The committee in a manner that respects the rights of all members to participate. We require members to be visible through a connection throughout the proceedings, so please keep your cameras on and if you have to participate in another proceeding please access this one and then log back on later. In the event we encounter ttechnical issues i will move to the next available member of the same party and recognize that member at the next appropriate timeslots provided they have returned to the proceedings. Should the time be encrypted by technical issues i will recognize that member of the next appropriate spot for the remainder of their time. I will preserve their time has staff address is a technical issue. I may need time to provide this time to reconnect and hopefully we dont have any of those issues. Member to remain on you until you are recognized to minimize that counts the ways and in accordance with the rules under 965, staff have been advised only in the event is an inadvertent background noise. Should a memberac they wished to be recognized at a most un mute themselves and seek recognition at the appropriate time. Before we get started here i want to start by recognizing my community and across the state during the pandemic we got hit in this district which was insentially a category four hurricane style when that came through large parts of my district. I know the city of cedar rapids and the surrounding areas have been through a lot all of lynn county and surrounding counties as well with. We talk about the economic recovery as they go through the reandemic and how to get things going addressing the right challenges here and on top of it now we have a whole new host of challenges we are dealing with and one of our witnesses i spoke to this morning told me we are iowans can we get through this but its still going to be tough and they are grateful to have jeremy and chat with us to have the discussion you had been through a lot. I know obviously we all are going through this pandemic. Weve had 69,000 folks that have tested positive and weve lost over 1,109 when and we know theres still a long way to go here but they need to make sure we are doing everythinge we ca. I know this has caused a hardship for the businesses due to the downturn in our economy then and found 7. 5 million Small Businesses at risk of closure the recession had a disproportionate effect on america to it out of every three much like the rest of the country iowans took a big risk and it paid off creating 7,000 new jobs in this didnt just happen in iowa it h up and acros the country in 2017. American Small Businesses created 8. 4 million new jobs across the country but not every Community Bounced back into there are still places that have never been able to bring back the jobs and opportunities that they lost. We need to make sure that no businesses and communities were left behind and they introduced the act that would create a new office to help smallBusiness Owners to be successful in the long term which is what we need to continue to be thinking aboul as well. I know all of my colleagues here today have been working hard to come up with ideas and solutions to get the economy back on track and for that im thankful they get to be on the committee with you all the info they need to move forward and with this pandemic is meant forea their business. I look forward to hearing from the policy experts about how they can be a catalyst across the country and how theres an opportunity here if we do this right moving through the pandemic to make sure whether its broadband and create those opportunities as folks are looking at bigger cities right now wanting to move back home. To make sure that there is a place to go i want to say thank you for joining us. Its been great to get to work with you over the last year and a half and happy to have you here today and would love to pass it over to you. I think you have it on mute. , thank you, chairwoman for your leadership. I send greetings from my district. We will hold a memorial of the flight 93 tragedy that occurred on 9 11. Echoing the sentiment fromng my district, tomorrow will be a somber day and yet we are always to continue. In this agriculture, trade and entrepreneurship we have discussed the importance of Economic Development only underscored the importance of these Small Businesses. While there iwhile there is lita that is available on the number of Small Businesses fight fight fight in the united states, we know particularly if this subcommittee for Small Businesses are a critical component of the Global Economy which makes them a focal point of many Economic Development efforts. They do differ. It to be profitable longterm and more successful and additionally they tend to be smaller in size, smaller in revenue and smaller in growth opportunities. Fewer methods to Access Capital with limited cost to increase childcare expenses and workforce shortages. We know small towns and communities s struggle with thee issues each and every day. The coronavirus pandemic has continued to bring these to the forefront of the nations attention. 46 million americans live in the rural areas in the regions to respond to the pandemic slowdown in aggregate demand is and expected further slowdown in trade and Global Demand might continue to negatively impact of the rural economies and due to these factors we must be proactive helping americas mainstream as this issue has yet to receive a resolution we ever attended in realtime to destructive lack of access to healthcare, tele health and broadband specifically the question is no longer what is the issue but rather what can we do. In partnership with private and Nonprofit Organizations we can increase access to these lifesaving resources in order to create equitable opportunities for rural Small Businesses. The hill released an article with the dynamic of americans for moving in ways to suburban and rural areas. Some included the pandemic social unrest. What an impact this would have on the communities as our aonomics continue to recover and the pandemic continues to slow. Now when we see the migration to cities to the rural and suburban communities we must not only talk about the strain on the resources, but they must learn how to leverage the resources so we can retain those and foster the opportunities from further growth and development. For these pressing issues im proud to work with you on this committee where we host with essays on the wealth of knowledge on these specifics and come and come up with Bipartisan Solutions for all of the nations will communities. It is imperative that we learn from those who know what its like to steer a Small Business through a pandemic. I look forward to hearing the testimony of the Witnesses Today and to the continued partnerships and bipartisan nature of then subcommittee. Thank you madam chairwoman, and i was back. Thank you if you get if Committee Members have an Opening Statement prepared, we would ask the babies did it for the record. I would like to take a minute to explain the timing rule. Each with its gets five minutes to testify in each minute debate commanderits for questioning. You can kind of see it on the screen where it says five minutes. The green light will be on when you begin and then the yellow light comes on when you have one minute remaining. The red light comes on when you were out of time if we ask you stay in the timeframe for the te best of your ability and i hope everyone can see the timer right there. Now i would like to introduce the witnesses. The first witness is the director of a Nonprofit Organization that offers day care and afterschool care to inspire, nurture and provide a safe and Inclusive Learning environment for all children. He holds a ba inin education frm Buena Vista University and household possessions as a has held positions as a kindergarten and a special Education Teacher and also worked in the Health Care Center as well. Youve done a lot, and youve done it all in grenoble and we are grateful to have you here so welcome. And then the second witness mr. Pendleton is the Vice President at kettle ten rv that began as a business on the family farm f in 1962. The business opened a storefront in merrin mary in iowa and staro Surface Department and eventually a salesnt department and we are happy to havee you here. Its great to chat with you and really interested to hear how you are hanging in there with the pin them back. Then the third witness, the ogional economist and head of the Innovation Network epicenter s innovation in parkland vermont. He started in this line of work when his hometown of wilmington ohio coming and i know we have another with us today as well. Later served as the executive director of the chamber of commerce. He holds a phd in i regional economics from Ohio State University and then the department of agriculture. I would like to yield to the Ranking Member can introduce the final witness the. A company in bellsouth and a tiger that revitalizes the small towns and helps the small town entrepreneurs across the count country. Jason is a fourthgeneration family of entrepreneurs and grew up with firsthand knowledge of how entrepreneurship financial practices and hard work can bring great success. After graduating from the university a bachelor of science into the administrations, he founded Community Storage and properties, a local Self Storage Company that allowed them to redevelopment and he then founded in Outdoor Media Company Office in over 400 billboards in ohio and indiana. In seven years jason and his business has helped revitalize the city and renovate more than 30no Historic Buildings that hae been sitting empty for decades recording tenets for 14 business concepts. This created 18 departments with a crucial president ial component back to the citys downtown. Theyve got a smalltown main street back to life. Hes a member ohe is a member ol Business Council for the chamber of commerce and the entropy or Counseling Service on the board of trustees of the northern university. My sister is also an alum of the university. We welcome you to thehi subcommittee today. Thank you very much. I now recognize you for five minutes i settled in the grinnell area. I was in middle school and Kindergarten Teacher and after that i went to the Medical Center where i held several roles in there organization for emergency preparedness, safety security, commander for the events that had occurred and we also had a program that may be changed to the nonprofit that was dreamed up on may 30 of 2019. We knew that there was a huge demand in rural iowa as well so we had a study that had been done four years ago to identify that there were 500 children that doesnt giv debate coded io the designated home and basically the need and demand for care so i decided to leave the hospital what we ended up giving his work very hard to inspire, nurture and keep children engaged so we are basically a cradle to career programs so we look for ways to enrich and provide services to children of all ages. We started with Afterschool Programs so about a year ago we opened backdoors andoo started providing care and please all but that was a huge commit and all of a sudden in march, i know that the Search Capacity need the staff to be focused and engaged with sony pivoted from an Afterschool Program to providing care for children of essential workers and we send out surveys have identified that there were 98 families and thert 163 children identified and there would be 86 children. We needed to have capacity to. We created a survey has an entrance and a set and a dedicated staff so i talked to the state of iowa and got a memorandum of agreement with the different for subsidies in order to contract or expand we ended up seeing 37 if they were all from this longterm care facility so they are hit hard and we are taking care of them and the hospital staff as well. We also continue that all three to june 1 so we did a Summer Program now with 76 and we ended up into different facilities to allow us to utilize the [inaudible] all along we have been making sure we are disinfecting and use ppe to make this function appropriately. We did field trips and other things creative and unique in order for that to happen and then grinnell lost power for more than 12 and we didnt have childcare during that time because of the lack of power and defendr the demands as here got pushed back to a week filled that gap and get afterschool care tuesday, wednesday [inaudible] hearing more during this hearing as well and now we will go to mr. Kettle ten recognized for five minutes. Thank you, chairwoman and Ranking Members and distinguished members of the committee. Im the Vice President of a family owned custom rv. Orha dealership was founded in 1962 and they employ about 60 people. We sell new and used trail david cook travetray ofdavid cook tra, homes and property surface to customers. Its our familys life work to amallow people to that debate to enjoy the Great Outdoors. They are coming back from an economic shock of the pandemic and we made progress but challenges remain. Among the top concerns are keeping the customers and employees safe. Inventory shortages per supplychain issues. We are fortunate that we do not need to completely close our business but that isnt the case in other states. Dealerships were open for arvice only and to transact by web into something they open at also be Outdoor Recreational round table associations allowed them to remain open to serve the traveling public. If quick succession of states stayathome orders left some travelers stranded on the road and some had to leave public and private campgrounds due to the state closures in the meantime if they had to travel back home to the state it remained open. Oin the early days of the pandemic medical personnel, Law Enforcement and the criticalll utility workers and iowa workers at the des moines iowa rb waterworks for temporary housi housing. As the chief of small springville iowa, ive seen this firsthand and experienced it and it is in our communities plan. With a Dealer Survey conducted issues 26 said the service was down 75 or more and compared to the level of business prior to the pandemic. Another set of fixed obligations business. Fullstop 50 to 74 . 44 of dealers responded said that the sales volume was down 75 compared with pandemic levels and 21 said they were down 50 to 75 . With almost no revenue coming in, many were forced to furlough or lay off including ourselves. Because of the crushing job losses throughout the country, this wont Business Administration Loan Initiative offered for business for Small Businesses. At the time of the survey, 92 of dealers responded and said they either had or planned to apply for the loan. Why awhile my dealership didnty for the program its been important to many of dealers across the country. Since those uncertain days, americans have made it clear this increase of business and enthusiasm towards thein Great Outdoors but this is an industry that can help the nation during times likee this. We are now faced with supplychain issues with our inventory is down. It is extremely important with the pandemic with an increase that dealerships across the country. In our conversations they are trying to reconnect with their families and trying to spend time together as a family unit they are told to get outside and recreate responsibly and nature heals body and mind thank you for your support of Small Businesses like mine to millions of americans enjoy the Great Outdoors. We appreciate it and in a fewin minutes so thank you also i would now like to recognize your recognized for five minutes. On the regional economist with training spending nearly a decade with Economic Development efforts even before the pandemic as recently as february 2020 more than 1200 Rural Counties had not recovered all the jobsec lost. So the traditional approach has not delivered Economic Prosperity on its own. Addressing the immediate economic issue it is critical that not enough restoring america to the original trajectory most communities will continue to lag behind. Rural America Needs a new economic model. Driving that gap has been the growth of the Digital Economy from 2002, sorry 2002 and 2016 those shares of Digital Skills quadrupled in one of the fastest job growth rates and role america is home to 5 percent of the workers even though it accounts for the total us workforce and that for Rural Communities and with those Tech Startups to create digital jobs and those that require a different model just like the metric counterpart they need access to capital that these Advisor Networks incubator programs and a trained Digital Workforce to drop line. There is a need for economic models in Rural Communities. As the head of the network i have the pleasure of working with 18 Rural Communities in 17 w states and like redwing minnesota and colorado, maine, colorado, maine, and that it is already reporting success in this network. Each community has received Technical Assistance with a strategy to have a cooperative agreement to support communities with digital Economic Strategies to provide aassistance to build scale program. Last year those that had a grant to expand the Digital Economy even though not every community the Technical Assistance they receive overrides them with a strategy and the foundation that they continue to grow the Digital Economy those that help rural entrepreneurship that Innovation Research program has a strong track record to spur job creation throughd innovation it should offer a critical source of capital just 3 percent has been made to Rural Communities to build a scale illustrate two key insights and then first there should be more programs and then to accelerate the development and role communities. And without Technical Assistance programs aimed at supporting those that where they except on exist. With the longterm effects one thing we know for sure role america cannot wait for the nextxt recession. With the age of the internet with that can take place. Talk about red weighing minnesota speaking of Outdoor Activities we look forward to asking you some questions. Now thank you for the Service Members of the subcommittee. s and with the town of 13000 people those northwest of columbus 25 miles from the nearest interstate and one hour from the closest metropolitan area. Its like a Courthouse Community with a strong commitment to agriculture and tourism and manufacturing we are rural. Depend on the vibrancy to generate taxes. White in opiate abuse plagues the crime in our town and im a team and i developed a vision and a plan and then to reduce unemployment with people and places. With hair salons airbnb another health and wellness studio another professional office and services. With that innovative businessat community. And those like the Small Business entrepreneurship counsel and Historic Preservation and resources and grants with the Small Business administration. Covid19 has a new set of challenges for businesses as they strive toward recovery. Two. 1 million businesses could close that was based just on the first four months of the pandemic. The disruption has a new Business Opportunities to play an Important Role to win against the multinational competitorss using the creativity in ways they prepare and deliver food and using technology and video in ways we never thought possible. And then and with that ppe businesses of all sizes are willing to serve they are all essential. At the heart of all this people who listen and solve problems and create solutions and get paid for those recent survey shows 92 percent of us Small Businesses have reinvented themselves during the pandemic there is no quit in the Small Business owner lets Work Together to expand programs to support their Financial Resilience that ppe program provided muchneeded relief these micro businesses will sustain and grow and expand our businesses. And with low Interest Rates and in Payment Terms they can incentivize and leverage the success of equity and crowdfunding and then to accelerate recovery. Now more thane ever to speed and affordability to everyone the nate next great business idea can happen on a family farm with the independent retail store to with that ecosystem we must continue to support business organizations and nonprofits to bring t entrepreneurs together like the Small Business entrepreneurship counsel the chamber andma sba. In closing thank you for the opportunity to testify today we need to find ways to own and define what it means to be salt and nimble and able to respond fast in the small towns and neighborhoods everywhere the not only keep the economy but the spirit of the country o alive and prospering the food we eat the measure of good service and the technology of thend future share knowledge and bigger and better and stronger communities thank you for making smart policies to support one support Small Business. I truly appreciate your testimony. Thank you all for sharing with us. Now we will begin the question portion i will begin by recognizing myself for five minutes. Your work and childcare and in the childcare sector it is extraordinary dealing with challenges you are not expectingve when you took over this endeavor but can you speak why it w was important in the things that were different when it comes to childcare in the cities . We went out to our organizations and they supported us for two years of funding to provide child care. In looking at oncology with orthopedics and listing differentes services with schools and childcare and then to help that community thrive so wetu were fortunate to provide that childcare for freela because that was donated they need to make sure that these are wiped away and the only way to make the community thrive to have those opportunities for your family thats why its so critical and important. Thats so great to hear that is not just small towns in particular and to attract to the right talent so much of that has to do a childcare available. And this is why is such an important topic to talk about. s so the folks that work are literally the childcare workforce are also essential workers. And what hazard pay word mean to your work for us in particular. And in that situation it is critical. A lot of the individuals we need them so dhs is good about background checks but we are the frontline. That is what was very challenging that we stayed safe during covid. We havent had any instances to make that work very well but this morning the supply issue your industry in particular leading to that meant to make sure we are drawing the lines together for manufacturing in the industries that are doing well during thec pandemic that could benefit from more manufacturing or with the supply chain you are running into right now. One of the supply chain issues are derived from the fact we went from zero during that timeframe to 120 miles an hour that Public Officials say the best way to enjoy your family is to be outside is difficult for any industry to go from zero to not only where they were but to put them into a growth spike is an exciting problem for the future. But when we have that discussion it made me start thinking about as Certain Industries have done well we should be able to close the gap for those that have slowed down whether its to help the needs that are there right now or to bridge that gap because it will be a long road but i am very thankful for your expertise and everything you talked about today i know my time is expired i now yield for five minutes. atsign bellsouth to a new told an amazing story to revitalize your community with the balance of governmentof and private organizations you talk to us about the 80 percent vacancy rate to turn that around with restaurants and Small Businesses and residents as well. Do you think your community specifically benefited from a tax base from the enjoyment of life from new Small Businesses from the ability to turn around a blighted area with an 80 percent vacancy rate into a prosperous area . The beginning of the majority of that journey happened to be and independentpe restaurant asking the community what we were missing and luckily the entrepreneur that makes brick oven pizza decided to expand his business in our town. That was a big risk when it opened up there were already 13 others but he had a distinct recipe with a unique Customer Experience and we honor that Historic Building in the legacy of the traffic of 150 years ago. That became that catalyst. And the restaurant started in those to solve the energy and to see the Specialty Retail stores then they started to open up and say we want to live in the upper floors of othe building. But now with the pandemic to answer your question it did improve the tax base significantlyy the Business Owners developing earning income but the Property Values appreciated and that allows more money to go back to municipalities to our communities. So the challenge now in the pandemic they have been forced to close in the industry in particular has been challenged and we must Work Together to find programs to help those independent restaurants open back up to get employees engaged and working those programs have been too successful measures but there is still more work that has to be done. So what were working on right now to identify that if restaurants will be slower to come back online what are the new ways to bring that traffic to life and technology and broadband thats a huge step in the right direction. What you achieved is that a model for success and other real communities are you looking to implement that . Bs absolutely. We believe the model starts with ways to buy and invest those that exist in towns. And those Community Banks and investors with resources and when those ideas come online they need mentorship and coaching and support it can help all across the country. Thank you for being the conduit. You mentioned searching for funding through nongovernment sources through donations and grants and stipends of how many dollars are you able to make it from nongovernment sources . From nongovernment sources . We started off from local businessesac that supply us with the dollars that we worked with we did Community Block grants and the ppe and then some of the people provided some donations. To assess a fee that they so chose some cannot afford to do that. We wrote grants all over the place from the Iowa Womens Foundation 5210 ways that we can make this work and at this point. ]. My final question is that we talk at length about bridging the Digital Divide and committed to working for that in your written testimony that each community has individual all challenges. From the federal level we understand the federal government needs to support these efforts without imposing a onesizefitsall approach do you agree onesizefitsall will not be successful as it bridges the Digital Divide . Yes. With those specific assets and challenges to be addressed in unique ways. Cc especially with the ecosystem focused on building sustainable companies. Programs that match resources with local Capacity Building to be built from the Community Level up and then to fill the capacity to advance a strategy is where success can be achieved because capacity will always be a significant constraint and to the extent they can build local capacity based on strategies by leaders the federal government can play an Important Role to do that. So in that sense having one solution if its not building that global capacity Leadership Strategy that can bring those together to advance that. We salute your commitment w thank youel chairwoman. The gentleman yields back and now i will recognize the gentle lady from minnesota. Before i get into my questions all of your tremendous work as you recover from the our guest derecho. Thank you for being with us and first to turn for my first question to tie back to the work of the Organization Nonprofit i am proud to have in my district it is through Economic Development by working with key sectors of the community by supporting entrepreneurs and businesses and students as you mentioned in your testimony adapting to covid19 but in this time of Remote Working and online event Internet Access is essential so talk a little moreee deeply how broadband fits into the work and how it will expand broadbands entrepreneurs can access the services. Broadband is the foundational infrastructure required to build those Tech Startups its extremely critical when we look at communities one of the things we look foroo and those that have great broadband with that network which is exceptional many are equipped to start doing the work but there are significant parts of Rural America that are not connected and thats an issue we cannot wait to solve it needs to be addressed yesterday before the pandemic it. We hope to raise awareness through the data and Mapping Research and the Sister Organization does specific work with Rural Communities that need help developing broadband and fixed seeing gaps in the infrastructure. We definitely encourage the congress to focus on broadband and roll i americana. Want to stick with you for a minute. Looking at the effect of covid19 compared to the Great Recession, how is it the same inff different . Its a little to say what this will look like. As an economist it is evolving. What we have seen so far is this looks different Rural Communities were severely impacted so far is this economic crisis and have been less impacted and with the severity of outbreaks and what will the longterm effects be . We dont know with our own analysis of the most recent data and that the recovery is starting for those jobs lost in february . At the fact that rule america is predominantly has disproportionate employment is the risk of suicide during the Great Recession they are more vulnerable to these types of shocks so thats the reason why it is probably the case rule america has not recovered overall. Of siding get to ask each of you a question but my time is up and i yield back. With that i will recognize the gentle man from ohio the Ranking Member of the Small Business committee for five minutes. You mentioned in one of your priorities to keep employees andpi customers safe one of the things we have been considering is Liability Protection if you have a customer that comes in testing positive god for bid should they perish that you might be a target of a lawsuit they may say you didnt take every precaution or if you have workers comp even if you prevail or win or lose are htthere any thoughts if we should do something in that area to protect Small Businesses from liability from a customer or employee . Initially that was a major concern what is the liability in this current scenario . How do we plan that as a company to help mitigate or reduce the risk . The people that we turn to didnt have clear answers either it was just something that was unknown. That is an area that comes up that we are constantly discussing as a business and leadership on the risk they are willing to take. That has been a stumbling block because one side talks about these protections in one side things we shouldnt. I have visited 60 plus Small Businesses in my community to see how they could of done things differently and several of them were in the childcare area. One of the things i heard when theyow were allowed to reopen the bottom line is there were fewer children and they had some problem with the employees being concerned with some help that is that with the numbers of children that you can have an do you see that evolving over time . When do you become profitable again . Ppe the hard part about that is that nobody knows the duration. So basically do guesstimate and that lasted two and a half payroll on tune have payrolls. And that is why it is w beneficial and thats why under thes emergency guidelines we were able to get them to sign up and to be there we ended up with 22000 in revenue from Summer Programs so that is a shortfall from roughly 56000. But we have local Businesses Supporting us Like Grinnell College to say we will donate to that but in that type of situation with childcare with those businesses it is hard to support or generate revenue to support childcare within the community. We had a pretty aggressive governor to clamp down on this any thoughts there are what you would like that could be helpful to your businesses or others in your community . Based on the accounts we have experienced more of an economic crisis and of course every eco vid case and that is a sad situation but we were 31 percent unemployment thats the highest by ten basis points and the biggest part and with manufacturing was all closed and so many independent businesses in small towns and recreation areas. That cost and the Health Crisis is also very significant. We need to look at strategies for how we look at a global perspective the viruses here and we will work on that but the work that this committee is doing we need to focus on the Health Crisis related to the economy and how we can get safely people back to work and then opened. With that i dont believe there are any more questions for today we will conclude the hearings but i just want to say thank you again to all witnesses and to the Ranking Member with our first Online Official hearing we did it and we hold out hope that this can get under control in these discussions will be very helpful for us as we come to the pandemic and not leave Rural America behind. So thank you for taking the time to uplift what you are doing on the ground with your expertise that is important whether the recreation space or childcare or whether to revitalize Small Business and the economic side as well this is a helpful discussion that members would agree that we are trying to figure out what can we do more of thatf works but if we can fix what doesnt and how do we keep planning for the future. It is my hope to my own leadership to the house and senate and white house that we can come together to play differences aside and get together to respond to the needs of Small Business owners and essential workforce and those who are doing so much for our country right now f for what the future looks like i will continue to urge that as well and im honored to be the chairwoman of the subcommittee because we do find Common Ground is a way this is supposed to work we will do our best and we are very grateful for all of you onn the ground to do that as w well and thank you and stay hopeful for the future even though there is a long way to go and with that we will conclude the hearing and i ask unanimous consent members have five legislative days to support material for the record without objection so ordered it with no further business to come before the subcommittee we are adjourned. Thank you when youth are given the opportunity and skills to be engaged citizens they vote because democracy must be learned to that tumultuous pathway are those that were born here immigration system field sales. Good afternoon with the department of energy how the czar leverage response to the pandemic thank you to the Ranking Member of the subcommittee and the witnesses for joining us today. They are enthusiastic of those that are coming out of the laboratory given the labs that provided the country of supercomputing and
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