Organizational Meeting for the 119th Congress

Committee Organizing for 119th CongressHouse Small Business · 2025-01-22 · 119th Congress
The House Committee on Small Business held its organizational meeting for the 119th Congress, opening with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer before the chair called the session to order. Begins at 0:20:06
Transcript
Highlights

Title

House Small Business Committee organizes for the 119th Congress

Purpose

The House Committee on Small Business held its organizational meeting for the 119th Congress, opening with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer before the chair called the session to order. Members introduced new and returning colleagues on both sides, approved the committee's subcommittee chairs and ranking members, adopted the committee's rules of procedure (including a new electronic-voting provision), and adopted the committee's authorization and oversight plan for the Congress. Begins at0:20:06

Who spoke

Committee Chair (majority, north Texas; name not stated in transcript)0:20:06: Led the Pledge of Allegiance and prayer0:20:06, gaveled the committee to order0:21:51, introduced the new and returning majority members0:22:210:23:53, announced the five majority subcommittee chairs0:28:26, moved adoption of subcommittee leadership rosters0:29:58, the committee rules with a new electronic-voting provision0:30:280:30:59, and the authorization and oversight plan focused on cutting regulatory burdens on small businesses0:33:31, and closed the meeting0:36:34.

Ranking Member Velásquez (D-NY)0:23:53: Welcomed members and conveyed sympathies to "the chairman and his family"0:24:24, introduced the new and returning Democratic members0:24:540:28:26, named the minority's subcommittee ranking members0:28:570:29:58, endorsed the committee rules as preserving bipartisan collaboration0:30:59, and highlighted the oversight plan's focus on SBA accountability, lending, contracting, and continued bipartisan work combating PPP and COVID-EIDL fraud0:34:32.

Key moments

Chair opened the 119th Congress organizational meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer before formally gaveling in0:20:060:21:51.

New majority members introduced: Reps. Brad Finstad (R-MN), a Wisconsin member, Rob Bresnahan (R-PA), Brian Jack (R-GA), Troy Downing (R-MT), a Northern Mariana Islands delegate, and Derek Schmidt (R-KS)0:22:21.

New Democratic members introduced: Gil Cisneros (D-CA), Dr. Kelly Morrison (D-MN), George Latimer (D-NY), Derek Tran (D-CA), Lateefah Simon (D-CA), Johnny Olszewski (D-MD), Dr. Herb Conaway (D-NJ), and Maggie Goodlander (D-NH)0:24:54.

Velásquez opened by conveying the committee's sympathies "to the chairman and his family" at a difficult time0:23:530:24:24.

Subcommittee chairs and ranking members were approved by voice vote without objection0:29:58.

Committee rules for the 119th Congress were adopted largely unchanged from the prior Congress, with the most significant update allowing members to vote electronically0:30:590:31:59.

The chair's authorization and oversight plan emphasized reducing regulatory burden on small businesses and reviewing SBA programs and agency rulemaking0:33:310:34:02.

Velásquez said the negotiated oversight plan targets fraud, waste, and abuse in SBA programs, citing prior bipartisan work on PPP and COVID-EIDL fraud0:34:320:35:02.

The authorization and oversight plan was adopted without objection, to be submitted to the Committee on House Administration ahead of the March 1 statutory deadline0:36:030:36:34.

Metadata

CommitteeHouse Small Business
Chamber / CongressHouse · 119th Congress
Date2025-01-22
TypeMeeting
Witnesses
(none listed in event metadata)
Videoyoutube
Transcript39 caption blocks · 2,471 words · 0:37:59 runtime
EventCongress.gov 117831