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



 
THE SBA OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND THE STEP PROGRAM AS KEY TOOLS 
                       FOR RECOVERY AND EXPANSION

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

                                HEARING

                               before the

        SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH, TAX, AND CAPITAL ACCESS

                                 OF THE

                      COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
                             UNITED STATES
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                              HEARING HELD
                             JULY 19, 2022

                               __________

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]                          
                               



            Small Business Committee Document Number 117-062
             Available via the GPO Website: www.govinfo.gov
             
             
             
                            ______

             U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
48-012             WASHINGTON : 2022 
             
             
             
             
                   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
                     CHRISSY HOULAHAN, Pennsylvania
                          ANDY KIM, New Jersey
                         ANGIE CRAIG, Minnesota
                        SCOTT PETERS, California
              BLAINE LUETKEMEYER, Missouri, Ranking Member
                         ROGER WILLIAMS, Texas
                        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
                          MIKE FLOOD, Nebraska

                 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. Sharice Davids..............................................     1
Hon. Dan Meuser..................................................     2

                               WITNESSES

Ms. Mary Waters, Deputy Commissioner, International Trade, 
  Georgia Department of Economic Development, Atlanta, GA........     5
Mr. Luther L. Tooks, Chief Executive Officer, Pyramid Foods, LLC, 
  Shawnee, KS....................................................     7
Mr. William E. Spear, Manager, Office of Export Promotion, The 
  State of New Jersey Business Action Center of the New Jersey 
  Department of State, Trenton, NJ...............................     8
Mr. Devan Walding, Vice President of Sales, RADIUS Corporation, 
  Kutztown, PA...................................................    10

                                APPENDIX

Prepared Statements:
    Ms. Mary Waters, Deputy Commissioner, International Trade, 
      Georgia Department of Economic Development, Atlanta, GA....    22
    Mr. William E. Spear, Manager, Office of Export Promotion, 
      The State of New Jersey Business Action Center of the New 
      Jersey Department of State, Trenton, NJ....................    25
    Mr. Luther L. Tooks, Chief Executive Officer, Pyramid Foods, 
      LLC, Shawnee, KS...........................................    28
    Mr. Devan Walding, Vice President of Sales, RADIUS 
      Corporation, Kutztown, PA..................................    29
Questions for the Record:
    None.
Answers for the Record:
    None.
Additional Material for the Record:
    None.


THE SBA OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND THE STEP PROGRAM AS KEY TOOLS 
                       FOR RECOVERY AND EXPANSION

                              ----------                              


                         TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2022

              House of Representatives,    
               Committee on Small Business,
                   Subcommittee on Economic Growth,
                                   Tax, and Capital Access,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:00 a.m., in 
Room 2360, Rayburn House Office Building and via Zoom, Hon. 
Sharice Davids [chairwoman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Davids, Newman, Bourdeaux, Andy 
Kim, Meuser, Garbarino, Young Kim, Van Duyne, and Donalds.
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. Good morning. I call this hearing to 
order.
    Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a 
recess at any time.
    I would like to begin by noting some important 
requirements. Standing House and Committee rules will continue 
to apply during hybrid proceedings. All Members are reminded 
that they are expected to adhere to these rules, including 
decorum.
    House regulations require Members to be visible through a 
video connection throughout the proceeding, so please keep your 
cameras on. Also, please remember to remain muted until you are 
recognized to minimize background noise.
    In the event a Member encounters technical issues that 
prevent them from being recognized for their questioning, I 
will move to the next available Member of the same party and I 
will recognize that Member at the next appropriate time slot 
provided that they have returned to the proceeding.
    American entrepreneurs are nearly always looking to expand 
their businesses. Whether it is hiring new workers, offering 
new products, or opening new locations, small business owners 
always have an eye on growth. In recent years, increased 
globalization and digital adoption have led many small 
businesses to expand their offerings to international markets.
    Approximately 166,384 small businesses in the United States 
currently export, accounting for about 26 percent of all U.S. 
exports, and $341 billion in export sales.
    However, small business exporters represent only 3 percent 
of the total U.S. small employer firms. With 96 percent of all 
consumers, and two-thirds of the world's purchasing power 
residing beyond U.S. borders, increased exporting has the 
potential to boost the small business economy.
    Recognizing this, the Small Business Administration created 
the Office of International Trade in 2010. OIT works in 
cooperation with other federal agencies and public and private 
sector groups to encourage small business exports and provide 
small business export assistance.
    Small firms are often discouraged from selling their 
products overseas due to the complex exporting process, the 
capital required to fill foreign orders, and expertise 
necessary to follow international rules and regulations.
    These unique challenges spurred Congress to create a 3-year 
state trade and export promotion pilot grant initiative in 
2010. In 2015, Congress authorized the program through 2020 and 
renamed it the State Trade Expansion Program, otherwise known 
as STEP. STEP provides small firms with the knowledge and 
support they need to expand into new markets and export their 
products abroad.
    The program awards matching funds to states and territories 
for participation in trade missions, international marketing 
efforts, workshops, export tradeshow exhibits, and other 
promotional activities. Over the years, these initiatives have 
helped thousands of small businesses overcome the barriers that 
stop many firms from participating in the international 
marketplace. In fiscal year 2021, SBA supported $832 million in 
export sales from STEP and assisted over 3,400 small 
businesses.
    Last Congress, the House passed H.R. 6133, the STEP 
Improvement Act of 2020, which would have reauthorized STEP for 
4 fiscal years, increased grand spending flexibility, and made 
a range of additional improvements. The Committee plans to 
introduce similar legislation this Congress.
    As we prepare for STEP reauthorization, we must look 
closely at what is working well in the program and identify 
areas for improvement. Improving operations and efficiency 
within STEP will help American entrepreneurs break into 
exporting and boost the overall economy.
    I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about their 
experience with STEP and the actions Congress and SBA can take 
to ensure the program helps as many small businesses as 
possible.
    I would now like to yield to the Ranking Member, Mr. 
Meuser, for his opening statement.
    Mr. MEUSER. Thank you, Chairwoman Davids, very much. And 
thank you certainly to all of our witnesses for attending with 
us, both live and on video.
    Small businesses are job creators, innovators, and drivers 
of the United States' economy. They also export high quality 
products which showcase American manufacturing, agriculture, 
and energy across the globe. According to the SBA, small 
businesses comprise 96 percent of all exporters in the U.S. In 
my home state of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Census Bureau found 
that over 88 percent of the state's exporters are small firms 
which resulted in $12.5 billion in exported products in 2019.
    The SBA's Office of International Trade assists small 
businesses in export promotion activities through management 
and training programs and the State Trade Expansion Program 
grants the STEP grants. The STEP program partners with states 
and territories to increase the number of small businesses that 
export, increase the value of exports by small businesses, and 
it creates a number of small businesses exploring significant 
new trade opportunities.
    Many states use STEP awards to facilitate foreign trade 
missions and tradeshow exhibits, or provide consulting, 
marketing, and website services. Pennsylvania has received 
several STEP awards since the program's inception and has 
effectively used the STEP funds for its financial assistance 
plan, the Global Access program (GAP), which GAP is designed to 
be flexible and allow companies to use STEP funds to their best 
advantage.
    It has resulted in quite a numerous number of success 
stories. Gilson-Snow, for example, a premium snowboard and ski 
design and manufacturing company located just outside of my 
district in Winfield, Pennsylvania, was started by a middle 
school science teacher and his class. The company was awarded 
GAP funds for digital marketing on Facebook and Instagram, 
which resulted in sales totaling nearly $20,000 during the 
campaign and increased brand awareness in Australia and New 
Zealand markets.
    Another example is Pepro, LLC, out of Oil City, 
Pennsylvania. Pepro, LLC, is a veteran-owned small businesses 
that specializes in mobile and remote communication shelters 
which ensures communications are not interrupted during 
emergencies or natural disasters. They used GAP funding to 
cover costs associated with attending the International 
Wireless Communications Expo in Las Vegas. Their president, 
Kelly Lander, stated GAP funding has been a great benefit to 
us. Our biggest sales effort for international business is the 
IWCE Trade Show. GAP funding pays for our booth space, which is 
our largest expense. This funding was especially helpful during 
2021 in dealing with challenges related to COVID. So clearly, a 
great return on investment in this program.
    Small businesses face many barriers to exporting, including 
limited capacity, resources, access to capital. Unfortunately, 
the pandemic created additional challenges and resulted in many 
canceled trade shows, missions, and travel, which hindered the 
ability of STEP awardees to conduct activities.
    Further, economic headwinds very much caused, many would 
argue, by the Biden administration policies, have hindered 
small business operations, including exporting. A recent survey 
from Goldman Sachs, 10,000 small businesses found that 80 
percent of small businesses say broader economic trends, such 
as inflation, supply chain issues, and workforce challenges, 
are having a negative impact on their business.
    Last week, inflation soared to nearly a 41-year-record high 
as prices skyrocket month after month, it is not surprising 
that the Job Creators Network polling found that 72 percent of 
small businesses did not believe that the Biden administration 
policies were doing enough to combat inflation.
    This is a top problem for small business owners. Small 
businesses in my district tell me every day that inflation is 
forcing them to raise prices, modify operations, and is 
hindering their ability to plan for the future, and certainly 
to invest in inventory and other capital investments.
    I appreciate very much the Chairwoman for calling this 
important hearing on the STEP program today, and I look forward 
to working together to increase small business exports and 
empowering innovators with the tools they need to reach new 
markets. However, if we truly want to help small business, we 
must reduce regulations that slow domestic production. We must 
make our small businesses and large businesses in the U.S. the 
most competitive in the world. We need to adamantly oppose any 
tax increases and make the 2017 tax cuts permanent which will 
have great positive effect and predictability for small 
businesses. And we also need to end much of the excessive 
spending that has attributed to soaring inflation.
    So, I will end by just being clear. Continued reckless 
inflationary spending in Washington, increase in taxes and 
regulations will not support small businesses in their efforts 
to expand and export.
    I yield back, Madam Chairwoman.
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you. The gentleman yields back.
    I would like to take a moment to explain how this hearing 
will proceed. Each witness is going to have 5 minutes to 
provide a statement, and each Committee Member will have 5 
minutes for questions.
    Please ensure that your microphone is on when you begin 
speaking so that everyone can hear you, and make sure that you 
return to mute when you are finished.
    With that, I would like to introduce our witness.
    Our first witness is Ms. Mary Waters. Since 2015, Ms. 
Waters has served as Deputy Commissioner for International 
Trade for the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Under 
her leadership, Georgia rejoined STEP after a multiyear absence 
and her work has helped Georgia become a top 10 exporting state 
for the first time in 2020. Ms. Waters is also currently 
serving as president of the State International Development 
Organization, Inc. (SITO), the premier U.S. organization 
dedicated to supporting state international trade agencies and 
state development programs. Welcome, Ms. Waters.
    Our second witness is Mr. William Spear. Mr. Spear is the 
manager of the New Jersey Office of Export Promotion and 
director of New Jersey STEP, both of which are part of the New 
Jersey Department of State. He has worked for the state for 
more than 23 years and graduated with an Associate of Applied 
Science degree from Union County College and a Bachelor of 
Science in Business Administration from St. Elizabeth 
University. Welcome, Mr. Spear. I got tongue tied because I 
have an associate degree, too. Got excited about it.
    Our third witness is Mr. Luther Tooks. Mr. Tooks is the CEO 
of Pyramid Foods, LLC. Mr. Tooks' company produces Pitmaster 
LT's barbeque sauces and rubs which he has perfected over the 
course of 3 decades. Mr. Tooks is a proud U.S. Army veteran and 
Kansas City barbeque pitmaster. Mr. Tooks utilized STEP to 
export his products which since 2020 have been available in the 
U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. Welcome, Mr. Tooks.
    I will now yield to the Ranking Member, Mr. Meuser, to 
introduce our final witness.
    Mr. MEUSER. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
    Our next witness is Mr. Devan Walding. Mr. Walding is the 
vice president of Sales at RADIUS Corporation, which is located 
in my district in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. He is responsible for 
the company's international growth strategy, including opening 
new markets and increasing brand awareness and revenue. RADIUS 
Corporation was founded in 1983 and is a second generation, 
family-owned and woman-led company. RADIUS Corporation 
manufacturers sustainable oral healthcare products here in the 
United States, including toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, and 
even pet care products. Through Pennsylvania's export program, 
the company received three STEP-funded global access program 
awards in recent years to help offset the costs of their 
initiatives in Italy, Russia, and Germany. RADIUS has received 
countless awards for their innovation and contributions to 
export promotion. In 2015, they received the Governor's Export 
Impact Award, and in 2016, they received the President's ``E'' 
Award which is the highest recognition an American company can 
receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion 
of United States exports. Most recently, the SBA announced 
RADIUS Corporation as the Eastern Pennsylvania Export of the 
Year for 2020. They have also received awards from Martha 
Stewart, AskaDentist.com, Baby Maternity Magazine, Family 
Choice, and many others for their design, sustainability, and 
high quality products. It is a great honor to represent small 
businesses like RADIUS Corporation who are driving innovation, 
manufacturing high-quality American made products, and making 
the world a better place.
    Mr. Walding, I would like to welcome you to the 
Subcommittee today. We all look forward to hearing more about 
ways we can support small businesses in their export ventures. 
And thank you to all the witnesses for joining us. And I yield 
back.
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you. The gentleman yields back.
    Again, thank you all for being here. And I will start off 
by recognizing Ms. Waters for 5 minutes.

 STATEMENTS OF MARY WATERS, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, INTERNATIONAL 
 TRADE, GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; WILLIAM E. 
 SPEAR, MANAGER, OFFICE OF EXPORT PROMOTION, THE STATE OF NEW 
 JERSEY BUSINESS ACTION CENTER OF THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF 
STATE; LUTHER L. TOOKS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PYRAMID FOODS, 
LLC; DEVAN WALDING, VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES, RADIUS CORPORATION

                    STATEMENT OF MARY WATERS

    Ms. WATERS. Thank you very much, Chairwoman Davids, Ranking 
Member Meuser, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for 
the opportunity to testify this morning. Representative 
Bourdeaux, it is a pleasure to see you online this morning as 
well. Good to be here from Georgia.
    In my role as the deputy commissioner for International 
Trade with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, I 
oversee the state's international trade program and lead a 
global team focused on helping Georgia companies grow through 
exporting. More than 80 percent of the exporters that we serve 
are businesses with fewer than 100 employees. I am also the 
current president of the State International Development 
Organizations, or SIDO, a non-partisan organization comprised 
of state international trade offices.
    I want to thank the Committee for your commitment to small 
business exporters and to the State Trade Expansion Program. 
STEP is a valuable resource for our businesses in Georgia, and 
a key program in our agency's ongoing efforts to help companies 
increase their exports.
    Exporting is an important avenue of growth for small 
businesses and for the U.S. economy as a whole. Diversification 
of sales helps businesses mitigate risk, become more resilient, 
and globally competitive.
    In Georgia, total trade with the world exceeded $166 
billion last year, and that includes more than $42 billion in 
exports. However, of the more than one million small businesses 
in Georgia, the U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that 
fewer than 11,000 Georgia companies exported in 2019.
    The mission of SIDO's member states is to help small 
businesses begin exporting and expand to new markets. STEP is a 
vital component of our shared mission and provides companies 
with the confidence and support to start the export process.
    I would like to provide a brief overview of STEP in 
Georgia. Georgia was an early participant in the STEP program 
in 2011 and 2012, but we stepped away in 2013 after our 
application was denied. Due to the financial impact of the 
pandemic on our small businesses, we wanted to expand our trade 
services to include financial assistance awards, and we applied 
for a STEP grant in 2020. Georgia was fortunate to receive 
$162,488 in STEP 9 base year funding and the response from our 
small businesses has really been tremendous. To date, STEP 
funds have assisted 124 small businesses, including 23 new-to-
export firms and exporters have already reported more than 
$1.69 million in sales for a return on investment of 10.4-to-1 
during the initial grant performance period.
    We use STEP funds to help companies participate in trade 
shows, travel to meet new customers in foreign markets, 
participate in U.S. commercial service programs, and other 
approved activities. And I would like to highlight a couple of 
great success stories. Take for example a minority-owned 
agribusiness company using $1,725 in STEP funds to travel to a 
trade show in the Middle East. As a result of participation, 
this company reported more than half a million in export sales 
to three new markets.
    A woman-owned business in Georgia's booming fintech 
industry used $6,000 in STEP funds to participate in two trade 
shows during 2021. As a result, the company has expanded sales 
of more than $100,000 to five European markets. Or take for 
example, a minority-owned, new-to-export firm using STEP funds 
to travel to a trade event in South Africa that is now 
negotiating potential contracts with two new customers.
    These are just a few examples of how STEP helps our local 
businesses compete in the global economy. And it is important 
to note that small business export success is a shared mission 
with our federal partners. STEP serves as a nexus program that 
connects state and federal trade agencies to develop a more 
coordinated assistance plan for exporters.
    At SIDO, we are committed to working closely with the SBA 
and Congress to continue to strengthen the STEP program. 
Reauthorization is critical to supporting greater U.S. exports 
in the years to come.
    And before I conclude, I want to provide a few 
recommendations on how we can continue to strengthen the 
program. More details are included in my written testimony.
    First, measure ROI by long-term outcomes and by taking all 
components of the trade process into account. Achieving an 
export sale, especially for new-to-export firms, involves 
several steps and can take years depending on the industry. In 
determining ROI, it is very difficult to separate one component 
from the other because all are part of the reason for a 
company's success.
    Second, reducing the administrative burden. This includes 
the application process, the quarterly reporting requirements, 
as well as the A-STEP system.
    And third, increasing funding to $30 million or more. 
Increased funding will allow grantees to support more trade 
activities and increase the value of financial awards direct to 
small businesses, which achieves the primary objectives of 
STEP.
    I want to thank the Committee again for your support and 
leadership, as well as SBA's Office of International Trade, for 
their partnership. We strongly support the reauthorization and 
full funding of the STEP grant program and look forward to 
working together on that process.
    Thank you again. I look forward to your questions
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you.
    Mr. Spear, you are now recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Spear, I believe you might be muted.
    No, we still cannot hear you.
    Okay, Mr. Spear, we will come back to you after. The 
technical team will help you.
    Mr. Tooks, you are recognized for 5 minutes.

                  STATEMENT OF LUTHER L. TOOKS

    Mr. TOOKS. Can you hear me?
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. We can.
    Mr. TOOKS. Oh, okay. Thank you. Thanks for allowing me the 
opportunity to serve as a witness and it is my pleasure to 
visit with you virtually, Congresswoman.
    My name is Luther Tooks, and I am the owner and CEO of 
Pyramid Foods, a small company based in Shawnee, Kansas. And we 
have been in operation since 2016.
    As you said earlier, our core business is in the co-packing 
and distribution of Pitmaster LT's BBQ sauces and rubs and 
seasonings.
    We began communicating with Lu Chang and the Kansas 
Department of Commerce in 2018, shortly after becoming 
interested in exploring the exportation of our products. I 
reached out to Lu and he scheduled an introductory meeting with 
me in his office. And during that meeting, he gave me a 
comprehensive overview of the STEP grant program and how it 
could be used as a resource to help us succeed in exporting our 
products.
    We decided in 2018 to embark on a mission to export of 
products to Canada, and through the STEP program, more 
specifically, the KITMAP grant program, we were able to get 
assistance to a grant to get our labels redesigned, 
reformatted, and get our labels translated in Canadian French, 
as well as English. And have our marketing brochures also 
interpreted into Canadian French. And that allowed us to begin 
exporting to Canada in 2019.
    We decided in 2021 to embark on another mission to export 
of BBQ products to Mexico. And again, working with Lu, it was 
determined that the STEP KITMAP program once again would offer 
the grant assistance we needed to successfully get our products 
exported to Mexico.
    We consequently did apply and received a grant to help get 
our marketing brochure and labels again translated into Spanish 
this time. And in addition, we were able to get our labels 
properly formatted to meet the requirements for sale in Mexico. 
And that as a big challenge.
    But as a result of that assistance, in both instances, we 
were able to distribute our products into Mexico and Canada our 
sales are increasing from year to year.
    We would not have been successful without the education and 
the financial support we received through the Kansas Department 
of Commerce and the STEP program. And we are grateful for those 
two opportunities.
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Tooks. And we will come 
back to you, well, I know I will because we have to talk about 
BBQ.
    Mr. Spear?

                 STATEMENT OF WILLIAM E. SPEAR

    Mr. SPEAR. Yes, thank you so much.
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. Oh, there we go.
    Mr. SPEAR. How is that?
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. All right. You are recognized for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. SPEAR. Thank you, Chairwoman Davids, Ranking Member 
Meuser, and to all the Members of the Subcommittee, for having 
the opportunity to testify before you today. And Chairman, 
compliments on your associate degree. It works a big deal here 
in New Jersey.
    Further, allow me to specifically acknowledge Congressman 
Andy Kim of the Third Congressional District of New Jersey and 
his work on the Subcommittee. And also, thank you, Subcommittee 
for your continued support of small exporters and of the STEP 
program. It is a pleasure to share the importance of both of 
those here in New Jersey.
    My name is William Spear. I am the manager of the Office of 
Export Promotion and the director of the State Trade Expansion 
Program. Our office and the program are in the New Jersey 
Business Action Center under the leadership of Executive 
Director Melanie Willoughby. We are housed in the New Jersey 
Department of State, led by Secretary of State Tahesha Way. And 
on behalf of Governor Phil Murphy, whose administration 
encourages New Jersey-based businesses to export globally, we 
are pleased to highlight how your efforts strengthen our 
commitment.
    I would like to start with three numbers which I will come 
back to. Those numbers are 4.6 million, 185 million, and 527.
    But now about the state:
    We are the fourth smallest state in the country. However, 
we have the ninth largest gross domestic product. In 2021, New 
Jersey exports were $49.4 billion, up 30 percent. As a result 
of that, we are the 10th largest exporting state.
    Small companies and small businesses in New Jersey make up 
the majority of exporters.
    We are sixth in the number of small and medium sized 
exporters.
    We are seventh in the amount of exports from those 
companies, and we are fifth in the percentage of small and 
medium sized exporters.
    And please note, those data are from the U.S. Census Bureau 
and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
    Given the significant presence of small businesses in New 
Jersey, which SBA reports makes up 99.6 percent of all business 
in our state, any resource program or assets that support those 
businesses are important.
    SBA's STEP program established its importance with our 
office a long time ago. We see the value of the STEP program 
every day. We watch it assist small exporting companies to 
increase and diversify their revenues, pay higher wages, and 
create and retain jobs.
    However, New Jersey has not always had the type of success 
that we are being asked to talk about today. In the first years 
of our participation, we had a very, very steep learning curve 
as a granting entity. We were a great exporter but we were 
learning what it meant to be a granting entity.
    We built our program on two core principles: Be stewards of 
the federal money, and to treat the money as if it was your 
state's. Both of those were instilled by the early SBA STEP 
leadership. From the beginning, we looked to support the best 
small companies we could find. As a result, the program now 
begins to reflect those activities.
    And now I would like to come back to those numbers I first 
shared.
    From 2017 to 2022, the State of New Jersey has received 
$4.6 million of SBA awards.
    $185 million of actual export sales of U.S.-made goods and 
services have directly resulted from companies receiving those 
awards.
    Five hundred twenty-seven New Jersey jobs have directly 
come from either being created or retained by those STEP 
awards.
    And given that we still have two grant programs open, those 
numbers are subject to increase, of which we are very, very 
pleased.
    However, the numbers are really only a bit of a secondary 
point with regards to the measurement. The real measurement is 
in the companies themselves and these three quotes:
    ``NJ STEP is an excellent program that has allowed us to 
meet with foreign food buyers.'' And that is from a socially 
and economically disadvantaged, new-to-export firm.
    ``The NJ STEP provided strong support for our firm's export 
activity and helped to increase international sales.'' That 
from a woman-owned exporting firm.
    And, ``Without NJ STEP, our firm would not be in business 
today. Support from the program helped to create international 
marketing material, paid for booths, and helped market our 
brands. We create jobs from STEP.'' And that is from a socially 
and economically disadvantaged, woman-owned, new-to-export 
firm.
    We have many other things that we could talk about, but 
allow me to close with a confirmation of our partnership with 
SBA to continue to grow the program for the benefit of all of 
its stakeholders.
    Thank you so much, Madam Chairman.
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Spear.
    Mr. Walding, you are now recognized for 5 minutes.

                   STATEMENT OF DEVAN WALDING

    Mr. WALDING. Good morning. And thank you to the 
Subcommittee for allowing me to testify today.
    So first of all, I will put a little bit more detailed 
introduction on RADIUS, the organization.
    So RADIUS is a second generation, family-run oral care 
manufacturer based in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. For over 39, 
almost 40 years, we have been trusted to make ecofriendly, 
natural, and innovative oral care products for the whole 
family, including toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, and travel 
accessories. And actually, if you have never seen our products, 
they are pretty unique insomuch as there was a part back in the 
early `80s was an ergonomically right-handed toothbrush. 
Specifically now, with our landfill biodegradable samples, 
vegetable brush bristles, replaceable toothbrush head 
technology, and certified organic toothpaste, we continue to 
redefine what should be the conventional oral care offering 
even now for your pets.
    We are proud to be supporting sustainable U.S. jobs in 
addition to being a certified WBENC, (Women's Business 
Enterprise National Council) Member and WOSB (Women-Owned Small 
Business).
    As earlier mentioned, we are proud to be the recipient of 
the President's ``E'' Award for exports in 2016, recognizing 
our significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports. 
We currently have 30 staff Members and have exported to as many 
as 40 different countries. As much as 25 percent of our 
business at any given time can be directly attributed to 
international sales, and we were also the two-time recipients 
of the PPP loans, the first in 2020 and the second in 2021.
    Just a little bit about myself. So, my name is Devan 
Walding, and I am the VP of Sales here at RADIUS. I have three 
citizenships, including being American, Canadian, and 
Australian. I have lived, worked, and studied in all three 
countries. The majority of my career has been working in 
international sales, including time spent as a contributor in 
Australia for an American firm.
    In 2021, I took over global sales responsibilities at 
RADIUS, and I am currently, albeit at a different college 
during pandemic for my MBA at the University of Wisconsin, and 
I am proud to work for a family-run, Made in America business 
located in Kutztown, Pennsylvania.
    Specific about the STEP program. So, to be clear, RADIUS is 
a small company with limited resources. And we also have a very 
unique value proposition in terms of what we offer in our oral 
care portfolio products. Selling our product requires effort 
and time be it domestically or internationally. We are not 
simply a ``me too'' product where somebody can just pick it up 
and resell it. We are constantly pursuing international 
expansion opportunities to be able to fit via both digital and 
physical formats, online and in person. We engage with both 
state and federal resources, including the Pennsylvania 
Department of Community and Economic Development in addition to 
the U.S. Commercial Service. These assets continue to prove 
invaluable as we seek expertise and expert opinion where we 
cannot always afford it ourselves. This access and support 
allow us to compete in an increasingly competitive global 
marketplace while also promoting Made in the USA product and 
providing quality local jobs.
    The STEP program has enabled us, RADIUS, to participate and 
compete in channels that we would otherwise struggle, or simply 
not be able to afford. The sheer availability of these grants 
allows us to start a dialogue around what opportunities would 
provide the best return on investment for our brand, and 
ultimately Made in in American products. Finding the funds to 
participate in many of these initiatives is often a roadblock 
that limits our ability to participate, thus keeping us off the 
global stage and constricting potential new sales.
    While tracking the material impact of these investments can 
sometimes take years to confirm, our ability to invest in sales 
programs, through the flexibility of the STEP program, keeps us 
agile enough to remain competitive. Most recently, the 
Cosmoprof Trade Show in Bologna, Italy, had over 220,000 
attendees with 144 countries of origin. We received inquiries 
from 13 separate countries. The impact of show attendance 
cannot be understated. We sell a physical product and the 
ability to showcase RADIUS, in person, could be the material 
difference between security new business and not.
    Trade shows, among many other STEP approved programs 
accelerates our go-to-market strategies, increases our product 
visibility, and adds credibility to our brand. We have been 
called the best oral care company you have never heard of and 
we are committed to changing that with the assistance of the 
STEP program. Thank you.
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Walding. And thank you to 
all of our witnesses. We appreciate you taking the time and 
sharing your experiences with us.
    So I am going to begin by recognizing myself for 5 minutes. 
I always think it is funny when I recognize myself. I do not 
know why.
    So I often say that entrepreneurship is baked into the DNA 
of the Kansas Third Congressional District, and I say that 
because it is true. But BBQ is definitely the lifeblood of 
Kansas City and our community is extremely proud of the small 
businesses that produce our world famous cuisine from sauces to 
dry rub and everything in between resulting in slow smoked 
perfection as we call it. Which is why I am so thrilled to have 
Mr. Tooks of Pyramid Foods here today with us to speak about 
his experience in entering the STEP program from Shawnee, 
Kansas. And through exporting, Mr. Tooks and Pyramid foods are 
able to spread the love of a good dry rub and sweet Kansas City 
BBQ sauce far and wide. Exporting presents certain an 
incredible opportunity for small businesses to expand their 
customer base and increase sales, but the processes that these 
businesses have to go through to become an exporter are 
certainly complex and can be intimidating, which we heard a bit 
about already.
    But Mr. Tooks, I am curious, if you could share with us 
what interested you in exporting your products? And what were 
some of the immediate challenges that you faced? And also 
curious how you got connected with the STEP program there in 
Kansas to help you navigate that process.
    Mr. TOOKS. Okay. I am sorry. It took me a second to unmute 
myself.
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. No problem. Go ahead.
    Mr. TOOKS. I got interested in exporting our products 
through having met with some representatives from the World 
Trade Center Food Export Association in a couple of meetings 
and got invited to participate in some foreign trade missions. 
And during that process, I had the opportunity to present our 
products to buyers from all over the world, really. And it was 
out of those meetings I learned exporting was a tough business. 
I mean, it is tough enough trying to sell your products in the 
U.S. but trying to sell to foreign markets is a lot more 
challenging in that you have got pricing to deal with and you 
have got regulations to get your products out of the U.S. and 
into these countries. Just a lot of regulations to deal with. 
But fortunately, there are organizations around to help you get 
through--the World Trade Center, Kansas Department of Commerce, 
and Food Export Association. And so what I just had to do was 
meet with Lu Chang representing the Kansas Department of 
Commerce to help me navigate through getting our products 
properly packaged, labeled, to meet the requirements of a 
couple of countries to start out with. Canada, what we learned 
in the early stages of exportation, was it was just that we 
start out--because they imported a lot more American made 
products than anybody else. And that is where we started out. 
And so what we learned in the process was that you needed 
someone to help navigate through all of the regulations. And 
so, we found someone to help with that. And then helped get our 
labels translated into both English, well, they were already in 
English, but to be dual labeled, to be translated into Canadian 
French, which we learned was different than French in France. 
We went through all the design work and then we had to make 
sure that the ingredients were properly formatted. Then we had 
to make sure that our marketing materials that we had to share 
with our business distributors were able to use those materials 
for their customers. Well, the STEP program was great for help 
with that because we were able to apply for grants to help with 
the translation, label redesigns, and the printing of the 
labels. Without that, we would have never got----
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Tooks. Thanks, so much. 
My time has actually expired. But I look forward to talking to 
you more. I will come visit you when we are all back in the 
district.
    With that, I will turn to the Ranking Member. I will yield 
to the Ranking Member for 5 minutes.
    Mr. MEUSER. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. And thank you, Mr. 
Tooks, for your testimony. And Madam Chairwoman, I certainly 
hope that we can get some of that great BBQ perhaps exported 
here. I will not misstate exactly how you folks express 
yourself when it comes to your very special BBQ, but I will 
help you eat it. So hopefully, Mr. Tooks can oblige.
    Thank you all for your testimony. I am going to Mr. Walding 
since he is from the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and in 
my district. Mr. Walding, excellent to hear about your company, 
your growth, being based there as a rural manufacturer is 
really special, so congratulations.
    Now, could you elaborate a little bit more on how the 
awards of our STEP program, and in Pennsylvania known as the 
GAP awards have specifically helped you reach new foreign and 
international markets?
    Mr. WALDING. Yeah. Thanks for the opportunity to speak 
again. And I apologize if I was not coming in clear earlier.
    So, our products are consumable, all right, and certainly, 
oral care over the past decade especially has become 
increasingly competitive. And so as we establish ourselves, you 
know, we have got a lot of equity here in the U.S., but 
sometimes our ability to translate those in America, that 
sustainable premium characteristics that certainly set us apart 
and really make us, you know, what should be the conventional 
oral care offering in some international marketplace can be 
tough. And so specifically, in going to trade shows or trade 
missions and participating in these types of events, it does 
allow us not only to in one single, let's call it 2 or 3 days, 
what would take probably months and months of these types of 
interactions, right, on Zoom or on Microsoft Teams or digitally 
or email, you can achieve in a matter of 5 or 10 minutes. You 
know, there is just such a material impact. I mean, I am not 
selling, I am not a SAS. I do not sell a service. I sell a 
product. And so we need to export that to these destinations. 
We often go through distribution. There is a lot, similar to 
Mr. Tooks, there is a lot that goes on between when we make 
that toothbrush in Pennsylvania to when it arrives in country 
and then goes to distribution and then hits that retail shelf. 
So these types of foreign trade missions are absolutely 
critical to not only the participation and awareness of our 
brand security new potential business but also to getting 
material feedback on whether or not those market are, in fact, 
where we should be spending our time, be it the RADIUS time or 
the assets that we have allocated towards that. So making sure 
that we can confidently use what materials and resources we 
have is equally as important as the context that use just to 
make sure that we are as effective using the tools, the limited 
tools that we have.
    Mr. MEUSER. Great. Thanks. Yeah. I do have some experience 
in international sales and entering new markets so I can 
understand the challenges, and I am glad that this STEP program 
provides at least the catalyst and some resources to help you 
be successful.
    Let's just talk about competitiveness as a whole quickly. 
The price index inflation is at a 41-year high. How has this 
impacted your export strategy and operations? And as well, 
small business optimism has declined for a number of months 
now. Expectations for better business conditions are really at 
an all-time low since the early 1980s. Given the current 
inflation levels and small business climate, how will tax 
increases, so I am going to ask you about that as well, tax 
increases affect your operations, affect your margins, affect 
your ability to be very competitive and the number of people 
that you continue to hire?
    Mr. WALDING. Great questions. And I think somebody, I 
apologize, who mentioned it earlier, but predictability is a 
big one for us as a small manufacturer and trying to keep 
steady, consistent jobs in rural Pennsylvania. And we delivered 
a price increase earlier this year, the most significant in 
decades throughout this organization as we have tried to keep 
our products competitive and our pricing relatively static. And 
we no longer could afford to remain in business if we did not 
do that. And when there are premium product or more of a 
commoditized product, I think we all feel the same pressure on 
our margins and our ability to sustain ourselves in the long 
term. And so specifically things like, and given the 
inflationary environment, we are making adjustments ourselves, 
certainly, but with the best interest for keeping us and our 
longevity front and center. Certainly any tax reform or 
increase to us would certainly be of material impact to 
sustaining ourselves and our profitability.
    Mr. MEUSER. Thank you.
    I will yield back, Madam Chair, and I look forward to the 
invitation to lunch.
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. Noted.
    The gentleman yields back.
    The Chair will now recognize Congresswoman Bourdeaux from 
Georgia for 5 minutes.
    Ms. BOURDEAUX. Thank you so much, Chairwoman Davids, for 
holding today's hearing and thank you, Ranking Member Meuser. I 
want to also thank our witnesses, and especially Ms. Waters, my 
fellow Georgian, for joining us today. Sorry I cannot be there 
in person but I had a scheduling conflict.
    But did want to talk with you for a few minutes about 
international trade in Georgia and how you use the STEP 
program. In your testimony, you talk about how Georgia 
participated in STEP 2011 to 2012, then had an application that 
was denied in 2013, so it was out of the program for a while, 
and then very pleased to see we are back in it in 2020 and 
2021.
    So as a state that has seen significant economic growth and 
benefits from trade, both with and without participate in STEP, 
can you speak to the benefits of STEP and how it has helped 
enhance Georgia's small businesses' ability to do business 
overseas over the past 2 years?
    Ms. WATERS. Great, Representative Bourdeaux. Thank you very 
much for that question. It is a great question. And I will say 
that Georgia has a very well-established trade program. Our 
team has been doing this for the better part of 30 years and 
for pretty much the entirety of that time we have been focused 
on small businesses. And so we always viewed the STEP program 
both in its pilot years and now getting back into it in 2020, 
we have really seen the ability to lean on STEP as one tool in 
our overall tool kit of how we on an ongoing basis support our 
small business exporters through counseling and referral to 
resources and market entry, market intelligence, introductions 
to customers. We really look at our services, if you will, in 
terms of a spectrum of assistance from a band new new-to-export 
company that is just starting to get that little flicker really 
through to the process of connecting with partners in markets 
and actually achieving those export sales. And so what the STEP 
program does allow us to do, we really think of it as an 
additional service that we can provide to companies because 
that financial piece is so critically important.
    I was a trade manager in this team before I went to the 
private sector, and now I am back sort of running the 
international trade team for the department. And the common 
thread is so many small businesses, they do have really cool, 
really innovative products and that passion is there for their 
businesses and for their products and technologies, and they 
just need assistance and they do not necessarily know where to 
start. And a program like STEP I think for our businesses, 
small businesses in Georgia, it is one thing to know that you 
have got a really well structured trade program and resources 
that are there to assist you as the small business, but knowing 
that there is that financial backing that you can, if you do 
your homework and you apply and you say I have been wanting to 
get to this international trade show for 4 years and I have 
never had the budget to do it but I know if I make the 
commitment now I am going to get some percentage of that money 
back and that frees me up to globalize my website, get my 
labels translated, do more in the international sphere that 
really can tip the scales for small businesses and take 
exporting from a priority in a company's focus to being a top 
priority and really being able to truly get into the 
international market. That is the value of STEP for our Georgia 
companies.
    I will say that the pandemic really was the tipping point 
for us as a state to get back into the program and I want to 
recognize SBA and the improvements they have made to the 
program over time. It really is a significantly different 
program now than it was in 2011 when we started out. But being 
able as a very adept export development state, to be able to 
offer direct financial assistance awards to these companies 
really does make the difference and every dollar that we can 
get into the hands of those companies does matter because it 
frees up a dollar that they can then continue to expand their 
export sales.
    Ms. BOURDEAUX. Thank you so much. That was actually really 
helpful to hear that contrast back and forth.
    Unfortunately, I am short on time, but would love to talk 
with you more just because we have such an international and 
diverse community in the 7th District. And I know a lot of my 
immigrant communities have, you know, one foot in this country 
but one foot in the country that they immigrated from and I 
think there might be some interesting opportunities for 
partnerships with you all for them and to help boost their 
business.
    With that, again, welcome to D.C. Good to have you here, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you. The gentlewoman yields back.
    The Chair will now recognize Congresswoman Young Kim, the 
Ranking Member on the Subcommittee for Innovation, 
Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development for 5 minutes.
    Ms. YOUNG KIM. Thank you, Chairwoman Davids. And I would 
also like to thank my Ranking Member Meuser for holding this 
hearing. And I want to thank our witnesses, especially Ms. 
Waters, for joining us in person and other witnesses joining us 
virtually.
    We are here to analyze the work of SBA's Office of 
International Trade and STEP program. I want to let you know 
that I am very proud to represent California's 39th 
Congressional District. I represent the parts of California, 
Orange and San Bernardino counties and it is home to San Pedro 
Bay Port Complex. Nearly 25 percent of the nation's total 
exports pass through the San Pedro Port Complex. So I have seen 
the supply chain crisis very, very closely at home.
    Unfortunately, supply chain crisis and this issue have been 
exacerbated by workforce and truck driver shortages, burdensome 
regulations, which California is known for, and warehouse 
capacity problems. In my home state of California, we have this 
onerous legislation AB5. That will change the definition of an 
independent contractor and force truck drivers to comply with 
onerous licensing requirements and AB5 could only lead to more 
trucking shortages and to the estimated shortage of 80,000 
truck drivers nationally.
    To further compound our supply chain and workforce issues, 
one of the owners of a logistics company in my district told me 
for every five people they hire, one does not show up. They do 
not show up for work. Workforce shortages are only adding fuel 
to the fire of inflation. So to paint a picture of that 
magnitude of the problem, at the end of May, the federal 
government's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey found that 
there was a near record of 11.3 million job vacancies across 
the nation.
    I want to ask a question to both you, Ms. Waters, and Mr. 
Spear. We have heard that STEP reporting requirements are more 
detailed and burdensome than grants from the Department of 
Commerce and other agencies. So can you give us an overview of 
how your office manages STEP programs and the reporting 
requirements?
    Ms. WATERS. I will take a first shot at this. I will say 
from Georgia's perspective, there is an administrative burden 
in STEP with respect to the application process as well as 
quarterly reporting. I think it is worth it because the value 
is there for the companies and certainly as a state grantee 
that is again new to the program, we are absolutely willing to 
make that tradeoff because we know the value is there for small 
businesses. But I think the most effective way to address 
administrative burden within the STEP grant is to continue to 
work together in partnership with SBA Office of International 
Trade with this Committee, with Congress, to focus in on the 
core priorities of the program, the core objective of STEP, to 
get new small businesses into exporting and to help those 
exporters get to new markets and to collaboratively focus on 
concise performance metrics that get to that outcome driven 
perspective instead of calculating ROI on a quarterly basis and 
going really into very specific data that to my understanding 
is not required by Congress on a quarterly basis because that 
does take time away from when we could be assisting small 
businesses in the export process.
    And with that I yield my time.
    Ms. YOUNG KIM. Mr. Spear, as you respond to my same 
question that I posed to Ms. Waters, can you suggest how we can 
ensure that program is meeting its performance metrics while 
also reducing administrative burden?
    Mr. SPEAR. Well, yes. Let me give you the short answer. 
Yes. Many of the points that have been raised today are 
absolutely significant. However, in New Jersey, we have taken 
some steps to kind of reduce that burden already. When we query 
our companies, we simply ask for actual sales and projected 
sales and actual jobs and projected jobs. So that is the 
minimum that we can get to get back. I mean, there are other 
things that we could include that would be indicators, but we 
have minimized it by minimizing what we ask the companies. We 
have done that with regard to that. And we have actually found, 
although we have not had as many experiences with other 
agencies, we actually did back away from applying for another 
agency's grant earlier in the year because the burden was 
actually heavier than what we found at SBA.
    Ms. YOUNG KIM. Thank you.
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. Sorry, I was like totally thinking about 
your question. The gentlewoman's time has expired.
    The Chair will now recognize Congressman Garbarino for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. GARBARINO. Thank you, Chairwoman, and thank you to the 
Ranking Member for having this hearing.
    I know, Ms. Waters, you spoke briefly about what you had to 
deal with and your small businesses with the height of the 
COVID-19 pandemic. I do not know if you got to say everything 
you wanted to say regarding how that affected the businesses in 
your state and the effect on exports.
    Ms. WATERS. Thank you for that question. I will say the 
conversations that we were having with our small businesses as 
the pandemic was starting, you know, many of our same small 
businesses were looking at EIDL loans, were looking at PPP 
financing, and really our grant program started in October of 
2020. And when we were able to go back to our exporters and 
say, you know, we now have this money that we want you to be 
able to continue to stay focused to the extent possible on 
export development and international markets. What we 
absolutely did not want to happen in Georgia was for some of 
our really great small businesses to lose focus from the 
importance of international growth. You know, we were asking a 
lot of our small businesses at a very challenging time and a 
lot were understandably focused on making payroll and 
continuing to sustain themselves during the pandemic. But those 
companies that were really in a position to maintain themselves 
and sustain, we did not want them to have to step away from 
international development in any way. And so being able to 
follow up with those companies and say, look, for any upgrades 
that you need to make to your website right now, any kind of 
new strategy development that you are looking at for 
international markets, using the pandemic as an opportunity to 
kind of restrategize about what exporting will look like in the 
future, you now have resources through STEP to make some of 
those changes. We had a lot of companies that were still very 
eager to be involved in international trade events and a lot of 
global events went virtual. And so we had companies that were 
needing to buy really high quality audio and video equipment to 
be able to participate virtually with global buyers at these 
new hybrid or virtual trade events.
    Mr. GARBARINO. I do not mean to interrupt. I am running out 
of time. So you would say that the money, the businesses took 
advantage of this program and they have been successful in 
using it?
    Ms. WATERS. Yes. I think that is true, taking into 
consideration that there continues to be some postponement and 
cancelation of events through COVID but by and large companies 
did take advantage of the opportunities. Yes.
    Mr. GARBARINO. Good. Good. All right.
    Mr. Spear, would you agree with that? Did you see the same 
things with your companies in your state?
    Mr. SPEAR. That is correct. We actually saw, it was 
interesting, the newer-to-export companies were much more 
creative in asking about STEP and how it might embrace their 
international efforts by internationalizing their websites. So 
yes, overall, but as a nuance, it was the newer-to-export 
companies that moved that mark a lot more so than our more 
experienced exporters.
    Mr. GARBARINO. Okay. So, it sounds like in both states one 
of the activities that was most popular was internationalizing 
the websites. What else was popular amongst the small 
businesses? What else did they use their money on?
    Mr. SPEAR. For New Jersey, anything that did not require 
getting into a plane and travel was looked at. So taking your 
website and using that as the lead entity of your export 
process, 100 percent. We had a lot of people do that. But also 
things as mundane as translating a product catalogue into a 
foreign buyer's language or translating a website. Things like 
that. There were several U.S. Commercial Service, and U.S. 
Commercial Service is kind of like the unsung hero in the 
background. They took many of their longstanding services and 
virtualized those so that you did not have to have a company 
travel into country to take advantage of what is easily the 
best service provider in international business bar none. But 
their assistance and their entrepreneurialism helped companies 
take advantage of STEP funds as well.
    Mr. GARBARINO. Ms. Waters, anything you want to add about 
anything else that your businesses were able to use the money 
on?
    Ms. WATERS. No. I would simply echo what Mr. Spear just 
shared.
    Mr. GARBARINO. Okay. I appreciate that. And I have got 8 
seconds left, so I yield back. Thank you, Chairwoman.
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you. The gentleman yields back.
    The Chair will now recognize Congresswoman Van Duyne, 
Ranking Member of the Subcommittee for Oversight, 
Investigations, and Regulations, for 5 minutes.
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and to the 
Ranking Member for holding this hearing today.
    Mr. Walding, when you think about all that is going on in 
the economy right now--labor market issues, 9.1 percent 
inflation, supply chain slowdowns--would you say that dealing 
with these has slowed your ability to grow your export 
business?
    Mr. WALDING. I switched audio. Is that okay?
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. I can hear you just great. Thank you.
    Mr. WALDING. Okay, great. Yeah. So I would say absolutely. 
We are seeing softening across both domestic and international 
markets and we are doing our best right now to pivot in terms 
of what are realistic expectations both in terms of current 
markets that we currently participate in, but also in terms of 
where we see growth and where we want to be participating. 
Right? So metering I think, and we were talking about 
predictability, just trying to digest what the impact is going 
to be in 3, 6, 9, 12 months is really kind of where we are as 
an organization, you know, piecing out what is happening 
domestically versus what is happening internationally. And I 
think specifically for us, you know, things like foreign 
exchange is causing a significant burden as a function of 
inflation and some other regulatory environments. So, yeah, we 
are taking major steps to kind of course correct or to get some 
realistic expectations heading over into the next 6 to 12 
months.
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. Thank you. And Mr. Walding, one of the 
things that the congressional Democrats are discussing right 
now is a massive reconciliation bill that many would think 
would include a tax hike on small businesses. How do you think 
that would affect you in the current climate?
    Mr. WALDING. I think that any additional cost pressures 
that small businesses like ours, again, we do not want to lay 
off. Right? We want to expand. But also, we have got to be 
cognizant of what we can digest as an organization in terms of 
sustaining our business over the long term. You know, it is no 
small feat for any small business to overcome those first 
couple of years, let alone be kind of innovators and curators 
going against global giants for almost 40 years. We anticipate 
and we expect ourselves to be doing the same for the next 40. 
An increase in taxes is simply just going to burden our ability 
to remain competitive and where do we pass that cost on. Right? 
So, I mean, we are either going to feel it on our bottom line 
having to make some tough calls internally or we pass that on 
to the consumer. Like I said earlier, we had to do that just by 
virtue of inflationary environments, making us increasingly 
less competitive going against, like I said, some major 
contract manufacturers or international players where we, like 
I said, we butt up against this every day.
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. I appreciate that answer.
    I am going to ask this of the whole panel starting with Mr. 
Walding.
    If you had to identify your top three challenges right now, 
what would they be?
    Mr. WALDING. At the moment----
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. We have got four witnesses so I am hoping 
you can just kind of, without having to----
    Mr. WALDING. Yeah, sure. The first one for us is going to 
be I would say foreign exchange is a big one for us at the 
moment. I would say supply chain would be the second. And to a 
lesser extent, I would say retaining talent.
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. Okay.
    And then Ms. Waters?
    Ms. WATERS. Thank you. I would say for the companies that 
we work with, strength of the dollar is a barrier right now. 
Workforce considerations are very real for our small 
businesses. And ongoing supply chain disruption and uncertainty 
about where the next disruption might come from are at the top 
of our list.
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. Thank you.
    Mr. Spear?
    Mr. SPEAR. Thank you so much. Echoing both of the first two 
witnesses, what I would add to that is the companies we are 
looking at right now are really, really, really young and new 
to exporting. And so at the moment, when we have a conversation 
about supporting their export activities, they have not fully 
fleshed out what their own export activities are.
    And so if we could have a way to get them further educated 
and then layer possible financing on top of it, that would move 
that conversation along really, really quickly.
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. So the top three issues that you have got is 
education of your workforce and financing?
    Mr. SPEAR. Actually, more education just on the aspects 
that there is a market beyond the 21 counties of New Jersey and 
the United States of America.
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. All right. Mr. Tooks? Mr. Tooks?
    Mr. TOOKS. I was on mute right quick.
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. There you go.
    Mr. TOOKS. Number one, the ingredients cost. We have to 
source our own ingredients. Our products are made from a 
manufacturer and they are experiencing costs and ingredients, 
and I think a lot of it has to do with transportation. But the 
second thing would be our cost for moving our products here in 
the U.S. but just as much across the borders of Mexico and 
Canada.
    So increased transportation costs have a direct impact on 
our ability to grow and it also has a negative effect on making 
our margin because we cannot pass on all of those costs.
    Ms. VAN DUYNE. All right. Thank you very much. I yield 
back.
    Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you. The gentlewoman yields back.
    Again, thank you all for joining us today. Thank you to our 
witnesses for taking the time and thank you to our Committee 
Members.
    Expanding into international markets can definitely boost 
small businesses across the country and grow the American 
economy. And given these benefits, we have to make sure that it 
is as easy and manageable as possible for small businesses to 
be able to sell their products abroad.
    We have heard extensively from our witnesses today about 
the unique challenges that exporting presents for small firms, 
and by advancing policies that address these concerns we can 
certainly alleviate some of these obstacles and ensure that 
American small businesses have a place in the global economy.
    I am looking forward to collaborating with my colleagues on 
the Committee as we reauthorize the STEP program so that we can 
better serve entrepreneurs.
    Without objection, Members have 5 legislative days to 
submit statements and supporting materials for the record.
    And if there is no further business to come before the 
Committee, without objection, we are adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 11:06 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
    
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