the dark.
    Now, while I am glad to hear you finally received an award 
after months of waiting, these issues still need to be 
addressed and resolved for those who have not. So, Ms. Hudson, 
can you discuss your personal experience with the SVOG 
application process and how responsive the SBA was to your 
inquiries?
    Ms. HUDSON. Yes, sir. It was probably the most unclear, 
confusing experience that I have had, even though I am very 
grateful that it did all work out in the end. Even getting into 
the website to be able to fill out the application came with 
many steps that were unclear, and it was hard to dig through 
web--other websites to find what information you would need. So 
that was--it was challenging to get even into the website.
    And then the application itself was very thorough, and that 
makes sense. They want to make sure we are a legitimate 
business and we--our numbers need to be accurate and all of 
that. But it was a lot of information needed and sometimes 
information that we didn't know we needed beforehand.
    So--and then there was the delay with the website too. So 
it was all pretty challenging.
    Mr. WILLIAMS. One of the reasons this grant program was so 
impactful is because your business does more than just provide 
musicians with a platform to perform. Hudson's of Mercer 
provides a wide range of services to the community, from giving 
music lessons, to inspiring artists, to provide a venue for 
local foundations to raise money and make an impact on a 
variety of causes. And I want to say thank you for your 
contributions to the 25th District of Texas and all the work 
you have done in the community.
    And I would just ask: Can you expand on some of the other 
ways that Hudson's reopening has influenced your local 
community?
    Ms. HUDSON. Yes, sir. We are back to partnering with 
foundations. In fact, this Saturday, we are joining up with an 
organization who raises money for cancer patients and their 
families for alternative methods of healing.
    So those are the things that we really strive to focus on, 
and so we are able to do that again. We are bringing music into 
our town all the time. People are here and being able to 
perform and getting the joy of music. Our music lessons are 
back full speed, in person and virtually, and that gives our 
students an outlet to perform for 200 or more guests a couple 
times a month. So those--as young performers, that is wonderful 
experience for them. So that is definitely one of the beautiful 
parts of being open again.
    Mr. WILLIAMS. Well, you can't do it closed. You have been a 
great witness, as has everybody. And I just want to close by 
saying, we need to always consider cutting your taxes, not 
raising your taxes.
    With that, I yield my time back, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. MFUME. The gentleman yields back the remainder of his 
time.
    Thank you very much again, Ms. Hudson.
    The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin, Mr. 
Fitzgerald.
    Mr. FITZGERALD. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    And I just wanted to, once again, thank Gena for being here 
today. I think many of the Members of the Small Business 
Committee, especially in the last couple of months, we have 
been focused on, you know, for the most part, numbers and 
cases. And I have had a couple of experiences--and, again, you 
can just tell the emotion that is in Gena's voice this morning.
    I met with the Wisconsin Bankers Association about a week 
ago, and one of the bankers there who--it is a medium-size 
bank--and, you know, he literally was trying to explain to me, 
at one point in February of 2020, when they--they had hundreds 
of people that their--that there were customers of theirs for 
many, many years, and he was losing sleep wondering if any of 
them would be able to survive this. And he explained it was 
only through the PPP loans that they did. And, you know, with 
literally hundreds of files on their conference table at one of 
the banks, he said, I just didn't know if they were going to 
make it. So I think it is important for us to remember the 
human element in all this and how difficult and gut-wrenching 
this would be.
    And I appreciate all the small business owners. I once was 
a small business owner. And, you know, I realize that the 
proprietor, that the owner, that the boss is sometimes the last 
person in line. And that is hard to go home and tell your 
spouse that, well, there may or may not be a paycheck next 
week. So I understand kind of what you are going through.
    I will just say this, and I wanted to ask Gena kind of 
where we are at. In many instances, it looks like the loans 
went out, no matter how difficult it was to acquire them, to 
accommodate them. And now we are in this phase of the 
forgiveness part. And I am just as worried about this with the 
amount of red tape that currently exists and how we are going 
to work through that.
    So, Gena, can you just explain kind of what your experience 
is so far on the loan forgiveness part of this?
    Ms. FELDER. Sure. TJ Hale was--in 2013 was bought 70 
percent by a private equity firm. So that is where I was 
mentioning before the affiliation rules, because the 
affiliation rules say you have to have under 500 employees. So 
we had to prove to the SBA that we were considered or 
investment company is considered a small business investment 
company, or SBIC licensed by the SBA. So TJ Hale--was not 
subject to that affiliation rule.
    So the form 3511 that I mentioned before has four ways you 
can be waived, and the third waiver on that form is are you 
funded by an SBIC company, which we checked yes to the box. And 
the instructions say, if you answer yes, you don't need to 
complete any other sections of the form. So we did that, 
submitted that, thought we were on our way.
    So for 2 months, we thought everything was being processed. 
Our bank actually submitted the forgiveness application in 
November, and it wasn't until February that they received any 
communication that there were any issues with the forgiveness 
being processed.
    And that, of course, like I said, held up the PPP 2 loan. 
We couldn't get financial statements issued because, you know, 
we were banking on the forgiveness, and we were doing financial 
modeling based on that.
    So--and it really took until the end of May for that 
finally to be lifted, and only through--we believe, efforts 
through Shannon at your office helping guide that process for 
us.
    Mr. FITZGERALD. Yeah. Thank you. And that kind of is my 
point.
    And I would just say to the Chairman and the Ranking 
Member, I mean, I think part of what this Committee's oversight 
should be is to kind of bird-dog this process all the way up to 
the end to make sure that the SBA is doing the due diligence on 
the followup. I really think that, you know, the Members of 
Congress, we can have an impact on that, but this Committee 
should be higher profile and really watch this closely, so--and 
I know we have no time left, so I would--I would absolutely 
love to hear comments on that in the future.
    Thank you. I yield back.
    Ms. FELDER. Thank you.
    Mr. MFUME. Thank you very much. The gentleman yields back.
    The Committee has just about expired its allotted time for 
this first panel.
    I want to thank the entire panel, all of you, for bringing 
with you five different stories for this Committee to hear and 
to understand and to be a part of the public record. We hope 
that the persons who have been watching this have learned 
something and gained something.
    But most of all, we hope that all of you will continue to 
do what you do, because you really do represent in many 
respects the real backbone of businesses that we can't always 
see and don't always know about. Some of you are nameless and 
faceless, but your stories are really monumental in terms of 
what they do in the aggregate to hold this country together.
    So I thank you for your time. All of you are free to exit 
the Zoom platform now if you would like and to continue to 
watch by way of streaming.
    And I also want to just thank the Members on both sides of 
the Committee, particularly Mr. Luetkemeyer, the Ranking 
Member, for their patience with me today as we try to get 
through this first round together.
    And at this particular point in time, I would like to yield 
to the distinguished woman from Pennsylvania, Ms. Chrissy 
Houlahan, who will now Chair and guide the second panel.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. [Presiding.] Thank you, Representative Mfume.
    And my name is Chrissy Houlahan. I represent Pennsylvania's 
Sixth Congressional District just outside of Philadelphia. It 
is my pleasure to begin panel two, and I will begin right away, 
since we are a little behind, by saying, of course, welcome, 
and let me yield first to Ms. Craig, who will introduce our 
first witness.
    Ms. CRAIG. Thank you so much, Madam Chair, for yielding.
    And thank you to all of our witnesses for being here today. 
I am really pleased that we are holding this great bipartisan 
hearing to honor our nation's small business heroes, and 
especially to listen to every single one of you.
    I am very proud to support the bipartisan resolution 
recognizing this week as National Small Business Week.
    Small businesses employ over 130,000 employees in my 
district across all professions. I am proud of the work of this 
Committee and Congress has done, especially over the last 18 
months, to bring aid to our local business owners. But I know 
that there is more to be done.
    I am so proud to introduce here today a constituent and 
business owner from my district, Eric Childs. He owns Mind's 
Eye Comics.
    And, Eric, I am so pleased to have you here from Mind's Eye 
Comics here this morning.
    I am especially grateful to Eric for serving on my newly 
formed small business task force with a diverse set of other 
small business owners from across Minnesota's district--Second 
District, representing industries from breweries to 
manufacturing to technology solutions. In fact, we are holding 
our first meeting on my small business task force tomorrow 
during Small Business Week in Lakeville.
    Today, I am looking forward to hearing more about how 
Eric's decision to buy Mind's Eye, as a longtime patron, was an 
opportunity to build community, and how he has been able to 
bring our community together at Mind's Eye Comics, especially 
through the last 18 months.
    Thank you so much, Mr. Childs, and welcome. I really 
appreciate you serving as a witness today.
    With that, Madam Chair, I yield back.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Thank you, Representative Craig.
    And I would now like to yield to our Ranking Member, Mr. 
Hagedorn, to introduce our next witness.
    Mr. HAGEDORN. Well, thank you very much, Madam Chair. I 
appreciate that.
    I am honored today to introduce Ms. Krystal Hernandez, 
owner of the well-known and much loved Mexican restaurant, La 
Plaza Fiesta, in Madelia, Minnesota. Madelia is a town of about 
2,500 people, and it is really just one of the finest 
establishments that we have in our district, and we are so 
honored to have Ms. Hernandez with us.
    She also owns a grocery store right next door, so she has 
been expanding her business. And I think there is even more to 
talk about as far as maybe moving into other locations. We will 
get into that.
    Through many trials and tribulations, including a 
devastating fire that wiped out about eight businesses in 
Madelia's main street in 2016, and then of course the recent 
obstacles with COVID and everything, Ms. Hernandez has worked 
hard to build a terrific small business, and she and her 
husband and others have worked tirelessly utilizing her 
business, La Plaza Fiesta, as a means of bringing the entire 
community in Madelia together.
    And I have said it many times. Our small businesses are the 
people on the ground that have the most to gain and also the 
most to provide and to give to our communities to keep them 
going. And that is why it is so important that we do everything 
possible to help them keep rolling along.
    Instead of promoting an environment that views, you know, 
competition as hostile, La Plaza Fiesta and their team are 
working with surrounding restaurants, and they kind of feed off 
each other. If one restaurant needs something, they help out 
and vice versa. And that is exactly the type of thing we need 
to be seeing in order to build all of our communities across 
the board.
    It is this type of attitude, love of community, and great 
food and drink, I tell you--I have full disclosure. I have been 
there several times. It is a great spot to eat and drink--that 
is allowing La Plaza Fiesta to expand their second location. 
They have taken all that they have done, and they are moving to 
Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Not moving, but they are expanding 
to Sioux Falls. So we congratulate Ms. Hernandez on that.
    We are so blessed to have integral members of our community 
like Ms. Hernandez that make Minnesota's rural downtown so 
special and vibrant and resilient, and no matter what the world 
throws at them. And this was so important to keep our rural 
economy rolling.
    So without further adieu, I would like to first 
congratulate, again, Ms. Hernandez and her team at La Plaza 
Fiesta for all their success, and welcome her to testify on our 
national small business hearing today.
    Thank you, Krystal.
    And thank you, Madam Chair, and I yield back.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Thank you, Mr. Hagedorn.
    And now I would like to yield to Ms. Bourdeaux to introduce 
our next witness.
    Ms. BOURDEAUX. Thank you, Chairwoman.
    And thank you to our witnesses for joining us today. It is 
wonderful to hear from small business owners from across the 
country about their stories and the contributions they make to 
their communities.
    I am extremely proud----
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Ms. Bourdeaux, you may have two sound 
versions on right now.
    Ms. BOURDEAUX. I am so sorry. I will be right back. I have 
got to reboot. Sorry. One sec.
    Why don't you move on to the next one, and I will be back.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. All right.
    Ms. BOURDEAUX. It will only take a minute.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. I will now yield to Mr. Stauber to introduce 
our next witness, and I will come back to Representative 
Bourdeaux.
    Mr. STAUBER. Thank you very much.
    And I am very excited to introduce the witness from 
Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District, Mark Lunde. Mark 
started Lunde Auto Sales in Wadena, Minnesota, in 2016. A used 
car dealership with nine employees between their two stores, 
Lunde Auto Sales provides a personal touch to the car shopping 
experience. Lunde Auto Sales has an A-plus rating from the 
Better Business Bureau, a testament to Mark's leadership.
    Mark is an active member in his community, serving as a 
city of Wadena city counselor, a member of the Wadena Housing 
and Redevelopment Board, a member of the Tri-County Hospital 
Foundation Board, and a member of the Wadena Hockey Association 
Board.
    Thank you, Mark, for taking time out of your busy schedule 
to share your testimony with us today, and I look forward to 
questions and answer.
    And I yield back. Thank you.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Thank you, Mr. Stauber.
    And I will circle back around to Ms. Bourdeaux--I am sorry. 
Yeah--to Ms. Bourdeaux to introduce her witness.
    Looks like she might not be back, so I will yield now to 
Mr. Meuser to introduce our witness as well.
    Mr. MEUSER. Well, thank you, Chairwoman Houlahan. I 
appreciate it very much. I am about to introduce someone who is 
no stranger to you either.
    It is my pleasure to introduce Mr. Barry Schlouch, a 
fantastic business--small business person as my witness for 
today's hearing. Mr. Barry Schlouch and his wife, Deb, founded 
Schlouch, Incorporated, a site design and heavy civil 
construction firm headquartered in Blandon, Pennsylvania, in my 
district, Chairwoman; many employees from yours as well.
    Barry and Deb founded Schlouch, Incorporated, in 1983 in 
the basement of their home in Berks County, Pennsylvania, a 
fantastic American business story. That year, they won their 
first job, which I was told a couple of times how excited they 
were, a $15,000 contract to prepare a site to construct a 
Wendy's restaurant.
    Today, Schlouch, Incorporated, employs over 285 people and 
is known as the leading total site preparation specialists in 
eastern and most of Pennsylvania, I believe, serving many 
local, regional, and national customers.
    Since forming Schlouch, Incorporated, Barry and Deb have 
created conscientious relationships between employees and 
customers alike, while providing excellent quality of work to 
their customers. Creating a safe environment for employees and 
customers has been of the utmost importance to Schlouch, 
Incorporated, and it shows in every day of their work.
    As Barry states in his testimony and will, his company has 
three main priorities: safety of the people, safety of the 
people, safety of his people.
    Over the last 38 years, Barry has not only built an 
incredibly successful business that employs hundreds of people, 
but he has set an incredible example for small businesses 
across the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
    I would just add that knowing Barry and the trials and 
tribulations and accomplishments they have had, they have been 
very strategic, very thoughtful. They certainly work hard, but 
they work smart. Caring is a big part of what their company 
culture is about, certainly for the long-term interest of the 
business itself, of its employees.
    I have actually attended a morning huddle where they very 
happily join about 6 a.m. as the day begins in that line of 
work. They care for their customers, they care for their 
payers, and they care tremendously for our community. Again, as 
you well know, Madam Chair, nothing special occurs throughout 
Berks County and surrounding counties without usually Barry's 
involvement.
    Barry, I thank you for the excellence you bring to our 
community as both an employer and as a leader in our community, 
and I look forward to your testimony and sharing your 
experiences with us.
    And I yield back. Thank you.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Thank you, Representative Meuser, and welcome 
to our--to my neighbor, Barry.
    And, with that, I will yield back to Representative 
Bourdeaux to introduce our final panelist.
    Ms. BOURDEAUX. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Sorry about 
that. The brave new world of Zoom here.
    Thank you again to our witnesses for joining today's 
hearing, and it is so wonderful to hear from our small business 
owners across the country, to hear about their stories and 
their contributions to their communities.
    I am extremely proud to have Maurice Contreras of Volcanica 
Coffee, which is headquartered in Suwanee, Georgia, and to hear 
his testimony today. He is one of the many very diverse small 
business owners that we have throughout Georgia's Seventh 
District.
    Maurice started Volcanica Coffee after visiting his 
homeland in Costa Rica. While he was there, he saw an 
opportunity to import great-tasting coffee from volcanic 
regions, such as in Costa Rica, to consumers. The company 
started part time in his garage and now operates a coffee plant 
near Atlanta, Georgia, with 20 employees that includes his wife 
and his two children.
    I met Maurice during a manufacturers' roundtable held in my 
district during the August district work period, and I am 
extremely proud and grateful to have him join us today. And 
coffee drinking has been sort of one of my key vices, and so it 
is particularly relevant and a business that I deeply 
appreciate.
    Thank you, Maurice, for taking time out of your busy 
schedule to join us. I look forward to hearing your testimony.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Thank you.
    And, with that, we will move over to our panelists' 
testimony, and I will now recognize Mr. Childs for 5 minutes.

   STATEMENTS OF MR. ERIC CHILDS, OWNER, MIND'S EYE COMICS, 
BURNSVILLE, MN; MS. KRYSTAL HERNANDEZ, OWNER, LA PLAZA F!ESTA, 
MADELIA, MN; MR. MAURICE CONTRERAS, PRESIDENT, VOLCANICA COFFEE 
   COMPANY, SUWANEE, GA; MR. MARK J. LUNDE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE 
OFFICER, LUNDE AUTO SALES, WADENA, MN; AND MR. BARRY SCHLOUCH, 
         PRESIDENT, SCHLOUCH INCORPORATED, BLANDON, PA

                    STATEMENT OF ERIC CHILDS

    Mr. CHILDS. Thank you, Representative Houlahan and 
Chairwoman Velazquez, Ranking Member Luetkemeyer, and other 
Members of the House Committee on Small Business, for this 
opportunity to share my testimony today.
    Also, thank you to Representative Craig for the invitation 
to testify at today's small business hearing. This is truly an 
honor and a privilege to be a participant in representing the 
small businesses of Minnesota's Second Congressional District 
and residing city Burnsville.
    Today, I will do my best to express a few moments 
significant to my journey, in hope to convey who I am and how I 
came to be the proprietor/owner of Mind's Eye Comics and the 
positive difference I choose to make in my community utilizing 
my business.
    Early on in my life, I was encouraged, I was taught that I 
could be anything I aspired to be and achieve anything I put my 
mind to. All that is required is a little hard work and 
dedication. Simple but powerful concepts. These ideas 
reinforced in faith and a belief that God has purpose for each 
of us.
    For these lessons, I am extremely grateful. Thank you, 
Herbert Logan Childs and Barbara Sue Childs, my parents. Thank 
you for your wisdom, integrity, character, and belief in me.
    Thank you, Ms. Davanni, for seeing the value in all your 
fourth grade students, including myself. Thank you for being 
willing to sacrifice your own hard-earned money for your class 
and, on occasion, even your personal time, all to find a way to 
engage, help, and encourage each of us. For me, it was comic 
books you would discover to be the catalyst for completed 
assignments and instilling a passion for reading.
    Thank you, Dr. Helgeson, my high school humanities 
instructor, for showing us there is greatness in all of us, and 
celebrating all cultures in your class.
    Each one of these individuals have impacted my life 
tremendously and left a lasting impression on me, one of 
positivity, inspiration, encouragement, and a belief that we 
are all connected and can make a positive difference in the 
lives of others. I share these personal insights of my past 
influences first because these are the philosophies and the 
beliefs at the core of the businessman before you today.
    These ideas would prove to be instrumental to the future 
core purpose of Mind's Eye Comics and would be put to the test 
beginning a little over 3 years ago after acquiring the 
business in 2018.
    Mind's Eye Comics first opened in 1998 by Mr. Troth--Mr. 
Andrew Troth. Troth established the comic shop, in my opinion, 
that finally showcased the medium in the way it deserved, much 
like any other respectable bookstore. Beautiful layout; clean, 
well-organized space would become my favorite comic bookstore 
in Minnesota. With excellent customer service, a welcoming 
atmosphere, and a wide selection, Andrew truly had raised the 
bar on what it meant to be a comic shop.
    For 20 years, I was a patron of Mind's Eye Comics, later in 
life would become the place I brought my own children to 
encourage their reading.
    In 2018, Mr. Troth announced he planned to retire and would 
be closing the store. I couldn't watch the place that was so 
important to so many and so unique in our community to come to 
an end. I couldn't accept it, so much so that I asked Mr. Troth 
if he would consider selling the store, to which he replied, 
No, unless of course you are inquiring for yourself. He says, 
For you, Eric, I would consider it, as your heart's in the 
right place.
    This marks the beginning of the next chapter. The baton has 
been passed.
    Thank you, Mr. Troth, for trusting me with what you started 
and considering me a worthy ambassador of this truly unique and 
special place of culture, imagination, and creativity.
    Now instead of closure, I saw opportunity. I saw an 
opportunity to build community, inspire and enrich the lives of 
others. Mind's Eye Comics now advocates for literacy, makes 
Black history more accessible through graphic novels, assists 
educators in discovering alternate graphic source materials to 
coursework, provides an outlet for the works of independent and 
minority creative teams, and still serves as your community hub 
of all things geek.
    So, in closing, I would like to share a story from my first 
summer open in 2018.
    Two young boys no older than 12 years of age came in and 
began, you know, just excitedly perusing the comics on the 
shelves, one of which, after making his purchase, rushed over 
to our nook and began reading, completely captivated and 
flipping through the pages.
    The other young man soon came over and joined his friend 
that was reading, and he asked his friend, he said, Is your mom 
going to be okay with you spending all of your money on these 
comics, to which he replied, She is always trying to get me to 
read. I am reading.
    Thank you, guys, for the time.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Thank you.
    And from a former educator and somebody who spent a lot of 
time on childhood literacy, I really appreciate the story, and 
also really appreciate your shout-outs to all of your educators 
and teachers in your past. And thank you again, Mr. Childs.
    Ms. Hernandez, you are now recognized for 5 minutes.

                 STATEMENT OF KRYSTAL HERNANDEZ

    Ms. HERNANDEZ. Thank you. It is an honor to be here, and I 
just want to say thank you for letting us be here.
    Like Representative Hagedorn said, I am Krystal Hernandez. 
I am the owner of the La Plaza Fiesta and Fiesta Market, which 
is located in Madelia, Minnesota, which is about a population 
of 2,500.
    And my husband and I purchased the restaurant in 2012, and 
we pride ourselves on providing a welcoming atmosphere with 
fresh-made meals. We are committed to ensure each visitor 
enjoys their experience and their meal when they come in our 
doors, and we want to help keep Madelia a destination in 
southern Minnesota.
    You might be looking at me wondering why I have a Mexican 
restaurant, but I have always had a dream of owning a 
restaurant, since I was little. I came from a family that we 
didn't get to go out to eat very often. We didn't have a lot of 
money. And I always--I came from a very work--hardworking 
family as well. My parents always had two or three jobs.
    And the day came, when I was 14 years old, that I had to 
get my first job to help with family bills, to keep our house, 
and it was a dishwasher job. And, from there, I guess the rest 
is history, you could say. I fell in love with the restaurant 
business, and I worked my way up. And I met my husband at a 
Mexican restaurant that I worked at in Owatonna, Minnesota.
    And the last 10 years that we have been in business has 
been full of challenges, from a devastating fire to a global 
pandemic. But one thing has stayed consistent. We have learned 
valuable lessons through all of it and have come stronger--come 
out stronger in the end because of it. For the longevity of the 
business, we have learned how to pivot and overcome the crazy 
obstacles put in our way, and we have been grateful for the 
community we live in.
    We are who we are because of our amazing support system 
here in Madelia and the surrounding areas, and it is important 
in a small town to come together and raise each other up in any 
way. And we have been--we have been a witness of that, because 
all of the businesses in our town have supported us from day 
one, and Madelia is such a special town because of our like-
minded mind-sets. We have amazing businesses who faithfully 
support one another.
    In February of 2016, I was 8 months pregnant with our first 
child, and eight other businesses on Madelia's historic main 
street were engulfed in flames and reduced to rubble. It was a 
devastating blow to our established location that we have 
worked my entire life for to create. And with the help of 
charitable donations, our strong faith, community outreach and 
involvement, positive mind-sets, and a lot of people in the 
mix, we were able to temporarily relocate at the Madelia Golf 
Course while we rebuilt our restaurant on main street.
    The restaurant has never been an easy business to be in, 
but our passion for serving and cooking meals makes it all 
worth it at the end.
    As we were recovering and overcoming the fire, the global 
pandemic happened, as we all know, and this was hard because 
everything was and sometimes still is unknown. We worked really 
hard to pivot our menu, pay our staff, because we knew, if we 
would lose them, we would lose Plaza, and just take one day at 
a time.
    We prayed a lot. Our faith is everything, seriously. We 
were fortunate--sorry--to survive through it all, but that was 
a big help because of the PPP loans and the restaurant 
revitalization funds. I know we wouldn't have the same outcome 
if it wasn't for that. Sorry.
    We have gone from a staff of 5 people to 30, and I take 
that responsibility very seriously. And they are the backbone 
of who we are and--because of our success today. So, without 
them, we would be nothing. I--some of them have been with us 
since day one and have endured every challenge with us by my 
side.
    I honestly love what I do, and I love sharing with the 
people who helped me along the way. And my biggest passion is 
to teach people about other cultures and to mix cultures 
together into a community.
    We are planning on opening a second location for the 
restaurant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, starting in January of 
2022, and we are partnering with some friends that are eager to 
mix both of our passions and our experience together into one 
beautiful location.
    Thank you.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Thank you, Ms. Hernandez, for that really 
passionate testimony.
    Mr. Contreras, you are now recognized for 5 minutes.

                 STATEMENT OF MAURICE CONTRERAS

    Mr. CONTRERAS. Thank you.
    Good afternoon, Chairwoman Velazquez, Ranking Member 
Luetkemeyer, and Members of the Committee, and Congresswoman 
Bourdeaux.
    My name is Maurice Contreras, the CEO and founder of 
Volcanica Coffee. We are a specialty coffee roaster of exotic 
imported coffee from volcanic regions from around the world.
    I am honored to come before this Committee to tell you 
about our company. We are a family-owned business that I 
started in the garage of our home 17 years ago. It all began 
after frequent family vacations to my homeland in Costa Rica. 
During one of those vacations, I realized there was an 
opportunity to import, teach, and introduce great-tasting 
coffee to the U.S.
    Coffee had always been in my blood and has been in our 
family for at least two generations, starting when my mother 
and grandfather would assist in the harvesting of coffee beans 
high in the mountains of Costa Rica.
    Volcanica Coffee started out as a part-time side business, 
but we now operate a large coffee roasting plant near Atlanta 
in Suwanee, Georgia, with 20 employees that includes my wife 
Diane, and our son Aaron and daughter Adriana.
    When I started the business in 2004, it required a lot of 
work and research. I had to learn how to build a website, how 
to drive traffic through borrowing books from the website. I 
spent many early mornings and evening hours building the 
business.
    I will tell you it was not an overnight success, but even 
with limited time to work on it, it grew every year to the 
point that I could leave my corporate job in the wireless 
telecommunications industry and focus on growing the business 
full time.
    Today, we carry over 150 different coffees imported from 
volcanic regions from around the world. Our focus is on high 
quality, using the latest coffee roasting machines manufactured 
in the USA that have low emissions. We have various quality 
control measurements in place to ensure that we only ship 
great-tasting coffee, and we offer 100 percent customer 
satisfaction.
    Volcanica Coffee carries a broad line of estate, peaberry, 
decaf, and flavored coffees. We fresh roast and quickly ship to 
consumers around the world. Our website offers subscription 
programs and individual purchases, and we are also available on 
Amazon.
    Specialty coffee has been a growing trend, and many 
consumers have been discovering that coffee can be enjoyed much 
like a fine wine, with various flavor notes depending on the 
region and roasting techniques. Coffee is much more than just a 
drink to make you alert. The coffees we import are from mineral 
rich soil that are very aromatic with a remarkable taste and 
are also kosher certified.
    We have been growing very rapidly as consumer preferences 
have shifted to brewing high-quality coffee at home. We are 
honored that last month we were ranked number 514 on the Inc. 
5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. 
by Inc. magazine.
    Just this month, we moved into a larger coffee plant, 
nearly doubling our capacity, to accommodate our growth.
    We have been blessed--and giving back is very important to 
us--so we donate 1 percent of our website retail sales to the 
organization called charity: water, which brings clean, safe 
water to communities around the world. Over 7 million people 
now have access to clean water through projects funded by 
charity: water. We also donate to local charities and first 
responders.
    I am very grateful for the opportunities that we have here 
in the United States to be able to experience the American 
Dream. I am also grateful to be able to build a business with 
our family and to provide employment opportunities for our 
Members.
    Thank you, and I am very happy to answer any questions.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Thank you, Mr. Contreras. I really appreciate 
your testimony as well.
    Mr. Lunde--I hope I am pronouncing that correctly--you are 
now recognized for 5 minutes as well.

                   STATEMENT OF MARK J. LUNDE

    Mr. LUNDE. Thank you. It is Mark Lunde.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Lunde.
    Mr. LUNDE. You bet. Thank you.
    Thank you, Chairwoman Velazquez and the Small Business 
Committee, for having us here today.
    I actually have three broader topics. While our exact 
business challenges and opportunities are always a moving 
target, I have got three broader topics I wanted to comment on. 
And one is the federal minimum wage and how it affects us as a 
small business.
    While I agree a livable wage is certainly the goal and 
aspiration of every American, many experts agree and most data 
suggests that even $15 an hour is not a livable wage in most 
parts of the country. And across-the-board mandates, which are 
another real-life example of an unfunded mandate to a private 
business, while they do have limits and exclusions, are harmful 
to competition in specifically rural markets where I live. 
Furthermore, they stifle new opportunity and training 
opportunities for people entering the workforce.
    And I wanted to give an example of an 18-year-old that we 
recently hired, a high-school graduate who chose not to enter 
college and chose to enter the workforce with us. And had we 
been forced to pay him $15 an hour or more with a mandate, we 
wouldn't be able to hire him. And in the time he has worked 
full time for us, starting at $10 an hour, he has earned two 
raises, been placed on a monthly bonus program, which puts his 
pay much higher than the per hour minimum that could be 
proposed.
    And I believe that wages, like prices, should be set, 
corrected, and ruled by the market with all moving parts 
considering job types, parts of the country, parts of the area 
that you live in.
    Employers in 2021 should be as aggressive as ever to push 
wages upward, and those that aren't will be out of business 
pretty swiftly.
    Following the pandemic, the underserved market, such as 
hospitality, retail, restaurant, several others like that, they 
have all seen huge spikes in their human resource expenses. And 
while we certainly want to avoid inflation, some view this as 
simple market correction. And many of these sectors' employees 
and former employees have taken this time to go back to school 
or seek other opportunities altogether.
    And so, with that, that is that one.
    The other big one for us, in rural Minnesota at least, and 
I think across the nation as I read, is affordable daycare. 
This is a huge stumbling block for economic development in the 
country, let alone in rural America. In fact, according to the 
Committee for Economic Development's Report of Child Care in 
State Economies, in 2019, there were 674,000 childcare programs 
in the United States with revenues of $47 billion employing 1.5 
million workers. And the spillover impact to those programs 
generated an additional $52 billion in local economies.
    And regarding employment, direct--beyond direct jobs in 
that industry, an additional 507,000 jobs are supported within 
communities, leading to an overall jobs impact of 2 million 
workers.
    Now, obviously, these numbers have been hugely affected by 
the pandemic. And just in our small area, I know of three 
different home-based and small daycare centers that called it 
quits early in the pandemic and shut their doors for good for 
one reason or another.
    According to Rania Antonopoulos of the Levy Institute, they 
estimate that, following the great recession, had investments 
in care infrastructure been in conjunction with the investments 
in physical infrastructure, they would have yielded twice as 
many new jobs as the latter investments alone.
    Particularly in rural America where I live, there again, we 
have a huge hill to climb in the way of economic development 
and getting people back to work, and part of that is investing 
seriously in daycare, home-based childcare, and after-school 
programs.
    Thirdly is kind of--is kind of something that seems to be 
winding down, which is unemployment benefits, or extended 
benefits. All the like are kind of lumped in here. And, again, 
while totally necessary in the full throes of the pandemic and 
uncertain times, mandated shutdowns and the like, this has 
become a joke in many areas. Many, if not most, businesses I 
know of up and down main street--factories, offices alike--are 
in desperate need of employees.
    Businesses are changing models, hours, and even services 
because of lack of available workforce. Meanwhile, those same 
able-bodied workers are or were collecting checks versus 
working. Some call this a work ethic issue. Some call it a 
government handout. I call it just bad for business.
    In 25 years of business, I never dreamed that I would 
literally have to compete with unemployment compensation to 
attract and retain employees. I believe any and all forms of 
this must come to an end really quickly so we can get back to 
work.
    Those are my topics. Again, I thank the Committee for 
having all of us, and I am open to any questions.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Thank you so much, Mr. Lunde, for your 
testimony as well.
    Mr. Barry Schlouch--I know I never pronounce that right--
you are now recognized for 5 minutes.

                  STATEMENT OF BARRY SCHLOUCH

    Mr. SCHLOUCH. Thank you, Representative Houlahan, and thank 
you, Representative Meuser, for inviting us. And thank you to 
all the Representatives for taking this time to listen to small 
business. And congratulations to all my peers for the courage 
and the willingness to come along and share your story. I have 
got like four pages of notes myself of learning.
    With that, I hope you have all played Monopoly, and I hope 
you landed on Reading Railroad, okay? That is where I live, 
Reading Railroad, Reading, PA. And we are in the process of 
restoring a rail from Reading to Philadelphia, which I am very 
involved in, so stay tuned to hear more about that.
    But back to the three things. Thank you for the wonderful 
introduction, Congressman Meuser. I am not going to kind of go 
through our background, but we did start straight out of our 
basement in 1983 as a 25-year-old and a 23-year-old next to me, 
my wife. And we built this company from a capital investment of 
$2,000 to about a billion 7 in business, collectively over the 
38 years, and we are doing about $100 million a year now. So 
amen for America. I mean, where else could you do that? It is 
America.
    So I feel the dream is alive and well. Our daughter is 
positioned for success. She is 39 years old. She will be the 
proud leader of a woman--women in construction--women in mining 
construction, so it proves out that women can succeed as well, 
and Stacy is a role model.
    I want to talk about the three things of safety--the first 
priority, safety; the second priority, safety; the third 
priority, safety--and how it can transform every business.
    So that is what we do at Schlouch. And, really, to work 
safe and be safe, it takes a tremendous commitment. It takes 
leadership, it takes standards, it takes process, it takes 
training, it takes execution, and it takes accountability.
    So we are faced with what is called the fatal four every 
day, which is electrical, falls, struck by, and caught between. 
So our company was positioned for success for the pandemic not 
knowing it. And, believe me, I could do without this pandemic.
    So when it came about in February last year and we got word 
of this and we got information, we created what we called the 
fatal five. I told you what the fatal four is. The fatal fifth 
is COVID-19. So we go every day for zero injuries, every day, 
okay? And we have gone sometimes over--years with no injuries.
    Our goal is zero COVID-19. Now, people are like, wow, that 
is impossible. Well, we ran all the way with 285 employees and 
families through Thanksgiving 2020 with zero COVID-19, okay? 
But we followed the process. We had the standard. We had the 
accountability. We were trained.
    When the Governor shut down our business, he thought that 
was best for the State. Construction got shut down. Thanks to 
Congressman Meuser, I got to speak with him, and we 
repositioned them for success and reopened construction safely 
6 weeks later. But I had to prove to the Governor and his team 
that we could do it safely, and we have.
    So I just want to talk to you a little bit about the things 
that we are doing. So, this morning, I started with an app on 
my phone. This is how a day starts. I have an app. I asked a--I 
answer the questions, symptoms, anybody positive? That app goes 
in to all 285. If we got yes to any question, boom, we contact 
trace right away. And, boom, we quarantine or whatever is 
necessary.
    So a couple weeks ago--I live on a 70-acre farm with my 
wife here, and I was out cutting hay. And I got a call from my 
IT guy who said, Hey, do you have your laptop?
    Yeah.
    Wipe it down.
    The IT department--a mother of one of the people had tested 
positive, had touched my computer. Wipe it down. That is the 
degree of what we are doing today. Okay.
    So I am asking government to listen to us, trust us, 
empower us. We got it. Okay? And I have asked Governor Wolf 
that, the same thing. I know you are trying to help us, but 
mandates really create distrust. It widens the gap. I spent all 
day yesterday mitigating the President's speech last week, 
because I am vaccinated and we have a lot of vaccinated people, 
but not everybody's vaccinated.
    We got this, and, now, the unvaccinated people, when this 
plays out, are going to have to prove to me every week that 
they are not positive by getting a test. They have got to prove 
it to me. Okay? That doesn't build trust. It doesn't build 
cohesiveness. And there are ways that we can do it, and I have 
shared it with you, you know, that we are already doing.
    I want to share with you also, the online training has been 
great. The working from home has been great. We are continuing 
it. And I know I am running out of time. And we are promoting 
it. So where there has been international articles on the 
details of what we are doing, you know, as a company, we want 
to take the success, share it, and we want to get to zero 
COVID-19 for the country.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Thank you so much, Barry. I really appreciate 
your testimony and insight as always.
    That concludes the opening remarks of all of our panelists, 
and we will now move on to Member questions, and we will be 
alternating back and forth between both sides. And so I will 
first recognize Ranking Member Mr. Hagedorn for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Hagedorn, are you still on?
    I don't see him, so I will go on instead to Ms. Bourdeaux 
next.
    Ms. BOURDEAUX. Thank you so much.
    Maurice, thank you so much for joining the Committee today. 
And just thought I would talk a little bit more about your 
experience. You know, one of the things we talk about a lot in 
this Committee is how do we help support small businesses as 
they are getting started, and then how do we support them as 
they are growing.
    And so, just to start off, you know, if you could tell us a 
little bit about your journey. You had a successful career 
prior to starting your business. What made you start a small 
business, and what obstacles did you face to getting up and 
running?
    And you need to unmute.
    Mr. CONTRERAS. Yeah. Thank you.
    So when we got started, it really--I started it only with 
$5,000, which was good on a virtual company, you know, on a 
website. But when we moved into the manufacturing plant, it 
required several hundred thousand dollars. The equipment and 
the tax laws that had been in place for small businesses, 
especially a C corp, were very favorable to us, and really 
allowed us to be able to buy new equipment, build out the 
plants, and even, you know--you know, as our business grew, we 
invested more and more and more. And, you know, our tax 
liability wasn't as great because of the laws. And that really 
helped us tremendously.
    Part of the reason why, you know, I started the business 
was somewhat as--you know, I wanted to create a legacy for our 
family and do our--do something else, not just work for large 
corporations. And so, at first, it was kind of toying around 
and just, you know, figuring out what would work.
    Coffee was not my first thing. I did a couple of other 
things. But, you know, it was--it was really that. It was 
knowing that, you know, long-term, you know, to build a 
business and to have the American Dream really was attainable, 
but it just required a lot of work and action to get started 
and do it.
    Ms. BOURDEAUX. And just along those lines, what has been 
some of the biggest challenges as you have gotten bigger? So, 
this sort of, getting started, you had the capital and the 
resources to get there, but you have now expanded and grown and 
has that been a smooth process? Are there things that we need 
to be thinking about as a committee to help promote small 
businesses and to help them to grow?
    Mr. CONTRERAS. Yeah. It is funny, you know. Every time I 
think that we are going to get to a plateau where, okay, all 
right, now I can relax and maybe enjoy some of our fruits, now 
I have to spend another 40,000 here, another 60,000 here, 
another 100,000.
    So what would be very helpful is just to have availability 
to access credit for small businesses and it has been 
difficult, you know. We don't even have a line of credit yet 
with our existing bank that we have been doing business with 
since the beginning.
    Hopefully that is going to come together, but, you know, 
something to be able to help us, you know, make those initial 
investments. That would definitely help. And then the other 
thing right now, which is already been mentioned, is the issue 
that everybody has with employment, you know. Hopefully, that 
is going to end.
    I know a lot of the programs that are in place have ended, 
but it really is a struggle and anything that can be done on 
your all's end to get the people that are on the social payroll 
to come back to work would be very beneficial to us.
    Ms. BOURDEAUX. Okay. Well, thank you very much for your 
time and for coming and many best wishes for the future growth 
and success of your company.
    Mr. CONTRERAS. Thank you.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. [Presiding.] Does the gentlelady yield back?
    Ms. BOURDEAUX. I yield back, yes.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. The gentlelady yields back. And I now 
recognize the gentleman from Minnesota for 5 minutes, Mr. 
Stauber.
    Mr. STAUBER. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Mr. Lunde, from your testimony, it sounds like you believe 
the federal government often gets in the way of small business 
success. As a small business owner myself, I agree with you. Is 
there anything that you think the government is getting right 
at the moment, i.e., a tax policy or SBA assistance program.
    Mr. LUNDE. Yeah. Thank you, Congressman Stauber, I do. 
First of all, I think the steps taken by this very Committee 
just last week in advancing the $25 billion legislation to help 
small businesses directly is a huge step. You know, I have had 
an opportunity to review that legislation and so many times 
they are so packed filled with different small little programs 
that don't actually affect anything and don't really get the 
money where it goes or where it should be going. In this case, 
I believe it does.
    And, furthermore, for all the complaining I have heard 
about the SBA over the last 17, 18 months, I think with the 
huge job that they had to do getting funds into bank accounts 
to get people's, you know, health insurance and to get people's 
paychecks paid, they have just done a fabulous job and, 
obviously, not flawless, but I think they have done a wonderful 
job of helping the American businesses is what they are there 
to do.
    Mr. STAUBER. Thank you very much. And then let's go to the 
business you are involved in. You know, with reports of used 
cars up 41 percent due to inflation, have you begun to feel the 
impacts on your business and are there adjustments you are 
already planning to make in the wake of inflation?
    Mr. LUNDE. Sure. Yeah. Another great question. New and used 
car inventories seem to be a topic on a lot of people's minds 
lately. We see it on the news a lot, you know, on Facebooks of 
the world. We have certainly seen higher wholesale prices at 
our auctions and we buy a lot of vehicles from around the 
country and we see it pretty much coast to coast.
    And so, you know, with that, yes, of course, higher 
wholesale prices is going to translate to higher retail prices 
with the major manufacturers, you know, stalled in 
manufacturing. Obviously, the big, big stores, the big, big 
franchise dealers and what not are consuming a lot of what 
would normally be left for independents like myself.
    And so that, of course, means more competition equals 
higher prices equals higher prices for the consumer buying a 
car. So we are seeing that. We are seeing higher prices 
obviously that will lead to inflation.
    I don't know if that is a temporary inflation, but for now 
the market of used cars, especially, is up and the market for 
new cars is practically nonexistent.
    Mr. STAUBER. I think one of the concerns for new cars, Mr. 
Lunde, is the chip shortage and the chip shortage is made--many 
of them are made in the Communist country of China that are 
holding up the out of dealers from getting their new chips. We 
are hearing dealerships that normally get 40, 50 cars a month 
are getting two or three new cars just because of the chip 
shortage. And I think that is where we, in America, we can mine 
the critical minerals and rare earths. Manufacturers should 
make those chips here so the supply chain dependency is in our 
own hands. We are learning from cobalt so many things, 
including supply chain dependency, which would help.
    And then the last question is, are there any major concerns 
that you are having with discussions--let me rephrase that. Are 
there any other major concerns you are having with discussions 
in Washington that could impact your business?
    Mr. LUNDE. Specifically, no. I think the general thing, as 
you mentioned in your introduction of me, I am also on the city 
council here in Wadena, so I get a lot of phone calls, emails, 
things of that from local business people and citizens alike. 
And I think the biggest thing going in business right now in 
the car business, in general main street businesses is just 
general uncertainty. You know, I hear a lot of people asking, 
when do you think we will get back to normal? And then there is 
this new thing, of course, called the new normal, which I think 
we are all tired of hearing that one too.
    I think in reality there is no going back to, quote/
unquote, normal. This is business as usual. This is the new 
economy and businesses have changed. As you mentioned through 
COVID, we have learned a lot. And some of it very positive.
    The Zoom meeting we are having here today. Think of all the 
savings costs and otherwise that this allows us to do. So----
    Mr. STAUBER. In my remainder 20 seconds, can you talk about 
discussions that we are having about minimum wage and 
overspending by the federal government? You got 15 seconds.
    Mr. LUNDE. You bet. There again, my belief on minimum wage 
is, there was probably a time and there was certainly a time in 
this country where that was necessary. I don't believe that is 
right now.
    I think that employers and businesses alike can and should 
up their spending on that. They are going to do it on their own 
any way or they are just going to be left without employees.
    So I think it is an overreach by the federal government.
    Mr. STAUBER. Okay. Thank you.
    And, Madam Chair, I yield back. Thank you.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. The gentleman from Minnesota yields back. I 
now recognize the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Meuser, for 
5 minutes.
    Mr. MEUSER. Thank you, Chairwoman Houlahan. Mr. Schlouch, 
very nice to see you. Deb, Mrs. Schlouch, very nice to see you. 
We really appreciate you being here in your opening testimony. 
It was on target as I certainly would have expected, so 
appreciate that.
    So the Paycheck Protection Program clearly was very 
important to help through COVID-19. Barry, I would like to know 
when COVID-19 first begun, we had a strong federal response. We 
had a statewide response. How did Schlouch, Incorporated 
weather the pandemic and relate it to some of the factors from 
the government?
    Mr. SCHLOUCH. Well, like everybody on the call, it was a 
huge challenge. The worse thing that happened was when I had to 
show up in the morning and tell 285 families and our workers to 
go home and I don't know when you are coming back. That was 
horrible. I never thought I would see that in my lifetime at 
least while I am healthy. Generally that happens when you go 
out of business or you bankrupt, but I did it because it was 
the order.
    So and then we spent 6 weeks, about 70 percent loss in 
revenues that we normally would have. So we got some waivers. 
In Pennsylvania, there was a waiver process and we did get some 
waivers for some hospitals and things like that. So we did get 
about 30 percent going. We paid for our employees' healthcare 
during the time. We kept it going.
    So it was a risk I was willing to take because, you know, I 
believe in them. So that was hundreds of thousands of dollars 
that we put out during it not knowing how this was going to 
end. And I got to say the PPP really helped. We received it. It 
has been forgiven and it really helped offset the loss.
    However, if we can get to point where government starts 
listening more and allows us to help, we could have actually 
kept working safely through the whole thing where outdoors 
heavy civil and that money could have helped somebody else. So 
we did it. We got through it. It was very chaotic and we did 
the best we can with what we had.
    Mr. MEUSER. All right. Great. In the interest of time, I 
know safety is one of your mantra at your company. Feel free to 
comment on that, but I am also very interested in your thoughts 
on some of the big federal legislation coming along? We have 
got a 3.5 or 2.5, whatever it happens to be, reconciliation 
bill and also a transportation infrastructure bill, which, as 
you know, I feel very strongly for the T&I bill, not so much 
for the reconciliation bill.
    I would like your thoughts and what you think the economic 
impact is to our community, as well as Schlouch, Incorporated 
as well.
    Mr. SCHLOUCH. Well, let me start with infrastructure 
because, you know, there is nothing I can do there because 
government owns the infrastructure and the public right away. 
You can help as you can with safety and our military. Those are 
the two areas, I think, if you want to help, those are the 
areas you can help.
    However, with the infrastructure, don't put in things like 
project labor agreements and things like that that penalize our 
employees. We have 285 of the best, and when you start thinking 
like project labor agreements that prohibits our employees from 
working on public works projects and I fully oppose that one. 
They are baked in these transportation bills. I would never ask 
Congress to prohibit union labor from working on public work, 
but somehow Congress has made it okay to prohibit nonunion.
    So as far as the 3 and a half trillion dollar budget bill 
or the expansion bill, I sent a letter to Representative 
Houlahan I oppose it. And we oppose it because it increases 
taxes at a very poor time. I mean, right now inflation is going 
up, prices are going up.
    We would have to try and pass it through or it would come 
out of profit, and it would hinder--you know, right now we are 
investing heavily in wages and in training and we do the things 
that we need to do with the money that we work hard to earn.
    And as I did with you, I called you on the PPP. I told you 
how I spent every dollar of that money and it all went to 
wages, training. Every red cent of that we got in forgiveness.
    Mr. MEUSER. That is great. Speak about inflation a little 
bit. How has that affected your business and do you see it in 
the short-term or longer term problem?
    Mr. SCHLOUCH. Well, construction is crazy. I mean, if you 
follow materials and you follow what is going on and some of it 
we are still recovering from supply chain from the pandemic, we 
had to give it some time because, you know, lumber is way up, 
steel is way up. Whatever we can manufacture locally, we should 
invest in locally, but it is a real problem with the cost and I 
don't know how much more our end users, which are the 
homeowners and the businesses, are going to be able to bear out 
of this.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Unfortunately, the gentleman's time has 
expired.
    Mr. MEUSER. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. You are welcome.
    Mr. MEUSER. Thank you very much, Mr. Schlouch.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. I now will yield to the Ranking Member, Mr. 
Hagedorn, who will be recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. HAGEDORN. Madam Chair, thank you for that. Really 
appreciate it and, again, so proud to have Krystal Hernandez 
from La Plaza Fiesta restaurant with us today and as I have 
said many times that our small businesses are pillars of the 
community and they have big investments in the community and 
they have done--they do so much, especially for our small 
towns.
    And what Ms. Hernandez and her team have done is a 
testament to that in the city of Madelia, about 2,500 people. 
So appreciate you being here.
    And Ms. Hernandez, I was inspired to hear that some of your 
fellow taxpayers have stepped up with Paycheck Protection 
Program restaurant revitalization fund, things like that. It 
seemed to have a big impact in helping you get through a tough 
time with the coronavirus.
    I also was kind of interested, though, in talking about 
your other business. How is it that you decided to expand into 
the grocery business and, you know, maybe you can tell us your 
background on that as a small business person why you made that 
decision?
    Ms. HERNANDEZ. Okay. That is a good question. I kind of 
always wanted to have a Hispanic store ever since the one that 
was currently in Madelia had closed. Way back before the fire, 
we had this crazy idea like we always do, we always have these 
crazy ideas and we started getting it ready and we were 30 days 
out of opening--the day of the fire, we were 30 days out of 
opening so it got pushed behind again.
    And so the reason is because in our town there is 35 
percent of the population is Hispanic and not just from Mexico. 
Like they are from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, all 
Central America. And we have a chicken processing plants in 
Madelia that we are so thankful for in our town and a lot of 
those people are employed there.
    And our grocery store--our regular grocery store doesn't 
have a lot of their products that their used to in their 
countries. And so we just thought it would be good to provide 
that in our community. We also--a lot of people always wanted 
like to-go meals, things ready quicker than a restaurant can 
provide.
    So we thought that our initial idea was to open up like a 
little deli with a few ethnic groceries and now it is kind of 
expanded into like a mini supermarket.
    Mr. HAGEDORN. It sounds like you really found a way--you 
got a niche market there and you are going to meet the demand. 
It sounds like good business. So we wish you well in that 
enterprise as well. Tony Downs, that group, was actually at our 
job fair today. I am in Mankato at South Central College at a 
job fair.
    So quick question: So how do you think some of the labor 
shortages and inflation maybe with the products that you have 
to purchase or inflation from other businesses that you do 
business with, how has that affected your business now and do 
you need some help there?
    Ms. HERNANDEZ. It has made it very chaotic. Kind of just 
like everything, but we have been--I don't know. I just always 
have a positive mind set. I know that is really important and 
our faith has kind of pulled us through everything.
    If I am being honest, it has been challenging in a lot of 
ways. There is shortages on food, there is shortages on even 
to-go boxes right now. Napkins. Things that are obviously vital 
to staying in business now that we actually get to be open, now 
there is so many shortages on that.
    Thankfully, I am super grateful for our 30 core people that 
we have working for us, but just like everybody else, we are 
competing with, like, unemployment and things like that and 
trying to find employees.
    Now that we are growing, we need more employees as well. So 
it has been challenging, but yeah.
    Mr. HAGEDORN. So a lot of supply chain issues and probably 
sometimes not even able to provide the products and services 
that you would like, but hopefully that will get ironed out. I 
know the workforce issues have been tough extra federal 
unemployment benefits, which have prevented some people from 
going back to work.
    Those are ending now, but you are a lifelong resident of 
southern Minnesota. You are an entrepreneur who started her 
business, I think, at what, 22, something like that. You have 
been through more challenges than you can shake a stick at and 
what we don't want is some bad government getting in the way 
from this point forward.
    So I would just like to congratulate you on what you and 
your team have done. Really appreciate what you have done for 
the community of Madelia and the folks down here in providing 
the example to others and I wish you well on your expansion to 
South Dakota and to the grocery store business as well. Thank 
you for being here and testifying.
    Madam Chair, I yield back.
    Ms. HERNANDEZ. Thank you.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. The gentleman yields back. And I want to now 
say thank you to our panel for taking the time to walk us 
through your successes and your challenges as well. We really 
appreciate it and we know that it is really not easy to take 
time away from operating your businesses. So we really 
appreciate your thoughts and insights, particularly, my 
background is in entrepreneurs as in small businesses and I 
know just how important hours of your time is.
    So this concludes the second panel of three and those of 
you who participated in the second panel can now exit the Zoom 
platform and those who are participating in the third panel 
hopefully are here already. If you would like, you can continue 
to watch the proceedings on the live stream.
    And with that, I will have the opportunity to introduce 
Representative Dean Phillips who will be taking over as the 
Chair for the next panel. And thanks so much, once again, for 
joining us.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. [Presiding.] Thank you to my colleague 
Chrissy Houlahan and welcome to our third panel today. Grateful 
to all of those who have testified before and eager to have our 
final panel start. We will just take a moment to introduce each 
of you, but for turning it over to testimony, and I will now 
yield to Representative Newman to introduce our first witness. 
I want to make sure our panelists are on. All right. Well, if 
Ms. Newman's not here, I will introduce our first panelists.
    Let me just get this. Mr. Jaime Di Paulo in his 10 years of 
president and CEO of the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. 
Jaime has more than doubled its membership--[audio 
malfunction]--he has established four priorities as CEO such as 
being the meeting point for the Latino companies in Illinois 
multiplying the ways to train Hispanics with small businesses 
ensuring that Hispanic companies can have all the information 
to access credit and government contracts, and bringing 
together minorities from Illinois to access better business 
opportunities.
    Throughout his career he has helped open and grow hundreds 
of businesses in his community and he grew the LBCC membership 
from 30 to 900 Members. He previously served as the business 
development director for the Greater Oklahoma City Hispanic 
Chamber of Commerce and worked as the director of the Mexican 
and American Thinking Together Foundation.
    And now I would like to yield to our Ranking Member on the 
Subcommittee on Investigations, Ms. Van Duyne, to introduce our 
next witness.
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. Thank you very much. I would like to 
interview Susan Shaw. Susan grew up in Hurst, Texas, before at 
Howard Payne University. After spending several years in the 
title business and 7 years in retail, Susan and her husband 
Howard bought a family-owned independent insurance agency in 
2000, which is now called Shaw Insurance Agency. And they have 
been serving the DFW community since 1981. Married with two 
adult children, an adult stepson, she is an avid reader, 
mission-minded world traveler, and a self-described community 
volunteer junkie, which I can personal attest to.
    Active in the Hurst Chamber of Commerce, she serves as the 
executive Board of Directors, she chairs WILD, which is Women 
Inspiring Leadership Development. She has received numerous 
awards since she was the 2015 Shining Star Award for her 
involvement in the Community Enrichment Center, the 2017 HEB 
chamber member of the year, the 2018 Shining Star Award by the 
HEB chamber, and she was selected as the 2019 director of the 
year for the chamber and the recipient of the Gertrude Award 
for 2020.
    So, Susan, I am so happy that you are here with us. Thank 
you so much.
    I yield back.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. Thank you, Ms. Van Duyne.
    And now I will yield to Ms. Houlahan to introduce our next 
witness.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. You thought you could get rid of me.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. Right back at you.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. I want to have the opportunity now and the 
pleasure to introduce Mr. Donald Fox. And while I came to know 
Mr. Fox under really difficult circumstances, it has been a 
genuine honor to learn about him and see first hand his passion 
for serving Members of our community.
    Mr. Fox is the owner, president, and CEO of Fox Theaters, 
LLC, which is a movie theater company based in our district in 
Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1957 by 
his father Richard Fox and it now operates 20 screens in three 
theater locations, one in Wyomissing and two in Ocean City, 
Maryland. Don has over 40 years of industry and national trade 
associated experience and he is currently reviving the business 
after suffering devastating pandemic related losses as you can 
probably imagine over these last 18 months.
    Emergency Federal Relief programs that we have championed 
here in this Committee, including the SVOG, the PPP, EIDL 
loans, and ERC have all been keys to the survival of his 
business. Don resides with his wife in Wyomissing. Again, it is 
my pleasure to introduce him and I look forward to his 
testimony.
    And with that, I yield back, Mr. Chair.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. Thank you, Ms. Houlahan. And now I would like 
to yield to Ms. Young Kim to introduce our next witness.
    Ms. YOUNG KIM. Thank you, Chairman. And it is my honor to 
introduce Mr. Mitch Cook. Hello, Mr. Cook. Mr. Cook is co-owner 
of Avalon Bagels to Burgers. It is a small business 
representing California's 39th district and serving the most 
delicious bagels and burgers in all of southern California.
    Mr. Cook and his business partners, Mark Cook and Gilbert 
Mendez, started Avalon Bagels to Burgers in 1997, first in 
Yorba Linda and established a second location in Placentia in 
2001. More importantly, Mr. Cook is a father of four and 
grandfather of ten. Oh, my goodness. I just became a grandma of 
my very first child, but ten grandchildren. Kudos to you. You 
know, I had the pleasure of visiting his small business in 
Placentia a couple weeks ago and meeting some of his employees.
    Mr. Cook, I want to thank you for taking the time out of 
your busy day from running your business to joining us today. I 
look forward to hearing more about your business and what you 
do for our community.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. Thank you, Ms. Kim. And I believe I yield 
back one more time to you to introduce our last witness.
    Ms. YOUNG KIM. Yes. It is my pleasure to introduce Mr. Greg 
Owens. He is a cofounder and CEO of Sherrill Manufacturing and 
Liberty Tabletop in Sherrill from New York. I am introducing 
Mr. Owens on behalf of Representative Claudia Tenney. Mr. Owens 
and his business partner Matt Roberts started Sherrill 
Manufacturing in 2005 after flatware producer Oneida Limited 
moved its manufacturing overseas from upstate New York.
    Both former Oneida employees, Mr. Owens and Mr. Roberts, 
they purchased the company's old New York factory and hired 
back many of their former colleagues. In an era when many U.S. 
manufacturing firms have moved to China or elsewhere, Sherrill 
Manufacturing now flourishes with tens of thousands of 
customers nationwide while supporting over 15 employees in 
stable, well-paying positions.
    I look forward to hearing Mr. Owens' insight into how we 
can help renew the American manufacturing to strengthen self-
sufficiency, the availability of high-quality jobs, and 
flourishing communities across the nation.
    Thank you, Mr. Owens, for joining us today.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. And thank you, Ms. Kim.
    With that now, we will go to our testimony. I will 
recognize Mr. Di Paulo for 5 minutes for your opening 
statement.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Representative Newman would like to introduce 
her witness, too.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. Oh, I had introduced him in the--maybe you 
didn't hear me.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Oh, never mind. I take it back.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. Okay. I hope everybody did hear my 
introduction, but Mr. Di Paulo, if you would like to begin your 
5-minute opening statement, you can proceed.

STATEMENTS OF MR. JAIME DI PAULO, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE 
OFFICER, ILLINOIS HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (IHCC), CHICAGO, 
 IL; MS. SUSAN SHAW, OWNER, SHAW INSURANCE AGENCY, HURST, TX; 
  MR. DONALD FOX, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, FOX 
THEATRES LLC, WYOMISSING, PA; MR. MITCH COOK, CO-OWNER, AVALON 
 BAGELS TO BURGERS, YORBA LINDA, CA; AND MR. GREG OWENS, CHIEF 
  EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SHERRILL MANUFACTURING INC., SHERRILL, NY

                  STATEMENT OF JAIME DI PAULO

    Mr. DI PAULO. Thank you, Representative. My name is Jaime 
Di Paulo. I am the President of the Illinois Hispanic Chamber 
of Commerce and thank you, Chairwoman Velazquez, and all the 
Members of this House Committee and especially to my 
congresswoman and my dear friend, Mary Newman, for allowing me 
to speak in front of you today.
    And I would like to thank the Board of Directors at the 
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Hispanic Chamber of 
Commerce, for the trust they believe in me. We have an 
incredible Chairman and 11 very committed businesspeople. They 
are really committed to move the agenda as taking care of small 
businesses in our community. And also to the team at the 
Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, mucho gracias. Thank you 
for your hard work day in and day out.
    This is the reason we are here testifying. It is an honor 
to testify at this hearing and to have the opportunity to share 
some matters for your consideration. As we have been all 
working hard to endure and overcome the pandemic, several 
things have happened that merit your attention and 
consideration. Yes, thousands of Latino businesses have 
disappeared. They are no longer in business, but many, many 
others remain standing and remain strong ready to fight on.
    We know things that we have done better or worse without 
the U.S. assistance. The assistance has been made available 
from you. And yes, much, much work remains to be done if you 
want Latino businesses to reach their full potential. Small 
businesses are the backbone of the United States economy making 
up 99 percent of all businesses.
    The federal government has an interest in creating and 
maintaining the level of playing field for all businesses 
throughout this country. Certain changes to the disadvantaged 
business program would help to further establish a level 
playing field, structural changes that would improve the 
competitiveness that DBE in the U.S. economy as whole include: 
number one, keep all graduates from DBE programs until 2 years 
up to the President declares a national emergency due to COVID 
ended.
    And number two, modify the gross receipts calculation, but 
not counting the subcontract expenses by DE firms. Number 
three, increase the small business size standards by 25 percent 
effective immediately and then annually to match the inflation. 
This changes will give small businesses throughout the United 
States a fighting chance to make it through the pandemic 
stronger than they started.
    This could translate into real jobs, real opportunities in 
every economy throughout the country. A stronger economic 
framework will help create a stronger fearful economy for 
everyone.
    Latino businesses are the life line in the communities in 
which they operate. Continued investment by the United States 
Congress to ensure that these businesses have access to 
critical, technical assistance throughout organizations like 
the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and any little 
Chamber of Commerce around the State, around the country will 
deliver significant return.
    These organizations are key stakeholders in the 
communities. They are from the own community. The great 
majority of them built these organizations from the ground up. 
Latino business owners and entrepreneurs they care about their 
own. Providing these resources to enable them to guide and 
serve Latino businesses is a much needed step that must be 
fully considered as we move forward to the post-pandemic 
future.
    As to specific recommendation, the IHCC worked closely with 
Illinois Center at to propose the creation of Hispanic business 
center at the SBA to create initiatives that are geared to 
serve communities with very specific needs like programs that 
the SBA operates to support women, veteran, and Native American 
communities.
    We are happy to offer for the record a memorandum that 
outlines the reasoning of the creation of Hispanic business 
centers, and also known in Chicago as the Hispanic Center for 
Entrepreneurship. We ask that this Committee consider making an 
investment to ensure the largely unrepresentative, underserved 
Latino businesses receive the assistance that can enable them 
to achieve their full potential and I assure you if we do that, 
we will have a better taxpayer dollars base.
    In closing, I can see Mr. Chairman and Members of this 
Committee there are many issues to discuss. Count on me for my 
full support and participation of this honorable Committee as 
many times as necessary so that together we can find solutions 
to this problems. We are here to help as we always say in the 
chamber. Thank you for this incredible opportunity. It has been 
an honor to represent over 170,000 businesses in the State of 
Illinois. This is from a Mexican immigrant to you. Thank you so 
much for this magnificent opportunity.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. Thank you, Mr. Di Paulo. And I don't think I 
have ever seen a witness use that 5 minutes to such perfection 
in my career in Congress. Thank you.
    And now it is my pleasure to recognize Ms. Shaw for 5 
minutes for your opening statement.

                    STATEMENT OF SUSAN SHAW

    Ms. SHAW. Great. Thank you so much. I was very honored when 
Representative Van Duyne called and asked me to do this today. 
So thank you. I appreciate that. I appreciate all that you are 
doing to pay attention and listen to our small businesses and 
the challenges that we face. Thank you to the other Committee 
Members for allowing us to be here today.
    I am co-owner of Shaw Insurance Agency. It is a family-
owned insurance agency started by my father in 1981 who was 
actually a nuclear physicist for General Dynamics for a number 
of years, didn't want someone else to put the ceiling on 
himself. So then he started a real estate company and then 
later on insurance. He did not find insurance quite as 
interesting as I do, though.
    So in 2000, my husband and I purchased the insurance agency 
and it was only one carrier, one company, and only home. So 
growing up in an entrepreneurial family, Howard and I really 
jumped in knowing that we didn't know insurance at the time, 
but we knew people and we knew ourselves and we knew that we 
lived our values and we knew what culture that we wanted the 
agency to grow into. And so we also understood not all business 
is good business. So we very carefully grew the company that 
way.
    Now, we represent over 60 companies, 60 carriers with the 
personal lines department, as well as a commercial department. 
So March 2020 came around and the way of doing business around 
the country kind of changed in an instant. While some States 
were certainly hit harder than others, it was the small 
businesses in each community around the country that really 
bore the brunt of those shut downs.
    Small businesses don't have the same deep pockets. They 
can't afford to keep the staff and the electricity on, so 
sometimes they have to make those hard choices just in order to 
save their business. I felt strongly from the beginning that we 
were not going to go remote if at all possible. I knew from 
human nature that routine and people are important, but 
especially in times where fear is a presiding factor.
    Fear of the unknown is hard and certainly none of us 
expected this to last as long as it did. We are still dealing 
with it, although I believe strongly that not only Texas, but 
especially north Texas kind of faired better than many parts of 
the rest of the country. Decisions had to be made not only 
about my own personal business, but I am the Chairman of the 
board of the HEB Chamber of Commerce and so we had to make 
decisions every day that affected the chamber, as well as all 
of our Members.
    How do we continue to support them became the question that 
the chamber president and I discussed daily many times multiple 
times a day. We made hard choices, but our mission was to 
support the small businesses and we did so in many different 
ways.
    Every decision we made advancing business and strengthening 
community. We did remain open during the pandemic in its 
entirety. We made changes in the way that we did business. We 
closed the lobby to walk-in people, sales people, delivery, and 
even our own clients.
    We did temperature checks daily and our agents had to 
record that daily when arriving for work and sign the form in 
the back. We had a local company come in multiple times to fog 
the entire office to kill any airborne bacteria, any airborne 
germs, anything that we could do to make our staff know that we 
were there to help them and there to protect them.
    We wiped down and we still continue to wipe down all touch 
points three times a day in an effort to maintain top 
cleanliness and, again, reduce the risk of spreading germs. 
After deciding to open back the lobby, we met with our staff to 
see what their comfort level was. We continued to do the touch 
points, cleaning those. At the beginning after spring break 
last year, the kids couldn't go back to school. We had every 
agent bring in their laptops in the hope that we didn't have to 
go remote, but we wanted to be ready if we did.
    We ended up having two agents that needed to work from home 
in the mornings in order to help their children do remote 
schooling. At noon, they would head back to the office and 
start their workday over again. We had got through the year 
that way. When it came time for school to start again, we 
noticed two of our agents were getting really stressed about 
this.
    So we decided to offer to allow them to bring their 
children to work and do their school here. This time school was 
not going to be just until noon every day; it was going to be 
all day. We offered this option and the relief was palpable for 
our staff. You can see that relief. We had school that day that 
way for 6 weeks.
    During all this time, I saw people spiraling emotional and 
physically from the stress. That was the emotional toil that 
Howard and I wanted to avoid. Our staff feels the same way. We 
feel like we avoided what so many others went through, but it 
wasn't without sacrifice. It was tough. We continued to work 
our regular hours to maintain that sense of normalcy.
    Our insureds needed us and we made sure that we were there 
for them. Most importantly, our staff knew that we valued them 
and we did what we could to take care of them physically as 
well as emotionally. We did not cut hours; we didn't cut pay. 
We maintained full staff with full benefits the entire time.
    While we are not through with the pandemic all the way, 
things continue to change. We as small business owners must 
learn to cope and be willing to change still when necessary. 
Lessons learned along the way, but overall caring and dealing 
with our clients and our staff with compassion has allowed us 
to still grow during this time when many businesses closed 
their doors.
    Challenges are necessary and part of the journey, but if 
you don't use those opportunities to encourage, teach, mentor, 
and lead other people, you would have wasted the journey in 
front of you.
    Thank you for allowing me to share my story.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. Thank you so much, Ms. Shaw. And now Mr. Fox, 
you are recognized for 5 minutes for your opening statement.

                    STATEMENT OF DONALD FOX

    Mr. FOX. Representative Phillips, Representative Houlahan, 
and Members of the House Small Business Committee, thank you 
for the opportunity to testify before you today. As the owner 
of a small business, I am deeply respectful over the work that 
you do on behalf of companies like mine.
    I am president and CEO of Fox Theaters, a movie theater 
company based in Wyomissing, a suburb of Reading and 
Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district. The company founded 
in 1957 by my father Richard Fox with a single drive-in theater 
outside of Reading, today operates 20 screens in three theater 
locations, one in Wyomissing and two others in the resort town 
of Ocean City, Maryland.
    Forty years at the helm of Fox Theaters has given me a 
valuable perspective from the negotiating with Hollywood movie 
studios to competing against much bigger regional and national 
movie theater companies to delivering a high-quality experience 
to our customers, all with the limited resources of a small 
businessman.
    One of my most satisfying aspects of my work is providing 
gainful employment, whether it be first jobs to 16 and 17-year-
old high school students or to senior citizens looking to make 
some extra money or full-time employment for theater cleaners, 
kitchen workers, supervisors, and theater managers. They all 
dedicate themselves to providing first-class, first-run movie 
theater entertainment 7 days a week to our loyal customers.
    We have all been through an unprecedented time for the last 
year and a half. As was the case with most nonessential 
businesses, we closed our doors on March of 2020 and, except 
for a few weeks, stayed closed the rest of the year. During 
that period, our sales were down 96 percent. Prior to March of 
2020, we employed 125 people in Pennsylvania and Maryland, but 
when the pandemic started, we had to lay off all but two full 
time and three part-time employees.
    Thanks to Congress' speedy action, the Paycheck Protection 
Program helped us bring back more of our full-time management, 
even though we were still shutdown, to provide them a steady 
and reliable income.
    Today, we are employing 65 people who are all working very 
hard at rebuilding our business. Federal emergency relief has 
been key to the survival of my company. In addition to PPP, we 
were able to access economic injury disaster loans and employee 
retention tax credit program, both of which have been very 
meaningful.
    With those funds we were able to keep the electricity on 
and a skeleton crew employed while we waited for the pandemic 
to end so our customers could return to watch movies in our 
theaters. But it didn't end. It continued on and on, and our 
debts piled up.
    Representative Houlahan, as you know, we struggled and 
pivoted where possible to figure out a way to survive the 
pandemic. We sold curbside popcorn to our loyal customers and 
set up a pop-up drive-in theater at one of our locations, but 
it barely scratched the surface. The movie theater industry 
needed a rescue package, especially if small and independent 
operators like Fox Theaters were going to survive the pandemic.
    Movie theaters joined the Save Our Stages cause launched by 
live music venues to ask the federal government to help 
entertainment venues across the country survive until the 
audiences could safely return. No one ever imagined that it 
would take until the summer of 2021 for the movies and our 
customers to begin to come back. The economic loss that we 
experienced was devastating for businesses, big and small, that 
rely on people gathering together.
    Thankfully in 2020 in December 2020, the $15 billion 
Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program, SVOG, the crown jewel 
of federal relief for our industry passed Congress and was 
signed into law. What was then a cause for celebration soon 
became a long and challenging setback. Over the next 6 months, 
businesses teetering on the brink of bankruptcy held on while 
the Small Business Administration struggled to get their 
program up and running.
    The roll out of SVOG was extremely challenging, and from 
the time the bill was signed until the time the funds were 
disbursed, thousands of small operators that were shuttered by 
the pandemic waited anxiously to receive this emergency relief. 
Many of you on this Committee and in Congress were instrumental 
in helping companies like mine navigate the bureaucracy and you 
allocated more federal resources to solve the operational 
issues the program was facing.
    In particular, the support we received through 
Representative Houlahan's efforts to expedite the SVOG funds 
were critical for the survival of my company and for many 
others. Fox Theaters lives another day because of what Congress 
did, but we are not out of the woods yet.
    The Delta variant surge has thrown a wrench into what we 
thought was the start of a comeback earlier this summer and 
now, unfortunately, the release dates of major Hollywood movies 
are changing once again.
    The demise of the movie theater industry has been predicted 
many times over whether it be by cable television, DVD, and now 
streaming. But Americans don't want to remain in their living 
rooms. They crave a shared experience out of the home with 
families, friends, and strangers and the thrill you only get in 
a movie theater immersed in the big screen. I am so grateful 
for the work Congress has done and continues to do, and on 
behalf of my family, my employees, and the thousands of Fox 
Theaters' customers in Pennsylvania and Maryland, I thank you 
very much.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. Thank you, sir.
    And now I recognize Mr. Cook for 5 minutes for your 
testimony.

                    STATEMENT OF MITCH COOK

    Mr. COOK. Thank you, Representative Phillips and 
Representative Young Kim, and other Members of the Committee. 
Appreciate the opportunity to testify in front of the Committee 
and to hear the stories of so many other small business people 
and the journeys we have all been on. Thank you for the 
opportunity to tell my story.
    My name is Mitch Cook. As you know, I am one of the owners 
of Avalon Bagels to Burgers. We are a fast, casual restaurant 
and we specialize in bagels, sandwiches, melts, salads, 
smoothies, and grilled items that we make fresh every day. We 
have two locations in the 39th district, both owned in North 
Orange County in Southern California in the 39th district, one 
of which opened in 1997, the other in 2001.
    We employ approximately 30 people between both sites and we 
serve the best customers in the world. About 15 percent of our 
people have been with us for over 15 years and a host of others 
for over 10 years as well.
    One of our slogans is we reserve the right to overserve our 
customers, and we have tried to make that our objective from 
the day we opened. And we try to treat each other as family and 
our customers like our friends. When the pandemic began, we 
were like everyone else has talked today, thrown off our 
moorings in a hurry. From mid-March of 2020 through the end of 
May, we were losing cash and revenue and wondering how long we 
could sustain the business, how long could we stay open? Things 
became pretty desperate. We ended up every Tuesday selling off 
boxes of meats and vegetables and toilet paper, anything we 
could do to generate income and our customers stood by us.
    Fortunately, we had some cash reserves. We were able to 
keep all of our staff, but had reduced operating hours. In mid-
May of 2020, we received our initial round of PPP funding and 
that was a huge blessing. It allowed us to cover our expenses 
and make up some back pay to those who had a shortfall due to 
our reduced hours. That loan was approved for forgiveness in 
October of last year and gave us a base to make due the balance 
of 2020 and all the variations that came with the recurring 
shut downs and changes in regulations and closures.
    Because our revenue had such a significant drop in the 
second quarter of 2020 and thanks to the PPP Extension Act 
introduced by Representatives Young Kim, Bourdeaux, 
Luetkemeyer, and Velazquez, we were eligible for the second 
round of Payroll Protection Program funding in April of 2021. 
For those of you who worked on getting these funds through to 
so many across the country, I would like to say thank you.
    In both instances when the money actually hit our bank 
account, I couldn't believe it was coming. And when it did, I 
almost felt like Jimmy Stewart in ``It's a Wonderful Life.'' So 
thank you very much. We were desperately in need.
    The current challenge, as you have heard all morning, had 
to do with labor shortages in trying to determine how to price 
our products when the cost components--every cost component we 
have is increasing. With regard to the labor issue, the 
unemployment benefits seem to be a reason to discourage people 
from applying for work and while I know they were recently--the 
pandemic specific unemployment benefits were recently 
discontinued, I hope this will encourage more and more folks to 
apply for work.
    Hopefully, the inflation factors will come under control as 
has been mentioned, again, many times, whatever we can do to 
help the supply chain disruptions would be a tremendous benefit 
to all of us. And at the end of the day, we are all obviously 
working to support our families and those we love, especially 
at the small business.
    I feel like that is the heartbeat of what we do. So it has 
been an honor to be a part of this group, and thanks for the 
opportunity to share a little bit about our story.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. Thank you, Mr. Cook. And last but not least, 
I recognize Mr. Owens for your 5 minutes of testimony.

                    STATEMENT OF GREG OWENS

    Mr. OWENS. Thank you, Chairwoman Velazquez, Ranking Member 
Luetkemeyer, and our Representative in New York's 22nd 
congressional district, Claudia Tenney, the rest of the 
Committee Members, I thank you for the honor and privilege to 
testify before the House Committee on Small Business during 
National Small Business Week.
    My focus will be on the successes and the issues facing 
small business in the manufacturing sector of our economy. It 
is my hope that the Members of this Committee and staffers will 
take the time to read through my written statement as there is 
simply not enough time to cover all the topics that I want to 
discuss in detail.
    My name is Greg Owens, and I am here representing our 
company, Sherrill Manufacturing, and our brand Liberty 
Tabletop. Though, it may sound hard to believe, Sherrill 
Manufacturing is the only flatware manufacturer silverware left 
in the United States.
    Our company sells and manufactures our flatware. We also 
sell other kitchen and tabletop items online. Everything is 
made in the USA. Sherrill Manufacturing also has a GSA contract 
to supply flatware to our military, something that we and all 
of our employees are proud to produce every day.
    Our company was formed back in 2005 when Matt Roberts and I 
purchased the flatware manufacturing equipment from Oneida 
Limited located in Sherrill, New York. The Oneida factory was 
once the largest flatware manufacturing facility in the world 
employing over 2,300 people.
    Why did Oneida Limited decide to scuttle the factory that 
had been around since Abraham Lincoln was President? The answer 
is simple: Unfair competition from China. The math was simple: 
After years of fighting to keep the facility alive, Oneida 
management realized that they could purchase manufactured 
product from Chinese factories cheaper than they could buy the 
raw materials to make it with here in the United States.
    This situation, unfortunately, still exists today. The 
American steel industry is largely protected from dumping by 
the Chinese and others by tariffs under Section 232. While 
tariffs on steel may be in place to protect the raw material 
side of the manufacturing business, there is little been done 
to protect the manufactured goods side.
    This means that the Chinese continue to dump subsidized 
steel in to the United States, but instead of doing it in the 
form of raw materials, they simply do it in the form of 
finished products. The only viable solution to this is to 
increase tariffs on finished goods across the spectrum to a 
level that is sufficient, perhaps similar to those on raw 
materials, to stop the ill-effects of this unfair trade 
practice by the Chinese and others who seek to gain unfair 
advantage over American manufacturers.
    As the only manufacturer of flatware in the United States, 
the pandemic had a major impact on our business. Our sales grew 
by over 150 percent from pre-pandemic levels. Why? Because 
Americans, the American consumer want to buy American. However, 
there is an issue here. When you go to store to buy products by 
law the purchase that you are making, the product package has 
to have country of origin label on it. That is not the case 
online.
    Included in the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, 
commonly referred to as the China bill, the Senate has taken 
action in the form of an amendment to the bill requiring the 
country of origin labeling, or COOL, listings be made for 
products sold on the web. I am hopeful that the House version, 
which is being drafted, now will contain similar COOL language 
and be passed into law shortly.
    My final point, but perhaps the most important of all is 
that there can be no Renaissance in American manufacturing 
without workers. A simple walk down main street looking at all 
the help wanted signs provides graphic evidence that we have a 
worker crisis. There are currently 1.3 million more job 
openings than people on the unemployment rolls. Population 
growth is at historic lows and workforce participation rates 
are also down substantially.
    Automation will help to some degree, but will fall far 
short of bridging the worker gap, but there is a solution and 
it is an adjacent, seemingly unrelated news story that seems to 
make the paper every day. We are also in the middle of an 
immigration crisis. While I realize there are widely divergent 
views on this issue, I am not sure anyone believes that the 
current situation is in any way acceptable.
    America is starved for workers and we have millions of 
people who are either already here or arriving in increased 
numbers every day. I believe it is time to put aside the 
partisan wrangling and the rhetoric in order to put this 
situation in order and resolve these two major issues facing us 
today as we rebuild our post-pandemic economy.
    Despite the partisan divide on many issues, made in 
America, including the return of a manufacturing industry to 
our shores, is one issue that seems to draw all sides together. 
The pandemic has taught us many supply chain lessons.
    To give us a level playing field and protect us against 
industrial policies of other nations that unfairly dump their 
products in our marketplace, give us the raw material we need 
to build our widgets, give us the labor force that we need to 
expand our production in our factories, give us all these 
things and American small business will turn on the lights in 
factories across the country and help drive our economy to 
future decades of growth and prosperity.
    I appreciate the opportunity to address the Committee 
today, and look forward to answering a couple questions 
perhaps.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. All right. Thank you, Mr. Owens.
    And now we will move to questioning. And it is my pleasure 
to recognize my colleague, Ms. Newman, for 5 minutes.
    Ms. NEWMAN. Well, good morning, everyone. I apologize for--
specifically to Jaime. I am so sorry, my friend. I was in a T&I 
markup, and they had me in a cage. I couldn't get out. No. I am 
kidding. I do have a question for you regarding your testimony 
and thank you so much for articulating all of the wonderful 
things that the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce does because it is 
remarkable in our State and it is a really great model for our 
entire country.
    So my question has to do with disadvantaged business 
program or we frequently refer to it as DBE. I know you shared 
some of the improvements. I would love for you to recap them 
for this team for the record, but then also I have one other 
tiny question, so if you want to share, Jaime, the floor is 
yours.
    Mr. DI PAULO. Thank you, Representative Newman. And in our 
chamber, we have very unique Chamber of Commerce. We helped 
several federal programs. We have in our offices a small 
business development center and we also have a PTAC, a 
procurement assistance center and several other programs. The 
U.S. Department of Transportation and we work with the Atlantic 
to create opportunities for minority-owned companies to get 
access to fair contracting, really.
    So what I was talking about, Representative Newman, is we 
need to implement the level playing field. So if minority 
companies, actually, are there to grow, the object of the 
program is for them to become primes eventually. And the way 
the program is set up right now, they will never become primes 
because after they graduate after 2 years, they don't qualify 
to be DBEs and so on and so forth.
    If they make too much money, they are kicked out of the 
program. So the objective here is to make sure they become 
primes. And after they become primes, obviously, the wealth 
goes up. So that is what I was talking about.
    Ms. NEWMAN. Great. And one other question before I let you 
go. So I know that, you know, the lack of labor is affecting 
everybody and there is a bunch of different reasons for that 
whether it is childcare or they are working with an illness in 
their family or whatever it might be, do you have any immediate 
solutions for our small businesses that are looking for labor 
that the chamber has had success with or other programs that 
you know are helping bridge that gap in matching unemployed 
with small businesses?
    Mr. DI PAULO. Thank you, Representative Newman. That is a 
great question. The word of the day is labor force. What did 
the labor force went? And the several indicators that address 
that issue. One of them is the federal benefits that just 
ended. So some States that is a good thing now. We are going to 
see an influx of laborers coming back to the workforce, but 
especially in the service industry, people went out and got 
other jobs. The manufacturing, construction, those two 
industries are booming. So that is where the labor force went 
usually, especially in the minority communities.
    So what we see now is restaurants in commerce adjusting to 
those schedules and we see, for example, in Illinois, as you 
may know, restaurants, for example, they were open three 
shifts; now they are adjusting to open up two shifts and hoping 
they can bring some more laborers coming in to work. So we 
going through the adjustment period.
    We are going to see labor improvement pretty soon in the 
next couple months once the economy and everybody else is back 
to the workforce 100 percent.
    Ms. NEWMAN. Well, thank you so much, Jaime, and I really 
appreciate your thoughts and comments today.
    And I yield back, Chair.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. All right. Thank you. Now it is my pleasure 
to recognize Ms. Van Duyne for 5 minutes.
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. Thank you very much, Chairman. Thank you. By 
the way, Mr. Owens, I understand you are from Rome, New York. I 
lived there for 4 years. My dad was in the Griffiths Air Force 
Base. So I read all about you. I have actually been to your 
facility before. We actually have some of your products. So I 
love the small businesses upstate New York around the country.
    Ms. Shaw, thank you for joining us again. Look, I 
appreciate all that you have done. I love that story that you 
told about, you know, opening up your conference room and 
having kids come in so that your workers would feel 
comfortable, they would be able to keep their eye on the kids, 
make sure they are going to school. It is those types of things 
that I saw around our district, around our communities that 
really helped, I think, you know, working families be able to 
achieve success in the last 18 months.
    In your testimony, you thought that North Texas faired 
better than most during the pandemic. Can you elaborate a 
little bit on maybe that success?
    Ms. SHAW. Certainly.
    Well, for one thing, we didn't shut down like so many--
excuse me--of the other States around the country did. I feel 
like we fared better because of that. And, because of the fact 
that we did not shut down, there were people moving here 
constantly.
    I am in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and the growth in our 
area has just exploded, and so those people coming in, buying 
homes, paying into the community, paying taxes into the 
community, and buying services and goods, all of those really 
helped to keep the north Texas area vibrant in a time that--
that many businesses were still struggling, of course, but I 
feel like we fared better than other parts of the country in 
many ways.
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. So this administration and the majority 
continue to pose several tax increases that will undoubtedly 
affect small businesses. We have a Small Business 
Administration who did not see the tax hikes at all--that tax 
hikes are affecting small businesses. You know, coming off an 
almost two-year pandemic, can you talk about how tax increases 
on your small business would affect you and other businesses?
    Ms. SHAW. I don't see how it can not hurt the small 
businesses. Increased taxes mean we won't be able to give our 
employees raises that we would like to. It means we can't maybe 
do maintenance that needs to be done sometimes to the building 
and your facilities. It keeps us from hiring additional 
employees, and it hinders our ability to do upgrades to 
computer equipment and some of the other things that it takes 
to keep a business running as it should.
    I don't know how it would not hurt us. I can't find a 
reason.
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. Okay. Thank you.
    So, in your role as the Chair of the Hurst-Euless-Bedford 
Chamber of Commerce board, have you seen labor shortages or 
heard from chamber members who are struggling to find workers, 
and what are you hearing that led to these storages, and how 
have businesses responded to them?
    Ms. SHAW. Absolutely.
    I believe every single business that I am aware of from the 
small mom-and-pop businesses to our local hospitals to the 
airport, DFW Airport, to our waste management, they all have 
shortages. They all are looking for qualified people. Republic 
Waste Management, they have started their own training school.
    So they are all trying to find ways to participate in that 
job market. You know, they are trying to find the people. The 
government checks, I think they were way too much and went on 
for way too long, and it took the incentive away from people to 
go back to work. They became too comfortable staying at home. 
And then, whenever they could make more money staying at home 
than coming back out to work, when they go back to work, it is 
gas, it is money for lunch, it is money for childcare.
    And so, when everybody--they were being paid more to stay 
at home, then our businesses that were opening up, as they were 
opening up, our essential businesses, such as our first 
responders and our hospitals losing those people, that is not 
the same people that are working in minimum-wage jobs. These 
are people from the minimum-wage jobs all the way up to our 
hospitals that are struggling.
    For the Chamber of Commerce, we worked tirelessly to try to 
work with our Members. We--actually, we have a business expo 
coming up, and we have incorporated a job fair into that. So we 
have worked with all three cities in Hurst, Euless, and 
Bedford, and we will be putting signs out trying to really get 
more community involvement and trying to let the people that 
are searching for a job or ready to get back in the workforce, 
we are trying to introduce them and put them together with the 
local business owners.
    So we are hoping that our job fair will go well, and so, 
you know, we are just trying to do anything that we can to help 
support our local businesses.
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. Excellent. I see my time has expired. Thank 
you very much.
    I yield back.
    Ms. SHAW. Thank you.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. All right. Forgive me.
    And now it is my pleasure to recognize Ms. Houlahan for 5 
minutes.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    And thank you again, Mr. Fox, for joining us today, for the 
opportunity to kind of share a little bit about your experience 
in terms of live venues, in terms of the people who are from 
industries like yours who were the very first to have to close 
and who will still be the very first to experience being able 
to get back to some sense of normalcy. I am very, very grateful 
to you for the narrative that you can share with us and the 
experience that you can share with us.
    And, particularly for this part of the country, for the 
middle, mid-Atlantic of the country, our experience is very 
different than other parts of the country's experience were, 
and we did have to do a lot of things very differently in our 
part of the country so that we could protect, frankly, other 
parts of the country from experiencing what it is that we have 
experienced over the last 18 months. And so, for that, I really 
want to pay tribute to you for having done the right thing in 
keeping people safe and healthy in their homes.
    So, with that, I would love to know if you could share with 
me what we can do from this point on. You mentioned your 
concern with the delta variant. I have concerns, too. I don't 
believe that we are necessarily out of the woods here and that 
people still, I think, are a little bit reticent to come out 
and participate in live events.
    What can we be doing to be helpful to continue to bring 
people around to your businesses?
    Mr. FOX. Representative Houlahan, thank you very much for 
the question. And, again, thank you for the honor to be 
speaking to all of you today.
    So I have been listening to all the testimony. I am 
surprised by some of the things I heard, not surprised by some 
others. Your question is a good one, and I am going to say a 
word that I don't think I have ever heard said yet today: 
Immunization. That is what we need to do. I know it is a 
political topic, and I don't want to get into politics.
    But, for my industry, that is the difference maker. And I 
think that is what will ultimately lead us out of the delta 
surge or any other surge that we are going to have in pandemic, 
is immunization. Herd immunity, whatever you want to call is 
going to be as the result of that. But, until we get more 
people immunized, we are going to have this battle in my 
business and in any other business that is asking the public to 
come, because the public is a diverse group, and it is a group 
of younger people who feel that they don't need the vaccine or 
older people who won't dare go anywhere without a mask or a 
vaccine, and a lot of people in between.
    And people who go to movies represent every walk of life, 
every socioeconomic group, and we would like them to gather 
together to have fun, to enjoy, to take some time out, to eat, 
drink, and recline, like we have in the front of our theatre.
    And, without, you know, the vaccine, it is not going to--it 
is not going to work, and so we just need more vaccination, and 
that is the difference maker for us.
    I do want to shout out two things that I did hear from two 
of the other testifiers, Mr. Owens and Mr. Di Paulo. I loved 
what you both said about how to address some of the labor 
issues. I think immigration is a tough topic. We have huge 
labor challenges in our industry for a lot of reasons--a lot of 
reasons that Mr. Di Paulo spoke about.
    And I think what the--what the pandemic has shown us is 
that the federal government can act and act quickly with great 
focus, not without problems, bureaucratic problems, but it can 
work. And I applaud what you have all done, Members of this 
Committee and Congress, to--to not just save our industry, but 
to save American industry. You have done an amazing job, and I 
am very proud of the federal government and what it has done.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. Thank you. And I think you are right. I have 
been listening to the testimony all day, and I haven't--you are 
right--heard immunization as an answer, and I think that it is 
really, really important.
    One of the things I am really proud about Pennsylvania's 
Sixth for is, for a certain amount of time, we were leading the 
nation in terms of vaccination rates, literally the county in 
the country that was most vaccinated.
    And what is really, really cool about parts of our 
community is that we are 40 percent Democrat, 40 percent 
Republican, and 20 percent Independent, and we collectively 
believe that immunization is the way that we can find our way 
out of this. And so, for that, I am appreciative.
    With my last 45 seconds, if you can give one piece of 
advice--I am an entrepreneur to another entrepreneur--to our 
entrepreneurs out there about having the stomach to be able to 
be an entrepreneur, what would be your seasoned experience that 
you can share with the rest of us on that?
    Mr. FOX. You know, don't--you don't get a lot of sleep as 
an entrepreneur. You wake up thinking about the--your customers 
and the people who work for you and all the challenges that are 
out there, so just keep yourself in good shape, eat healthy, 
and, you know, believe in the people who work for you, because 
they are extraordinary. And treat your customers like kings, 
because they are. And, without customers, you have no business. 
Without employees, you have no business. And, in my business, 
without movies, we have no business. So those are our big 
three.
    Thanks.
    Ms. HOULAHAN. And, with that, we have run out of time. I 
thank you so much.
    And I yield back, Mr. Chair.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. Thank you, Ms. Houlahan.
    And now I yield to Ms. Young Kim for 5 minutes of 
questioning.
    Ms. YOUNG KIM. Thank you, Chairman. And I want to thank our 
Committee Chair and Ranking Member for holding this important 
hearing. And I am delighted to participate and honor our small 
business owners from our respective districts during this 
National Small Business Week.
    In my mind, every week should be National Small Business 
Week to honor the great work our entrepreneurs do in creating 
jobs and being the engine of our middle class and mainstream 
stream economy.
    Small businesses have already suffered through one of the 
worst economic crises and market disruptions in our nation's 
history because of that COVID-19 pandemic.
    But fortunately our country came together in a bipartisan 
way to provide immediate relief for struggling small businesses 
through programs like PPP, and gave entrepreneurs like my 
witness, Mr. Cook, and many others that testified today to keep 
their capital and keep their businesses open and retain 
employees during the pandemic.
    And, once again, in the 117th Congress, we showcased once 
again what we can achieve in a bipartisan fashion by passing 
that PPP Extension Act that allowed additional 2.7 million 
loans for $54 billion total in aid. So I am really glad that 
our witnesses took advantage of those PPP loans and were able 
to use it to keep your business open.
    So, with that, I would like to ask Mr. Cook, you know, we 
are all struggling, but you weathered through the difficult 
times, and you are now successful. So I want to thank you for 
being the job creator. But I see that you started your career 
in industrial engineering.
    So can you explain to the Committee what made you change 
course in your career and establish your own business and take 
on this risk of becoming an entrepreneur?
    And, in your time as an entrepreneur, how would you compare 
this COVID-19 pandemic with other economic downturns?
    Mr. COOK. Thank you, Representative Kim, and thanks to all 
of you for the opportunity to be a part of this morning of 
sharing our stories.
    How I ended up switching from industrial engineering to 
owning our own business is kind of a long story. In 1971, in El 
Monte, California, my parents bought a Taco Bell franchise, so 
I grew up all through high school and through college, small 
family business, and you all know the story--working tirelessly 
and being involved in the day-to-day operations of getting by.
    Then went through school and had an engineering degree, and 
I did work for different corporations for 16 to 18 years. And, 
although it was good, there was always a part of me that missed 
the day-to-day life of owning your own business. And, in 
general, in my opinion, life is relationships. It is 
relationships at every level, with people, with God, with 
ourselves, with others.
    And I just found that, when you own your own business and 
you are in the--kind of into the fray every day with folks, 
those are deep. And so----
    Ms. YOUNG KIM. Yeah.
    Mr. COOK.--we were able to purchase a few more Taco Bells 
in 1996, and then, in 2001, had the opportunity to get involved 
with Avalon. And so that--just kind of the way I was wired led 
me more toward having my own business and giving own shot.
    With regard to how it has compared, the tough part, I am 
sure all of you can relate to. This downturn was so fast and so 
sudden, and to have to make decisions on the fly so quickly 
compared to, say, the 2008, 2009 recession where you kind of 
saw it coming and there was a gradual slope to it, that was 
really tough.
    But, again, I just reiterate what everyone said. Thank you 
to all of you at the federal level that were able to provide us 
with funds. It was a life-saving box for us, so thank you.
    Ms. YOUNG KIM. Sure. Thank you for sharing your story.
    Now, as you continue to operate your business, I know there 
is a lot of the policies that affect your operations. So can 
you share with us how the increase in inflation and price of 
goods and the supply chain disruptions are impacting your 
business operations?
    Mr. COOK. You know, again, as everyone else has said and as 
just Econ 101 is, as our costs go up, we have to change our 
prices. And, especially when you are small, that is--that is a 
tough exercise to do repeatedly and to do often.
    So that is--it has been hard, and we don't want to drive 
away customers in trying to stay competitive. So the inflation 
is high. But, on the supply chain disruption is every day as we 
show up, we don't have something. So it has been tough on 
productivity. It has been tough on offering our customers the 
best products we can, and has just made what is already a tough 
business--any business is tough, but what has made an already 
tough business has just added a whole layer of complexity on it 
that has made it tougher as well.
    But thankfully we have been able to weather it, and we look 
forward to what lies ahead.
    And just want to reiterate, too, with Mr. Owens' idea on 
immigration, I appreciate you sharing that thought, that we are 
for the immigrant. We are a nation of immigrants, and I know it 
is a very, very complex issue, but we encourage you to do 
whatever you can to make it fair and just for folks to come 
here and pursue whatever they feel they would like to.
    Thank you.
    Ms. YOUNG KIM. Sure. Thank you so much for your testimony.
    And, from one immigrant to another, I am here to live the 
American Dream because of the opportunities that this country 
provided for me and my family. And thank you for mentioning the 
importance of welcoming immigrants to this country who wants to 
also live that American Dream.
    So thank you, all of you, for your hard work and for 
weathering through the difficult times. And we are here to be 
your small business advocate.
    Thanks again for joining us. I see that my time is up. 
Thank you so much.
    Mr. PHILLIPS. Thank you to my friend from California.
    In fact, no more beautiful words could be uttered to close 
this hearing. And I want to thank you all, all of our 
witnesses, for joining us. You have been heard. We have your 
backs and, rest assured, despite what you all see on TV screens 
at night, we are unified on Small Business Committee to 
supporting you.
    Many of us are business owners ourselves, and your 
testimony hits home to us, and we want to thank you.
    So, with that, I must ask that you log out of the platform 
now. If you want to continue watching for a few more moments on 
You Tube live stream, please feel free to do so.
    But, most importantly, heartfelt gratitude. Keep the faith, 
and hang in there. We are going to be helping you out. Promise.
    Thanks, everybody.
    And, with that, we will now close the hearing, but just 
some brief comments first.
    You know, hearing from our main street champions during 
such a difficult time in our nation's history, especially for 
the business community, is touching, inspirational, and reminds 
us of why we must unify behind support for small businesses. I 
believe representation begins with listening. That is what we 
have done here today on a bipartisan basis.
    And, on that note, just in the last week here in my 
district, Representative Angie Craig, my colleague here from 
Minnesota, and I hosted a roundtable. And, just yesterday, 
Representative Van Duyne from Texas came up to Minnesota, and 
we also had a listening session with small businesses, hearing 
many of the same things that were shared today.
    I think it is important for Members of Congress on a 
bipartisan basis to sit together and listen together to the 
issues that are facing so many in our country.
    I think right now about Christine Lantinen, the owner of 
Maud Borup, which is one of the oldest candy makers here in 
Minnesota. She talked yesterday about being 100 employees short 
right now, paying for shipping containers from Asia that had 
been $3,000 per 40-foot container that are now $25,000, if you 
can even get one.
    We know how tough it is. We know how inflation impacts you. 
We know how labor crunches impact you. We also want to ensure 
that your tax dollars are well used, just like all of us, of 
course. We are unified to that end.
    So I ask that you all keep the faith, you keep in touch 
with us. I think it is integral, imperative that we continue to 
fulfill our mission to provide support to small businesses. 
During COVID, where some of the funds have been distributed, in 
my estimation, many of our estimation, in an inequitable 
fashion, we can and must rectify that. And we have to ensure 
that capital provision is available to entrepreneurs in this 
country.
    Moments ago, stories were told of immigrants coming to this 
country with big dreams, and that is exactly what the United 
States is all about. And, to the extent that we can ensure that 
there is access to capital so that those dreams can be pursued, 
we must do so, and do so fast.
    So, with that, I want to thank all of our witnesses for 
joining us today, and I would ask for unanimous consent that 
Members have 5 legislative days to submit their statements and 
supporting materials for the record.
    And, without objection, so ordered.
    And so, if there is no further business to come before the 
Committee, I do not have a gavel, but I have a pen, and we are 
adjourned.
    Thanks, everybody.
    [Whereupon, at 2:19 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]
                            
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