[House Hearing, 119 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                 250 YEARS OF AMERICAN LEGACY: SMALL 
                  BUSINESSES AND THE AMERICAN DREAM
=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                      COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
                             UNITED STATES
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                              HEARING HELD
                              JULY 1, 2026

                               __________

[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]                              

            Small Business Committee Document Number 119-040
             Available via the GPO Website: www.govinfo.gov
             
                              __________
                              
                  U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                
64-146                   WASHINGTON : 2026
=======================================================================
                   HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS

                    ROGER WILLIAMS, Texas, Chairman
                        PETE STAUBER, Minnesota
                        DAN MEUSER, Pennsylvania
                         BETH VAN DUYNE, Texas
                           JAKE ELLZEY, Texas
                         MARK ALFORD, Missouri
                        BRAD FINSTAD, Minnesota
                          TONY WIED, Wisconsin
                      ROB BRESNAHAN, Pennsylvania
                          BRIAN JACK, Georgia
             KIMBERLYN KING-HINDS, Northern Marina Islands
                         DEREK SCHMIDT, Kansas
                        JIMMY PATRONIS, Florida
                          CLAY FULLER, Georgia
               NYDIA VELAZQUEZ, New York, Ranking Member
                       MORGAN MCGARVEY, Kentucky
                       HILLARY SCHOLTEN, Michigan
                      LAMONICA MCIVER, New Jersey
                        GIL CISNEROS, California
                       KELLY MORRISON, Minnesota
                        GEORGE LATIMER, New York
                         DEREK TRAN, California
                       LATEEFAH SIMON, California
                       JOHNNY OLSZEWSKI, Maryland
                    MAGGIE GOODLANDER, New Hampshire
                       ANALILIA MEJIA, New Jersey

                  Sean Dillon, Majority Staff Director
                 Melissa Jung, Minority Staff Director
                            
                            C O N T E N T S

                           OPENING STATEMENTS

                                                                   Page
Hon. Roger Williams..............................................     1
Hon. Johnny Olszewski............................................     3

                               WITNESSES

Mr. Adrian Adornetto, Owner, Adornetto's-Giacomo's, Zanesville, 
  OH.............................................................     5
Mr. Philip Freeman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Murphy's 
  Naturals, Inc.-The Loading Dock, LLC, Raleigh, NC..............     7
Ms. Anne Shybunko-Moore, Owner and Chief Executive Officer, GSE 
  Dynamics, Inc., Hauppauge, NY..................................     9
Ms. Veronica Cool, President and Chief Executive Officer, Cool & 
  Associates LLC, Baltimore, MD..................................    10

                                APPENDIX

Prepared Statements:
    Mr. Adrian Adornetto, Owner, Adornetto's-Giacomo's, 
      Zanesville, OH.............................................    32
    Mr. Philip Freeman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, 
      Murphy's Naturals, Inc.-The Loading Dock, LLC, Raleigh, NC.    36
    Ms. Anne Shybunko-Moore, Owner and Chief Executive Officer, 
      GSE Dynamics, Inc., Hauppauge, NY..........................    41
    Ms. Veronica Cool, President and Chief Executive Officer, 
      Cool & Associates LLC, Baltimore, MD.......................    50
Questions and Answers for the Record:
    Questions from Hon. Velazquez and Hon. Olszewski to Mr. 
      Freeman and Answers from Mr. Freeman.......................    56
    Questions from Hon. Velazquez and Hon. Olszewski to Ms. 
      Shybunko-Moore and Answers from Ms. Shybunko-Moore.........    59
    Questions from Hon. Velazquez and Hon. Olszewski to Ms. Cool 
      and Answers from Ms. Cool..................................    61
Additional Material for the Record:
    Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC)..........................    65
    Small Business Majority Letter...............................    67
    SBC Democrat Report One......................................    71
    SBC Democrat Report Two......................................    88
    American Business Immigration Coalition Action (ABIC)........   111
    Democrat Letter to SBA Letter................................   112
    USHBC Letter.................................................   117
    SBC Democrat Letter to Admin.................................   122
    SBC Democrat Letter to SBA...................................   130
    H.R. 8563....................................................   139

 
 250 YEARS OF AMERICAN LEGACY: SMALL BUSINESSES AND THE AMERICAN DREAM

                              ----------                              


                        WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2026

                  House of Representatives,
               Committee on Small Business,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:04 a.m., in Room 
2360, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Roger Williams 
[chairman of the Committee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Williams, Meuser, Van Duyne, 
Ellzey, Jack, King-Hinds, Schmidt, Patronis, Tran, Olszewski, 
and Goodlander.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. Before we get started, I want to 
recognize Representative King-Hinds, who is with us, to lead us 
in the pledge and the prayer. Would you please stand.
    Ms. KING-HINDS. Heavenly Father, thank you for the 
opportunity to gather in service. As we celebrate 250 years of 
America's small business, we give thanks and ask for continued 
blessings for the innovators, the entrepreneurs, the workers, 
and the families behind these small businesses that have worked 
really hard to build our communities and strengthen our 
country.
    Today, I also ask each and every one of you to lift up 
those who are facing hardship, whatever it may be, especially 
the people from my district where another typhoon threatens to 
hit this Fourth of July while many of us are still recovering 
from a super-typhoon 2 months ago.
    God, I also pray that the Members of this Committee be--
their words, their thoughts, and their actions is a reflection 
of your goodness, kindness, and mercy so that we can continue 
the work of further providing opportunities for small 
businesses and future businesses across this great nation for 
250 more years.
    In God's name we pray, amen.
    All. I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States 
of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one 
nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for 
all.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. Good morning everyone. And I now call 
the Committee on Small Business to order. Without objection, 
the Chair is authorized to declare a recess of the Committee at 
any time. I now recognize myself for my opening statement.
    I want to welcome everybody to today's hearing, 250 Years 
of American Legacy: Small Businesses and the American Dream. 
Happy birthday.
    I want to thank our witnesses for joining us today at this 
time, and for sharing their time with us and their experience 
and perspectives with this Committee.
    And in just a few days, our nation will celebrate the 250th 
anniversary of an American independence. Throughout this year, 
this Committee has been welcoming to small business owners from 
every corner of the country to share their experiences and 
their perspectives. Time and time again, their stories have 
reflected the same qualities that have defined America for the 
past 250 years: Hard work, innovation, and resilience in the 
pursuit of an opportunity.
    As we reflect on our nation's history, it is clear that any 
American story would be incomplete without recognizing the role 
of the small business entrepreneurs. American history is, in 
many ways, a story of a small business, from the earliest 
settlements to the modern economy, entrepreneurship has been 
woven into the fabric of our nation.
    The men and women who built America were farmers, they were 
merchants, craftsmen, innovators, and manufacturers. From 
America's earliest days, small businesses created jobs, 
introduced new ideas, and helped transform a collection of 
colleagues into the most prosperous nation in history.
    The American Revolution itself was shaped by entrepreneurs. 
Taverns served as gathering places for discussion, 
organization. Printers, including Benjamin Franklin, 
distributed ideas that have inspired us for a new nation and 
for centuries.
    Small businesses were not merely witnesses to American 
history, they were the architects of American history. And just 
as a small business helped build America, this country has 
provided an environment where small businesses can thrive. Free 
markets, access to capital, and strong protections for private 
property and intellectual property, have created the most 
dynamic economy in the world, and the best place to start a 
small business.
    So consider the American innovators who changed the world: 
Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and the 
Wright Brothers, Walter Chrysler, and countless others. Their 
achievements transformed industries, strengthened communities, 
and improved everyday life for millions and millions around the 
world.
    As that spirit of innovation comes today across the 
country, millions of small business owners are developing new 
technologies and carrying forward the tradition of the American 
enterprise. Today's hearing is not only about celebrating the 
past, it is also about preserving the American Dream for future 
generations. We have some in this room today.
    And several of our witnesses represent businesses that have 
endured wars, recessions, technological change, and shifting 
markets. Their stories demonstrate that entrepreneurship is not 
simply about starting a small business, it is about building a 
legacy.
    So as we look forward to America's next 250 years--and I 
will be there if you want to come; we will set something up, 
okay?--we must ensure that small businesses remain equipped to 
compete, innovate, and grow.
    The success of our nation has always been tied to the 
success of entrepreneurs and if America is to remain prosperous 
and strong, it will be because future generations continue the 
work of building, creating, and taking risk.
    I would like to thank our witnesses again for being here on 
the Fourth of July and, again, for being here. I look forward 
to the discussion.
    I now yield to our Ranking Member from Maryland, my friend, 
Mr. Olszewski, for his opening remarks.
    Mr. OLSZEWSKI. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And good 
morning to all. I appreciate you calling this very timely 
hearing. Thanks to all of our witnesses for your presence 
today.
    I want to just express my excitement about America's 250th. 
Mr. Chairman, I look forward to joining you in 250 years more 
as well.
    But as we approach this milestone, this 250th anniversary 
of our country's founding, as a former American Government 
teacher, I am reminded of the first words in the preamble to 
our Constitution: We, the people, of the U.S., in order to form 
a more perfect union.
    For 250 years, our effort to build that more perfect union 
has endured countless trials and tribulations, tragedies and 
triumphs. We are blessed to live in the greatest country in the 
world, where opportunity and prosperity are available to all.
    America became the greatest country in the world, in part, 
because of the ingenuity and grit of our small businesses and 
the hundreds of millions of immigrants, our forefathers, who 
came ashore to start building their dreams. Immigrants, like 
your ancestors and mine, are how we formed that more perfect 
union. But today we know our union is also under attack.
    Corporate greed is causing our markets to consolidate, 
making it harder for scrappy new startups to enter and remain 
in business. Simply put, the deck is stacked against the little 
guy. As everything becomes less affordable due to tariffs and 
the war, small companies are struggling to pay their bills and 
their staff. These are our constituents, and they are being 
left behind.
    ICE is swarming our cities, provoking fear in workers, 
small business owners and our neighbors. That does not make us 
safer. It makes us less strong.
    To that end, Mr. Chairman, I request unanimous consent to 
insert this statement of the American Business Immigration 
Coalition and Small Business Majority into the record.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. So moved.
    Mr. OLSZEWSKI. Thank you. But there is good news. Our main 
street businesses are resilient, and they show up for our 
communities in the face of hardship. That is the American way. 
That is the spirit of our nation.
    Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and their 
issues aren't Democratic, they are not Republican. They are 
American issues. It is why I am proud to have worked with 
Chairman Williams and Members across the aisle in this 
Committee to pass commonsense legislation to improve small 
business assistance across the federal government. But we 
cannot celebrate main street one day, and look the other way 
when this administration's policies make lives harder.
    So I look forward to a robust discussion about what has 
truly driven the success of main street in our nation, and what 
hasn't, the impacts of tariffs, healthcare costs, and the 
massive unnecessary disruption to our immigrant communities.
    So as we commemorate America's 250th anniversary, let's 
honor the generations of entrepreneurs, immigrants, and the 
motivated hard workers who helped build this nation. Let's 
choose action over inaction and bipartisan solutions over 
gridlock.
    I yield back.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back. We will now 
move to the witness introductions.
    Our first witness is Mr. Adrian Adornetto. Mr. Adornetto is 
the owner of Adornetto's and Giacomo's in Zanesville, Ohio. Is 
that right? These family-owned businesses have been serving 
customers in Ohio for more than 65 years. Mr. Adornetto's 
family's American story began when his grandparents emigrated 
from Sicily, Italy, and helped build the foundation for 
Adornetto's Pizzeria, which his father Jimmy opened in 1958. 
Jimmy later founded Giacomo's Bakery in 1994, fulfilling his 
passion for artisan bread. Both family businesses continue to 
serve fresh scratch-made Italian food and baked goods.
    Mr. Adornetto's purchase of the family business in 2012 
continues the tradition of quality Italian food and community 
service. Today he is investing the next generation by teaching 
his 11-year-old son, who is here, the family business, with the 
hope that he will one day become its third generation owner.
    Thank you for being here today very much.
    The next witness is Mr. Philip Freeman. Mr. Freeman is the 
founder and CEO of Murphy's Naturals, a North Carolina-based 
manufacturer of natural outdoor products, and The Loading Dock, 
an innovative cowarehousing space for entrepreneurs.
    Mr. Freeman spent 23 years in packaging sales before 
founding Murphy's Naturals in his garage in 2013 when what 
began as a search for an effective natural mosquito repellent 
has grown into a nationally recognized brand. And as the 
businesses expanded, he founded The Loading Dock, a coworking 
and warehouse community that has helped hundreds of small 
businesses launch and grow by providing affordable flexible 
workplace.
    Those mosquitoes, do you have an office in Texas?
    Mr. FREEMAN. We are very popular.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay. Mr. Freeman is part of the U.S. 
Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council where he advocates 
for policies to strengthen America's small businesses. He 
earned a communications degree from Virginia Tech and served 8 
years as Deep-Sea Diving Officer in the U.S. Navy. Thank you 
for your service, and I look forward to our discussion here.
    Our next witness is Mrs. Anne Shybunko-Moore. Mrs. 
Shybunko-Moore is the CEO and owner of GSE Dynamics, a U.S. 
defense manufacturer founded by her father, Daniel, in 1971. 
GSE Dynamics serves the defense industrial base by supplying 
the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Army, and major aerospace 
manufacturers. She joined her father's company in 2001 and has 
led its expansion into one of the nation's largest federally 
certified Women-Owned Small Business. She also serves on the 
Manufacturing and America Advisory Committee, where she 
provides strategic guidance to the federal government on 
strengthening supply chains, including global competitiveness 
and supporting America's small business manufacturers.
    Mrs. Shybunko-Moore and her husband, Jamie, have four sons 
who may one day carry on the family business as its next 
generation of leaders. I look forward to your testimony.
    I now recognize the Ranking Member from Maryland, Mr. 
Olszewski, to briefly introduce our last witness appearing 
before us today.
    Mr. OLSZEWSKI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Happy to welcome 
Ms. Veronica Cool, who is the President and CEO of Cool & 
Associates, LLC, a bilingual outreach and strategy firm 
specializing in marketing and engagement for the Latino 
community.
    Before her time as an entrepreneur, Ms. Cool was a banker 
with Wells Fargo and Bank of America, respectively. Previously, 
Ms. Cool also sat on the Open Society Institute Board and the 
Maryland Governor's Workforce Investment Board and has served 
as the Chairperson of the Maryland Hispanic Chamber of 
Commerce.
    Prior to coming to Congress, as Baltimore County executive, 
I had the privilege to partner with Ms. Cool's firm to provide 
my constituents with translation services for our town halls.
    Thank you so much for being an outstanding partner in our 
language and interpretation work and for helping to level the 
playing field for our immigrant entrepreneur communities, both 
then and now.
    Ms. Cool holds a bachelor's degree in finance and 
international business from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania 
and a master's degree in finance from Loyola University in 
Maryland. Welcome, Ms. Cool.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. There is a Cool, Texas, in my district. 
Yeah. If you run for office there, you will have instant name 
ID.
    Before recognizing the witnesses, I would like to remind 
them that their oral testimony is restricted to 5 minutes in 
length. If you see the light turn red in front of you, it means 
your 5 minutes have concluded, and you should wrap up your 
testimony. If you continue to go further, you will hear this, 
and that means you need to stop. But we will be fine on time.
    I now recognize Mr. Adornetto for his 5-minute opening 
remarks.

 STATEMENTS OF ADRIAN ADORNETTO, OWNER, ADORNETTO'S-GIACOMO'S; 
  PHILIP FREEMAN, FOUNDER & CEO, MURPHY'S NATURALS, INC.-THE 
   LOADING DOCK, LLC; ANNE SHYBUNKO-MOORE, OWNER & CEO, GSE 
  DYNAMICS, INC.; AND VERONICA COOL, PRESIDENT & CEO, COOL & 
                        ASSOCIATES LLC.

                 STATEMENT OF ADRIAN ADORNETTO

    Mr. ADORNETTO. Chairman Williams, Ranking Member Dr. 
Olszewski, and distinguished Members of the Committee, good 
morning, and thank you for inviting me to testify today. It is 
a privilege to appear before you and share my family's story 
and what entrepreneurship has meant to generations of Americans 
like mine.
    I am grateful to have my wife, Erika, here with me, along 
with two of our four children, Enzo and Giada. The other two, 
Gabriella and Jase, are back home in Ohio. They are the reason 
this work matters, because everything my family has built has 
always been about creating opportunity for the next generation.
    My name is Adrian Adornetto. I am a husband, a father, a 
proud American by birth, a Sicilian by heritage, an 
entrepreneur by calling, and a product of the American Dream. 
My grandparents, Phillip and Catherine Adornetto, came to this 
country from Sicily with hope, determination, faith, and an 
unwavering belief in the opportunity, and a lot of courage, 
might I add.
    My grandmother was only 9 years old, my grandfather was a 
teenager when they left everything they knew in search of a 
better life in America. They actually later met in America and 
married and settled in a small town called Zanesville, Ohio, 
where they raised three sons. One became a doctor of optometry, 
one built a career in financial management and leadership, and 
then my father, James, Jim Adornetto, chose entrepreneurship.
    With the encouragement and sacrifice of his parents and his 
two brothers, my father opened Adornetto's Pizzeria in 1958 
when he was just 19 years old. He later opened Giacomo's Bread 
& More in 1994. I grew up in those restaurants.
    Just the other day, I realized my first boardroom was not 
in the corporate office, it was every Sunday morning after 
church around the breakfast table, and my grandmother, father, 
aunts, uncles, and relatives talked about the previous week's 
business, what worked well, what didn't work well, how do we 
improve it, what is on tap for next week.
    Growing up, I became--growing up, I dreamed of becoming an 
actor, and my family never pressured me into the restaurant 
business. But over time, the restaurant business found me, and 
I fell in love with the energy, the teamwork, the busy nights, 
and the chance to create memorable experiences for guests.
    In 2013, my father and I completed the transition of the 
family business. I purchased the operating business, while he 
retained the real estate. We wanted it to be a transition 
specifically. We were father and son first, business partners 
second.
    Those lessons and other lessons also shaped the way I 
viewed leadership beyond my own restaurants. As a past board 
chair, the Ohio Restaurant Hospitality Alliance, I had the 
opportunity to work with and advocate for restaurants and 
hospitality businesses across our State.
    That experience reinforced something I already knew from my 
own family businesses. Small business leadership matters. It 
matters to employees, communities, local suppliers, young 
workers, and the future of main street.
    You see, my grandparents sought the American Dream, my 
father spent his life building it, and I have been blessed with 
the opportunity to continue it. Now my greatest responsibility 
is to preserve it for my children and, hopefully, someday for 
my grandchildren. No pressure. No pressure, guys.
    But preserving that dream requires more than the family 
pride. It requires business environment where small businesses 
can survive, reinvest, hire, and pass opportunity on to the 
next generation.
    Running a restaurant has never been easy over the years. We 
have faced recessions, supply disruptions, inflation, labor 
challenges, rising operating costs, but nothing, nothing 
compared to COVID, which nearly shut us down permanently.
    We survived because of our employees, our community, and 
our ability to adapt. I have spoken a lot about my family. 
There is also my employee family. My family's business would 
not be where it is today without thousands of Ohioans who have 
worked for us over the past 6 decades.
    Many start at entry-level jobs as teenagers, saw an 
opportunity in this industry, and offered--that the industry 
offered and worked their way to positions of greater 
responsibility.
    I am grateful to Members of Congress who recognize small 
businesses are still carrying the burden from the pandemic, 
inflation, and rising costs. Tax provisions, such as 
accelerated depreciation, make a real difference. They allowed 
me to reinvest in my business, complete overdue improvements, 
renovate locations, and hire local Zanesville, Ohio contractors 
to do the work.
    Family businesses do not just pass down recipes, they pass 
down values, responsibilities, work ethic, integrity, and the 
belief that every generation should leave something better than 
it found. Restaurants and small businesses like mine are part 
of the American fabric.
    To our patrons, we are gathering places for first dates, 
anniversaries, birthdays, sports celebrations, and family 
milestones. To our communities, we are employers, training 
grounds, and taxpayers, and anchors to the local economy.
    Thank you again for allowing me to share my life or 
family's story. It is in many ways a story of America.
    May God bless our small businesses, the customers who 
support them, the employees who work them, the families who 
build them, and the United States of America.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. Gentleman yields back.
    I now recognize Mr. Freeman for his 5-minute opening 
remarks.

                  STATEMENT OF PHILIP FREEMAN

    Mr. FREEMAN. Chairman Williams, Ranking Member Olszewski, 
distinguished Members of the Committee, thank you for the 
opportunity to testify today.
    My name is Philip Freeman, and I am the founder and CEO of 
Murphy's Naturals, a natural products company based in Raleigh, 
North Carolina, that manufactures plant-based mosquito 
repellents. I am also the founder of The Loading Dock, a 
coworking and cowarehousing community serving nearly 1300 
members and 450 small businesses.
    I am proud to testify on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of 
Commerce and its Small Business Council, of which I am a 
Member. As we mark 250 years of American independence, there is 
no better time to reflect on the ultimate engine of this 
nation's prosperity: American small business.
    My entrepreneurial journey didn't start in the traditional 
way, and I didn't have a formal finance background or 
education. It started on the Virginia farm where I was raised 
and later during my service as a Deep-Sea Diving Officer in the 
United States Navy.
    For decades, I filed away business ideas, telling myself 
the time wasn't right. But sitting in my garage in Raleigh, I 
looked at a simple problem that we had at home. My wife, Pam, 
who is here, she is an absolute mosquito magnet, and we both 
disliked the chemical repellents that were on the market. 
Because I couldn't find an effective natural alternative, I 
developed one myself. So garage-born. That is the American 
story: Identifying a need, taking a risk, and building 
something from nothing.
    What started in our garage has grown into a 120,000-square-
foot manufacturing facility where we make 85 percent of our 
products and employ nearly 50 full-time team members.
    But scaling is never a straight line. Early on, I hit a 
massive roadblock, which was space. Traditional commercial 
leases were rigid, expensive, and completely mismatched for the 
bootstrap startup. I signed a multiyear personal guaranteed 
lease for a small space, outgrew it in 6 months, and found 
myself trapped. There had to be a better way.
    When I finally found a larger facility, I decided to build 
a concept to help other entrepreneurs facing those same 
hurdles. I leased extra space, and I launched The Loading Dock. 
Today, we provide flexible, affordable cowarehousing for 
hundreds of startups across three campuses.
    Essentially, we were a startup starting a startup for 
startups, and that is a little bit crazy and not well-advised, 
but it has worked.
    But that is what small business owners do. We don't just 
solve our own problems. We build the infrastructure to help 
others solve theirs. But we can't do it alone.
    On behalf of entrepreneurs working around the clock, I want 
to highlight three urgent priorities for the Committee.
    First, access to capital and flexible space. The single 
greatest barrier for an early-stage company is infrastructure. 
Congress can unlock immense growth by expanding access to SBA 
lending tools and supporting flexible small business 
infrastructure.
    Second, regulatory clarity and innovation. Small businesses 
can't afford teams of lawyers. We need clear, accessible 
guidance from federal agencies so entrepreneurs have a clear 
path to bring forward disruptive beneficial ideas.
    Three, pathways for veterans and second-career founders. 
Our most successful founders are often veterans who bring 
decades of wisdom. Congress must continue to fund vital 
pipelines, like Hiring Our Heroes and The Honor Foundation.
    We provide generous education opportunities for veterans. 
Imagine the economic impact if we could provide similar grants 
and favorable loans for veterans taking a startup risk.
    Members of the Committee, 250 years ago, our Founders of 
this nation bet everything on a radical idea, that free people, 
given the opportunity, would build something extraordinary. The 
American Dream is not a relic of the past. It is alive in every 
garage, spare bedroom, and warehouse bay across your districts. 
But it requires tending, it requires policies that lower 
barriers, reward responsibility and trust in American 
ingenuity.
    I am here because I believe this Committee has the power to 
make it easier for the next Philip Freeman to take that leap a 
little sooner with the confidence that their country is the 
wind at their back.
    Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. Gentleman yields back.
    I now recognize Mrs. Shybunko-Moore for her 5-minute 
opening remarks.

                STATEMENT OF ANNE SHYBUNKO-MOORE

    Mrs. SHYBUNKO-MOORE. Chairman Williams, Ranking Member 
Olszewski, and Members of the Committee, my name is Anne 
Shybunko-Moore, and I am the owner and CEO of GSE Dynamics. We 
are a family-owned defense manufacturer on Long Island, New 
York.
    I am honored to be here on behalf of the small businesses 
and manufacturers that drive our nation's economy. My company 
grew out of the cradle of aviation on Long Island. It was from 
Long Island's Roosevelt Field that Charles Lindbergh began his 
flight across the Atlantic.
    And it was on Long Island during the Golden Age of Aviation 
following The Great War that manufacturers pioneered aircraft, 
not for wartime, but for peacetime, opening the skies for 
commercial flight.
    And it was a Long Island company named Grumman Aerospace 
that transformed carrier-based aircraft during World War II. 
Grumman helped give the arsenal of democracy its wings. Later, 
Grumman answered the call to make the impossible real, crafting 
the Apollo Lunar Module that landed America on the moon.
    Grumman also built something else, my father, Daniel 
Shybunko's, career. My father was an engineer when the company 
encouraged him to start a small side business in 1971. And 8 
years later, he left Grumman to run GSE Dynamics full-time.
    Decades after I walked the factory floor as a child, he 
invited me to join the company in 2001. And in 2003, GSE became 
a woman-owned small business, and I continued to work beside my 
dad until his passing in 2019.
    And today, GSE is a top woman-owned supplier for the U.S. 
military, building complex assemblies for the B-52 bomber, the 
M1 Abrams tank, naval submarines, and many more. We are the top 
woman-owned small business supplier to DLA Aviation and a 
critical supplier for the U.S. Navy's periscope mast fairings. 
And with over 90 employees, we are among the 93 percent of U.S. 
manufacturers classified as small businesses.
    This is my family's story, and this is GSE's story. This is 
a true Long Island story. And today, just days from America's 
250th anniversary, this is an American story.
    America's small businesses have always been where 
innovation takes flight. But as everyone in this room knows, 
America's success does not just happen. It must be built, it 
must be protected, and it must be strengthened.
    The best investment in manufacturers comes from public 
policies that help small businesses like mine invest, grow, and 
thrive. First and foremost, that means protecting pro-growth 
tax policies like those Congress passed last year in H.R. 1. 
Provisions like immediate expensing are helping GSE invest in 
the future.
    Already this year, we have purchased a new 5-Axis Machining 
Center that will help us build better and faster. We are also 
expanding a facility and investing in new research to help keep 
GSE on the cutting-edge.
    Secondly, we need reliable access to capital, because long 
before a product leaves the factory floor, manufacturers must 
invest in expensive equipment and raw materials to build it. 
That is why increasing SBA lending limits is so important, 
precisely as this Committee did through the Made in America 
Manufacturing Finance Act.
    Third, we must address workforce shortages. Manufacturing 
offers great careers for highly skilled technicians, 
machinists, welders, tradespeople, along with administrative 
and professional staff. We must strengthen employer-led 
workforce training and encourage more young people to see 
manufacturing as a career of purpose and opportunity.
    And finally, we must remember that our national security 
depends on a strong Defense Industrial Base. To build more 
resilient supply chains, we need a 21st century permitting 
system. We need to protect pro-America, pro-manufacturing trade 
agreements, like the USMCA, and we need more access to key 
inputs, like critical minerals.
    And when I think about America's 250th anniversary, I think 
about the chance my father took 50 years ago on a country that 
rewards risk-takers. I think about GSE's contribution, not just 
to Long Island's story as the cradle of aviation, but to 
America's story as the land of opportunity, a place where 
manufacturers don't just build products; we build families, and 
we build communities, and we build a stronger country.
    Fifty years from now, I hope another family business will 
be here telling its story or maybe even my son, James, will be 
sharing GSE's next chapter. That will happen through your 
courage and your vision to back policies that strengthen 
America's industrial base.
    If our leaders work together, America will lead as the best 
place in the world to create and make things, and our dreams 
will take flight. Thank you very much.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. Thank you. Well said. The gentlelady 
yields back.
    I now recognize Ms. Cool for her 5-minute opening remarks.

                   STATEMENT OF VERONICA COOL

    Ms. COOL. Chairman Williams, Ranking Member Velazquez, 
Congressman Johnny O, thank you very much for having me today.
    Fifteen years ago, I was sitting at my kitchen table 
wondering whether filing the paperwork for a tiny government 
subcontract was even worth the effort. Today, it is one of the 
greatest honors of my life to appear before Congress because 
that little opportunity became the foundation of a company that 
now helps strengthen communities across our entire country. 
That is the American Dream.
    My name is Veronica Cool, and I am the founder, president, 
and CEO of Cool & Associates, LLC, a Maryland-based small 
business I started in 2011. I was born in Dominican Republic, 
and I came to the U.S. believing what millions of immigrants 
have believed for generations: That if I worked hard, if I kept 
learning, treating people with integrity and I persevered, I 
could build a better life. And America gave me that 
opportunity.
    When I started my business, I didn't have investors, I 
didn't have venture capital or a family business I inherited. I 
had 20 years of banking experience, grit, and an idea. That 
organizations could better serve people by building trust, not 
just translating words. And that little tiny idea became the 
basis for my company.
    Today, our team helps government agencies across all 
aisles. Hospitals, nonprofits, universities, and businesses 
communicate more effectively, engage communities and solve very 
complicated issues. But our success, just like my fellow 
witnesses here, didn't happen overnight.
    Like every single entrepreneur, we had to work really hard 
and earn it. One of our very first government contracts was a 
tiny little thing, as I mentioned earlier. And I remember 
thinking, it probably wasn't even worth it. The paperwork was 
excessive, the compliance reporting was extensive. And for us 
being tiny, it actually felt like more work than the work we 
were getting paid to do. But, of course, we kept delivering and 
working on it.
    That one opportunity became another and then another, and 
every project taught us something. Every satisfied client 
became a reference. Every single problem, mistake and challenge 
made us stronger.
    Recently I had one of those full-circle moments that we all 
celebrate and hope for. During a really competitive procurement 
bid, I learned that the prime contractor and every 
subcontractor in that group had adjusted their schedule around 
ours because the agency wanted the Cool team included in the 
proposal, not because we were the biggest, not because it was a 
large marketing budget, but because over 15 years, we had 
earned the reputation for delivering quality, building trust, 
and helping organizations genuinely connect with the 
communities they serve.
    I have been fortunate to receive awards throughout my 
career, but that one moment meant more to me than any other 
plaque or recognition. It told me that our work became trusted 
enough to influence outcomes that improve communities and 
create opportunity. To me, that is what entrepreneurship is all 
about.
    Small businesses do not just create jobs. We solve 
problems. We strengthen neighborhoods, and we mentor future 
leaders. We create opportunities for others. We build legacy. 
That is what my father taught me.
    My team experienced that firsthand during the COVID-19 
pandemic. We supported the State of Maryland, Governor Hogan at 
that time, by translating and culturally adapting urgent public 
health information in a matter of hours so essential workers 
and multilingual communities could receive lifesaving 
information when they needed it the most. We were proud to do 
it even though it required around-the-clock work, significant 
personal sacrifice, and tremendous resilience.
    Experiences like that have taught me that one important 
lesson. Communication is economic infrastructure. And being in 
Baltimore, we know that ports and highways are transportation, 
but communication is an integral part of that.
    When people understand how to access healthcare, workforce 
opportunities, government services, and small business 
resources, they show up, and they participate. When they 
participate, businesses grow, communities become stronger, and 
our economy benefits.
    And as Congress looks to that next 250 years, I am hoping 
for something simple. Please continue to create an environment 
where entrepreneurs can do what they do best: Innovate, adapt, 
and build.
    Please provide greater predictability, reduce unnecessary 
administrative burdens, invest in workforce development and 
technology.
    Please ensure that qualified small businesses have the 
opportunity to compete.
    The American Dream, I know, did not guarantee success, but 
it did promise opportunity. That opportunity changed my life, 
and I hope, together, we can ensure remains available for the 
future generation of entrepreneurs.
    I thank you for the opportunity and look forward to your 
questions.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentlelady yields back. Those were 
great opening comments--thank you--for all of you. We will now 
move to the Member questions under the 5-minute rule that we 
went over with you. I now recognize myself for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Adornetto, successfully been in business for 68 years, 
you said, crossing two generations. And according to Pizza 
Today, your business is in the top 100 independently owned 
pizzerias in the nation.
    My question is, what has enabled you to remain successful 
across multiple generations? And as you look to the future, 
what lessons do you hope to pass down to the next generation 
that is sitting behind you to ensure that you continue for many 
years and many more generations to come?
    Mr. ADORNETTO. You know, as I said in my opening statement, 
Mr. Chairman--thank you for the question, by the way--just the 
work ethic that was passed down to me from my grandparents, my 
father has helped us achieve that; our community, our great 
workforce that we have had in the past and currently. And 
hopefully in the future--reference the future--hopefully have 
more workforce development. We need that in hospitality 
industry, making sure that people realize that they can make a 
career of that. And, obviously, access the capital and 
expansion will help out greatly, and continuing to achieve that 
award with Pizza Today in the future as well for the next 
generations to come.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. Great. Mr. Freeman, to you, you started 
your first company, Murphy's Naturals, in search of a natural 
bug repellent for your wife. That is a great story in itself.
    After experiencing the firsthand challenges of starting the 
scaling back--scaling a business, you then launched your second 
business, The Loading Dock, which is a flexible warehouse 
space, as you talked about, where you help mentor and guide 
other growing entrepreneurs.
    So the question is, can you share how The Loading Dock is 
helping other small business owners overcome barriers, grow 
their companies, and achieve the American Dream?
    Mr. FREEMAN. Yes, sir. And thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the 
question.
    One of the biggest hurdles that I ran into starting off was 
I was a solopreneur. I was doing things on my own. I didn't 
have much of a base of support to work from, to ask questions 
about how you start a new business. It was really figuring it 
out myself in that scrappy way.
    There were many hurdles that I had to overcome. Some were, 
as I mentioned before, signing a multiyear lease for a 
warehouse and having to personally guarantee that when I really 
didn't know if my business would thrive or not. I figured there 
had to be a better way to do this.
    So what we did was we created a vast amount of warehouse 
space, and we divided it into individual units. And that 
allowed small business to come in and use as little as a 
hundred square feet to support their business, and that is an 
incredible thing for them to have that flexibility.
    Now we have units as big as 2400 square feet, but we don't 
require a lease, and we don't require a personal guarantee. As 
a matter of fact, they don't even have to buy the material 
handling equipment that they need to move their goods, to 
receive goods, to warehouse goods, and to ship goods. We supply 
all of that, and it is shared.
    So by removing some of those hurdles, it made a massive 
difference for people to be willing to start something, and I 
would never want anyone to regret never starting something 
because of those hurdles. Now, we can't remove the hurdles to 
entrepreneurialism, but we can lower them. And if we lower them 
and we get a few more people to say, yes, I am going to give it 
a try, then that matters.
    And then lastly, as far as that is concerned, we have built 
a community. When you think about all those different 
entrepreneurs working in the same building together, they share 
ideas, they commiserate, they speak about the victories, the 
challenges, and that is a big deal.
    When you have other people to work with, even though they 
are not part of the same company, that is a very, very big deal 
and to have that community.
    And that is all around Murphy's Naturals at our main 
headquarters. So we derive energy from all of those people, and 
several of those people became team members at Murphy's 
Naturals as well. So very beneficial.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. Well, thank you for that.
    And in the limited time I have got, Mrs. Shybunko-Moore, 
since the founding of our nation, small businesses have played 
a vital role in strengthening America's ability to defend 
itself.
    Could you speak briefly to the unique role that small 
businesses like yours play in supporting America's warfighters 
today, and, more broadly, can you talk about what is critical 
for our national security that we continue to foster an 
environment where small business can start, grow, and thrive?
    Mrs. SHYBUNKO-MOORE. Thank you very much for the question. 
It is a big question for something very important that we all 
do.
    So to support, obviously, the defense industrial base 
brings pride every day, not only to me and my family, but to my 
employees, which is the most important thing that I have, 
right? My workforce.
    So I think right now, I am going to get to the end of your 
question first with the time allotted here. We have to focus on 
workforce and make sure that we continue to train the workforce 
that can manufacture the parts that we need for our national 
security. We need to make sure that we are building our supply 
chain, we need to make sure that we are building capacity and 
capability in this nation and which right now, I believe it was 
referenced, it is diminishing right now with all the different 
business dealings that are going on. We absolutely have a 
diminishing supply chain in our defense industrial base, which 
poses a threat.
    And I also believe we need to do some more branding and 
marketing for manufacturing. We have to make sure that people 
understand that it is a noble job to be in a manufacturing 
company.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. My time is up.
    Mrs. SHYBUNKO-MOORE. I saw that. That is why I went to the 
end of your question first. Thank you.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. I now recognize the Ranking Member for 5 
minutes of questions.
    Mr. OLSZEWSKI. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It is the 
250th anniversary. So, Ms. Cool, I will start with a fun 
question.
    Why is America the best place to start a small business?
    Ms. COOL. Oh, my gosh. The United States of America rewards 
innovation. When an immigrant can come with the focus and the 
determination to build the business from the ground up like me, 
that is rewarded. That is absolutely rewarded.
    And being able to create jobs, invest in my neighborhoods, 
invest in my communities, you can't do that anywhere else in 
the world. So happy birthday.
    Mr. OLSZEWSKI. Happy birthday, America, indeed. And, Ms. 
Cool, your story is an inspiration and, I think, speaks to that 
promise.
    I know that minority Committee staff released two reports 
warning about the ways in which the Trump administration is 
draining main street of critical immigrant staff and 
entrepreneurs.
    So, Mr. Chairman, I would ask unanimous consent to put 
those reports into the record.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. So moved.
    Mr. OLSZEWSKI. Thank you. Ms. Cool, can you speak to how 
you see President Trump's mass deportations as hurting your 
clients' ability to find and keep workers and make sales?
    Ms. COOL. Well, I can speak from the perspective of seeing 
what is happening in my communities and the organizations we 
serve.
    When there is uncertainty around immigration, many 
employers report greater difficulty recruiting and retaining 
workers, and the community declines in participating because 
hesitation, they are fearful. So whether we are talking about 
healthcare, workforce, we need stability. Trust matters.
    My hope is that we can maintain a legal or a lawful 
immigration system that also serves the small businesses so 
that our workers can grow and our communities can feel more 
stable.
    Mr. OLSZEWSKI. I appreciate that perspective. Mrs. 
Shybunko-Moore, someone who has a difficult name, I appreciate 
sharing that with you.
    Women-owned small businesses saw 2.3 billion less in 
federal contract dollars than in 2024. The WOSB program is 
severely underused and the goals are unmet.
    Can you speak to how bolstering this critical program might 
help small businesses and the industrial base?
    Mrs. SHYBUNKO-MOORE. Yeah, absolutely, and thank you for 
that question, indeed. So I think in general, before you get to 
the woman-owned small business specific, though, I think you 
have to accept the fact that there are more barriers to entry 
into federal contracting as a whole.
    So I would say that across the board, it is hard to get 
companies to, again, enter into federal contracting. And then, 
as you narrow into the woman-owned small business, you have to 
ensure that they are mentored and trained and understand all 
the requirements and regulations in order to succeed.
    And when I was on the National Women's Business Council a 
few years back, that was really the focus. You can bring them 
to the federal contracting world, but you really have to ensure 
that they will succeed in it. And I think that is definitely a 
focus of mine in terms of making sure that we are mentoring and 
training and working together as partners in that federal 
contracting world.
    Small business community is very close, and we do tend to 
want everyone to rise and succeed. So I think it is imperative 
that, again, we continue to look at what the red tape is to get 
into federal contracting, that we minimize it--I know the 
administrator is working on that--the access, again, to 
capital, so that women-owned businesses can succeed and grow.
    And overall, just be able to have a conversation, 
communication direct with the government, which I will say in 
my years of experience, I am thrilled to see that there is 
strong communication right now between the small business 
leaders, and specifically, Defense Logistics Agency. I have 
never seen the support right now, because I think they 
recognize the need and the imperative nature of making sure 
that these businesses thrive.
    Mr. OLSZEWSKI. Appreciate that. And then, Mr. Freeman, you 
write that several of your product components can't be sourced 
in the U.S. and that, quote, ``tariffs will eliminate profits 
and put this innovative technology into a loss position.''
    Can you just expand a little bit upon that and, sort of, 
the impacts you are seeing? Thanks.
    Mr. FREEMAN. I will be happy to. Thank you. So, yeah, 
tariffs are definitely a challenge, especially when you don't 
have the time to plan for them. Because oftentimes, we are 
pricing products for retail and giving those price points well 
in advance.
    And we have had the situation where tariffs have hit us in 
a way that we had to absorb a lot of that additional cost. But 
we show adaptability. And where it created some challenges for 
us, it also created opportunities as well.
    In terms of because we are a manufacturer, people actually 
asked us if we could manufacture for them as a U.S.-based 
company. So there are challenges with it, but there are also 
benefits.
    Mr. OLSZEWSKI. Thank you for that. I see my time has 
expired. Happy birthday, America.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
    I now recognize Mr. Meuser from the great State of 
Pennsylvania for 5 minutes.
    Mr. MEUSER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you all for 
being here very much. We are glad to be with you. It seems like 
a very strong and positive discussion we are having, so that is 
very important to hear.
    I have spent a lot of time helping grow small businesses to 
a large business myself for almost 25 years. And sometimes when 
people say, What does it take? I say, Well, find out what you 
like, be committed to it, and in 20 years you might have 
something.
    So there is a lot of--the environment matters, of course, 
small business accounts for 99 percent of--not employment, but 
of the businesses, about 60 percent of the employment. So it is 
really truly the proverbial, but literal backbone of the United 
States economy.
    Taxes, regulations, skills development, workforce, overall 
environment that can be created within a State, you know, State 
regulations, like in Pennsylvania, matter a lot. We tend to 
have--we are very, very overly burdened with regulations in 
Pennsylvania. We need to change that. Versus Florida, Georgia, 
the Carolinas, Tennessee, Texas, where all the jobs are going 
to. You know, consumer demand, I mean, that is a big part of 
government, right? Making sure that interest rates are there, 
access to capital, of course, all of those regulations.
    But outside of that--well, you know, there is an old 
saying, too, just get out of my way, which you probably say on 
occasion. But then again, from OSHA, many of the other 
regulations and workers' compensation, you know, all these 
things are definitely necessary.
    You know, there is a reason--I just looked this up. You 
know, the EU, in 1995, had a GDP of $8.3 trillion, 800 billion 
more than the United States. We were at 7.6. Today, the EU is 
at 21.2, and we are at $30 trillion. So we are obviously doing 
a lot right as far as growing an economy.
    So just based upon the conversations and statements you 
have been making--and, Ms. Moore, I am going to start with you, 
if you don't mind. I am from Long Island originally, by the 
way, so I see your business is in Hauppauge. And I grew up 
there, and I remember Grumman extremely well. I think everybody 
worked at Grumman there for a little while.
    Mrs. SHYBUNKO-MOORE. They did.
    Mr. MEUSER. But congratulations on your business. If you 
were sitting in my seat, if you were making some of these 
governmental rules and all, what do you think you would need to 
make you grow better over the next 5 years?
    Mrs. SHYBUNKO-MOORE. Yeah. Thank you. And happy to hear 
that you are from Long Island.
    I think right now, people need to recognize that, first of 
all, small businesses in manufacturing to me is a center aisle 
issue. Everyone should support small businesses and 
manufacturing.
    And at the end of the day, no matter what decisions are 
happening here, we still have to work every day, make our 
product and feed, for myself, 90 families, right? At the end of 
the day, that is what I am responsible for.
    So I am always looking at the decisions that are being done 
and made here, ensuring that, again, in order to grow, access 
to capital is always the key. I would like to buy more 
equipment, I would like to grow my capacity, I would like to 
grow my capability, continue to grow and expand and support the 
U.S. Defense Industrial Base, and then, obviously, create jobs 
that people can be proud of, that people can support their 
families on.
    So sometimes I have to stop hearing the noise that is 
sometimes out there and focus that I just have to continue 
waking up every morning and making the products that I make and 
meet the goals and production rates that I have.
    Mr. MEUSER. Products, people, process. All the Ps you got 
to nail. Payment, very important in business.
    Mrs. SHYBUNKO-MOORE. Yes.
    Mr. MEUSER. The working family tax cut, which was in the 
big beautiful bill, you mentioned earlier the importance of it, 
199A, the bonus depreciation, the R&D tax cuts----
    Mrs. SHYBUNKO-MOORE. Yes.
    Mr. MEUSER.--perhaps the overtime also help your employers.
    Move on to Ms. Cool, could you maybe answer the same 
question as far as what would you like to see improve from a 
regulatory government tax standpoint for your business to grow 
better over the next 5 years?
    Ms. COOL. I would say predictability. We need to be able to 
plan. For us to invest, buy equipment, hire people. Same thing 
with my clients. I cannot get commitments on contracts or 
proposals because they themselves are impacted what may happen 
tomorrow.
    So as we are planning to feed our families, to keep our 
folks employed, to pay for kids' colleges, mortgages, we can't 
afford to go out and make willy-nilly decisions because 
tomorrow the rules have changed.
    Mr. MEUSER. I agree very much.
    Ms. COOL. But being able to have predictability is a 
priority.
    Mr. MEUSER. That is very important. I very much agree.
    Mr. Adornetto, same question to you.
    Mr. ADORNETTO. Adornetto. Yes, sir. Thank you for the 
question.
    Mr. MEUSER. Adornetto, got it.
    Mr. ADORNETTO. I would say obviously predictability as 
well, access to capital, continue to do--specifically, you have 
done some things with no tax on tips on the federal level, and 
that has helped my industry specifically.
    Mr. MEUSER. Sure.
    Mr. ADORNETTO. The employees that----
    Mr. MEUSER. Pardon me. My time has expired.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
    I now recognize Mr. Tran from the great State of California 
for 5 minutes.
    Mr. TRAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Ranking 
Member, for convening today's hearing. Thank you to the 
witnesses for being here.
    For 250 years, the American Dream has been built by people 
who believed hard work and took a leap of faith to build 
something of their own. Nowhere is that story more powerful 
than in Southern California.
    There is our small business community in Southern 
California. In Los Angeles and Orange County, I see it every 
day. These are family-owned restaurants, manufacturers, 
contractors, startups, and neighborhood shops. They are run by 
entrepreneurs from every background, including Asian Americans, 
Latinos, and immigrant business owners who have helped power 
our economy and create good-paying jobs. They represent the 
very best of America.
    This Committee has done real bipartisan work for this 
Congress, moving bill after bill with support from both sides 
of the aisle. At a time when Congress feels more divided than 
ever, this Committee has shown that bipartisan progress is 
still possible.
    But good bipartisan bills sitting on the Senate floor does 
not help anyone on main street. In fact, there are over 20 
bipartisan small business bills that have passed this House and 
are now stalled in the Senate. The Senate Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship, under the leadership of Senator 
Joni Ernst, has held just a handful of markups this Congress 
all last year and none this year.
    And while those bipartisan bills stall, small businesses 
across America cannot afford to wait. They are facing raising 
costs, uncertainty, and economic pressures every single day. 
They are dealing with President Trump's trade war, tariffs that 
raises the costs of supplies, inflation, the loss of the 
Affordable Care Act tax credit, and the costs of oil and energy 
skyrocketing due to the President's war of choice in Iran.
    That is why Senate gridlock is so costly. Every month, 
bipartisan bills sit without Senate consideration is a month 
small business owners go without relief while costs keep 
climbing around them. Main street is asking Congress for help, 
and right now Chairwoman Ernst isn't answering. The Small 
Business Committee has proven bipartisan progress is possible. 
Now the Senate needs to match that urgency and act.
    Ms. Cool, from your perspective working with small 
businesses, is President Trump's erratic policies making it 
harder for entrepreneurs?
    Ms. COOL. Speaking from my perspective, the lack of 
predictability certainly impacts me as a small business. So, 
again, anyone we work with, whether it is a client, whether it 
is a partner, whether it is a vendor, without knowing what is 
happening tomorrow, we are hampered.
    Mr. TRAN. Let me follow up with, what would it mean for 
main street if Senate Republicans sit on these bipartisan bills 
while financial pressure keeps building up?
    Ms. COOL. You know, again, speaking from my perspective, I 
can tell you that we, as small businesses, need improved 
procurement access, improved access to technical assistance, 
you know, support for new technologies like AI. So when things 
are delayed repeatedly, we cannot make decisions, we cannot 
hire comfortably, we can't invest in future plans.
    Mr. TRAN. Ms. Cool, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
Services announced it will make temporary visa holders leave 
America to apply for green cards, something that I am actually 
working with the Judiciary Committee to oppose.
    How will that policy hurt immigrant entrepreneurs and the 
Americans that they employ?
    Ms. COOL. You know, we mentioned at the very beginning how 
the United States rewards innovation. When we do not know, 
regardless of the status, whether you are able to stay or not, 
whether tomorrow the rug gets pulled from you, that impacts our 
ability to make decisions. I feel like a broken record, so 
apologies for that.
    But not knowing if a status or a current small business 
will not be able to function tomorrow prevents us from bidding 
on things, prevents us from hiring, from paying our workers. It 
is that simple.
    Mr. TRAN. Shifting gears a bit. Healthcare costs are still 
a barrier to entrepreneurship for Americans looking to take the 
leap of faith and start a small business.
    Ms. Cool, how would expanding healthcare through Medicaid 
and the ACA help aspiring entrepreneurs join the business 
community?
    Ms. COOL. That is actually one of the main reasons people 
do not start small businesses, because they need to have their 
family covered. So when we don't have access to healthcare, we 
are unable to make or take that innovative risk to launch the 
business and grow the business.
    Mr. TRAN. With the few seconds I have left, Mrs. Shybunko-
Moore, do you have anything to add to that question?
    Mrs. SHYBUNKO-MOORE. Again, I echo the predictability. But 
I think also, if you were to look through the lens of a small 
business owner, just please look at all the risks that we are 
trying to mitigate every day. It is healthcare, it is the cost 
of material, it is the cost of salaries, it is the cost of 
living.
    So please, these are stackable for us. We are dealing with 
this every day, as you are voting on one issue at a time.
    Mr. TRAN. Thank you so much. And with that, I yield back.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
    I now recognize Ms. King-Hinds from the great Northern 
Mariana Islands for 5 minutes.
    Ms. KING-HINDS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    As we celebrate America's 250th anniversary, one of the 
greatest lessons that we can learn from small businesses is 
resilience. I have heard you tell your stories about having to 
endure the pandemic, have to endure changing regulations, lack 
of clarity and just the changing business dynamics, right?
    And so folks back home, small business back home right now 
have barely recovered from a super-typhoon that hit us 2 months 
ago. And as I head back home tomorrow, I have got to board up 
because another typhoon is on the way, right?
    And, you know, the one beautiful thing that we saw after 
this last typhoon was, you know, these businesses, they lost 
inventory, you know, they lost their roofs, they lost 
equipment, but they quickly came back the next day. They 
cleaned, you know, they started rebuilding, and people just 
started helping one another.
    And the one thing that I have realized, having been a 
Member for 18 months, is that, you know, whether you are from 
the Marianas or from the United States, the continental United 
States, right, our communities are built by the same values, 
which is faith, you know, family, hard work, and the belief 
that tomorrow can be better than today.
    And I feel that my responsibility as a Member of Congress 
is to ensure that you are given every opportunity in terms of, 
you know, just some of the policies that are out there to 
thrive so that this country can continue on, you know, this 
great American path.
    So I want to yield the remainder of my time to you, and I 
will start with Mr. Adornetto to just--you know, if there is 
one policy that you can change, you know, what would it be? And 
I want everybody to have equal time, so--I have about 2:50. 
Please share.
    Mr. ADORNETTO. In my industry, credit card swipe fees. They 
are approaching more in my profit and loss than what I pay for 
benefits for my employees.
    Mr. FREEMAN. For my industry at Murphy's Naturals, we fall 
under the U.S. EPA, and it would be really helpful from an 
innovative standpoint if we were able to have ways, have people 
who could advocate for us for bringing forward new and 
inventive ways of using natural products that don't necessarily 
conform to the strict guidelines that are in place now, where 
we could actually add new ingredients. Because the list has 
been the same for a very long time on active and inerts.
    So to have the ability to introduce new ingredients, 
natural ingredients, would be a huge help.
    Ms. KING-HINDS. Okay.
    Mrs. SHYBUNKO-MOORE. Thank you very much for the time. 
Again, in my industry, I am going to say the word 
predictability again and ensuring that demand signals are clear 
for the defense industry, making sure that we are able to buy, 
again, the raw material that we need to get.
    So we need to talk much more about funding and how we can 
manage cash better in the small business so that we can grow 
and buy new equipment and grow capability, which I have 
mentioned.
    But the other that I will say with these few seconds left 
is that I think we have to remember we are celebrating 250 
years, and we are all now thinking, what does this next long 
game look like, the next 250 years? And I am hoping and praying 
every day, not only in my short life and perspective that I can 
pass on my company to my family, but also that we just continue 
to focus again on this long game of small businesses and 
manufacturing.
    I believe, Chairman, you mentioned the architects, right? 
Well, I am curious what drawings we are drawing right now for 
the next 250 years of what U.S. manufacturing looks like, and I 
do hope that we are, again, looking at the long game, the 
decisions that are going to impact us for these next 250 years. 
Thank you.
    Ms. COOL. So echoing a lot of what my fellow witnesses have 
mentioned, from me is--needs to be language access. It is not 
just symbolic to put something in a foreign language so we can 
access it. The world is global. Our community is global, 
regardless of what anyone is thinking. And when we don't 
provide access in simple language, we are missing a swath of 
the population.
    That is our workforce. That is our future doctors, the 
future architects. These are the people that are driving the 
next 250 years. When issues are complex and not easily 
digestible, we are excluding folks.
    Along with language access, one of the main things that can 
be done is technical assistance, especially around new 
technologies like AI. It is not going anywhere. So do we have 
access to resources where small businesses can be supported and 
learning and implementing those tools so that we are able, 
then, to function and continue to be competitive?
    Ms. KING-HINDS. I am out of time. I yield back.
    Thank you.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentlelady yields back.
    I now recognize Ms. Goodlander from the great State of New 
Hampshire for 5 minutes.
    Ms. GOODLANDER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    And thank you to our witnesses for being here today and for 
sharing your American small-business stories. It is exactly the 
right spirit for this week, for this moment, because we have 
gathered in the 250th year of the greatest experiment in self-
government that the world has ever known.
    Two hundred and fifty years ago this week, the Second 
Continental Congress--and Congress doesn't get a lot of great 
reviews these days, but we did do one very good thing 250 years 
ago, and that was in creating a five-person subcommittee to 
draft a declaration.
    The effort was led by a 33-year-old Virginian, Thomas 
Jefferson. He spent 17 days in a rented room in Philadelphia. 
And what he produced, what that congressional subcommittee 
produced was probably the best thing Congress has ever 
produced, and it was probably the most consequential document 
in the history of human freedom.
    ``We hold these truths to be self-evident''--
straightforward, not bureaucratic, just a clear statement that 
every human being is created equal and entitled to rights, to 
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
    I had a chance a few weeks ago to spend some time with 
three extraordinary small businesses in my State of New 
Hampshire. Our motto as a State is ``Live Free or Die.'' And we 
have family farmers who have been operating their farms for 250 
years. Their ancestors fought in the Revolution, and they are 
continuing to fight to keep these small businesses afloat.
    One of the things I talked about with these three 
incredible small businesses was, how have you stayed in 
business for 250 years? And, really, I think the answer to how 
small businesses, how America stays forever young is a constant 
reinvention.
    And, Ms. Cool, you said it so well, that reinvention is the 
small-business superpower. It is constantly inventing to solve 
problems and to seize opportunities. And you have all done that 
in your own small businesses.
    But the throughline, to me, in this hearing has been the 
absolute urgency in giving you the predictability and the 
clarity that you need to continue to stay forever young and to 
fuel our economy.
    We know that kleptocracy, that arbitrary and capricious 
decision-making is the enemy of predictability and clarity. 
Kleptocracy is bad for small business. Lawless and 
unconstitutional taxation is bad for small businesses. In fact, 
they were the sources of the Revolution.
    And so, as I have listened to small businesses across the 
State of New Hampshire, we come back again and again to the 
unconstitutional, to the corrupt and extremely costly tariffs 
that President Trump unilaterally imposed on every small 
business in this country.
    We challenge those tariffs in court. We were successful in 
the Supreme Court. We are pressing for reimbursement for every 
unconstitutional dollar that was taxed by this President.
    Mr. Freeman, you spoke about the impact of tariffs on your 
small business. Have you sought to be reimbursed for these 
unconstitutional taxes?
    Mr. FREEMAN. Certainly, as a small business, every bit of 
cash that we can have, that we can deploy is critical. So, yes, 
I mean, we have submitted for refunds of tariffs, and----
    Ms. GOODLANDER. And have you received those refunds?
    Mr. FREEMAN. No, but we just received an update, actually, 
yesterday that we will be receiving a credit, and actually 
coming through one of our vendors who actually imported--they 
were the importer of record--and they let us know about a 
credit that we would be receiving.
    And we just recently were able to go through the process of 
getting on the portal and submitting for those that we had 
purchased directly from overseas suppliers.
    Ms. GOODLANDER. Well, the amount of time and effort and 
cost that has been put on every small business in this country 
to recoup taxes that never should have been imposed in the 
first place is outrageous.
    We are working around the clock to press this 
administration to issue these reimbursements way more quickly 
and with way less red tape and hassle. You shouldn't have to 
have an army of lawyers to be able to get back what is owed to 
you and never should have been taken from you in the first 
place.
    So I thank you all for being here today.
    And, with that, I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentlelady yields back.
    I now recognize Mr. Patronis and one of the great 
entrepreneur restaurateurs in Florida, from that great State, 
for 5 minutes.
    Mr. PATRONIS. I got so each excited about Adrian being 
here, I am telling you. So thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a 
cool slate of folks you invited up, no offense to anybody else.
    But I am going to nerd out a little bit. My family has been 
in the same family restaurant business for 70 years. My uncle 
and dad started it back in 1958, and now my kids are working 
there, so three generations. It is tough; it is tough working 
with family.
    And, yeah, you are singing to the choir when you speak 
``interchange fees'' and ``card swipe fees.'' Not everybody 
here understands what that means, but everybody here that has a 
credit card--every single one of you use a credit card when you 
go out to eat. But did you know that, at Adrian's restaurant, 
every time you swipe that card, it costs him anywhere from 4 to 
5 percent out of his pocket so you can get your miles, so you 
can get your rebates, you know? It is great when you use that 
Costco card and you get 3 percent back, but you probably didn't 
realize Adrian is the one paying for it. And so, yeah, the 
credit card swipe fees is something.
    And we are in a society now--back when I was in the State 
legislature, I even advocated for a bill that said businesses 
had to take cash, because I still feel like there is an 
importance to having legal tender that is not, you know, some 
credit-card-managed, you know, type of doing business.
    But it is what it is. We are in a society now where credit 
cards make up 75 percent of your business--or more, you know, 
yeah.
    But that is--look, it is--but thank God, you know, it is 
intoxicating, the restaurant business. Where else do you get to 
see somebody celebrate an engagement or an anniversary or a 
birthday? And they can go eat at anybody's restaurant in the 
whole entire town, but he decided to come to yours, you know? 
And so it is exciting to see.
    I will ask some questions.
    I am assuming, as long as your business has been around, is 
your dad still around?
    Mr. ADORNETTO. No, sir. My dad passed away in 2023.
    Mr. PATRONIS. Yeah. I lost my dad in 2020. So my dad and 
uncle were partners. They shared a desk, you know? They worked 
shifts.
    My brothers--I was there for 30 years, and then my brothers 
now still--I am the baby--we still--to kind of get along from 
keeping at each other's throats, they still clock in and clock 
out. If you want a paycheck, you are in the building taking 
care of the customer. If you are not there taking care of the 
customer, then no sense in being paid. So now, since I am in 
Congress, I don't get paid.
    So, when you worked through that transition----
    Mr. ADORNETTO. Uh-huh.
    Mr. PATRONIS.--did you have siblings also in the business 
with you?
    Mr. ADORNETTO. I did not. I did not. I was an only child.
    We, actually, Congressman, share the same starting year--
1950, I think I heard you say----
    Mr. PATRONIS. Yeah.
    Mr. ADORNETTO.--and that is when my father started his.
    No, I am an only child, so the barrier wasn't that I didn't 
want it and worked for it to have the opportunity to talk to my 
father. My father wanted me to take it over. For us, being a 
small business, it was just the access of, how do we do this? 
The legalities.
    Mr. PATRONIS. Yeah.
    Mr. ADORNETTO. Watching for what tax implications we could 
trip into; talking to accountants.
    And they were all great people and professionals that 
helped us out through it, but we spent a lot of time. And it 
got to one point where--I believe we were 6 months in--I said, 
``Hey, listen. The founder wants to do it. He has a buyer; it 
happens to be his son. Let's figure out these legalities and 
the tax implications and let's get this done.'' We just dragged 
out money and bills and further and further.
    So it was a good situation. I do know a lot of family 
businesses, maybe some on this panel, that have different 
family members, whether it is aunts, uncles, siblings, that 
could be quite contentious. And that is unfortunate, because 
that is how some businesses lose----
    Mr. PATRONIS. Sure.
    Mr. ADORNETTO.--and fall apart and families split apart. 
So----
    Mr. PATRONIS. And then those are the struggles we are going 
through right now. Now I have--it was just four boys working 
for my dad, and my uncle had no kids, but now all my nieces are 
in it. And so my mom went from having four boys to seven 
granddaughters. So now the business is overrun with women 
running it now--which is great. They do a great job.
    Mr. ADORNETTO. Uh-huh.
    Mr. PATRONIS. But it is--it is still--as much as I would 
love to work with my family every day, some days I would love 
to, you know, vote them off the island because of the 
challenges you run into.
    We----
    Mr. ADORNETTO. My kids are right there. I don't want them 
to vote me off the island.
    Mr. PATRONIS. It is okay. You don't have stock yet. But 
maybe if he takes advantage of the tax law, he will start 
gifting you the maximum amount every single year early on.
    But it is--it is just an honor to see, still, people 
wanting to be in the restaurant business. What you have, you 
could not start it today. And, you know, God bless your dad for 
doing what he did.
    Mr. ADORNETTO. Thank you.
    Mr. PATRONIS. I yield, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
    I now recognize Mr. Schmidt from the great State of Kansas 
for 5 minutes.
    Mr. SCHMIDT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    And I appreciate the witnesses being here. It has been a 
pleasant discussion to listen to, with folks, sort of, 
analytically discussing information. It doesn't always happen 
around this place. I was in a hearing yesterday in a different 
committee where I was, embarrassingly, between two folks 
shouting at each other, and I carefully read my notes while 
trying to look impartial.
    I had just a handful of questions.
    I was thinking about that famous line that President Reagan 
used, ``The nine most terrifying words in the English language 
are, 'I'm from the government, and I'm here to help,''' and 
thinking about what I would characterize as part of the 
intellectual tension that I have heard discussed here. On the 
one hand, we need certainty, we need government policy that is 
predictable, we need to not be whipsawed all the time. I 
understand that. And, on the other hand, sort of, the spirit of 
1776. There are times when you just have to make bold change 
and you are worried a little less about the short-term 
uncertainty and a little more about the long-term trends and, 
kind of, where you are headed. And those have been in tension 
throughout our history.
    So a couple of questions along that line.
    Regulatory reform, generally--I always love the, sort of, 
top-line back-and-forth debates that you hear about, are 
regulations good or bad? And the answer is, they are both. They 
often have good purpose, and many of them we need. And, on the 
other hand, it is possible to have too much of a good thing, 
and you impose compliance costs that are unnecessary and create 
other harm, right? And so it is a balance.
    I have pointed out before that, the year I was born, in 
1968, the Code of Federal Regulations--which, of course, is the 
compiled list of all of the law made by bureaucrats, made by 
folks with authority we have delegated to them in Congress--was 
about 50,000 pages. Today, it is about 200,000 pages. It has 
quadrupled in my lifetime.
    And I guess I would just invite--we will just go down the 
line, in the time I have--I would invite you to comment on 
regulatory compliance costs, and are there areas we should be 
looking, from your vantage point, where perhaps we have gone 
overboard and we could scale it a back a bit, free up some--
some freedom of motion on your part?
    Mr. Adornetto?
    Mr. ADORNETTO. You know, the first one that comes to my 
mind is the Affordable Care Act. As a small business, I was 
stretching around everywhere trying to find, how does this 
work? What can I do? What is my resource? I even called the 1-
800 number at the time, going back to 2013-2014. Still get 
confused by it. I have talked to insurance agents that I try to 
deal with, and they are confused by it.
    Recently, we retired a brand that was 51 years old that we 
didn't mention in my testimony. As a result of that, I went 
from a large employer, if you can believe it or not, three 
restaurants, in rural Ohio, open in the evening--so a large 
employer to a small employer.
    Mr. SCHMIDT. Uh-huh.
    Mr. ADORNETTO. Just that change alone was about $3,500 a 
month, for virtually the same healthcare that we had prior, 
because of status.
    And so that is where I have some ongoing issues with trying 
to figure out the regulations on that and make sure that I am 
staying compliant, make sure I am doing the right paperwork--
because I do all of our own payroll and things like that in-
house--and just make sure we are not getting ourselves in 
trouble.
    Mr. SCHMIDT. Thank you very much.
    Mr. Freeman?
    Mr. FREEMAN. Thank you for the question and opportunity to 
speak to it.
    I mentioned EPA regulatory earlier. Another thing that is a 
challenge there--and, definitely, the EPA, you know, serves its 
purposes, but there are challenges for small businesses, too, 
when you have red tape that you have to work through.
    Each individual State, many of them--I would say about 37 
to 38 of them--have their own regulatory bodies, but sometimes 
they are in conflict with one another, and we have to hire 
consultants. Those consultants are very expensive.
    It would be nice if there were greater coordination between 
the U.S. EPA and the State bodies to streamline that so we 
didn't have the conflicting regulations between them.
    But that would be something that would be incredibly 
beneficial to us, to have one guiding policy for repellant 
products.
    Mr. SCHMIDT. Thank you very much.
    Time is tight, but Mrs. Shybunko-Moore?
    Mrs. SHYBUNKO-MOORE. Sure.
    So, in my business, Federal Acquisition Requirements are 
everything. And so my issue right now is: Obviously, we are 
advancing technology in the sector, manufacturing sector, but 
the federal regulations flow-down with cybersecurity right now 
are incredibly burdensome.
    I don't think the flow-down of the supply chain on small 
businesses was necessarily assessed in terms of how it impacts 
operations every day, and I think we need to look at how we are 
flowing down the cybersecurity requirements with CUI and other 
issues.
    Mr. SCHMIDT. Thank you.
    Ms. Cool, I have 2 seconds, if you want to speak fast.
    Ms. COOL. Super-fast. Procurement.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. If you wouldn't mind saying it one more 
time?
    Ms. COOL. Procurement. Simplifying procurement.
    Mr. SCHMIDT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Thank the witnesses.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
    Now we recognize Mr. Jack from the great State of Georgia. 
And it appears all the ``little Jacks'' are here.
    Mr. JACK. I wish that were the case, but, Mr. Chairman, I 
am delighted to be joined today by my former high school 
basketball coach. And you, as the coach of our congressional 
baseball team, I thought he could hopefully share some 
embarrassing stories about me to you.
    But I want to acknowledge Coach Michael Wylder and his 
wife, Kathy, and their entire family for coming.
    Thank you.
    And they are here to celebrate America's 250th birthday, as 
are we all this weekend.
    And to celebrate, last year, the President of the United 
States enacted H.R. 1, the Working Families Tax Cuts. And I 
would like to start my line of questioning hearing from the 
small-business owners before us as to how helpful H.R. 1 was 
and continues to be to your business.
    So, if we could start with Mr. Adornetto, I would welcome 
your comments and feedback.
    Mr. ADORNETTO. Forgive me. I am not well-versed on that. 
Can you explain what those tax cuts----
    Mr. JACK. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
    Mr. ADORNETTO. Thank you.
    Mr. JACK. Yes.
    Mr. ADORNETTO. Of course, I mentioned in my opening 
testimony, but I will reiterate: the accelerated depreciation, 
where I can buy equipment, American-made equipment--True out of 
St. Louis, Missouri; Manitowoc ice machines out of Manitowoc, 
Wisconsin. They were great help to us in accelerating doing 
remodels and facelifts to our restaurants.
    Mr. JACK. Wonderful. Thank you.
    Mr. Freeman?
    Mr. FREEMAN. Yes, sir. Definitely, when you take 
passthrough organizations, making those tax cuts permanent so 
that we are more in line with the C-corp type corporations, 
that is a big deal for us as well, to make those tax cuts 
permanent.
    Mr. JACK. And if I can ask you as well, Mr. Freeman, what 
more could Congress be doing to make life easier and more 
affordable for small business?
    Mr. FREEMAN. In a little bit different vein, access to 
capital. That is the biggest thing and has been the biggest 
challenge and hurdle for us, is having access to capital 
sufficient for the growth that we have in front of us and the 
opportunity.
    Mr. JACK. I should ask Mr. Adornetto.
    Mr. ADORNETTO. I would actually have to agree. Again, going 
through a restaurant remodel, that was one of the hardest 
challenges, was to access capital and to get hands on money to 
reinvest in an industry that sometimes banks don't want to open 
their pocketbooks for.
    Mr. JACK. One of the issues I care deeply about is 
deregulation, and would welcome thoughts from both of you 
gentlemen on deregulatory efforts, what you would like to see 
accomplished across that as we have a few more months left in 
this Congress.
    Mr. ADORNETTO. I welcome deregulation. There are some 
things with--some regulatory things with healthcare that I 
would probably be more concerned with more than anything else.
    Mr. JACK. Sure.
    Mr. Freeman?
    Mr. FREEMAN. From a regulatory perspective, I understand 
regulation. I would say, when it goes too far and it is a 
hindrance to business and the progress of business, anything 
that can be done to help reduce the friction for small business 
would be incredibly helpful.
    Mr. JACK. Mrs. Shybunko-Moore?
    Mrs. SHYBUNKO-MOORE. I would say, any tax policy that 
promotes growth is obviously critical--so the immediate 
expensing in regards to capital investments that I am making, 
the R&D tax that was done.
    Anything that puts more cash into my operations, where I 
can then reinvest and, again, be innovative and be that 
entrepreneur that we are, is critical.
    Mr. JACK. Well, Mr. Chairman, I want to highlight just a 
few of the things that I have heard from constituents in my 
district--specifically, what we accomplished 1 year ago this 
Saturday.
    We prevented the largest tax increase in American history 
by making President Trump's tax cuts permanent, saving the 
average American family from a $1,700 tax increase.
    We delivered the largest tax cut in American history for 
working and middle-class Americans, including an estimated 15-
percent tax cut for Americans earning between $30,000 and 
$80,000 annually.
    We preserved the double standard deduction for more than 90 
percent of taxpayers, strengthened the Child Tax Credit, and 
eliminated taxes on tips, taxes on overtime, so hardworking 
Americans can keep more of what they earn.
    I also want to note, specifically in my home State of 
Georgia, since H.R. 1 became law, manufacturers have announced 
billions of dollars in new investments, not just across the 
country but also in my State, including new steel mills, 
pharmaceutical facilities, battery plants, and advanced 
manufacturing projects.
    In my home State of Georgia specifically, companies have 
announced a $223-million rare-earth magnet manufacturing 
facility and a $400-million poultry processing plant, which 
means a lot to our farmers, means a lot to the ag community in 
Georgia. So, for those actions and stories that I have heard 
from my district, I am very grateful.
    I wish you all well this weekend. I hope you are able to 
enjoy the festivities.
    And, Mr. Chairman, I applaud you for hosting this committee 
hearing. I hope, 250 years from now, people are looking back to 
our transcript and enjoying the conversation we had as our 
country celebrates its 500th-year anniversary 250 years from 
Saturday.
    I yield back.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. Three of us have already committed to be 
here 250 years from now.
    The gentleman yields back.
    And, now, before we close, I have another question, as does 
the Ranking Member have a question.
    So let me say this. Each of you is part of a 
multigenerational business or has got the potential to have one 
and pass one down to generations. And my business back in 
Texas, we now--I am second generation, third generation is 
running it, and fourth generation is coming down on Saturday. 
So we are pretty excited about that.
    And I was glad to see the federal income tax exemption go 
from $15 million per person to $30 million per couple under the 
Working Families Tax Cuts.
    So what does that--you know, we talk about, always, we are 
saving the family farm, we are doing this and that. But it is 
not the family farm we are saving, it is all businesses, by 
being able to pass this down without having to pay taxes.
    So what does this change mean to you, and how does it 
impact your business, to pass your business on to the next 
generation? Maybe each one of you can answer that.
    Mr. ADORNETTO. Very grateful for the change. It is greatly 
impactful. It will help in our situation.
    Hopefully, Mr. Chairman, I will be living many more years 
to come, but I hope that that stays that level or possibly 
increases and other vehicles to help out in passing a family 
business down to the next generation.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. Yeah.
    Mr. FREEMAN. Yes, sir. As the founder of our companies, one 
thing that would be meaningful for us is the ability to tweak 
what has been put into place.
    For us, if you are a C corp, there is the founder discount, 
which is significant when there is any sort of transaction for 
the company. But we were established originally as an S corp, 
so not eligible for that reason.
    So, if it could be expanded to S corps that later became C 
corps--which we did--that would be very meaningful for our 
particular situation.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. Thank you.
    Mrs. SHYBUNKO-MOORE. I think, in my industry, the 
unpredictability is the only thing that is predictable. So any 
decisions that are made that can, again, provide stability is 
critical for me.
    Anything that we can do to invest and reinvest not only in 
my company but in regional manufacturing and national 
manufacturing is just something that I am incredibly passionate 
about.
    And so I want to make sure that when you are making 
decisions, that they are based on entrepreneurship and 
innovation and risk mitigation and how do we create the best 
manufacturing companies in this next generation and, more 
importantly, how do we stay relevant with the pace at which 
technology is moving.
    Make sure that we are looking at steps that can be made so 
that, again, we can continue to pass on our companies and keep 
them private. Right? That is important to me, personally, that 
my sons are able to maintain private ownership and that it 
maintains a manufacturing company, not a financial company. I 
think that is something we have to focus on.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. Okay.
    Ms. Cool?
    Ms. COOL. Yeah. For me, it is similar.
    You know, we haven't been able to explore all the benefits. 
I mean, definitely have to engage my accountant and my lawyer 
on that. And, similarly, we are an S corp, so there is 
definitely opportunity--or additional cost--for me to figure 
out how to do this.
    And I will echo what my fellow witnesses have mentioned. 
When major legislation like this is passed and we aren't 
looking at small businesses and seeking their input in advance, 
we have to catch up.
    So, as long as we are investing the energy to ensure we 
have the resources to hire, to invest over the long haul, to 
think about the next generation, my own children, 22 and 24, 
how they can come into the business--all these pieces take time 
to plan.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. All right.
    I yield back, to the Ranking Member.
    Mr. OLSZEWSKI. And I thank the Chairman for an opportunity 
to go a little deeper.
    Thank you all again for your time.
    I have a quick observation and then a quick question, I 
hope.
    One is, it seems clear: Access to capital--huge issue. Yes?
    Yes.
    Yes.
    Yes.
    I have heard it over and over again from this panel, and I 
couldn't agree more--which is why I am concerned about a change 
that the SBA made back in February of 2026 around lending 
policies that would bar all small businesses with any amount of 
ownership by non-citizens lawfully in the U.S. from 
participating in the flagship 7(a) and 504 CDC lending 
programs. That change was subsequently extended to the surety 
bond and microloan programs.
    And so my concern is, as we are talking about access to 
capital, we are affirmatively taking away access to capital 
through some of these changes.
    And so, since I didn't have time before, I just wanted to 
add to the record again and ask unanimous consent to put a 
letter of concern that Members from the Committee have shared, 
Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. So moved.
    Mr. OLSZEWSKI. Thank you.
    And I just would reiterate that I hope that we can do 
something on that issue. I think it is a very specific, 
tangible way that we can make access to capital available for 
more people, and would welcome you all in that work.
    My question is really around housing, about, sort of, the 
cost of housing generally.
    Mrs. Shybunko-Moore, I know that you spoke specifically 
about the Long Island press--if others want to weigh in as 
well--but just, sort of, talking about--can you talk briefly 
about, sort of, the impact you are seeing for employees as the 
cost of housing for starter homes is now over a million dollars 
in many places--people are turning 40 before they can buy their 
first home--and just what you are seeing on that landscape.
    Mrs. SHYBUNKO-MOORE. Sure. And Long Island certainly is 
facing a lot of housing issues. So I will say that I have been 
working with local legislation on whether there can be an 
employee-employer effort to where we can somehow assist with 
their downpayment. I think that is something that had been done 
years ago in Long Island. I would love to see that in our 
region and then broadly as well, because I think they do need 
assistance, and I think that owning a home is an American dream 
that everyone should have before they are 50.
    So, you know, it is something--and when I am looking at, 
obviously, the operations of my company, I am concerned about 
all the costs that my employees are trying to carry and, 
obviously, trying to maintain my workforce. It is hard to 
attract people to Long Island, it is hard to attract people to 
New York, because of the cost of living.
    So I think we need to be creative in the way that we can 
somehow work with families and government and private 
businesses to figure out if we can find a solution with all 
those parties involved.
    Mr. OLSZEWSKI. Yeah. I appreciate that.
    I saw a lot of head-shaking, so, in the interest of time, I 
will take that as agreement.
    I would love to have this Committee continue to engage with 
you and others about, to the extent it is in our purview, 
finding those kinds of opportunities to do partnerships with 
business to make homeownership more real.
    I will just note as I conclude: Very proud of the ways in 
which this Congress passed an overwhelmingly bipartisan housing 
package. Probably the only major item of significance that I 
have seen be that kind of bipartisan approach that 
overwhelmingly addresses cost of living and some of those 
issues without some of the back-and-forth or the concerns that 
we have had.
    There are some provisions, for example, in the 
reconciliation package that I actually supported, like the no 
tax on tips, like the no tax on Social Security, like the 
depreciation. There are other elements I think are problematic 
for Americans and for small business.
    But this was legislation that was overwhelmingly 
bipartisan, will have the impact of lowering costs. I think it 
is the model for our way forward. It is why I really appreciate 
the partnership I have had with the Chairman in passing out 
some bipartisan legislation from this Committee. I echo 
Representative Tran's sentiments. We hope to see the Senate 
move on them.
    It is not a ``big yawn,'' as the President said. I think it 
is important, it is impactful. And I hope that we can keep 
working with all of you to keep making progress on that 
legislation.
    And, again, I thank you for the time, and I yield back.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. The gentleman yields back.
    I have three of my fellow Congressmen here.
    Do you all have about a 1-minute question real quick?
    Mr. PATRONIS. I think all I want to plug, Mr. Chairman, is 
a very special opportunity for our guests here, just because 
the American 250 display is going to be in the Rayburn Room, 
especially for the little guys. That is at 1:30 to 3:30.
    We are going to have James Madison's copy of ``The 
Federalist,'' we are going to have the second printing of the 
Declaration of Independence, and we will have an original 
letter from Thomas Jefferson celebrating the 50th anniversary 
of our country.
    So anybody in the room could stop--the Rayburn Room is 
right across from the House Chamber.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. Congressman Schmidt?
    Mr. SCHMIDT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just appreciate the 
witnesses.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. Congressman Jack?
    Mr. JACK. I echo Mr. Schmidt. Thank you.
    I yield back.
    Chairman WILLIAMS. All right.
    I would like to thank our witnesses for their testimony and 
for appearing before us today.
    It has been a great hearing. And we always like to say 
that--you see a lot of hearings on TV. Some go different 
directions. This Committee here, we really do work hard to be 
bipartisan, and it shows, what we get out of here. And I 
appreciate all the Members.
    And, without objection, Members have 5 legislative days to 
submit additional materials and written questions for the 
witnesses to the Chair, which will be forwarded to the 
witnesses.
    I ask the witnesses to please do that promptly.
    And if there is no further business, without objection, the 
Committee is adjourned. Thank you.
    [Whereupon, at 11:36 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
                            
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