Transcripts For CSPAN3 Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20160108

Iowa. Who we look to replace that man has to have the trust and confidence of the American People, and it has to be on matters spoken in public and in private. Private promises and public statements for the American People being the same, and it has to be for all our people. For our complete weekend schedule go to cspan. Org. Next the head of the Small Business administration, maria cron trer contrerassweet is questioned about problems at the sba. The government recently found management problems and recommended changes. The Small Business administration is chaired by steven shav its in ohio. I call this meeting to order, and i want to welcome back Maria Contrerassweet. I think everyone here wants the same thing, and thats to serve americas Small Businesses the best we can. Those of us up here on the dias have a stand. Our constituents let us know how theyre doing all the time and on an ongoing basis. As a head of an agency, i often worry too often you hear from your own folks and other washington bureaucrats. Thats the only explanation for why the 69 gao identified concerns and problems havent been addressed. Yesterday wasnt the first time these issues have been raised. Yesterday we heard some pretty serious concerns, both by members of this committee and from our gao witness who testified here yesterday about the management of the sba. Administrator contrerassweet, since you werent with us yesterday, ill recap those briefly with you, although im sure your staff has probably already given you a rundown. I told the gao witness yesterday that this kind of reminds me of being a parent. If your teenagers room is a mess and they have stuff thrown all over the place, lets say theres 70 items thrown on the floor, 69 to be exact, and they only pick up seven of those items, you dont look at the 62 remaining on the floor and raise their allowance for having made some progress. The ongoing problems that the sba as gao identified span the entire breadth of the agency, from Information Technology and security to staff management issues, from Disaster Response to fraud in lending and contract programs, its a safe bet that Small Businesses in our districts on both sides of the aisle are paying the price for your agencys failures. What we have here is a failure of confidence in the sba, and unfortunately, for good reason. Before this hearing is over, i hope to hear a commitment from you to resolve as many of these problems as possible by june 30. And i mean this year. I do appreciate how accessible you have always been to members of this committee, and i request that your office start providing monthly updates to our staff documenting your progress. If i were you, i would start with these i. T. And cybersecurity deficiencies. Thats what worries me the most, and ill tell you why. Weve seen the irs hit, the state department, opm and even the white house hacked. Small businesses trust the sba, your agency, with their information, oftentimes sensitive information. They dont want their neighbors or the u. S. Government to have access to. Yesterday the sba told us this information is not adequately secured, and that cannot continue. I want to make this simple. We are not asking you to defend the sba, we are asking you to do your best to fix it. And i would now yield to the Ranking Member for her opening statement. Thank you, mr. Chairman, and thank you for holding this important hearing. As the only agency in the federal government charged specifically with helping Small Businesses grow and succeed, the Small Business administration is critical to our nations Overall Economic health. All of its functions serve to strengthen and preserve the foundation of our economy. For Small Businesses to fully reap the benefit of sbas program, it is important for the agency to operate efficiently, effectively, using tax dollars wisely. One of the most important roles of this committee is conducting vigorous oversight of the sba and its activities so we know the agency is serving Small Businesses well while spending taxpayers dollars wisely. Yesterday the Committee Heard from the Government Accountability office as it described a management report requested by myself and former chairman. The gao testified about a wide range of frankly very troubling challenges, many that we have persisted for years. I do fully recognize that many of these problems took root before administrator contrerassweets tenure. And furthermore, she has demonstrated a commitment to addressing them. With that said, there is still much work that needs to be accomplished in terms of addressing gao accommodations. With only 15 out of the 63 recommendations closed, there needs to be more attention not just to check the box but to improve the agency. With that said, i understand that frequent changes in Political Leadership create real difficulties for management. That is not an excuse, but rather a reality of the environment sba functions. So here you are, miss contreras, in the hot seat. You are the administrator, and you will be asked to respond for 64 recommendations that have been made not only under your leadership but for previous administration. And i feel optimistic of your commitment to tackle those issues, and we are here to discuss with you how do you intend to execute those recommendations . First, the agencys complex organizational structure may be impeding its ability to perform its mission effectively. Yesterday it was raised time and time again that sbas operation, our silo, resulting in inefficiencies and duplication. There also continues to be significant Information Technology problems as well. The agency has yet to implement more than 30 recommendations made by the. This race has concerned about whether sba data insists them. Standard operating procedures are also in need of updating. 74 of these provisions require revision, and 31 is should be counselled while another nine still need to be. Yet we will not in her et a time frame as to when all of these will be accomplished. These are just some of the long standing issues raised in, where there is always room for improvement, i was heartened to hear that sba has accepted most of the gaos recommendations, and i look forward to learning how the administrator is instituting change. I recognize that as a political appointee, she is in a difficult position to often having to answer for her work with her predecessors as well as the korean officials that may drive decisions. With that i would like to thank the administrator for being here, i know your schedule is busy, so as always, we appreciate it. I yield back. If im rating this, we put down how much each of us talks. If we need a little leeway, ill give you a little more as long as we keep it in house. Well go back and forth between republicans and democrats, of course. Im not going to go into a long explanation of how the administrator is. Shes a 24yearold of the contreras business suite. We recognize you this morning, and youre recognized for five minutes or perhaps a little bit longer if you need it. Thank you. Let me just thank you and Ranking Member velasquez and all the members of the committee for engaging in the work and giving me this opportunity to testify before you today. Its nice to see you. Id like to open quickly with the fiscal year of 2015. It was one of the most successful years in our administrations history. Under our flagship guarantee program extending a whopping 23. 5 billion in gross approvals. This represents a 22 increase in the number of loan approvals to prior last year. A 23 increase in their dollar value compared to 2014. These gains matter because fda data shows that conventional Small Business lending has only returned to 84 of prerecess n prerecessionary levels. Filling those gaps in the marketplace was the very purpose for which sba was created. We made notable progress giving loans to businesses with the greatest accessible capital. The dollar value of our loans was up year on year, 23 to women, 23 to minorities and 103 to veterans. Our number of loan approvals was up by 29 again, i just said that. These successes would not be possible except for the swift work of your committee. Due to our recordbreaking year, sba rose up to our statutory lending cap 60 days before the end of our fiscal year. At the urging of our stake holders, in less than a week i want to repeat that in less than a week you passed a 4. 5 billion increase. Your leadership allowed entrepreneurs across the country to continue to access the recquisite capital they need to start repair and grow their businesses. Sba also shattered our record for Small Business investment under our sbic program. We grew our portfolio by 10 to a record 25 billion. In fy 16, the 7a, the 504 and the sbic Program Share an important, common thread, and i know youll appreciate this. All these programs are expected to operate at zero subsidy this fiscal year. Thanks to this committee for working across the aisle to include in the omnibus bill the permanent restatement of the 504 refinancing authority and an increase in sbics family of funds limit. Both of these policy changes will inject muchneeded capital into our Small Business ecosystem. Another priority for the sba is federal contracting. The u. S. Government awarded an alltime high of 24. 99 , well over our governor mandate of 23 , supplying 350,000 american jobs. We reached a precedent of Small Business jobs to aging and veterans. We earned a record Year Investment and a record year in contracting with no taxpayer subsidy needed to maintain this momentum. This is the context in which our hearing takes place today. Let me take this opportunity to acknowledge the Government Accountability office for helping to confirm the areas of shared concern and for offering constructive suggestions to address them. From my first days in office, i have prioritized the need to modernize sba operations enterprisewide to respond to the technological, the demographic and the globalization changes that are transforming our Small Business economy. To that end i agree with many of the recommendations and appreciate the opportunity to address them to fully bring m,. Chairman, the sba into the 21st century. My Banking Experience will be brought to bear to make sure you feel comfortable and the American People feel confidence in our systems. Whether it be the Enterprise Management board that ive established and all the other systems ive put in place. Weve implemented a number of litigation measures that ill get into later. But my background starting three businesses also impressed upon me the importance of optimizing roy, return on investment, when putting precious taxpayer dollars to use. We have to take every measure to use those dollars wisely based on the best available data. In july of 2014, i established an Impact Evaluation working group charged with initiating and Refining Program evaluations for Entrepreneurial Development programs. Ive held numerous meetings with key Resource Partners, our spdcs score, vets and so on, expressing the importance of collecting meaningful metrics. Were currently performing indepth Training Programs across the agency. This includes the most comprehensive assessment of the sbic program in our history in collaboration with yes, i wanted to make sure you had confidence so we went to the library of congress to do this work. Our report is due out this spring. Weve also made significant strides in addressing the Information Technology challenges included in the ga report. In fact, were well under way with a major upgrade of our i. T. Systems. It starts with the comprehensive structure of the modernization to give our systems greater capacity, transparency and reliability. Were in the final stages now of moving our entire e mail system into the cloud for more security, reliability and capacity. Were investing in mobile technology recognize that go our sba field staff must go beyond the walls of the federal offices and go to consumers and to Small Businesses where they are. We also watch projects to modernize our lending and contract systems to reengineer our disaster Credit Management system, something i care deeply about. This entire modernization agenda complements our work for platforms, bringing advancement of things such as modernization, digital signatures yes, i said esignatures and online management to the customers we serve. These are talents that have encouraged bankers to come back to sba in many instances or to expand their lending. Weve taken important steps on our Human Capital management efforts. Im proud to work alongside the thousands of hardworking, dedicated Public Servants at sba and our Resource Partners. Im committed to ensuring that the agency has the talent required to effectively Service Americas entrepreneurs. Were currently crafting a comprehensive work plan which will include both a skill cap assessment and a gap enclosure plan. Weve taken steps to address the sbas aging work force not just unique to sba but across the federal government a challenge. As a launch of the veteran sba program, i understood we wanted to offer employees to make decisions, create openings so we could begin to fill those competency gaps. Sba is organizing our president ial Management Fellows Program to increase our impact. Were working with our veterans, were attracting more peace corps to our programs, and i know youre going to love this we installed the first ever chief learning officer at sba. I have been on the job for 20 months and im proud of the progress at this time, but the truth is that i couldnt have done this without your commitment, and im grateful for your support. As a result of your leadership and the daily efforts of our dedicated staff, i inherited an agency highly leveraged, operating effectively and focused on advancing and fulfilling our statutory mission. Again, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting, in the eating, and i think the record of our historic achievements speak to that. There is always room to improve, and thats what were here to talk about today. So yes, i am committed to working with you to improve the services and give Small Businesses the agency that they deserve and that taxpayers expect. Thank you. Thank you very much, and ill yield to myself five minutes to begin the questioning. Madam administrator, as i mentioned in my opening statement, the gao witness yesterday testified that sbas i. T. Security, the i. T. Security, leaves the Central Information of Small Businesses and their owners vulnerable to hackers, to theft, to fraud. Yet the sba has failed to implement more than 30 of the office of the inspector generals recommendations leading to i. T. Security, leaving Small Businesses and individuals exposed. Whats being done to address these problems . I think thats a fair question. Technology drives more and more of our lives, from our microwave to our cell phone, so it has to be a central part of our strategy at sba. Just as an example, to show you the progress ive made since i arrived, and the last time i was here, you asked me about the Loan Management system. That is the main body with which we interact with our Lending Partners, an important function and working its way through. I committed to you that i would get that done and that is to say that we are now off the main tram and we have a come pat sfibl. Its a wonderful achievement that even many fortune 500 companies dont achieve and many in government. Im proud that sba has achieved that. Id like your commitment to resolving the outstanding gao recommendations by june 30 and having our staff believed on that progress on a monthly basis. Do i have that commitment . I commit to you on a regular basis and well work with godspeed to make your deadline. Lets get it done. Mr. Chairman, i was able to touch the pope while he was here, so im hoping it infused me with the ability to you got closer than i did, then. Let me move on to another question. When the gao interviewed your district personnel so they could do their review, your folks insisted on having a lawyer present. Now, when this came up yesterday, when the gao was here, trent kelly, a member of this committee who happens to be a former prosecutor and District Attorney himself made, i think, like people speak up like your folks did, it often means they have something to hide. What made the decision th that at the request of the former chairman and the Ranking Member. So this was a bipartisan request. Again, i did not know that was happening, i wasnt briefed. If you ever met our district staff, i got to tell you, nothing sbintimidates these people. We go out, theres lawyers in the room, and they still tell me of the problems and challenges. Shouldnt you know who in your agency gave an order like this that interrupted with the gaos effort to conduct an investigation. We all get a paycheck. The taxpayers donwill pay for i. We shouldnt have to lawyer up. I have no idea if it was the reverse, the reciprocal. I will look into it and get back to you. It could have been some of the employees felt intimidated by an investigation and maybe wanted someone in their presence. But i understand what i did get briefed on was the i. G. In particular said he had independent ability to follow up through emails and was able to get the information. And clearly by this report you can see nothing is being hidden. It should take until june 30 to find out who made that decision, so get back to us soon. The gao review of the sba stated, and i quote, in the december 2015 report, we found that the sba has not resolved many of its long standing management challenges due to lack of sustained priority attention over time. Gao went on to say, this raises questions about the sbas sustained equipment to addressing management challenges. In other words, dealing with the sbas shortcomings, deficiencies and failures apparently isnt just a priority to some of your folks. Its a priority to this. Youve indicated that youre willing to do that. I appreciate that, were willing to work with you, so it can serve the needs of americas Small Businesses all across this country. With great lament, when i read the report that these issues had begun in the 90s and some even as far back to the 0 80s. So i appreciate that ive been and with the good lord, your progress is this is the meat. Its effective. Sometimes its not pretty and it should be prettier given our documentation and processes. But when you think in our history we were able to make a match. Com. The point is seriously that just for the record, i know nothing about it. I just want you to know that with that system we are now able to get dates for prospective borrowers, but this date is with the lender. 22,000 people have already been connected in just a few short months. Thats a remarkable, sba won where we are now introducing a new platform with our lenders. But i want you to know that the work is getting done. Thank you. My time has expired. Just to we view the number one. We need to do our best for them. Ill now. I would just like to enter into the record as a matter of clarification. In fact, sop 4072. It is a requirement an illegal counsel to be present when district stuff is being interviewed. And so here it is. Its part of the sop. I would like to ask the administrator, i would like to recommend to you that you start with 40002 to remove barriers for gai. And you could be updating it to know that there is no intention or gao in the business administration. With that said. Will do reforms when this committee offered me when i was in 1928. I heard the gaos answers yesterday but i would like to hear your answers as well. How has your son being listened, number one, i learned that we actually had promulgated an we put the rig in and out. When we created a round table. What they said is that the idapt, the immediate Disaster Assistance program. So what is the timeline for doing so . Im just saying we, and i would deploy to start using it. When you ask a bank to over 10 years, its something not attracted to them, especially because it has a low interest cap. Somehow we have to make it more attractive. In the spirit you want, i wanted to show you the office of disaster does supply loans, and we already did a collateralized 20,000 loan that is new being misdemeanor in new york. And so many people, businesses, who qualify for those long to be able to apply. If you see these and think there needs to be some legislator fix. Lets get this program. Up and running. We cant wait until the next alldale disaster strike and come back here in the same position asking the same didnt want to a lie on hearis a. Thats out and available, and as soon as we get that normal comment well respond back to you on what those remedies might be. In the interim im also pushing forward on the edap and the padap to make sure a Disaster Assistance is something very, very important to the date of this. I went to the state of North Carolina to meet with nickie haley when she was experiencing heres. We a dozen individuals in germany to determine the. Onces declare a disaster, we weve. I want to congratulate you on many successes, including the. The cdc is up to 10 . We need to update those sops. Because if the agency as to how the program is said to operate, that will impede the success, and for businesses to be able to get the assistance that they need. So what are you doing so far and what do you plan to do to further address the sop problem . I didnt want to impress upon you that you provide a report every month, but i want a commitment that tells us that you are really youre going to do everything you can. Because then the administration would be in place a year and a half from now, and we need to see what type of energy and resource that youre going to put into place. And if there is a lack of adequate resource for your agency to do the work, we need to know so that in the next budget submission, its included that you need more funding. Gentlelady, your time has expired, but i want to make sure we do want monthly progress on the issues gao has set out in its review. I understand, sir. This is a complete review and overall of a departments way of operating. Some of these are inches tall. This is an important body of work, and i want you to know that we have completed more sops in the 20 months ive been than the prior five years combined. To show you the momentum in which im taking this so seriously, because im working hard to make up lost time, but i also wanted to have is institutionalized so that this work is someone thats been harnessed and seized. We already have 30 more sops that are monumentally. Just know i take those issues seriously for the institution of our legacy. The gentleman from new york is recognized for five minutes. Thank you, gentlemen. I appreciate this hearing. With due respect, ill say right up front, im a little disappointed so far in the approach of the hearing in terms of the responses. The chairman set a tone, i think, at the outset that we really want to Work Together Going Forward identifying all the deficiencies and the shortcomings. But, you know, the opening said remarks i certainly appreciate how youve pointed out what you did with the resources to support Small Businesses. I want to state that clearly and sincerely. But the focus here is on improving what our very disturbing findings from the gao. Towards that end, my colleague from new york, mr. Hanna, leads a subcommittee, and they did, i think, very strong work on behalf of the American People with regard to procurement reforms. This was incorporated into the National Defense authorization act in 2013. But yet among the findings of the gao, there has been no action taken. The law was very clear that action was to be taken within six months of the implementation of that law. So my question to you is, you know, what explains why nothing has been done on this score . Do you disagree with us on what was done . And if you do, it would have been nice to know that before now, but if you do, why has nothing been done . First of all, let me thank you for your service. I know youre an admirable veteran and i really salute the work youve done in particularly difficult zones in our world. But let me just speak to if i havent shown or exhibited the level of seriousness with which i take this work, i apologize. But let me just say, when i looked that up just to see the momentum, because i thought that i should stress this to you, under prior administrations, like in 2002, for example, there had been one debarment. In 2003, one. In 2004, zero. Under my term, ive already completed 47 of these just to show you the momentum with which im approaching this work. So please dont under estimate the commitment i make to you. I came from the state of california. In california i had 42,000 employees to work with in one state. Do you know here to the Ranking Members question, i have fewer than 2,000 employees. So in procurement, we have to partner, and we work very closely with our strategic partners. If you just took the air force alone, do you know that the air force has 22,000 captains . 2200 captains, just captains alone. Again, i have fewer than 10,000 employees across the agency, and yet were managing a portfolio of 120 billion, the most complex system of networks. We are procuring we are redirecting 23 of the largest procure in the world to Small Businesses successfully. And yes, we are pushing to debar because i dont want any fraud, waste and abuse. I can tell you when i started my own personal business, i couldnt get certified as a womanowned business. I couldnt confirm that i was a womanowned business. So for me to show we are doing those procurements are important, but also to make sure we get rid of people who dont deserve to be in the program and are abusing the program and taking contracts away from people who deserve them. So im up against Energy Department officials, our Small Business advocates are in those places where people dont like them to be because we are sharp elbowing them to make sure every appropriate Small Business opportunity goes to a Small Business. So thank you and appreciate the passion that youre bringing in the leadership to the organization. One quick followup on that, then. As the chairman mentioned, were going to be anticipating reports, monthly reports. I would hope that in the first one well see an official response to the implementation of this fy13 National Defense authorization act as it relates to the requirements we levied on the sba. I have very little time remaining. Let me just say that from my experiences leading formations, one of the things that concerns me is the level of turnover in the sba, and so were not going to have time for you to respond, but also for the record, i would like to know from your Vantage Point as the leader, what are you doing to ensure continuity in terms of transition periods when you so really, two points. One is are you taking any executive action to lessen the turnover. And two, given those realities, what sops do you have in place to ensure that when new folks come on board that there is a good and effective transition . Mr. Chairman, im sorry im over and i yield back. The gentlemans time has expired, but if you can give a brief answer, and well be receiving our reports so you can go more in depth, but if you can make a brief response. To me one of the most important things is to show people what their job is, to give them clarity of purpose and to reward them appropriately, and to provide an environment where theyre well resourced, their scope of work is clearly defined and theyre well resourced, as i said. To that end i put in the first ever sba chief learning officer. Ive upskilled the chico functions in our office where now i have somebody who actually has the theoretical and the practical experience. Im holding town halls. Im visiting every District Office to learn of these you know, what the challenges are across the country. But let me just say, across the government, we have an aging work force challenge that we have to address. And so ive gone with my chief of staff to try to recruit more people. Were holding job fairs across the country. Just in the short time ive been there, ive hosted ten job fairs. Ive reached out to the peace corps and our veterans to try to attract more skills and competencies of discipline, entrepreneurship and perseverance. And i think its beginning to pay off, sir. Thank you. The gentlemans time has expired. The gentlelady is recognized for five minutes. Good evening, mr. Chairman, Ranking Member. I really want to thank Maria Contrerassweet for being here, and just sitting here listening to your answers in the first couple questions has really restored, you know, my passion for Small Businesses and what this agency is doing. I had the opportunity to work with her when she was secretary of california business transportation and housing agency, and as the administrator, what ive really appreciated is your district staff, Victor Parker and you both have come to my district, and weve held round tables and weve toured Small Businesses together. The chairmans opening comments, and all we hear is from our own constituents about some of their problems, i think youve actually heard the problems yourself because youve been on the ground, youve been in our Small Businesses, and while certainly this hearing is about the recommendations that were trying to get responded to and reformed and in the administration, its clear that your record year of lending to Small Businesses, investing in contracting is really what i care about. I know maybe the priorities on this committee are maybe a little bit different. But thats my priority, because that is what i always heard, was, you know, access to capital and federal contracting. And youre certainly addressing those previous weaknesses in the agency. And its clear that the sba has been around since 1953, and many of these issues that were pointed out in the gao report have existed long before you and long before this administration. But and whether or not you can address every single one of them by june, i dont know, but i have no doubt that youre going to try, and thats important to you. But one of the issues that in the report that was important to me, and i understand its also a priority for you, is the womenowned Small Business program. This is, of course, a program that allows womanowned Small Businesses to compete for federal contracts. Unfortunately, one of the things we found out was there were problems verifying the eligibility of the applicants, resulting in contracts being awarded to men. Yikes. But i know youre working on this. Can you tell us where you are in the process of making sure that those contracts indeed are being awarded to the womenowned businesses . Thank you. As you know, when i arrived, we were you mandated that we achieve a 5 goal with womanowned Small Businesses. To my great lament, we had not reached a 5 goal for contracting with women. Women are 50 of the population. I think it should be something that should be achievable. And so we came to you again, and i was delighted that congress has given us a brand new tool, sole source authority, where we have now the ability to begin to certify businesses so that we can take out any fraud, waste and abuse, and so were now i just published the anthem to get the proper feedback to make sure were following the right procedures and practices and not just implementing something willynilly. Im pleased to tell you already weve got that out and were already beginning to get comments, and were going to formalize them and create a process for certification that will assure the people understand that a womanowned business, what that is, that we have the standards set and we have people trained to be able to certify them. Thank you. I appreciate that, because certainly in l. A. County, we have more womenowned businesses than any other county in the country. Were very proud of that, and we know that for me thats a priority in this committee, is that clearly we are supporting the womenowned and minorityowned businesses in my county for sure. So i appreciate your work on that one concern and recommendation. But youve been a stalwart on behalf of women not only for the state of california but for our country. Thank you for your leadership. The gentlewoman yields back. Recognized for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Ill yield back my time. The gentlelady from American Samoa who is the chairman of the subcommittee on health and technology, miss ratawagner, is recognized for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman, and Ranking Member. Considering the offices built that may not provide redundant roles in close proximity, was there any thought given to the u. S. Territories . Can you explain your rationale . Im sorry, the rationale for what . Im sorry. Let me give you the question again. The u. S. Territories. Yes. The question was, considering the recent new offices built that may or may not provide redundant roles as other offices in close proximity, was there any thought given to the u. S. Territories . Yeah. I heard the question. I was trying to understand. Are you saying that were building offices . I was just trying to clarify. I think so. Because im not aware that were building an office there. Im trying to understand the context of the question. Let me just say that i would be delighted to sit down with you to understand if you are not getting the Service Levels that you deserve and that you expect to come back to you with a plan. Thank you, madam administrator. Next, what functions are performed by personnel in the agencys regional offices . What are the personnel functions . Yes. What are the functions performed by the personnel . Oh, i see. In the regional offices. Thank you, thank you. What we have at headquarters is policy offices, and so youll have, for example, the gcbd, the office of general contracting and business development. Youll have an office of capital access. So we have the various offices that operate the various programs and staff and line functions. In the District Offices where the magic all comes together. So there in the District Office you will have a lending relations specialist. Youll have a Business Opportunity specialist working alongside an eds, an Educational Development service specialist, and all these people Work Together to create a sense of community, to provide the full complement of services that our Research Partners need and entrepreneurs need and our Lending Partners and local governments. Ill give you an example. We have a challenge today where while we can be a program provider, we also want to be a voice for Small Business. So one of the challenges that we found in local communities is that theyre the ones that license Small Business formation, and in many instances, capital formation. So we launched a program called start up in a day. Start up in a day is where we go into the city to make sure they can put on online responses so that Small Businesses can start their business in a day without having to go through a labyrinth of regulation. So they execute on programs such as that. Have you examined whether those functions could be performed by other personnel either at headquarters or in the District Offices and thereby provide fulltime personnel for functions such as an increase in the number of Procurement Center representatives . Honestly, having been an entrepreneur and a community banker, i have thought about that, and it was a tough call for me. You know, i could convene and have everybody centered and headquarters in washington, d. C. And not connected to community, but i decided it was more important to be embedded in the community and a part of the community and understand what those nuances are in each neighborhood. And i think that the numbers prove that thats working well. Thank you. You do not have a chief Information Officer, a position i presume that you consider critical to the operation of the agency. Where are you in the process of finding a permanent chief Information Officer . I appreciate that youve got a chief learning officer. Yeah. The chief learning officer is more of a learning you know, more of a Human Resource function, i should say. But what i did is i went to Silicon Valley. I wentreel, i went to the east coast to try to find a really thoughtful, successful person who knows how to procure and execute. I really want to say that i have the top level of advice. So i have a strong person whos been a dedicated employee of sba as the acting and i would now put in what i call a chief design officer digital officer, excuse me, that is working with us to fully compliment that team and fill it in. Were getting candidates and going to places to find the right people. Attract Top Technology talent because of Salary Structure and compensation in government compared to the private sector. I think you do need a chief Information Officer. Agreed. The gentle lady is correct. In fact, by statute, its required. So we urge you to get that done, please. Well now move to the gentle lady from new york who is the Ranking Member of the agricultu agriculture, energy and trade subcommittee. You skipped a card. Sorry about that. I was given the wrong card here. Ms. Lawrence . Did you get here when we started, though . Yeah. All right. Ive been go right ahead for five minutes. I want to thank the chair and the Ranking Member. I want to say, madame administrator, your response to the questions have been im used to speaking to our Department Heads and leaders in our government. And its refreshing to have an administrator who has been able to answer with a proactive response to these questions and concerns. So i want you to know that thats refreshing and i appreciate it. In addition to that, it is important that we have department reviews. We, as a government, need to look at those areas. But our commitment and our focus should be on how do we move forward. So, with that, i want to say im very encouraged by your leadership. I wanted to follow up with something that im very gna passionate about, and thats womenown womenowned and minorityowned. So if you want to say how did we grow our economy . It was on the womenowned and minorityowned businesses in america. So we should be very committed and very focused in that area. The majority of businesses have been in health care and social systems. How has the sba encouraged women and minorities to open businesses in technology, manufacturing and the engineering industry. Thats a very, very important question. We have to make sure that were moving forward in terms of americas work force. And so i appreciate where youre going. Let me just give you two broad answers. One is that just to make sure that were getting more people who traditionally have not been given access to capital, weve taken some very aggressive steps. We have zeroed out fees almost under 150,000. Credit unions, they willingly agreed to enter into a partnership with sba in an unprecedented way. Instead of having people knock on the door for a bank and another bank and another bank, what i wanted to do is put up this program that i call link. It is where a prospective borrower answers some simple questions and then is connected to an institution. The last time i was in this room, it was a woman sitting in this audience who said that as a result of link, she was able to take a very lowrate loan and make it a more attractive loan and, as a result, increased her cash flow and is now growing. Those are the kinds of stories i get across the country. The second point about making certain were getting people in the tech, in the stem fields, which you allude to is weve launched a program we call invater. Its an outreach initiative. But what i want to do is say to women who we dont see in Silicon Valley and doing the scaleups at the same weight. So invat her is spelled her, the last three letters to reach out to women to say hack, disrupt, invent, change industries. You, too, can be in cyber security. You, too, can be in precision medicine. We need to get women in thetraditional fields. So this effort of rolling this out is getting women engaged. We had last year a hundred various competitions. So im proud of that progress. But, again, we will continue to do it. And we invite you to come in and participate this womens History Month in march where well be convening the winners of those competitions. Thank you so much. Before my time roll out, i also wanted to comment on how youre addressing standard operating plans. I want to make sure that were supporting you for the actions you take. When you identify that there are areas that the government could support the Small Business administration, that were giving those on a regular basis. Thank you. As ive stated earlier, weve closed 14 sops, more than four times in the prior four yearings combined, as i said. We have an additional 41 pending and working collaboratively with the gao. So the momentum is strong. And i do commit to you that we will double what we did last year. Thank you. The gentle ladys time has expired. Recognized for 5 minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Madame administrator, ive got just a couple questions. One of them is on the line of the cio. And i know youve been there for 20 months. This is a critical position. I understand that someone is overseeing this position as an assistant. Would we believe that that person would have the same responsibleties as the cio would . Would they respond to your expectations . Would that continue to be when the cio is hired from a future date . Would they still continue to respond in the coo or would they come to you . Thats a fair question. Let me just say, the operations, we have a deputy administrator who is sort of, if you will, i dont want to use the term, but you could say the chief operating officer. It is generally the way its operated. So this person reports in through that function and its working this person has been hugely successful. You know, i just had him present at an entire town hall. I want to tell you that few people in our agency, you know, enjoy these when we put them on. But we think theres important ways for the administration. Hes allowed us to put on the cloud. To make that move. Hes getting now, laptops for our fields operations people so that they can go to participate. I understand daytoday operations, but there are going to be decisions that have to be made by you or be on your doorstep. So i just want to be sure that thats clear when a cio is hi hired. The 69 items, and you being 234 there for 20 months and these items coming up after that. Seven items being clear up. There must be prioritization and you must start working on the issues that you think are number one through number, in this case, 69. Would you say that any of these items are not on that list . There are some of them, and just by one of your statements, that you say that some of these might not be needed. Could you explain . Parts of these or any of these issues that might not be needed or that you might not want done. You know, i track these. I just want you to know that i track them and i received this report on a regular basis. And what i tell you is ive dissected them, and i know you have, too. Were working through them, as i mentioned. But im doing that. In other words, i think theyre all important and theyre all vital. But im prioritizing. So, for example, the disaster. There were two that were disaster oriented. And we pushed those out as a priority. So im going through and sifting. Basically, what i want to get to is that we have a prioritization of basically one through 69, were going to knock these items out. And, lastly, we have an ageing work force in many industries. But theres probably no more difficult industry than the i. T. Area in this country. It is very difficult to get them into government jobs, as i understand, the pay is not as good. What kind of policies, what are you pushing for so that we can get these young 20 to 30yearolds that know uptodate i. T. , uptodate software. Well, thank you. Id like to have if you would, the budget the ge had. You know, too bad youre not going over to a hip happy place. I feel their pain, do you know what im saying . So we are, were really trying to reach out to peace corps types, to veteran types, im going to college fares. Were traveling to the coast as well as the middle part of the state to, if you will, brand sba. And, to that end, were working through millenial channels. I just retained a fabulous producer and very popular gentleman who is now doing video spots with me and placing them out in different industries. I partner with anybody who is willing to amplify the opportunities at sba. More important and to the point is that i write the correct Job Description so that were not just hiring the same people again. Thats what ive undertaken as a priority is to make sure that the Job Description speaks to the future. And then, when they come in, for example, the pmfs i have right now, im giving them very limited training budget. I give them rotational opportunities. And i appreciate that and i know my time has expired. Now the gentle lady from new york. I apologize for the mixup before. Thats okay. Thank you, madame administrator for being here today and also for all of the work that youve been doing traveling throughout the country to various districts and hearing directly from Small Businesses about their problems and concerns. I, too, echo the sentiments in appreciating your passion, enthusiasm and great efforts while being administrator. My question is in response to the gao recommendation, the agency has said its currently restricted from collecting data from Resource Partners or that the abc doesnt have adequate systems for some programs, which makes Program Evaluations difficult. Can you explain how these restrictions a and the lack of adequate collection systems are conducting evaluations and what efforts can congress undertake to help remove any Data Collection restrictions and help sba collect important data from the Resource Partners. I think Data Collection is fundamental in assessment and tra teejic planning. So im pleased that in each of my outreach efforts, just stop me if im using too many acronyms, i apologize. I dont like jargon so i dont need to do that. But our Resource Partners say they are collecting rich data. But theres a natural screen in how much they give to us. So weve reached agreement on 10 measure that is we can agree on about encounters, capital formation, business start, con tracting, those kinds of things. So that data is collecting, its mined and its utilized. And then we get qualitative data. We also work on focus study groups and interactions and round tables that ive hosted with you around the country and with the chairman and the Ranking Member and others. But my disapointment, if you will, in a way in which you could help me, is that for me, a Critical Data point would be a unique identifier. Im not trying to invade privacy. It could be any numeric number. It could be part of an alphabet. But, for me, when someone says that theyve served a hundred people in a day and then, you know, i dont know if thats something that came in twice in that one day or if thats 100 different people. And so i think a unique identifier would be very useful in being able to attract longitudinally what our efforts are. Sew thats what im very seriously looking into. Ive discussed this with our Resource Partners and i feel theyre more amenable than others. But with your help, we can get there. And my last question is about Human Capital management. I know pushed upon this a little bit from yesterdays hearing. We talked about how the report identified challenges that the agency wanted, which was the need to prioritize in the area of Human Capital. Do you agree and what is being done. Yes. I just wanted to mention to you that more to the point about your prior concern is that at the agency, weve put together an interagency evaluation so that all the Program Heads are not just working with our Resource Partners, but also what measures mattered to them so that theyre mining the correct data and we can build proper evaluations to be responsive to what were addressing here today. With respect to Human Capital, we talked about the District Offices as the congresswoman from the islands mentioned earlier. Our teams, because we have one of the best leverage factors around, again, understanding that were only fewer than 2,000 employees leveraging these kind of numbers for the world and the kind of thing that is we do, we do leverage. They have five or six employees. And when we host a conference with 500 people, its a lot of lifting. In any instance that we can take a serious look at the structure, meaning size of sba, i think it would go a long way. Thank you, i yield back. Thank you, gentle lady yields back. The subcommittee on agriculture, energy and trade. Thank you, mr. Chairman. And thank you, madame administrator, for being here today. I think frequently, one of the most often complaints is that government is unaccountable. And yesterday, in the gao representatives testimony, one of the things that struck me the most was the gao perceived a break down in communication at the sba that employees dont have forums in which they can express their frustrations, perhaps their views on how things can be done differently. Do you perceive that theres a culture at the sba where em proi yees dont feel that freedom to express their views, to share their concerns and to share perhaps their contributions with regards to how the sba could be run more efficiently, more effectively and more competently. I think communications is foundational to running an effective organization. And so, you know, there are formal and informal processes. Sometimes people communicate more standing by the water fountain than anything else. We have to make sure that were communicating because the absence of communication does challenge an organization. So just to show you, first and foremost, we start with an annual, strategic meeting, one time where we bring the entire Field Operations together with the heads of Program Offices and we have a full interaction for a threeday setting to set priorities and to talk about execution and accountenty and time frame and so forth. Thats number one. Number two, im on the phone or my chief of staff on a weekly basis, every district director and, in many instances, the triple d, the dep day district director are engaging with us. On a daily basis. I have to tell you that people are drawn to this because it tells you exactly whats gone on any given day. And i visit District Offices, the Program Offices visit District Offices. And then i hold round tables. So we have informal, formal and then we have special, asneeded events like town hall. So we dont wait for those. If we need to have a special town hall, we engage in that, too. Ive got to tell you again, these are people who are fighting for success every day and i dont see them being shy about communicating. Madame administrator, sometimes communication only flows from the top down. You were comfortable that at the agency right now, theres an environment in which employees from the rank in file to those in leadership positions can express their views, their frustrations, their joys with their superiors. And really what i think is essential for the competent functioning of any organization. You feel comfortable today. Do you think there could be improvements . Do you find any validity in the concerns expressed by the gao with regards to communication within the sba . Well, if the gao stated that somebody must have said to him that there was a challenge, and so i have to take that seriously. Theres no question i have to take that seriously. Again, my reality is that they accept fully a town hall. I take people out to lunch and say whats going on . I say tell me what your day is going i get emails from people. So i feel that if the gao is making this comment and i look into it, then it must be a challenge. Thank you. Thank you very much. I yield back. The gentleman yields back. The gentleman from new york is recognized for five min you wills. Very well, thank you, mr. Chairman. And i thank our Ranking Member. I want to thank the administrator and just say to you i want to thank you for a number of things. One, for being engaged on the front lines of the Small Business marketplace and being a visible change agent. I can attest to the fact that you have been out across this country. You were in the ninth Congressional District meeting with Small Businesses. And i think that that is refreshing in and of itself. Youre dealing with an agency that has challenges. Theres no doubt about that. But i think you have demonstrated here today through your testimony the passion and drive that you have for the Small Business system across our nation. And youve displayed at todays hearing a response to the challenges of the 21st century sba. I appreciate the innovative and creative approach that youre taking to doing more with less. One of the things has not been really drilled down on and really struck me in this conversation today is the fact that you have 2,000 employees for the United States of america and its territory. When you think about the numbers of Small Businesses across this nation, youre doing a mans task. But what ive been impressed with today is your commitment to meeting these challenges head on. An thats critical. I believe deed, youre able to lead that legacy for whomever would be next in your shoes. That would take us a long way in making sure that the 21st century sba is meeting all of the goals that we have for Small Businesses in our communities across this nation. The one thing that id like to do, because i think ive heard the answers that i need to hear today with respect to the recommendations of the gao, and i feel assured that youre paying keen attention to those recommendations, is that i want to encourage you to look at how you can do more engagement with Small Business echo system in the u. S. Territories and the district of columbia, strengthening them, quite frankly. I use the example of puerto rico because of the challenge that theyre facing ek notchically. Theres going to be a need for Small Business. And to the extent that we can be a part of helping them to stabilize the marketplace or the ground for Small Business will go a long way as families struggle with the climate that has been created due to the challenges that puerto rico is facing overall with this economy. So, having said that, if youd like to respond, thats fine. If not, go to it. Im convinced you are focused like a laser on what needs to be done. I want to encourage you to keep up that stride. Thank you. I yield back. Thank you. May i respond . Oh, ive got a response. I just wanted to again, compliment you on the out reach that we did in your district. And i thought it was really superb. So thank you for venaling such a Stellar Group of people. But i think you raise an important point. That is that we have a program called the hub zone program, the historically underutilized Business Zone program. And so i traveled to puerto rico to meet with the governor, to meet with the communities and local officials to understand the rate of debt that every puerto rican is assuming, lose large. It is a serious issue. I have some tools. So i wanted to deploy those tools that we had. So we went there, again, with our contracting relationships. We went in to say a couple of things. We said that we want to make sure that were bringing corporations in to procure from the Small Businesses here. We want to make sure that the federal government is showing up here. We put on a conference of about 30 major procurers to focus on puerto rico. For Small Business, even when they get a contract, what happens is sometimes it takes government too long to pay. So we have to look at, you know, the minutia on some of those things. So weve launched two programs and one is called supply or pay, which is where we say to large corporations, well pay you in two weeks if you pay Small Businesses in two weeks. And a quick pay program, which is we pay Small Businesses in two weeks if theyre doing business with the federal government. Its giving people more cash flow to be able to grow their business. Thaurng, mr. Chairman. Thank you madame administrator for being here and answering questions. I, too, am encouraged by the fact that it seems like you want to fix all of these things. And im very encounselored by that. That being said, ive found in whatever walk of life, whether it be District Attorney or pros cueing a motorcade or whether it be work for greys, which was a department store, ive often found that priorities are so important and ive heard a lot of talk about what youve done. And im very impressed with that. Im also very grateful for your response to mississippi to the recent tornadoes who allow several district lives in my district. I hope youll keep a check on checking on my folks and making sure that sba does all they can, the Disaster Relief in mississippi, which has been declared a federal emergency. So i guess my question is, have you prioritized the 62 of the 69 gao objectives that youve had. Have you prioritized those. And if so, going back to college, per cpm and those things, you can do some things simultaneous. Do you have an overall Strategic Plan . Further, this is a person who has a rose pinned on them to accomplish this. And the suspense or deadlines are a plan of action for each of those 62 that have not been accomplished. Furter more, youve got to get the cio hired i think in order to address the issues appropriately. So i would encourage that you do the same thing that the ig pointed out. Thank you. A lot was stated in that. Again, let me just say that as i mentioned earlier, that i looked at them, prioritized with them. Rated them if you will and started with what i think is the priority. Thats what im doing. Youre right. Some you can achieve until the other is complete. That ice why i went to the library of congress to study that. Its why we put in an Evaluation Program for six different items here. And well continue to do that work. But let me just continue to share with you that process does matter, as you say. I started three different businesses and i left my Small Business to do something here. If its not enduring, then what was the point. Thats why im here in a cleej yal fashion. To make sure that the next person will be in not so many months. Let me tell you, i came in with a whole different attitude that im here now. I think youve got some opportunities. So if you dont put in writing, i can tell you as a commander, if its not written, it doesnt matter how good the organization is. The second thing, you talked a lot about sops. Sops are so important. Theyve got to be current. Theyve got to be active and applicable. I hear you saying youre putting 41 sops in the follow up attraction. How many of the old sops and the due pliktive sops have you taken out of action because when people are confused, its just as important to do away with the old as it is to enact the new. Id like to hear if you address the depliktive or otherwise. Again, one of the last businesses i started was a community bank. I have to tell you. You know, the 80 20 rule. Thank you. The gentlemans time has expired. Ms. Adams, who is Ranking Member in the investigations oversight is recognized for five minutes. Im going to skip asking about the implementation on the recommendations. Weve already asked about that. Im going to assist the sba in moving more expeditiously. I very much appreciate the question because absolutely there are budgetary constraints. To travel, to have somebody to travel, i have to put them up. Im trying to be more per diem to use local tools. Im putting people in clusters, whether theyre doing mentoring. Im trying to do what i can with what i have. But if you want to have a serious confers about the budget, i start in california. I have 14 different budgets, highway patrol, dmv, caltrans. It was a challenge to run them. I have a you neek opportunity that most people dont have and that is to create a department. Its still operating as one of the better governmentrun programs in the state of california. But it was an entirely different thing to start with a clean slate and say this is the talent, this is the court competencies that im after. It is a little more nuanced than it is to just start from fresh. Id be delighted to engage in that conversation. That requires a thoughtful conversation that you deserve. The lack of Program Evaluations without evaluations, sba lacks critical evaluation ensuring the validity and effectiveness of goals and strategies as well with both new and existing programs. For example, sba has, for many years, conducted an annual Client Survey who evaluates the effectiveness of Training Programs. So are there any plans to survey sba loan recipients to determine if the sba Loan Guarantee programs are declined. And if not, why not . I can just give you an example of some of the data points that were receiving. Business starts, revenue growth, job creation retention, new markets, which ones are exporting, contracts are acquired, innovation milestones, the usefulness of the services and, most important, Customer Satisfaction. So these are metrics that we are tracking. As i mentioned earlier, im interested in a unique identifier so that i can track the person longitudinally. I think thats really a vital point. So, again, thats on the specificics of our public to understand what theyre using. What were also doing is trying to understand where the entrepreneurs are. So i understand that were in federal government space and, to my disappointment, things are coming to the sba for entrepreneurial support. Thats why ive deployed our team and to find them these innovation hubs. The growth accelerators that are spawning across the country and were learning there, too, what millenials need that might be different from our women, veterans. These are market segmentations. With the advent of technological evolution, were not able to do much more targeted Digital Marketing to people. Id like to have that kind of capacity and how to discern we are actually fulfilling the Customer Satisfaction and to compete in an everglobalized economy. Thank you very much for your responses. And, again, that you think for your services. I yield back. Thank you. The gentle lady yields back. Chairman of the subcommittee on oversight regulations is recognized for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chair. I, too, am excited and grateful for your energy and your passion in which youre trying to accomplish here. But, still, i have concerned. Im concerned about what ive read. Im concerned about what ive heard and what ive seen. This agency is the council to assist and protect Small Businesses. Theyre supposed to act in a manner that is efficient and nimble like our Small Businesses are. So i think its 30 billion in Small Business financing. This is large numbers concerning yet. We have serious challenges out there with this administration. This is troubling for the economy. Vital in that growth. And has been assistant in that growth and economy. That shows how important this department is. But with these concerns that the gao has, i have a couple questions here for you. What is the Simple Impact on the sba utilizing the outdated sops. Another question id like to go is ask you, youve been here 20 months. Whier why is the average whats going on. You know, i thought as i looked at the chart, i was really intrigued by the gaos report and how far back it went and, you know, two things is, and i did a Little Research one evening because it was just interesting to me personally. And so i saw in some instances, the administrator was you have to have certain skills to be an entrepreneurship. Were a victim of the political process with every administration. You have a new appointment. And, generally, people take a fouryear run and then leave and then you bring in the second bench. So i hope im not the second bench. It appears to me that youve been the longest here. And i appreciate that success. So what you said is sba is an effective valuable and Critical Organization in our country. I just met a young man named kevin who said after 150,000 loan, he was able to go to a company underarmor. With a low bid of help, they were able to build an International Global marketplace. Id like to ask a question, though. Do you have a Succession Plan in place . Yes. So to that extent, im not just meeting with our political appointments. Its on a weekly basis to inculcate and to view the entire organization down to the bowels of the organization. You write it for institutional purr potss. Utilizing what is the impact of Small Business utilizing the out dated sops. Do you believe theres a major impact here . I think, since we have so many different vehicles id just like a yes or no. Okay, sir. Yes, we are reviewing the sops, as i mentioned. The ones that i mentioned as im addressing them faster than any administrator in the last few years, were making good progress. And i will continue to address that work. Also, in your testimony, you stated that it requires Senior Management to be directly responsible in ensuring and viewing if dissemination of the sops. Theyre required, sir, standard sops. We have already overhauled, for example, the disaster one, as i mentioned. Weve overhauled the sbic one, as i mentioned. This is the kind of work that were missing. Were doing them. Were undertaking them at unprecedented levels. We commit to reporting the momentum that were building on. Thank you for your service and construction and your rancher. You have a marvelous story. He studied well. Thank you, sir. The administrator is not the administrator for nothing. Shes doeb her research. This is being broadcast by cspan. So from the tens to dozens of people all across america that are watching this, an sop, by the way, is standard operating procedure. Im sure theyre all wondering what that was. Thank you, mr. Chairman. And to our Ranking Member. And madame administrator, once again, good to see you. And the opportunity to have you in my district for a Small Business round table, not necessarily with me, but with senator corey booker. But it fell in my Congressional District. We have two, actually. So i wont hold that against you. You got the podium for quite a while. You know, first i want to commend you for moving around the country as youve done during the course of your tenure. It doesnt go unnoticed. You really have spread yourself far and wide across the nation in your efforts throughout this country. There have been some issues with tension around the Senior Leadership. If im going over something that has already been addressed, please, forgive me. There have been 41 changes in senior level positions at the sba in the last decade. The gao reports that it gave multiple recommendations to increase Human Capital, specifically it noted the sba still hasnt developed work force plans, conducted skill assessments, updated sops or established training goals. What are you doing to address these Human Capital issues in Senior Leadership and the sba regional District Offices. Again, i think the continuity is important to ensure that we have Continuous Program aif he can chewuation. So im committed to that work. As i referenced earlier, we are reconstructing many of the job conditions and communication standards. And just generally, the way entrepreneurship is going, earlier, mentioning the importance of being anymoring. And so it is an art form as well as a science, i must say, to be able to be nimble at once and make sure that youre funding sops. And the modernization act and jobs act 2010. And doddfrank and this is my life, right . To make sure im crossing every t and dotting every i. In response to the globalization of it. It is a challenge. And you want to have the best and the brightest. I must tell you, i was really disappointed. These allegations are valid. I must tell you that each and every day, were talking half a dozen people. These people have to be diligent and strong communicators and branding opportunities. So it is a very important skill set that we need. The Salary Structures are somewhat restrictive. I think that, you know, again, we will continue to atract people to show them that their work is meaningful. People care about compensation. But, more important, they care about the meaningfulness of their work. Im here to remind them of that every single day. There isnt anything that makes me happier than like the man i just met on my last airplane who said he was an aspiring doctor. He received a 50,000 loan from sba and he became a doctor and is now 72 years old and served our country by providing Health Care Services to america. So do you feel the compensation levels there your department may be curtailing your ability to curtail the best and the brightest . The sba structure is not comparable to other cabinet offices. So i would be happy to address that. So, in many way, its a complex challenge. In many way, i want mobility. You want it to create up. Opportunities for the other folks coming in. On the other hand, you want historical framework. These are delicate challenges that i address each and every single day. Theyre now getting opportunities. Thats the good news. The bad news is that now, while i have upward mobility, ive got to find new talent. Okay, thank you. Thanks very much. The gentlemans time has expired. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I just wanted to i got in a little bit late, but i know you commented on missouri, my home state, which has experienced a weather disaster, recently. We certainly welcome you to come. My only comment would be to spend your time there if you have your folks be willing to respond more quickly. That would be really aappreciabluated. Where do you see the sba going . So, first, let me just assure you that i deployed my team even before weve been designated as a disaster in the area of certain circumstances that has to be met. I already have about ten employees already assessing and going out and conducting that study. So as soon as we are given the orders and are able to go, were now getting there in 24 hours. Its a remarkable achievement. Overall, as i mentioned, i traveled to washington to see how we responded there. I traveled to texas, to North Carolina to meet the governor im trying to understand what the requirements are. As a result, we have put in some important changes. We used to do this manually where we would send out the information of victims of disasters. Now, when they come into offices, we have the technology to do it so we can track them better. So were gibing to be able to deploy the folks to be able to do the work. Thats great. The next question i have is in regards to 2008. Why are we not i were leapting this, especially in a time like this. I think thats the idea. A Program Worth having. I guess thats the first question. The Financial Institutions are having a problem adopting it. They say that its hard for them to process a 10,000 loan. That, if not repaid, by our Disaster Program that we do, then they have to advertise it at a very low interest rate. Im asking to put them on the record for formal comment as to what we need to do to make them work. It doesnt work. Hes got two choices. Fix it or get rid of it. Thats the point. Thats what were working with to get the answers. But meanwhile, sir, i think this is important. What we put in is an uncollateralized, 25,00 loan and were processing them now in seven days. So in the spirit of what were trying to accomplish here are you authorized to make direct loans . That is what they do. We make direct loans for people who are physically or economically affected by a disaster. So, for renters, as well, its important to note. This is the only office that makes direct loans. Thats news to me. Last time we had a director in here and she didnt want the ability to make direct loans, which was interesting. Also, with regards to whats going on, all of this information that youre going to be accumulating with regards to the hacks that have been happening with opm and the irs. How are you protecting your data . There is first, let me just say, to assure the American People, as the term just mentioned, we have other people listening in. The sba operates with Financial Institutions. They dont join our system until theyre assured that their data is protected. That begs the question, do you, at the sba, have the same protocols and the same secrecy laws and concerns and protections as the banks are . We operate under nist, the National Institute of science and technology. We operate under different guidelines, but similar protocols. So, in that regard, were working to a rev 4 level. But youre not there yet. You said youre working toward it. So, obviously, youre not there yet. I want to be honest with you. Are you sure theyre basing concerns about the protection of their information . The gentlemans time has expired, but, go ahead and answer. Again, the fact that the Financial Institution who review our system and audit our system are comfortable connecting gives me some sew lis. But i have an auditor who comes in to tell us and they found no material weaknesses. I have, none the less, made sure that we have processed weve moved our mainframe to a modern do me a favor. Just as a closing thought here, i appreciate what youre saying. You say were doing this according to all of these protocols and you have a gao study with getting things done in regards to their assessments of not having to do everything. When you have Standard Operating Procedures that are being called into question, im not sure the citizens can have great faith. It concerns me to work on it and i appreciate your comments. The gentlemans time has expired. I just wanted to say that i promised you lunch the last time if i didnt fulfill my goal and i want you to know that i think you owe me lunch because we are now up and operating. We have several thousand banks that have joined us and its working. Youve got to take a look at it. I think the cafeteria is still open. But 20 minutes from the next meeting. In all seriousness, i want to thank the administrator for her participation today. I certainly appreciate your ensthuz yachl and your energy that you brought to this hearing. I especially appreciate your willingness to do everything within your power to implement the 62 out of 69 gao recommendations that still need to be resolved. My greatest concern is on the it security issue. We have seen the white house, even, hacked. These Small Businesses give you a lot of sensitive information. The sba is working in collaboration with homeland security, with the fbi and all of the other organizations, so i want to put confidence into the system. I yudsed to run the dmv. This is something that has to be an effort on going. I totally agree with you. Theres nothing that brings the comforts of people than dealing with the department of motor vehicles. If theres no further business to come before the committee, well add joun. Thank you much. Thank you, sir. As president obama prepares for his state of the Union Address on tuesday, he released this video on twitter. I eemm working on my state the Union Address. Its my last one. As im writing, i keep thinking about the roads that weve traveled together these past seven years. Thats what makes america great. Our capacity to change for the better. Our ability to come together as one American Family and pull ourselves closer to the america we believe in. Its hard to see sometimes. But it is who we are. And it is what i want to focus on in this state of the Union Address. Cspans coverage starts at 8 00 p. M. Eastern with real clear politics congressional reporter looking back at the history and tradition of the president s annual message and what to expect in this years address. And then, at 9 00, a live coverage of the president s speech followed by the republican response by South Carolina governor plus your reaction by phone, facebook, tweets and email. As well as those from congress. And well reair our state of the Union Coverage and the republican response starting at 11 00 p. M. Eastern, also, live on cspan2 after the speech, well hear from members of congress with their reaction to the president s address. The chair of the House Foreign Affairs committee congressman ed royce will talk about some of the Global Security threats facing the u. S. Youll have live coverage at 9 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan2. Here on cspan3, well have live coverage at 9 00 a. M. Eastern. Next, Nick Mulvaney talks. From washington journal, this is 40 minutes. Joining us on the program, Nick Mulvaney. Good morning. How did you vote . I voted to repeal. I think it was the 40th time ive been able to do that in the house. Because of yesterday, it will actually get to the president s desk now. The number of time. This is the one that really counts. 4 is the one that actually counts. Even though it will most likely get a veto . We told a lot of people that. People accept that. Folks elected in 2010, 2012, 2014, know that with barack obama in the white house, were always going to have obamacare. They wanted to know that republicans would stand up to present the other side of the story. Go back in 2009, 2010 when we were discussing obamacare as a nation. There wasnt that much debate. There was sort of this general debate about what we should do about health care. But it wasnt much about this specific bill. We have to pass it in order to know whats in it. How can you debate something that doesnt exist yet. That im vetoing it and heres why. We can have that national debate. Once again, never become law as republicans celebrate the 62nd vote. Thats all we say on that . The thought ooft matter is weve never had the debate. Theres no defense of obamacare. Theres no response of the difficulties that people are facing. I want obamacare. I cannot get service. I cannot get health care. No one takes the coverage. Heres why we think its not. Heres why we can do it better. If the president misses that, my guess is that the president will avoid that. That what you saw last week about guns, its an attempt not to have that debate. 74880001 for democrats, 8001 for republicans. You can also tweet them to us. When it came to the actual budget, who has to make the fight . Im a big fan to passing most pieces of legislation. I think if you had done that, then the threshold changes. The only way to get this to the president s desk was by using this arcane set of rules called budget reconciliation. A very narrow area of law that does not need 60 votes in the senate. If it had been attached, the threshold was no longer 50, it would be 60. So, another call then this morning, what about the alternative . If youre going to repeal, whats the alternative for the republican sns. Guilty as charged. We had been promised since 2012, i think that we would offer our alternative ideas. Theyre there. The Republican Study Commission has had a comprehensive plan online for four years i think. For some reason, previous leadership was afraid to bring it up. Im hopeful that now we will have the nerve to stand up and say not only do we not like obama care, but heres our idea of how to fix things. If we dont do that, we will have failed the country and failed the party. What are some of the alternatives . Youll never get people to look at the insurance systems that work. Homeowners insurance works. Most of the time, your employer picks it for you. If your window gets broken on your car, you sit down and do a calculation. I could make a claim against my insurance, but my insurance might go up. We dont do that with health care. If you go in and the doctor says you need an mri, you get an mri. Its the only thing that we buy that somebody else pays for. Its a completely broken system. You can look to examples for the next ten years. The only insurance thats gone up is health care insurance. If you look at the list of things that could improve models elsewhere, we talked about state lines to promote competition. If you go and do an internet search, you can get right to it. Why do republicans let the democrats say that the republicans are trying to limit womens access to health care. Theyre trying to limit their access to murdering babies. The short answer is we cant dictate what they say. So if your question is why do we let them say it, we have to let them say it