Than the the committee will come to order. [inaudible] sba. Mcmahon to head the linda, thank you so much for have senators we blumenthal and murphy to mcmahon and both of these gentlemen have run against mrs. Mcmahon and vice versa. So, i hope they didnt ring their files on we have been trying to forget. But in any event, senator blumenthal, the floor is yours and thank you so much for gracing us with your presence. Thank you, mr. Chairman and thank you senator shaheen. Colleague to join my in introducing our fellow resident of connecticut, Linda Mcmahon. Citizenher as a fellow of connecticut, but also as a , asessful Business Leader the cofounder and former ceo of , and also as a very generous contributor to many significant philanthropic and charitable causes and educational institutions in connecticut, including for example, Sacred Heart University, where we live. In my view, mr. Chairman, i recommend her because i think she would be an excellent fit for this agency based on her experience and expertise as a Business Leader. I do, that Small Businesses are the backbone of our economy, they are the most vibrant and vital job creators. They not only innovate by fostering new jobs, but they also invent new product, they are the startups in every sense and they embody the American Green green. I know how they create jobs and new products and opportunities for others. Role,a lays an integral as this committee will knows, in supporting Small Businesses financially, but also encouraging them with expertise and experience. Linda mcmahon has that kind of expertise and experience. And a a tireless leader tenacious fighter. Her professional life has been about building businesses, she has started and struggled in the entrepreneurial trenches, meeting payrolls, hiring and firing, working hard for a vision. We have known our share of differences, but i have never questioned her unwavering drive and focus. She has used her business to realizeerans and women their own dreams and opportunities, and i am hopeful that under her leadership, the Small Business administration its its focus on veterans and women. She has played an integral role in spearheading opportunities and dreams for women and that has been the focus of her life professional life most recently. So, i am pleased to do the here to be here and recommend her to the committee. She understands the needs of , who areke connecticut still working hard to recover from the economic recession, who need new jobs, and i hope she will continue to have connecticut at the top of her as she assumes this new role and i look forward to working her with her and i know other members of the committee will, as well. Thank you very much. Thank you senator blumenthal, i was hoping she would have idaho at the top of her mind, but i will let her say that. I dont think she will. Coming, we are all busy these days. Thank you, very much mr. Chairman. It also gives me great pleasure to help introduce our Linda Mcmahon as the nominee to serve as the next chair of the Small Business administration. As you said, this visual is going to be a little amusing and surprising to folks in connecticut who watch the three of us do get out over two long senate campaigns. But politics cant work if political grudges never die and political adversaries have to find a way to Work Together after the fight is over. I am here to support linda, not because we have magically become of one mind on how we approach every problem the country faces, but because i have confidence that she is going to give good counsel to President Trump when it comes to the policy affecting Small Businesses and i believe she has the passion for this job that is vital. At its core, the sbas mission is simple, to help americans start, build and grow businesses. Every owner and starter of a Small Business wants to one day be the owner of a big is this. Before you today sits a very counted and experienced as this person who did just that. Over the past few decades, lynn did linda has shepherded a business from a one desk operation to a profitable enterprise with hundreds of employees throughout the world. She also understands the challenges as blumenthal said, facing Women Business owners. Her Organization Helps equip women to become successful Business Leaders. The progressd on of her predecessor in the Obama Administration. The federal government has surpassed its 5 contracting goal for women in Small Businesses. For the first time in history. I have confidence linda and am thrivingher empower businesses with the hope of Partner Organizations like the womens Business Development council, which has had success in connecticut, nurturing women owned Small Businesses. I saw firsthand the fight that linda brings to any endeavor that she takes on and i am sure we will have disagreements, but i will never question whether she has the experience and the determination necessary to lead this great agency. And i would really urge the members of this committee to support her nomination. I am very pleased to join with senator blumenthal to introduce her today. Chairman thank you, so much senators. We will advise the Guinness World book of records about this event and get it duly noted. You are certainly welcome to stay, but knowing that we are all drinking out of a fire hose these days, you can certainly be excused and im sure you will see this when you need to see it. So, thank you so much. Thank you for coming. Thank you mr. Chairman. Chairman thank you. Where we are headed here and for everyone else, i am going to make a very brief opening statement. I will yield to senator shaheen to do likewise. At that point, he will administer the os, which is oath andthe os the floor will be yours to make an opening statement. As you can see, you have a list of people with deep, probing questions who will then take turns at you from each side. So, in any event, first of all thank you for coming to meet with me and spending the time that you did. And you for being willing to take on this important appointment. The Small Business administration is not a large federal agency. As federal agencies go, but to a a smallrson, businessperson, it can be one of the most important and critical endeavors that the government undertakes. You and i have the opportunity to talk about a couple of , itavors that the sba does is of course known for its loaning to Small Businesses and you will find, i think, when you drill down, but there is a very robust fleet of lenders out there who service the Small Business community through the Small Business administration. I think you will be well satisfied with how they operate, what they do and the work they do for Small Business. Of more importance to me, because that part of the operation is doing so well, is the efforts that the sba undertakes to try and level the Playing Field for Small Businesses. When we talk with every business when i started in politics, the most hated organization of any government was the irs. Back andas fallen way the other agencies that do the regulatory things that the government does have risen to the top. In my state and our dealings, the epa is way up there. Others. At, there are if you ask any businessman today, whether small or big, particularly Small Business, what is the biggest challenge you face today question mark invariably, they wont say, it is access to capital or taxes are too high. They will cut your the regulatory structure of the isernment in america strangling businesses. You will find that everyone at this table can tell stories about Government Agencies coming into Small Businesses and, causing them difficulty. We have an operation called the office of advocacy. Upy are supposed to stand and complain loudly every time the federal government does something that affects Small Businesses. There is a process in place for them to formally do this. It has not worked very well. I am hoping as we go forward that we are going to be able to make it work better. Poster child for that was the rule posed regarding waters of the united states. The Advocacy Office of advocacy said this was a problem , especially for Small Businesses in agriculture and others looted. The agency said, no, we are making a finding that this will not have a Significant Impact on businesses. You have got to be braindead to reach that kind of conclusion. Youny event, i know that share my concern with that. I hope we will be able to Work Together to try and do more for Small Businesses. We all know when the government ruts out a regulation, if you handed it by an army of lawyers to take care of it very if it comes to a guy who was fixing lawnmowers in his garage, and he gets a multipage inquiry from the government, it becomes a big problem for him and cuts into his worker medically. We will his work dramatically. I look forward to your thoughts on that and with that, a yield to my colleague. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. A key for holding todays hearing and congratulations on taking over the gavel. We have had the opportunity to Work Together in the past very well and i look forward to working with you over the coming session to address the needs of Small Businesses. To recognize the new members of the committee, senator duckworth on the democratic side and on the republican side, senators in half, young and round. Welcome to the committee. You will find this is a committee that works in a very strong, bipartisan way to address the concerns of Small Businesses. I look forward to continuing to do that. I am also very pleased to welcome Linda Mcmahon, who is President Trumps cabinet to head the Small Business administration. I appreciated the opportunity to meet with you and hear your passion for the work that Small Businesses do. I got on this committee in 2008 after i got elected to the senate, because Small Business is such a concern for New Hampshire. 96 of our employers in New Hampshire are considered small and they are not just important to New Hampshire and so many of the states represented on this committee, but they are the engine of the economy that drives this nation. Two out of every three jobs created are created from Small Businesses. They are also leaders in innovation, they produce and this is a statistic that is one of my favorite, they produce 14 and large patents businesses. I am not sure most people appreciate the innovation that occurs in our Small Businesses. Unfortunately, unlike big business, our Small Businesses have not yet fully recovered from the great recession. For example, according to a harvard is this school analysis, Small Business loans have dropped by 20 since the financial crisis while lending to large firms as increased by 4 . Thats why sba and its programs are so critical. Backedar alone, the sba more than 70,000 loans to Small Businesses, supporting 29 billion in lending and nearly 700,000 jobs. The sba also help Small Businesses win more than 90 million in federal contracts and provided counseling to more than one million entrepreneurs. But of course, there is more work to be done and that is why you were there. Are here. I know you share those goals and values for why we need to support Small Business in this economy and look forward to hearing your statement today. And your response to questions. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thatman i will warn you senator Mahesh Shaheen mentioned the new members. They may be new to this committee, but these people have been around for a while. Dont expect softball questions. With that, i would ask you to stand and be sworn, if you would raise your right hand please. Do you swear to tell the whole truth, nothing but the truth so help you god . Thank you very much. I understand you have a very some introductions of your own. Linda i am proud to introduce my daughter stephanie and her husband. Stand up. Welcome. [applause] friends whorful have traveled from around the country to be here today. I am very appreciate appreciated of their presence, as well. Chairman at this point, the floor is yours for an opening statement. Linda thank you very much. Thank you, chairman. Ranking member shaheen and distinguished members of the committee. I am honored to have your consideration to serve as the head of u. S. Small Business Administration. I would like to thank senators blumenthal and murphy for their kind introductions. And it was nice to be on a really even Playing Field today. Myould also like to express gratitude to President Trump for this opportunity to join his administration. As an entrepreneur myself, i have share the experiences of our nations Small Business owners. We are more than our products and services, we are people. We are families. The Small Businesses that are the engine of our nationally economy are driven in part by people working to put food on the table, pay for kids braces and swimming lessons, save for college and prepare for their own retirement. Whether it is an organic farmer or an app developer, with one employee or 100, we can never forget that Small Businesses are people with goals and values that cannot be cast elated a profit and loss statement. If i have the honor of being confirmed as the head of the sba, i will do my best to advocate on their behalf. Built our and i businesses from scratch. We started up sharing a desk. Over decades of hard work and strategic growth, we built it into a publicly traded Global Enterprise with more than 800 employees. I am proud of our success. I know every bit of the hard work that it took to create that success. Whenember the early days every month, i had to decide whether i should continue to lease a typewriter or if i could finally afford to buy it. Yes, believe it or not, that 12 a month at that time made a difference in our budget. Owners, Small Business i know what it is like to take a risk on an idea, manage cash flows, navigate regulations and tax laws and create jobs. Ceo oftepping down as wwe in 2009, i have worked to help more people have the opportunity to pursue those goals. In my travels throughout 201020 tellsrom when i was campaigning, i met with over 500 Small Business owners. Shops, restaurants, factories and sharing ideas during roundtable discussions. Job growth is the pillar of my campaign and because Small Businesses are responsible for half of all private sector jobs and the majority of new jobs, or my focus. For the past two years, i have promoted women in entrepreneurship as cofounder and ceo of womens leadership live. I wanted to share my vast experience with others launching startups and looking to scale their businesses. Through life events and webinars, we educated entrepreneurs on applying for loans, developing a Business Plan. We also worked to build their confidence. I always say that even entrepreneurs with the best ideas sometimes need a little wind beneath their wings. By sharing our stories of success and failure, our networks of contacts or resources and our strategies for addressing challenges, we can give Small Business owners the confidence that will help propel them forward. Owners do not just need confidence in themselves. In order to take a risk, they need conference confidence in the economy. Should i be confirmed to lead the sba, i will work to revitalize a spirit of entrepreneurship in america. Small businesses want to feel they can take a risk on an expansion or new hire without fearing onerous new regulations or unexpected taxes, fees and fines that will make such growth unaffordable. We want to renew optimism in our economy. Small businesses have had some tough blows in the past decade. I know what it is like to take a hit and have learned that it is not how you fall, but had to get up that truly matters. Early in my career when we were very young, my husband and i declared bankruptcy. Invested in a come industry we didnt understand and trusted people we shouldnt have. We were left holding the bag when that comp