▶ 0:21:59>> entrepreneurship to order. Thank you to our witnesses for being here today. I appreciate your willingness to participate in this discussion about the future of innovation and the role small businesses about how it played in shaping our economy over the next several decades. Thank you. As we all know, this year marks the two hundred 50th anniversary of the united states.
▶ 0:22:24For the fast tune of 50 years, small businesses have helped define the american economy, creating jobs, strengthening communities, and helping drive economic growth. As we look ahead to the next 250 years, it will remain just as essential to america's success. As the son of a small business owner, I grew up with great appreciation for the hard work and commitment required to run and sustain a small business.
▶ 0:22:56America's entrepreneurial spirit is fueled our nation's progress over the past two and half centuries, but the pace of change today is unlike anything many small businesses have experienced before. New technologies, including artificial intelligence, and automation are transforming industries, changing how businesses operate, and creating new opportunity for growth and productivity.
▶ 0:23:25Large companies often have the resources to implement these technologies quickly. For many small businesses, however, the challenge is knowing where to begin and how to integrate these tools into their day-to-day operations. Across industries, small businesses recognize technology is changing the marketplace and they want to keep pace.
▶ 0:23:49That challenge is one of the reasons I introduced the ai for main street act with senator cantwell. Our bipartisan legislation would encourage the small business administration to provide small businesses with the information and resources they need to better understand and adopt artificial intelligence tools.
▶ 0:24:10Ai has the potential to help small businesses reduce administrative burdens, improve productivity, and compete in an increasingly technology driven economy. At the same time, we know that the technology -- the technology adoption is only one piece of the puzzle.
▶ 0:24:31If we want small businesses to succeed in the long term, we also need to ensure that entrepreneurs have access to capital, a skilled workforce, and a regulatory environment that supports innovation and growth. This year, small business committee reauthorized and reformed the small business innovation research sbir, small business technology transfer sttr programs through september 302030 one.
▶ 0:25:01These programs help ensure entrepreneurs transform promising ideas into commercial products, strengthening partnerships among small businesses to my research institutions, and the federal government. By reauthorizing these programs, we help ensure america remains the world leader in developing and commercializing critical and emerging technologies.
▶ 0:25:24For decades, the sbir and sttr programs have supported breakthroughs in biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, to artificial intelligence and national security. It is new technologies that continue to reshape our economy. These programs will remain essential tools for ensuring small businesses have the opportunity to innovate, scale, and create jobs in communities across the country.
▶ 0:25:55Today's hearing is an opportunity to hear directly from small businesses on what congress can do to ensure they continue to innovate, compute, and succeed over the next 250 years. I look forward to hearing about the opportunities and challenges ahead, and on the policies that will help america's entrepreneurs continue to innovate and grow. Thank you again to our witnesses for being here today. I look forward to your testimony.
▶ 0:26:22I want to thank staff for their hard work in assembling and organizing for this hearing. I want to thank my colleague, ranking member markey for his ongoing cooperation on issues that fall under this committee's banner. I now recognize ranking member markey for his opening statement.
▶ 0:26:41Sen. Markey: Thank you, chairman young, thank you for your partnership. Today is the fourth hearing in this committees series celebrating small businesses and the central they have played in our nations history. I want to thank you, Mr.
▶ 0:26:59Sen. Markey: Chairman, for making this an inclusive committee, bipartisan in nature, that has involved all of our members and given us a chance to showcase all of our states. Sadly, this spirit of bipartisanship that is in this committee is not shared by donald trump and his administration. Instead, partisanship is his northstar.
▶ 0:27:28Sen. Markey: Just recently, trump administration admitted in court that the department of energy canceled more than 7.5 billion dollars in grants based on whether the recipient was in a blue state. Let me repeat that. Donald trump is retaliating against people whose states did not give their electoral votes to him.
▶ 0:27:52Sen. Markey: He is canceling grants based solely on the manner in which americans exercise their right to vote, as granted by our constitution that we are celebrating today, this year. Doe has admitted their decision was not based on performance, cost, or any other factor of substance. It was pure political punishment.
▶ 0:28:18Sen. Markey: The american people are being denied of government services because of how they choose to exercise their democratic rights. They are being denied lower energy bills, denied the ability to get a paycheck for clean energy work, denied a more reliable energy grid, all thanks to this political hatchet job.
▶ 0:28:41Sen. Markey: But it is not just energy, the white house is currently proposing to politicize and weaponize all federal grants through the office of management and budget. Donald trump wants to replace a merit-based process with a political puppet show. The corruption has spread throughout even the most basic of government functions. Our ability to help our neighbors build back after extreme weather.
▶ 0:29:10Sen. Markey: The trump administration has already politicize major disaster declarations by refusing to help states that didn't vote for him. New documents reveal that trump overrode the advice of his own agency and denied four democratic states including massachusetts from receiving disaster assistance related to blizzards earlier this year.
▶ 0:29:33Sen. Markey: According to these documents, the state easily met fema's internal qualifications for disaster aid, but for trump, the only qualification is blind loyalty. According to trump, nearly 300,000 massachusetts residents losing power, and nearly 38 inches of snow in 24 hours is not an emergency.
▶ 0:30:02Sen. Markey: But apparently, repainting the lincoln, reflecting pool before his scheduled america 250 celebration qualifies as a multimillion dollar emergency. While red states fema disaster applications have been approved 89% of the time, those from blue states received signoff from the trump administration only 23% of. The time and those are small businesses, people who need help.
▶ 0:30:33Sen. Markey: This isn't the united states of america. This is the divisive state of our nation right now. The federal government shouldn't turn its back on communities and small businesses based on whether they live in a blue state or red state. That is no way to honor our founding. As we celebrate our 250th birthday, we are also confronting a climate crisis. Over the next 250 years, climate disasters will only intensify.
▶ 0:31:01Sen. Markey: Whether it is close to flooding in the east, wildfires in the west, or droughts and hurricane, no community is immune from environmental catastrophe. Storm don't destroy communities of who they voted for. To build a future that people deserve, we need to fight for the american dreaming, not the republican dream, not a democratic dream, just the american dreaming.
▶ 0:31:25Sen. Markey: We need to invest in the best ideas, pursue policies that work for everyone, not just a select few, and help main street business people all across our country to whether the challenges ahead. And also than to pave the way for the next 250 years. I look forward to our witnesses today and I want to thank you, Mr.
▶ 0:31:47Sen. Markey: Chairman, for holding these bipartisan hearings, making it inclusive, and we should be celebrating these businesses that are appearing before us today. Thank you.
▶ 0:31:58Chair Young: Thank you, ranking member markey. Grateful for those words. I want to extend a warm welcome to our witnesses. I am thankful to all of you. You are busy people and you took time out of your busy schedules to come to D.C. and testify before the committee. We will now go ahead to witness introductions. First, we have Mr. aj malshe from west lafayette, indiana. Mr.
▶ 0:32:27Chair Young: Malshe is the ceo of arkwright space, and in space materials manufacturer. He is also currently a president's fellow and professor at purdue university, a hagler fellow at texas a&m university, and he serves as chairperson of the national academy of engineering. He is an internationally recognized educator, inventor, entrepreneur, and business leader.
▶ 0:32:57Chair Young: He holds a phd in physics and earned a post-doctorate in mechanical engineering from the ohio state university. Welcome, Mr. malshe. I will now turn to senator curtis for his introduction of Mr. rigby.
▶ 0:33:13Sen. Curtis: Thank you, chair young. It's my pollutes to introduce today's witness from the great state of utah by Mr. valjay rigby. Thank you for being here. Mr. rigby serves as president of the utah farm bureau federation, our state's largest general agricultural organization, representing more than 3700 members and family members.
▶ 0:33:34Sen. Curtis: Valjay is a fifth-generation farmer from utah where his family continues to farm land that was part of his original 1869 homestead. Today he farms alongside his brothers, children, raising beef and cattle and growing approximately 1500 acres of alfalfa and small grains. Mr. rigby holds a bachelor's degree in finance and a masters degree in information systems utah state university.
▶ 0:34:00Sen. Curtis: He has also served his community as president of the cache county farm bureau, local planning and waterboards, a volunteer firefighter. Thank you, Mr. rigby, for making the trip from utah to join us today. I am sure they are missing you back on the farm. Thank you for being here. Look forward to your testimony.
▶ 0:34:17Chair Young: Thank you, senator curtis. I would like to recognize senator hickenlooper from the great state of colorado to introduce our next witness. Senator hickenlooper, you are recognized.
▶ 0:34:30Sen. Hickenlooper: Thank you for calling the meeting. I think it will be illuminating. I get to welcome lorena here who has come all the way from colorado, so pleased to have you with us, sharing your story. I practiced this. Lorena cantarovici. One of our great entrepreneur success stories, a sterling example of the american dreaming.
▶ 0:34:59Sen. Hickenlooper: From argentina, she emigrated to the united states with no personal connections, about $300 in her pocket, and as she says, only three english words. Hi, hello, ciao. She began making empanadas for her family and friends, people in the neighborhood. That passion generally grew into maria empanada named after her mother who first taught her how to make empanadas.
▶ 0:35:30Sen. Hickenlooper: She took advantage of the small business and industry's resources including sba loans, small business center developed workshops, counseling from sbdc advisors. Through her hard work, perseverance, and a lot of flour , maria empanada became a staple in denver in 2017, the small business administration named lorraine of the small business person of the year gala.
▶ 0:35:56Sen. Hickenlooper: Today, maria empanada has expanded to eight locations across denver metro creating jobs, serving communities, and earning national recognition by appearing on guy fieri's show and serving to lionel messi, the famous soccer player. With determination and access to the right resources, small businesses can grow from a simple idea to a cornerstone of the community.
▶ 0:36:25Sen. Hickenlooper: As we look at the future of small businesses, her experiences offer lessons on how we can ensure the next generation of small businesses have the same opportunity to succeed. Grateful to have you here today, look forward to hearing about your journey.
▶ 0:36:38Chair Young: Thank you, senator hickenlooper. I now recognize senator schiff from the state of california to introduce his witness. You are recognized.
▶ 0:36:47Sen. Schiff: Thank you for holding this hearing. I welcome the opportunity to introduce nikki high, the owner of octavia's bookshelf in pasadena, california. Ms.
▶ 0:36:59Sen. Schiff: High open her bookshop in 2023 to create an inclusive community of readers and uplift the stories that impacted her own life through the authors that she loved the most including octavia butler, who was a resident not far away, living not far away from the community in altadena, california. The list to say, octavia's bookshelf quickly became a community staple.
▶ 0:37:29Sen. Schiff: Sadly, less than two years later, the lives of thousands were changed forever when the eaton fire slip through altadena and pasadena. In the face of this tragedy, Ms. high transformed her six hundred square-foot bookshop into a community resource, providing everything from water bottles to diapers to a staple -- stable internet connection, and later connecting residents to grief counseling and support groups.
▶ 0:37:54Sen. Schiff: Folks found out that her bookshop still had power and came flocking to her bookstore in search of help during those very difficult, dark weeks during and after the fires. When our communities are in need, small businesses step up to fill in the breach. They are the heart and soul of our community. In one of our community's darkest moments, Ms.
▶ 0:38:18Sen. Schiff: High and other small business owners demonstrated that these small businesses are more than local storefronts, they are pillars in our community. Where we go in times of celebration and times of crisis. I just want to thank you, Ms. high, not only for come here to testify, but all you've done to serve our community. Your generosity, just how you have become such a vital, integral institution back in southern california.
▶ 0:38:49Sen. Schiff: I thank you. It's an honor to have you. Thanks for helping to rebuild our community back home. I yield back.
▶ 0:38:54Chair Young: Thank you, senator schiff.
▶ 0:38:57Sen. Schiff: Mr. chairman, we are in the middle of a series of votes, so please don't be taken aback by us coming and going.
▶ 0:39:05Chair Young: It is the normal pattern of business around here. Even I may find a way to duck out and cast a vote and reappear soon thereafter. Thank you to all of our witnesses. Briefly, I'd like to take a moment to explain our lighting system to our witnesses. Three lights in front of you. The green means go, yellow means you are running out of time. Red means you should include your remarks.
▶ 0:39:32Chair Young: I ask unanimous consent of the witnesses full statements be included into the record. Without objection. So ordered. Your witness testimony have been a part of the record, the committee ask that you limit your oral remarks to five minutes. Dr. malshe, you are recognized for five minutes.
▶ 0:39:51Dr. Malshe: Thank you. I would like to thank the committee chair ernst, chairman senator young, ranking member markey, all the distinguished members. Thank you for this opportunity as america celebrates its 250th anniversary, and looking forward to the next 250. I am aj malshe, ceo of arkwright space, a member of the national academy of engineers.
▶ 0:40:20Dr. Malshe: For the 250 years, america strength has come from our ability to invent, manufacture, scale, and commercialize. We transformed workshops into factories. Semiconductors into electronics and computers. Aviation into spaceflight. Today, the next, great industry front is space. My message is simple.
▶ 0:40:42Dr. Malshe: If america wants to lead in space, we must learn not only how to get there but how to manufacture, maintain, compute, operate and sustain ourselves there. I call america's full space is around 1.0. We reached the moon, built international space station, created gps, satellite, and commercial launch. With almost everything be used in space still made on earth and lodged through the earth gravity well.
▶ 0:41:11Dr. Malshe: Space 1.0 was about getting there. Space 2.0 now is about building there. That requires america's industrial base in space. Why? Space offers unix biz -- physics, chemistry, engineering opportunities to make new products and more. In space manufacturing is much more than 3d printing on the iss. It converges advanced manufacturing, materials, ai, sentencing, digital computing.
▶ 0:41:43Dr. Malshe: Make what we need where we need it. One strategic opportunity is semiconductor electronics and chips in space. I thank senator young for supporting that, and the committee for supporting the sbir and sttr. Semiconductor electronics is the nervous system of the space economy, enabling satellites, communication, ai, robotics, electronic warfare, cyber infrastructure, autonomous mobility and future data centers in space.
▶ 0:42:12Dr. Malshe: A satellite should not become obsolete just because one electronic system can fail. A lear insulation should not wait months for a replacement from earth. We must move from a logistic dependent system to a self-sustaining space infrastructure. And small businesses like arkwright are the america's secret weapon. Universities discover, government enables, small businesses are risk tolerant and move fast. Large companies integrate and scale.
▶ 0:42:42Dr. Malshe: Too many deep technologies fall into the valleys of invention and deployment. Meanwhile, china, russia understands the strategy importance of space. The nation that enables manufacturing infrastructure supply chain standards of the future space economy will gain an enormous economic and national security advantage for the next 250 years.
▶ 0:43:05Dr. Malshe: I would like to quote 1958, senator lyndon johnson, stating, including the landmark sputnik inquiry, control of space means control of the world. So manufacturing becomes resilient, manufacturing becomes better, and manufacturing becomes national security. Three request to consider. But it stinks members. First, invest in deep technology science, engineering, and talent.
▶ 0:43:33Dr. Malshe: Create a national initiative or in space manufacturing science and engineering including chips in space. Build america's future space. Second, across the valley of death. Give deep tech small businesses fast, risk tolerant capital and affordable flight demonstrations moving technology beyond laboratories, deployment to scale.
▶ 0:43:56Dr. Malshe: Third, build america's space industrial base, integrate small businesses, provide the business opportunity for small businesses to compete in the space commerce. I would like to close by saying the next 250 years offer different futures. We can extend america's extraordinary industry leadership beyond earth or operate in a space economy built and shaped by the others including adversaries. We must elaborately build the future we want.
▶ 0:44:25Dr. Malshe: Our next 250 years, america's industrial power is defined in the past by what we made on earth. The next 250 years is what we make in space. The next 250 years are about space 2.0. That is what I would like to promise. There are small businesses that would bring to america's success in space as an industrial base. Thank you.
▶ 0:44:50Chair Young: Thank you, Mr. malshe. We now turn from manufacturing in the heavens to have in the manufacture of empanadas here on earth. Ms. cantarovici, you are recognized for five minutes.
▶ 0:45:08Ms. Cantarovici: Chairman young, ranking member markey, senator hickenlooper, this thing members of the committee thank you for , inviting me today. My name is lorena cantarovici, founder of maria empanada. I was born and raised in argentina by a single mother. For many years, life was terribly difficult for us, but my mother moved mountains so I could be educated.
▶ 0:45:37Ms. Cantarovici: I studied accounting and became a banker in buenos aires. I was proud to bring home a small, steady salary because my mother could not find work. But it was not enough. For a time, my mom and I were essentially homeless. I was an accountant with a job, but without a secure place to sleep. I grew tired of constant instability. I wanted the chance to build a future.
▶ 0:46:05Ms. Cantarovici: So, with one backpack, $300, and no english, I came to the united states. Like many immigrants, my first job was in a restaurant. And I fell in love with the energy, the people, and the feeling that every day began again. A restaurant is much more than food. It is a collection of systems. As a former bank auditor, I understood systems, and in the restaurant business, I found a new way to use that strength.
▶ 0:46:38Ms. Cantarovici: I learned how to make empanadas from my mother, maria. Years later, I began making them in my home kitchen and selling them to friends. I took a class through an sba-supported program to learn how to write a business plan and turn an idea into a company. I borrowed $4000 and opened my first location. In that moment, I felt that perhaps the american dream was not only something I had heard about. Perhaps it could belong to me, too.
▶ 0:47:09Ms. Cantarovici: Then, I did what entrepreneurs are told to do, I went to the banks. 12 banks rejected me. I was considered “un-bankable.” one banker even joked, “we like lending money to people who do not need it.” it turns out that was not really a joke, that is the reality. Eventually, community lenders gave me a chance. Then came an sba loan, and later venture capital.
▶ 0:47:37Ms. Cantarovici: In 2017, I became only the 13th minority woman in the country, in history, to receive an investment of that size. Now, after years of pouring myself into maria empanada, we have expanded to seven locations, including the denver international airport, and employ over 65 people in colorado.
▶ 0:48:00Ms. Cantarovici: The business does much more than just providing food to people , we provide community, culture, and a place to connect. And my success has provided the privilege to talk to you today about the barriers that still exist for the many entrepreneurs that are hoping to walk down this path. The first is access to capital. Only one-half of one percent of venture capital goes to minority women. Being one of the few is an honor.
▶ 0:48:31Ms. Cantarovici: But remaining one of the few is a big problem. Another barrier is the current approach to immigration. Immigration is complex, difficult, and emotional. As a small business owner, I'll leave immigration policy to you all. But I do want to paint you a picture of how immigration policy affects businesses on the ground. Fear has entered everyday life for many people.
▶ 0:48:55Ms. Cantarovici: People are afraid to go out because of their skin color, their face, their accent, or because they may be mistaken for someone else. Guests stay home instead of dining out. Employees miss work or avoid applying for jobs. People make themselves smaller and communities shrink. This fear affects people regardless of their legal status. I am a new american, but I will always be an immigrant.
▶ 0:49:25Ms. Cantarovici: There is an advantage to seeing this country through immigrant eyes. Sometimes, you must come from somewhere else to appreciate how extraordinary this is. This country gave me the opportunity to become an entrepreneur. It gave me the opportunity to create something of my own, something for my community. But entrepreneurs do not only create companies. We create other entrepreneurs. Success is contagious.
▶ 0:49:51Ms. Cantarovici: Someone sees what we built and they begin thinking “maybe I can , do it too.” restaurants are struggling and they are a small piece of a much larger ecosystem that includes farmers, ranchers, drivers, builders, customers and many others. Restaurants are where people laugh, gather, and celebrate. We bring life and joy to neighborhoods and cities. I came to this country looking for better possibilities.
▶ 0:50:20Ms. Cantarovici: As an entrepreneur, this country gave them to me. I hope together we can create a future where other entrepreneurs can do the same. Thank you for listening to my story.
▶ 0:50:32Chair Young: Thank you, Ms. cantarovici, for telling your story. Mr. rigby, you are recognized for five minutes.
▶ 0:50:42Mr. Rigby: Chair young, ranking member market, distinguish members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. Thank you, senator curtis, for the gracious introduction. I like millions of farmers across america, our farm is more than a business, it is our livelihood, our legacy, and our hope for the next generation. Yogi berra famously observed, it is tough to make corrections especially about the future.
▶ 0:51:13Mr. Rigby: As this committee looks for the next two hundred 50 years of american small business, I believe family farms offer valuable lessons about what allows small businesses to endure. Everyone american agriculture to thrive for another 250 years, I believe congress should focus on three things. First, strength of the economic foundation of agricultural small business.
▶ 0:51:37Mr. Rigby: Between 2017 and 2022, united states lost nearly 142,000 farms but even as agricultural production increased. Family farms still represent 97 percent of america's farms and 91 percent of operated acreage. Many have grown larger because rising costs for land, equipment, labor, fuel, fertilizer, and compliance leave fewer alternatives. Most farm families also depend on income earned off the farm.
▶ 0:52:09Mr. Rigby: I recently smiled at a social media video that said I could never work a 9-to-5 job, I just love the flex of working my 100 hour workweek whenever I want. Farmers understand the joke as most of the day at another job before coming home to irrigate fields, feed livestock, repair equipment, and prepare for the next day. That is simply how families manage risks they cannot control. That is also why regulatory certainty matters.
▶ 0:52:40Mr. Rigby: Most family farms do not have attorneys or compliance specialists on staff. Congress and other agencies should eliminate these unnecessary regulations and make compliance requirements proportionate to the business is expected to meet them. A strong farm bill can also provide certain to through crop insurance, access to credit and tools, to manage difficult markets and weather. Utah farm urges the senate to advance the farm bill as quickly as possible.
▶ 0:53:11Mr. Rigby: Second, keep land capital opportunity within reach of the next generation. A young farmer may have the knowledge, equipment, work ethic, and desire to farm, yet still be unable to access land or capital. At the same time, families face significant challenges transitioning farms to the next generation because of land values, taxes, estate planning, and other ownership decisions. Policies should help keep productive farms in the hands of farming families.
▶ 0:53:43Mr. Rigby: For western agriculture, federal land management is also critical. Ranchers often combine private ranges with grazing permits blm and forest service lands. This generation's long partnership produces food while maintaining working landscapes and stewarding natural resources. This is by the utah far supports the bipartisan fix hour for us to act. We appreciate senator curtis' work on this legislation.
▶ 0:54:11Mr. Rigby: Active force management, hazardous fuel reduction, and faster reforestation can reduce these catastrophic wildfire risks and protect these agricultural businesses and rural economies that depend on healthy landscapes. Third, congress should recognize agriculture as a national asset. Agricultural security is national security.
▶ 0:54:36Mr. Rigby: Family farms support real economies, steward land and water, if you'd our population, and provide resilience to our food system. When drought, disease, extreme weather, or supply chain disruptions affect one reason -- region, agriculture helps to keep our food system strong. There is one contribution of family farms have no government can fully measure. Agriculture produces great kids.
▶ 0:55:01Mr. Rigby: Growing up on a farm teaches responsibility, accountability, resilience, humility, and teamwork. It teaches young people to work hard, solve problems, manage resources, and understand that their efforts affect something larger than themselves. Those lessons prepare young people not only to become good farmers, but good employees, entrepreneurs, neighbors, citizens, and leaders for the next 250 years. America needs family farms.
▶ 0:55:29Mr. Rigby: We need rural communities and a diverse, resilient food system, and many of the next generation to believe farming remains a viable way to make a living, a legacy worth carrying forward, and a future worth pursuing. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
▶ 0:55:43Chair Young: Thank you, Mr. rigby. Ms. high, you are recognized for five minutes.
▶ 0:55:49Ms. High: First and foremost, thank you for the opportunity to tell you about octavia's bookshelf and the incredible community of pasadena and altadena. By way of introduction my name , is nikki high and I live in altadena, and I own a small bookshop named octavia's bookshelf in honor of our home town legend octavia butler.
▶ 0:56:18Ms. High: As an early and eager reader, books have always been a part of my life. I often joke I can taste words as I read. I can chew on stories, and that hunger remains insatiable. A large part of why I opened the bookshop is that I wanted to share my love of reading with others and to connect on a deeper level with my community. I suspected that people wanted a space to celebrate storytelling, a place where they were reflected in stories, and a safe space to be curious.
▶ 0:56:49Ms. High: And I was right. Octavia's bookshelf opened in february 2020 three to a crowd of hundreds upon hundreds of people. We quickly became a fixture in pasadena and altadena. We partnered with local schools, we held book events, we hosted library and conferences and even birthday parties. We hosted panels on important community related topics, we hosted weekly writers groups and craft nights.
▶ 0:57:18Ms. High: Most recently, we served as the space where a regular customer proposed marriage to the love of his life. I am still swooning from that magic we witnessed, and of course, we rent so many books. As I quietly ushered in 20 25, I reflected on how I could further serve as community and reach pasadena come altadena, and beyond.
▶ 0:57:45Ms. High: Little did I know I would have the chance to connect in unimaginable ways. After evacuating on january 7, my husband and I drove back to our street the next morning to find it actively on fire. I drove a few blocks from my house to my bookshop and was relieved to discover that we were still standing and we had power and wi-fi access.
▶ 0:58:08Ms. High: I posted to instagram letting my customers know that the shop was still standing and encouraged neighbors and friends to come by, charge their phones, make some calls, and have a snack. We have so many people show up to get food and use our facilities. Soon after by many others came by for moderate and masks. Others showed up just to sit and try to process what was happening. Within hours, we had a mountain of donations.
▶ 0:58:37Ms. High: I clear the books from the shelves and stocked air mattresses, bedding, food, clothes, diapers, first aid kits, air purifiers, gift cards, and so much more. I invited our community to come in and get the resources they needed. Octavia's bookshelf became a mutual aid hub for five weeks. We remain in service to our community to this day.
▶ 0:59:02Ms. High: Absolutely none of this would have been possible without the generation that generosity from ordinary people. For context, running a small business is difficult. Running an independent bookstore as another layer of challenges and complexities. With a profit margin of 2% or 3%, every penny counts, and there is little room for error, let alone a tragedy of this magnitude. As a small business owner, I no longer plan for the future. I now plan by the month, and sometimes I plan by the day.
▶ 0:59:32Ms. High: Thousands of residents have yet to move back. Others are facing the reality that they may never come back as the cost to rebuild homes or find stable housing in the city is out of reach. For octavia's bookshelf, that means a sales are down by 34%. We are still finding ways to pivot to keep the doors open and the resources available for those in need. Small businesses are the very heart of the community. We can and do show up before boot to the ground. We show up at a moments notice, we fill in gaps.
▶ 1:00:03Ms. High: We hold space for the highs, the lows, and everything in between. On the bleakest of days, I'm asking myself, what miracles cannot perform, how will I make ends meet at home and at the shop? I know I'm not alone. Small business owners throughout the community are facing the same questions. What I know for sure is I will never stop trying. I know this community deserves to have their spaces where we feel seen, respected, and safe. We deserve to have the support of our elected officials, and we need that help now.
▶ 1:00:36Ms. High: I will end with the wise words
▶ 1:00:38Of Octavia E. Butler: So be it! See to it! Thank you.
▶ 1:00:44Chair Young: Thank, Ms. high. I'm sorry for the challenges of you and your neighbors but inspired by your resilience. Your presence means a lot to so many. Dr. malshe, we are turning to questions now. I'll begin with you, sir. In your written testimony, you described small businesses as the secret weapon of the space race, and you argue that they are essential to our national security and economic resilience.
▶ 1:01:13Chair Young: What barriers do small businesses face that large aerospace companies do not face?
▶ 1:01:20Dr. Malshe: Thank you, senator, for the question. Before I described just a bit, I would like to paint the picture of space. Space that we see in the hollywood movies or we see in the beautiful pictures can look very romantic, but space is a complicated territory. There is no homeland. Our assets as our homeland. Second, the space is also not very far.
▶ 1:01:49Dr. Malshe: International space station is about as far from here to new york. It is not that far. At the same time, our adversaries are very busy in space. It brings different opportunities, and even in physics. It's a great opportunity. Considering that, deep technologies, and I want to point out there is a financial space at deep tech.
▶ 1:02:15Dr. Malshe: It goes to ideation, invention, innovation, and implementation. It typically takes eight to 12 years for most ambitious plans on deep tech to go through that. There are three layers. The second layer is taking risks, inventing. At the same time, government invests in high risk technologies at the same time.
▶ 1:02:40Dr. Malshe: At the same time, small businesses, those are absolutely risk tolerant. They need high-speed capital to move their idea into a reality. I came to this country with $40 and a suitcase, and here I am. Why? Because I took a risk. An opportunity to take this risk is a risk by itself.
▶ 1:03:05Dr. Malshe: Small businesses do that more than ever from across the americas, from california to indiana, colorado, all the way across the nation. Especially in this space. Last but not least, science comes with a capital. Space is an expensive opportunity. Just like the industrial age where we built a bridge over the mississippi, now we are building a bridge beyond.
▶ 1:03:32Dr. Malshe: And for that, the traditional businesses, aerospace businesses have a capital, have an acquisition process that small businesses don't. They need to have acquisition as part of staying in the business, so they can transform the future. Thank you.
▶ 1:03:50Chair Young: Thank you. That is all quite helpful. Can you unpack may be briefly some of the attributes of small businesses that are larger -- that our larger enterprises cannot offer, that they struggle to provide at the very least? What are the perhaps unique value propositions of small businesses, as you have come to know, as a category?
▶ 1:04:18Dr. Malshe: Small businesses bring radical new ideas. Sometimes they called disruptive innovations or destructive innovations, depending on how you look at it. Years before google, microsoft, all of these companies, they disrupted the world. Here where we stand now at the juncture of 250 years, small businesses bring disruptive ideas. They truly challenge the status quo.
▶ 1:04:46Dr. Malshe: At the same time, these small businesses are very risk tolerant. Every day, they take risks, just like my fellow colleagues here. Every day we wake up and say, how can we do things differently? What is today's risk I'm going to address? And they are not shy to speak up, because they want to survive, thrive.
▶ 1:05:07Chair Young: So your second to last, recall what number it was, attribute, take big risks, take big swings, if you will. Economist, entrepreneurs often refer to the valley of death. You take a big risk.
▶ 1:05:27Chair Young: If you can get over the period of time when so many enterprises are capital-starved, when they are pursuing big dreams and solving hard problems, that is the key to survival and ultimately rapid growth. If you were to isolate one particular policy instrument that we could use, or just think of it from your perspective.
▶ 1:05:56Chair Young: Identify one hurdle that companies face in getting over that valley of death, what would you point to?
▶ 1:05:59Dr. Malshe: I would like to paint in front of you the message. They need risks tolerant capital with speed. This committee, I'm very grateful that you reauthorized sbir and sttr, and especially that they took us to the large-scale breakthrough opportunities, and those are very important.
▶ 1:06:26Dr. Malshe: That is one key piece of the policy, how you feel to the growth. Second, when they make a breakthrough technology work, they are looking for the business opportunity, making america's future acquisition small business centric is very important. It is an ecosystem of companies like intel, northrup, star lab which are our partners, but it is a handshake. That handshake is important.
▶ 1:06:53Dr. Malshe: Last but not least, us as americans, if we establish the standards of the future economy, it will follow those standards, or else we will be following the standards of our adversary countries. Establishing commerce is very important. Thank you.
▶ 1:07:11Chair Young: Senator hickenlooper, you are recognized for questions, sir.
▶ 1:07:19Sen. Hickenlooper: Thank you, Mr. chair. I will start with loraine up because you have come all this way. You and I both know how hard it is to raise capital to start a business. Also you got turned on by a dozen banks, something like that. I think I got turned down by even more than that. Worse, I got turned on by my own mother trying to raise the money.
▶ 1:07:43Sen. Hickenlooper: I think born immigrant it must be much more difficult because you don't have that friend and neighbor network built in like most people that are raised in the city where they are trying to start the business, they begin with that foundation. How do you look at that in terms of, how would you advise of there would be small business owners who are immigrants, to find that early capital? Did you learn any tricks?
▶ 1:08:11Ms. Cantarovici: My tricks are that you need to be creative, you need to have the time also to be out and talk to people, make sure that your plan is serious, not just a dream. We visionaries, entrepreneurs, can be dreamers, too, in a way. Be serious, create a small business plan. There are lots of opportunities and support in the cities.
▶ 1:08:41Ms. Cantarovici: Once you have a big plan, business plan that you can support your idea, that is when you start talking and communicating that. Like you are saying, it is difficult, because those segments are very vulnerable. You don't have those connections come you don't have your mom that can give you the money.
▶ 1:09:05Ms. Cantarovici: You need to go and make sure that your dream is very substantial, and you can make it happen, and that means a very good business offer for the community.
▶ 1:09:14Sen. Hickenlooper: Once you got going, demonstrating a good opportunity for the community, describe how some of the sba programs were useful.
▶ 1:09:23Ms. Cantarovici: I did a program for sba, sbdc, small business development center, that helps you to build a plan. It was actually my savior because that gave me the map of how to build my business. Then of course, I went to community lenders.
▶ 1:09:50Ms. Cantarovici: Initially, I went to banks and was rejected, so I found out there are community lenders. It was kind of a new vocabulary for me. These community lenders support you with some kind of funds. But then I understand there is a gap. Everything is right there.
▶ 1:10:12Ms. Cantarovici: If you want to grow, expand, if you want to hire more, create more jobs, investment equipment, take opportunities, then you know what else is the next step. The sba does not have the history on you, so there is a time that gets completely stable, and you don't know how to proceed from that.
▶ 1:10:43Ms. Cantarovici: What happened with the small business, it keeps you frozen for a little bit. You are still having all of the desire and opportunities, but it keeps you frozen for a while, until you get the time and history to get a loan with an sba guarantee.
▶ 1:11:03Sen. Hickenlooper: Once you get one, you can get another. Mr. rigby, I wanted to ask you, because we have heard a lot about colorado, the challenges of getting good prices for what you raise. At least for a lot of the exports coming out of colorado, the issue is the international tariffs, and some of the response or that has reduced what they can get for commodities.
▶ 1:11:34Sen. Hickenlooper: At the same time, there is more cost for diesel, fertilizer, all of those things. The people around you and your self as well, how are you navigating that situation?
▶ 1:11:46Mr. Rigby: I appreciate you bringing it up, it is difficult to navigate, good word. To navigate. We use a phrase in agriculture a lot, we are price takers. We very seldom are able to set our own prices for what we sell. For example, I get a text when we are here today, about 1000 gallons of diesel delivered to my farm. That is $4600 for that diesel.
▶ 1:12:16Mr. Rigby: I cannot pass that on, I have to absorb that just as part of my operations. That goes with everything. Anytime we disrupt that economy by whatever means, it creates uncertainty in the market, puts pressure on commodity prices, and it is difficult for those farmers.
▶ 1:12:42Mr. Rigby: There is no certainty due to those external forces, just as a producer, that I have no control over.
▶ 1:12:48Sen. Hickenlooper: The greatest entrepreneurs in the world I think are our farmers and ranchers. Thank you all. Appreciate you all being here.
▶ 1:13:00Sen. Curtis: I will turn to myself for questions. Mr. rigby, two things you said in her testimony. One I have a comment on the other is a question. You talked about how you were developing character in youth. I will tell you as a previous small business owner myself, if anyone ever walked in my door and said they grew up on a farm in utah or idaho, we hired them, no questions asked. They are hard workers, discipline, problem solvers. I would totally agree with you.
▶ 1:13:28Sen. Curtis: You also alluded to the fact that you don't have a roomful of lawyers and attorneys to help navigate these regulations. I want to focus on that for a minute. Particularly as it relates to the move for consolidation in farms and ranches. If you think about the high cost from colorado, the revelatory burden, what role is that playing towards consolidation, and how do we here in washington hope you push back on that?
▶ 1:13:55Mr. Rigby: Appreciate the question. Anytime we can reduce regulatory burden on farmers and producers, simplifying those programs instead of adding on to regulations, it is a tremendous help. As a farmer, I have lots of has that I get to wear every day. I'm a business owner, I have to look at my finances, manage those.
▶ 1:14:27Mr. Rigby: I am constantly thinking about my cash flow. I may have lots of assets but I have no cash in c1 -- no cash in the bank, just ask my banker.
▶ 1:14:43Mr. Rigby: Anytime we can provide opportunities to incentivize so I can add value to crops I grow on my farm that increases the revenue that comes into my farm, any of those programs are a benefit when we can incentivize lowering of interest rates because that is one of the challenges in agriculture is access to capital and credit because a beginning farmer goes
▶ 1:15:13Mr. Rigby: To start out and the challenge they have is just like we talked about. They don't have decades of experience and a bank and a balance sheet to show they are a good risk. Any of those programs are tremendous help for producers.
▶ 1:15:33Sen. Curtis: Thank you. You mentioned diesel fuel and I expect that is an investment you made that will pay off in the next week or month. No doubt you're making investments that don't pay off for years.
▶ 1:15:49Sen. Curtis: I'm curious as we reflect on tax policy here, the way it impacts small businesses, given your, limited cash flow and margins talk to us about tax policy and how it influences you good and bad.
▶ 1:16:04Mr. Rigby: We appreciate the working families tax cut act, is helpful for production agriculture. Having that certainty to know that as a producer, I have that permanent $15 million per spouse, per individual exemption from the estate tax, is really important so I can plan and have some certainty.
▶ 1:16:37Mr. Rigby: Because the biggest asset that I have is the land, as a producer. I need that certainty as I plan. Some of the other provisions as part of that are a help to us. Any little bit to reduce the tax burden and incentivize reinvestment in my farm is a great help.
▶ 1:17:00Sen. Curtis: Does state the obvious, if upon your death your heirs had to pay taxes before they could operate the farm it would not go to a sixth generation, is that a fair statement?
▶ 1:17:11Mr. Rigby: It is a fair statement. I was lucky enough to farm with my grandfather and my father. My father passed away a few years ago. If he had died a few years previous, we would've had a difficult time maintaining our farm, if we would have hidden that scary window.
▶ 1:17:37Sen. Curtis: I would like to ask all of you to give me a quick answer, a sense of how our tax policy and regulatory policy impact you are hiring and finance decisions. Ms. high, we will start with you.
▶ 1:17:52Ms. High: Thank you for that question. So much is dependent on our ability to have cash flow, similar to Mr. rigby. So any break we get from a tax perspective helps to offset the costs that are built in. Some of that our credit card servicing fees, and the other set fees.
▶ 1:18:21Ms. High: Having a tax policy that benefits us allows us to continue to higher in the community and do more outreach and advocacy programs.
▶ 1:18:31Sen. Curtis: Thank you, Mr. malshe.
▶ 1:18:35Dr. Malshe: Thank you. The two areas it could help immensely, any dollars are going to deep product development or surge. If there could be a policy that is not taxed or taxed at a lower rate. Research converts money into knowledge and if you tax the knowledge, how do you create the project? The research credits would be helpful.
▶ 1:19:06Dr. Malshe: The second, investment tax credits. Investment that is done in the small businesses. If you can give tax credits to that, it will increase in the businesses. >> we are rotating to get back. >> this is very poor form I the senator from indiana. I didn't realize we were in the midst of an exchange here.
▶ 1:19:36Dr. Malshe: I apologize to my colleague into you. -- and to you. Please go ahead.
▶ 1:19:42Ms. High: I think we need to see everything blow up. I'm not an expert in taxes, thank god. I'm taking my pnl's and paying attention to the numbers. It is very important everything evolves, and see how the rest of the proportions are equal to what we are paying.
▶ 1:20:14Ms. High: As a small business company, I want to pay taxes. That means I'm alive. I want to create jobs, pay taxes unemployment also. That is part of the business. It is important we make sure everything grows in the same way. So if I'm going to sell, and if the economy is good, we want to pay the right taxes. If the economy is no good, we need help to survive.
▶ 1:20:45Ms. High: I don't want to be in survival mode. >> I think the chair has made it clear I'm out of time. I will simply end by saying we wish all members of the senate could have been small business owners. I think we would make a lot that are decisions. Thank you all for your hard work and commitment. >> I thank my good colleague from utah for filling in as chair and for your important work on this committee.
▶ 1:21:16Ms. High: I appreciate it. Ms. cantarovici, you spoke to your access to capital challenges early in your journey. You approached multiple banks, you alluded to a very common challenge for business creators, job creators like yourself, which is, banks want to give you money when you don't need it.
▶ 1:21:45Ms. High: They are often times not there when you do need it. You found a bank that was prepared to invest in you and your vision, which is great. Then venture capital and here you are. Now, access to capital is an important part of the journey, but I also hear entrepreneurs say regulatory hurdles, permitting delays, compliance costs, as barriers to expansion.
▶ 1:22:17Ms. High: Aside from financing, what regulatory, permitting or compliance challenges made it difficult to grow your business and are there any reforms those of us here in congress should consider?
▶ 1:22:26Ms. Cantarovici: Yes, thank you for the question. Let me tell you this. There are this moment colleagues that do not want to open restaurants. They are waiting, they want to understand. They passed for a long time of permitting that took forever and those types of problems are money that comes from us.
▶ 1:22:55Ms. Cantarovici: The rent you need to pay, or services or whatever it is. So to pay attention to all the rules, regulations and see something that is very old and give an update.
▶ 1:23:20Ms. Cantarovici: The government wants the business open, so there need to be tools for that, a strategy you can do more systematic, so we can open those businesses, because that is the way we will start the engine of the economy.
▶ 1:23:40Ms. Cantarovici: We did have a business that took probably 12 months just to open, and that was hurting the company and that is a loss we cannot recuperate. I think observing the rules and regulations is a very important thing you can do to support speeding up those processes.
▶ 1:24:04Chair Young: I think this committee in particular needs to be sensitive to those challenges, really on a case-by-case basis. The small business administration is equipped with certain functions to look at other agencies within the very large federal government, and advocate on behalf of small businesses when there are regulatory friction points that prevent deployment of capital -- serving customers, we need to be
▶ 1:24:35Chair Young: Attentive to that. Thank you so much, a good reminder. Senator hickenlooper, would you like to be recognized? Senator schiff, you are now recognized.
▶ 1:24:52Sen. Schiff: Thank you for yielding. Ms. high, thank you for coming to testify. Can I ask you what it is like operating in the wake of a disaster? A lot of the focus on natural disasters is how do we rebuild people's homes and do that more swiftly or effectively. Sometimes there isn't as much thought given to, how do we rebuild small businesses.
▶ 1:25:20Sen. Schiff: But until the businesses come back, the community has not come back. In a circumstance like yours where your business, thankfully remains standing, but your customers were gone, many of them, what kind of assistance have you been able to avail yourself of? Have you been able to get any assistance at all from sba or otherwise? And what should we know and take away from your experience?
▶ 1:25:48Ms. High: Thank you for that question. I can say that immediately after the fires, sba set up in the recovery center. So it was accessible to everyone.
▶ 1:26:04Ms. High: I will say that when you are in the midst of dealing with a fire that is currently burning, you have no place to go, and trying to support your community, it is not, at least for me, not easy to go to the sba recovery center, even though I knew where it was, I knew where they were located. I just did not have the time or resources.
▶ 1:26:32Ms. High: Trying to manage the shop and managed repairs on my home, figuring out the day to day. I don't know what that looks like in practice, but it would have been neat, if similar to fema, who had teams come by with standing structures to say what do you need, it would be nice to have maybe a committee from sba that reaches out directly to the business, and explain the
▶ 1:27:05Ms. High: Process in a way that does not feel so monumental. That is another thing. When you go to ask for help and assuming these are processes that are pretty intense, and I'm not able to prioritize the time to do that.
▶ 1:27:22Sen. Schiff: You were certainly there for the community. You talked about upon your opening the vast numbers of people that turned out. People that came by for necessities during and after the fires. Has the community rallied to help, given your business has really suffered?
▶ 1:27:44Ms. High: In more ways than I expected. I'm very transparent with the community. I tell them, we are in trouble, things are not looking great, and they rally all the time. In my community I'm used to being the giver of things. I really like that positionality.
▶ 1:28:14Ms. High: Over the last 18 months I have had to learn how to receive from my community. It has been an incredibly difficult and humbling lesson. I could not function today, would not be open, if it were not for the generosity of our community. So yes, they have rallied behind me time and time again.
▶ 1:28:37Ms. High: I think what is sometimes frustrating is, it is a systemic issue, not something we can fund raise ourselves out of. There are issues with the possibility of media mail going away, which would limit my ability to ship books. It looks like publishers raising prices so if a hardback book is $37, $38, it becomes a real luxury to everyday americans.
▶ 1:29:07Ms. High: There are systemic issues that make it difficult, but I would not have made it this far at all without the generosity of the people around me that want to see me here.
▶ 1:29:15Sen. Schiff: That is wonderful to hear the community has rallied. You have many years of experience, 15 or 20 years with a big company, trader joe's. What is it like going from a big company to having your own business?
▶ 1:29:31Ms. High: I worked in the corporate office at trader joe's and although it is a business, one of their core values is no bureaucracy. It is a company that, they proudly have crewmembers that have been there for decades upon decades. I was a baby compared to some of the folks in the cubicle next to me that had been there for 40, 50 years.
▶ 1:30:03Ms. High: That sense of community and knowing I had them made me a little nervous to branch out on my own. It was pretty lonely leaving a department and office that felt a lot more like family. I watched their kids grow up, they watched my kid grow up.
▶ 1:30:25Ms. High: To leave that level of support and certainty has been tough, but I'm proud to say that so many of my former coworkers shop at my store today, and they visit and check in on me. The transition hasn't been too bad.
▶ 1:30:43Sen. Schiff: Thank you very much. To all of you, congratulations on all your success. Congratulations on having the courage to take up the challenging task of having your own business, being your own boss. My father went from a large company to having his own small business and used to say when he became a sole proprietor he had the best boss. I'm sure you can relate. [laughter]
▶ 1:31:13Chair Young: Senator husted, you are now recognized.
▶ 1:31:20Sen. Husted: Thank you for making the trip. I have been involved in economic development issues my whole life and keenly focused on what it takes to create a great environment where businesses can prosper. I grew up in a state in ohio. At the time I was graduating high school.
▶ 1:31:47Sen. Husted: A state that had run on legacy industries, it had modernized, it was expensive, highly regulatory in its nature and businesses were closing and leaving, families leaving our state because taxes were too high, regulations were too cumbersome and we had not modernized.
▶ 1:32:14Sen. Husted: I know I was part of an effort we took on an ohio to change that. We cut taxes -- we did tax reform. The top rate used to be 2.5% and is now 2.75%.
▶ 1:32:34Sen. Husted: We worked in workers comp, tort reform, eliminated the death tax which I knows harms small businesses when you try to keep them in the family, particularly the ag community or anything with capital, land intensive and -- in this century alone, from the 34th worst state in the country and now we have new businesses forming, new
▶ 1:33:05Sen. Husted: Businesses growing, moving to ohio, 3000 manufacturing jobs. In the last 12 months alone more jobs than we ever had in the history of our state and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the history of our state. Some of the big announced deals coming to our state and the aerospace industry, chips industry, you name it.
▶ 1:33:28Sen. Husted: As we celebrate america 250, one of the lessons I learned is, when government gets out of the way, businesses do better than when government tries to micromanage, when government tries to regulate outcomes, when government tries to make it more expensive to run a business because many states we used to lose to, now those are high tax states, high regulatory states and they have companies moving to ohio so we tried to continue
▶ 1:34:00Sen. Husted: That in the working family tax-cut plan which not only helps small businesses but also it helped working families by giving them fewer -- lower taxes. The average family of four -- they will see a net 6000 dollar tax benefit. What works great is that businesses thrive, workers thrive and we move forward.
▶ 1:34:31Sen. Husted: I'm interested, Dr. malshe, I talked a little about the things happening and I know, I believe you are from indiana, is that correct? Indiana state, it is doing pretty well too.
▶ 1:34:51Sen. Husted: A lot of good things happening in indiana and I'm curious, I look at the data on industrial production in the U.S., 3000 manufacturing jobs, you operate a capital-intensive business, how does the working family tax-cut plan help you?
▶ 1:35:09Dr. Malshe: Thank you for asking and I would like to acknowledge I'm from the great state of indiana, great capital but historically I came from ohio state, buckeyes.
▶ 1:35:25Sen. Husted: You got two good pedigrees there.
▶ 1:35:30Dr. Malshe: I do. But I would like to highlight something to your question that deep technology businesses, and I know indiana is growing in aerospace, chips, same thing ohio.
▶ 1:35:44Dr. Malshe: Many times people all may believe -- the supply chains that aerospace goes through, that is the least spoken reality that indiana, ohio, illinois, all of these are the crossroads of america, supply chains and supply chain controls manufacturing.
▶ 1:36:12Dr. Malshe: At the same time, when you do a deep dig research, ohio state and purdue have great programs. You do the deep research, you're producing an opportunity for the next 250 years to create new commerce that never existed.
▶ 1:36:37Dr. Malshe: How to go to space and manufacturer electronics, semiconductors and star labs in other leases and send back the products or defend from space and this is a new commerce. Your taxing the future if you tax the research it takes the future to build on the second, investment tax creditors are important and increased the influx of investments.
▶ 1:37:11Dr. Malshe: Truly I have experienced of this for and I would urge for this community to consider for america's next 250 years we have the foundations like carnegie and google. Fink you for asking that question.
▶ 1:37:30Sen. Husted: Thank you Mr. chair, I know my time is up but we have ohio's number one airbus, we have that, but what we lost is a lot of the talent over the years as we offshore did they knew factoring in a lot of areas so not only do we have to get businesses back, we have to grow talent and invest in modern machinery and equipment technology to get the productivity took continue to produce products in an affordable way so we don't have
▶ 1:38:03Sen. Husted: Inflationary pressure and have to rely on cheap labor to other countries. Thank you.
▶ 1:38:08Chair Young: Thank you, senator husted. Communicate to our witnesses we will be wrapping shortly but I would be remiss as the senator from the great state of indiana where we have 50,000 farms and a robust agricultural sector if I did not ask a question or two of Mr. rigby. Mr. rigby, what do you see is the single greatest threat to the long-term viability of family farms and agricultural small businesses.
▶ 1:38:38Chair Young: If you had isolated. >> I mentioned earlier to senator curtis that access for growth, we talk about in the capital to fuel that growth, farms and continuing that legacy .
▶ 1:39:05Chair Young: We talked about economy of scale and the combine cut will cost me a million dollars whether I cut 1000 acres or 5000 acres. To access that capital to move forward and access the technology.
▶ 1:39:33Chair Young: A couple things I alluded to I need help in the decisions I make because I wear a lot of hats and if I can have some technology I thinkin modernizing technology I thinkin modernizin7 technology I thinkin modernizin- technology I thinkin modernizina technology I thinkin modernizins and putting flexibility into those with your, I think you
▶ 1:40:05Chair Young: Called of the small business technological act?
▶ 1:40:06Chair Young: That is right, that is the purpose of it. >> and using it -- Mr. rigby: and using it for technology to access something I'm not currently able to use and add one more tool to the many tools I have come fill my toolbox.
▶ 1:40:27Chair Young: I'm glad that would be helpful to you or similarly situated producers. What we have in mind, recently visited a drone operation in the field. I know increasingly those are essential tools for our producers. Gps guided equipment, I know that has been important for a number of years now you have to keep investing and reinvesting in that technology and the latest updates.
▶ 1:40:57Chair Young: Ai solutions, precision agriculture, it takes capital to purchase these things, to run a modern arm productively and get productivity that is essential to family farm operations. Did I list all the major technologies or would you like to add anything to the list that this small business technological advancement act might assist in financing?
▶ 1:41:25Mr. Rigby: I think that is a good start to the technologies but we shouldn't limit it. We need to allow that flexibility because as my new friend Dr. malshe, we sat here and talked about before we began today that we haven't thought of some of the things we need yet so allowing some flexibility in those programs is a great tool and program that we appreciate
▶ 1:41:56Mr. Rigby: Your help with.
▶ 1:41:56Chair Young: Thank you and we will keep that in mind on that initiative and on others. We are now coming to a close. Again I want to thank our witnesses for being with us today. I ask unanimous consent that the record of today's hearing remain open for two weeks for members to submit questions, revise and extend the remarks and submit additional information into the record. Without objection, so ordered.
▶ 1:42:26Chair Young: With that the committee on small business and entrepreneurship stands adjourned. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap.org]