U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800

Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001

33–330 PDF 2007

FULL COMMITTEE

ORGANIZATION MEETING

COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS 

UNITED STATES HOUSE OF 

REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

JANUARY 31, 2007

Serial Number 110-1

Printed for the use of the Committee on Small Business

(

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

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS 

NYDIA M. VELA ́ ZQUEZ, New York, Chairwoman 

JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD, 

California 

WILLIAM JEFFERSON, Louisiana 

HEATH SHULER, North Carolina 

CHARLIE GONZA ́ LEZ, Texas 

RICK LARSEN, Washington 

RAUL GRIJALVA, Arizona 

MICHAEL MICHAUD, Maine 

MELISSA BEAN, Illinois 

HENRY CUELLAR, Texas 

DAN LIPINSKI, Illinois 

GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin 

JASON ALTMIRE, Pennsylvania 

BRUCE BRALEY, Iowa 

YVETTE CLARKE, New York 

BRAD ELLSWORTH, Indiana 

HANK JOHNSON, Georgia 

JOE SESTAK, Pennsylvania 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio, Ranking Member 

ROSCOE BARTLETT, Maryland 

SAM GRAVES, Missouri 

TODD AKIN, Missouri 

BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania 

MARILYN MUSGRAVE, Colorado 

STEVE KING, Iowa 

JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska 

LYNN WESTMORELAND, Georgia 

LOUIE GOHMERT, Texas 

DEAN HELLER, Nevada 

DAVID DAVIS, Tennessee 

MARY FALLIN, Oklahoma 

VERN BUCHANAN, Florida 

JIM JORDAN, Ohio 

MICHAEL DAY, Majority Staff Director 

ADAM MINEHARDT, Deputy Staff Director 

TIM SLATTERY, Chief Counsel 

KEVIN FITZPATRICK, Minority Staff Director

STANDING SUBCOMMITTEES 

Subcommittee on Finance and Tax

MELISSA BEAN, Illinois, Chairwoman 

RAUL GRIJALVA, Arizona 

MICHAEL MICHAUD, Maine 

BRAD ELLSWORTH, Indiana 

HANK JOHNSON, Georgia 

JOE SESTAK, Pennsylvania 

DEAN HELLER, Nevada, Ranking 

BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania 

STEVE KING, Iowa 

VERN BUCHANAN, Florida 

JIM JORDAN, Ohio

Subcommittee on Contracting and Technology

BRUCE BRALEY, IOWA, Chairman 

WILLIAM JEFFERSON, Louisiana 

HENRY CUELLAR, Texas 

GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin 

YVETTE CLARKE, New York 

JOE SESTAK, Pennsylvania 

DAVID DAVIS, Tennessee, Ranking 

ROSCOE BARTLETT, Maryland 

SAM GRAVES, Missouri 

TODD AKIN, Missouri 

MARY FALLIN, Oklahoma

(II) 

Subcommittee on Regulations, Health Care and Trade

CHARLES GONZA ́ LEZ, Texas, Chairman 

WILLIAM JEFFERSON, Louisiana 

RICK LARSEN, Washington 

DAN LIPINSKI, Illinois 

MELISSA BEAN, Illinois 

GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin 

JASON ALTMIRE, Pennsylvania 

JOE SESTAK, Pennsylvania 

LYNN WESTMORELAND, Georgia, Ranking 

BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania 

STEVE KING, Iowa 

MARILYN MUSGRAVE, Colorado 

MARY FALLIN, Oklahoma 

VERN BUCHANAN, Florida 

JIM JORDAN, Ohio

Subcommittee on Urban and Rural Entrepreneurship

HEATH SHULER, North Carolina, Chairman 

RICK LARSEN, Washington 

MICHAEL MICHAUD, Maine 

GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin 

YVETTE CLARKE, New York 

BRAD ELLSWORTH, Indiana 

HANK JOHNSON, Georgia 

JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska, Ranking 

ROSCOE BARTLETT, Maryland 

MARILYN MUSGRAVE, Colorado 

DEAN HELLER, Nevada 

DAVID DAVIS, Tennessee

Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight

JASON ALTMIRE, PENNSYLVANIA, Chairman 

JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD, 

California 

CHARLIE GONZA ́ LEZ, Texas 

RAUL GRIJALVA, Arizona 

LOUIE GOHMERT, Texas, Ranking 

LYNN WESTMORELAND, Georgia

(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

STATEMENTS BY COMMITTEE MEMBERS 

Page

Vela ́zquez, Hon. Nydia M. ....................................................................................... 1

Chabot, Hon. Steve .................................................................................................. 2

COMMITTEE BUSINESS 

Passage of Committee Rules and Oversight Plan ................................................. 3

APPENDIX 

Prepared Statements: 

Vela ́zquez, Hon. Nydia M. ....................................................................................... 5

Chabot, Hon. Steve .................................................................................................. 8

(V) 

(1)

FULL COMMITTEE ORGANIZATIONAL 

MEETING 

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2007

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS, Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 12:00 p.m., in Room 

2360 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Nydia M. Vela ́zquez 

[Chairwoman of the Committee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives Vela ́zquez, Jefferson, Shuler, Gonza ́lez, 

Michaud, Cuellar, Lipinski, Moore, Altmire, Braley, Ellsworth, 

Chabot, Bartlett, Akin, Fortenberry, Gohmert, Davis, Buchanan, 

and Jordan. 

Staff Present: Tim Slattery, Majority Counsel; and Zuraya Tapia, 

Clerk. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRWOMAN VELA ́ ZQUEZ 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. I call this Small Business Committee 

organizational meeting together. 

I want to first welcome all returning and new Members. I look 

forward to working with each of you this Congress. There is no 

question that we all have the same goal, to best advocate on behalf 

of our nation’s 26 million small businesses. For this Committee to 

truly meet the needs of small firms, we must work together in a 

way that is fair and best addresses their concerns. 

I have always believed that there shouldn’t be a Democratic or 

a Republican way when it comes to small businesses. Good ideas 

come from both sides and we need to be open and encourage that. 

With that option of today’s rules package and oversight plan, I believe we are demonstrating to the small business community that 

we are committed to working together and advocating on their behalf. Small businesses deserve our partnership and I look forward 

to working with Ranking Member Mr. Chabot and the other Members of the Committee to accomplish this goal. 

We have a very diverse Committee, both ideologically and geographically. I believe that is our strength and we’ll make sure that 

this Committee’s final product benefits entrepreneurs in all sectors. 

That being said, I look forward to the discussions, as well as the 

debates, that I know will transpire over the next two years. I am 

sure they will be both lively and informative and I welcome that. 

Again, I welcome each of you here and I look forward to working 

with all of you. 

I would like to take this time to introduce the freshmen on the 

Committee: Congressman Heath Shuler from North Carolina, RepVerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:46 Dec 19, 2007 Jkt 033615 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 G:\CLERK SB\HEARINGS\TRANSCRIPTS\33330.TXT LEANN
2

resentative Jason Altmire from Pennsylvania; Bruce Braley from 

Iowa; Yvette Clarke, New York; Brad Ellsworth, Indiana; Mr. Hank 

Johnson, Georgia; Joe Sestak from Pennsylvania. 

At this point, I would like to yield to the Ranking Member, Mr. 

Chabot, for any opening statement he may have. 

STATEMENT OF MR. CHABOT 

Mr. CHABOT. Thank you, Madam Chair. I thank you for yielding 

and I’ll be brief. We have a vote, as we all know, so I’ll try to keep 

this as brief as I possibly can. 

I want to first of all congratulate you on being the chair of the 

Small Business Committee. I know that you’ve been a hardworking 

Member on this Committee for a long time now and I know that 

you’ll do a good job. 

I also want to commend both you and your staff for working so 

well in the transition period. With our staff, I think you’ve bent 

over backwards to be fair with us and we appreciate that. And 

while we will certainly have partisan differences over the course of 

the next two years, there are many issues that I think we can 

agree on and after all, 99 percent of the businesses in this country 

by definition are small businesses and 60 to 80 percent of the jobs 

that are created are created by small businesses. So I think we 

should work together as you indicated to improve the environment 

for millions of Americans who own or work in small businesses. 

And I would also like to introduce the freshmen Members that 

we have on our side, so I’ll begin with—is Dean Heller here yet? 

No. He was Secretary of State of Nevada. He’s been a commercial 

banker and stockbroker, and he will be the Ranking Member of the 

Finance and Tax Subcommittee. Next I’d like to introduce Dave 

Davis from Tennessee here. He had a very successful career as the 

owner of two healthcare and medical equipment businesses and 

David will be the Ranking Member of the Contracting and Technology Subcommittee. Mary Fallin, who I believe is not here, was 

a real estate broker and she was Oklahoma’s Lieutenant Governor 

and she served there in a cabinet-level position as the State’s small 

business advocate. Vern Buchanan, who is here, Vern is of Florida. 

Turned a small, quick printing franchise into an immensely successful enterprise and later became one of the nation’s most successful automobile dealers and we welcome him here. 

And finally, my friend and fellow Ohioan, Jim Jordan, who in addition to building a very successful record in the Ohio General Assembly is widely known for his prowess as an all American wrestling champion. So we welcome Jim here. I want to welcome all of 

them to our nation’s capital and our returning Members, Roscoe 

Bartlett, Sam Graves, Todd Akin, Bill Shuster, Marilyn Musgrave, 

Steve King, and Louis Gohmert who will be the Ranking Member 

of the Investigations and Oversight Committee; Lynn Westmoreland, who will be the Ranking Member of the Regulations, 

Healthcare and Trade Subcommittee; and finally, Jeff Fortenberry, 

who will be the Ranking Member of the Rural and Urban Entrepreneur Subcommittee Member. 

And with that, I’ll yield back. 

3

ADOPTION OF COMMITTEE RULES 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Thank you, Ranking Member. And now 

the first order of business is to adopt the Committee rules. As you 

mentioned, Ranking Member, this was done in conjunction both 

with the Democratic side and the Republican side, working together. Changes were well made. Those changes are positive. 

They’re fair. It opens the process for more participation and the 

only way that we could be effective in providing solutions to the 

many issues impacting small businesses is by providing a process 

that is open, is fair. The minority will have one third of everything 

when it comes to having witnesses, including the budget and total 

control of the budget. You will be the one making the decision as 

to how, where the budget will be spent. 

With that, I will yield to the Ranking Member, if you have any 

comments regarding the Rules Plan. Every person, every Member 

has a copy, has been provided to you, both the rules package as 

well as the oversight plan. 

Mr. CHABOT. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I’ll be brief. I want 

to reiterate my appreciation for both your and your staff’s working 

with our side on the rules. I agree with you that there is protection 

of minority rights in the rules and more opportunities for minority 

input and we appreciate that. And I had the opportunity to provide 

a copy of the rules and go over the rule changes with my members 

at our organizational meeting on Monday. And to my knowledge, 

everyone is pleased with those and I would urge my colleagues to 

support the rules and I yield back. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Are there any Members that wish to be 

recognized on the Rules Plan? 

[No response.] 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. If no other Members wish to be recognized, I will yield to Mr. Gonza ́lez for a motion. 

Mr. GONZA ́LEZ. I so move that we adopt the Rules Plan for the 

Small Business Committee. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Does anyone second the motion? 

Mr. GOHMERT. Second. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. The question is on the adoption of the 

Rules Plan. All those in favor, say aye? All those opposed say no. 

[Ayes.] 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes 

have it. The Rules Plan for the Small Business Committee in the 

U.S. House of Representatives for the 110th Congress are hereby 

adopted. 

ADOPTION OF THE COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT PLAN 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Today, the second order of business is 

the Committee Oversight Plan and this plan is the roadmap for the 

Small Business Committee. It details what we’re going to do and 

how we’re going to do it. Most importantly, it lets the small business community know that we’re going to address their concerns. 

I want to thank the Ranking Member, Mr. Chabot, for his input 

in constructing this plan and for helping improve it in key areas 

such as the state tax and tort reform. This document represents 

priorities from both sides of the aisle, something I think is very important to best serve the small business sector and our nation and 

4

I am very happy to say that this Committee now will have broader 

and greater flexibility in the sense that now the jurisdiction of the 

Committee has been expanded, meaning that the legislation that 

we can show the Parliamentarian has a significant impact on the 

large number of businesses. We can ask for referral and this way, 

we can assure the small business sector that their voices will be 

heard throughout the legislative process. 

It is my goal that we set out to work together to address the 

most pressing concern for small businesses. As we all know, this 

includes healthcare regulations and ensuring a strong and vibrant 

SBA at their disposal. 

It is clear that small businesses face many obstacles. It is incumbent upon us to provide small businesses with relief and the tools 

they need to be successful and I strongly believe that the oversight 

plan will achieve this. 

At this point, I will yield to the Ranking Member. 

Mr. CHABOT. Thank you, Madam Chair. I know we have a vote, 

so I’ll be very brief. We agree and thank the minority for working 

with us on this oversight plan. We’ve had an opportunity to look 

at the differences that this will make to small businesses. It covers 

taxes and regulations, paperwork, healthcare, legal reform, Small 

Business Administration contracting and many other areas. 

So I would urge my colleagues to support the plan and thank you 

for your cooperation. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Are there any Members that wish to be 

recognized? 

[No response.] 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. If no other members wish to be recognized, I will yield to Mr. Gonza ́lez for a motion. 

Mr. GONZA ́LEZ. I would move that we adopt the Small Business 

Oversight Plan. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Does anyone second the motion? 

Mr. CUELLAR. Second. 

Mr. GONZA ́LEZ. The question is on the adoption of the Oversight 

Plan. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. 

[Ayes.] 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. In the opinion of the chair the ayes 

have it. The Oversight Plan for the Small Business Committee for 

the 110th Congress are hereby adopted. Thank you. With that, we 

adjourn the meeting. 

[Whereupon, at 12:40 p.m., the meeting was concluded.]

5


33330.001
6


33330.002
7


33330.003
8

Æ


33330.004