▶ 0:11:42.
▶ 0:16:58Chair Ernst: To order. As we are just weeks away from the 200 50th anniversary of our nation, we are taking time to focus on the cornerstone of american commerce, mainstreet small businesses. The merchants, shopkeepers, and small business owners who have kept mainstreet alive, serves as the heartbeat of every day commerce and the guarantors of american prosperity.
▶ 0:17:27Chair Ernst: For 200 50 years, americans have sustained our towns and cities through their dedication and hard work. American ingenuity has provided communities throughout the country with boundless opportunity. As we have discussed in prior america 250 hearings, limitless of american determination is empowering countless generations of pioneers in an ever expanding nation, turning barren and untamed land into driving the main streets.
▶ 0:17:57Chair Ernst: From the general store to the agricultural market, our earliest businesses created the foundation of our society as we know it. Innovation and progress are an important part of our american story. While the american revolution was unfolding, and industrial revolution was also transforming mainstreet, bringing a new kind of small business, the factory, to our communities. Together, the american and industrial revolutions transformed the world.
▶ 0:18:28Chair Ernst: Let me take you to cedar rapids, iowa during the worst of the great depression in 1933. A young entrepreneur, arthur collins, founded collins radio company, a small business designing and producing shortwave radio equipment.
▶ 0:18:46Chair Ernst: Starting with limited resources, this iowa entrepreneur developed groundbreaking communication systems that became essential for nasa's apollo missions, enabling astronauts to communicate and transmit data from the moon back to the earth, and contributing to one of america's greatest technological achievements of the time.
▶ 0:19:09Chair Ernst: Now we stand at the forefront of technological innovation, having a locked new, digital front nearly every corner of the globe. And there is still much more to come. I was proud to lead the small business innovation and economic security act to reform and reauthorize the sbit and s programs.
▶ 0:19:38Chair Ernst: By legislation is generating new opportunities for small businesses at the forefront of r&d tottr perfect union, I have no doubt america's small businesses and entrepreneurs will continue leading the way. Today, we are continuing our american 250 series by reflecting on our storied history and listening to folks from four states that have played pivotal roles in early american commerce.
▶ 0:20:08Chair Ernst: My home state of iowa, idaho, delaware, and nevada. Iowa embodies the american entrepreneurial spirit of the heartland with settlers building thriving main street from the prairie, with new towns, small businesses, family farms, where the catalyst for success.
▶ 0:20:29Chair Ernst: In idaho and nevada, a similar entrepreneurial mindset emphasized innovation, self-reliance, and the pursuit of opportunity. Driving the expansion of boom towns and fostering innovation and logistics during our westward expansion.
▶ 0:20:47Chair Ernst: In delaware, small businesses like mills and treaters have existed long before american independence, but the region was also home to some of the first mechanized production in the americas and continues to innovate to this day. I'm grateful for our panel of witnesses were joining us today. I look forward to hearing from them about how their small businesses have contributed to main street america and how they will continue this legacy for generations to come.
▶ 0:21:18Chair Ernst: When the ranking member joins us, we will have his opening statement as well. Again, I want to extend a warm welcome to our witnesses. I am thankful that you all took time out of your busy schedules to come to D.C. to share your expertise before the committee. We will now go ahead with our introductions. First we have Mr. don toward dachshund on the ward, the mayor of pella, iowa.
▶ 0:21:46Chair Ernst: Since 2020, mayor dewaard has served the city of pella notably has worked to increase workforce housing and expand childcare access. He previously spent 13 years in public accounting, nine years in the tire business, and 15 years in real estate development. Mayor dewaard holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from central college and earned his cpa certificate.
▶ 0:22:14Chair Ernst: We are waiting on senator risch you will introduce our idaho representative. I will go ahead and introduce Mr. jack hruby. You go by jack, is that correct? Mr. jack hruby is the vice president of strategy and outreach for perceptview, a counter unmanned aerial system provider in boise, idaho. He served in the U.S.
▶ 0:22:40Chair Ernst: Air force for over 20 years as an officer, fighter pilot, and commander of the fourth operations group, amassing over 3000 flying hours and 117 combat missions. After service, Mr. rubio founded two companies and served as president of black sage, and innovator in the counter uhs space. He holds a bachelor's degree in international affairs from the U.S.
▶ 0:23:09Chair Ernst: Air force academy and three separate masters degrees including an mba. Thank you so much for your service. We really appreciate it. Next, I will recognize senator rosen to introduce our witness from nevada.
▶ 0:23:23Sen. Rosen: Thank you, chair ernst, ranking member murphy is not here , but we appreciate this250 series of small businesses. It's really great. Such a pleasure to have you all here. Today, it is my distinct pleasure to introduce karen ch miller. He is the president and ceo of the urban chamber of commerce in las vegas.
▶ 0:23:46Sen. Rosen: The urban chamber marks 46 years this year as one of nevada's oldest organizations dedicated to the success of black businesses and the broader small business community. Mr. miller brings nearly two decades of experience moving businesses and beauty, real estate, and film production. Miller grew up in a family of casino workers and small business owners in las vegas.
▶ 0:24:09Sen. Rosen: He knows firsthand what it takes for nevada small businesses to survive and thrive, and what they need, honestly to just keep going in today's environment. I thank him for his commitment to our community and to supporting and building small businesses everywhere. Thank you.
▶ 0:24:27Chair Ernst: Thank you, senator rosen. Next, I will recognize senator coons to introduce our next witness.
▶ 0:24:36Sen. Coons: Thank you, madam chair. I'm happy to welcome and introduce a friend and a leader in innovation in our community, Dr. kris vaddi. He has been a part of delaware's ecosystem for 20 years, 10% of the total history of the modern united states. He has been involved in the creation of the lodge and leadership of three different companies dedicated to discovering treatments and cures for terrible diseases. For the past decade, Dr.
▶ 0:25:03Sen. Coons: Vaddi has led prelude therapeutics. Dr. vaddi represents the best of what our country can be. When we live up to our founding ideals, when we welcome immigrants and newcomers eager to take part in the american experiment, when we enable risk-taking, competition, and investment, and when we reward hard work and innovation. I will let Dr.
▶ 0:25:29Sen. Coons: Vaddi tell his own story when we get to testimony but I cannot tell you how grateful I am to your contributions to delaware, our nation, to our health and future. I am thrilled that you are able to join us today.
▶ 0:25:41Chair Ernst: Thank you so much. If senator risch does join us in committee, we will help him welcome you as well. Thank you to our witnesses for being here again. I ask unanimous consent that the witnesses'. To be entered into the record. Without objection, so ordered. As a written testimony have been made a part of the record, the committee asks you limit your oral marks to five minutes. With that, Mr. dewaard, you are recognized for five minutes for your testimony.
▶ 0:26:12Mayor Dewaard: Thank you, chair ernst, for inviting me here today. I'm extremely excited and honored to be here. There are two things I really love, small business and pella, iowa. For me to have the opportunity to talk about both of those, I'm very excited about that. My name is don dewaard, and I am honored to serve as mayor of pella a community of , approximately 10,600 residents located in south central iowa.
▶ 0:26:38Mayor Dewaard: As america approaches its 250th anniversary, there is perhaps no better time to recognize the role small businesses, entrepreneurs, and local communities have played in building this nation. While pella is known for our dutch heritage and tulips, our story is ultimately one of entrepreneurship, hard work, innovation, and cooperation. Those values have shaped our community for nearly two centuries and continue to drive our success today.
▶ 0:27:08Mayor Dewaard: In my written testimony, I focused on four different areas. I don't have time to read my whole written testimony, so I want to highlight areas. When you think about pella, you need to understand, know about the history of pella. Pella was founded in by dutch 1847 immigrants seeking opportunity and the freedom to build a better future. The entrepreneurial spirit that brought these settlers to iowa remains deeply woven into our community today.
▶ 0:27:37Mayor Dewaard: Our history is filled with stories of individuals who started with an idea, worked hard, took risks, and built companies that now serve customers around the world. We have three really good examples of business that started as a very small business and has grown into a very large business. In 1925, pete kuyper founded pella corporation. Today, that company employs more than 10,000 people and is recognized as one of the leading window and door manufacturers in north america.
▶ 0:28:07Mayor Dewaard: In 1948, gary vermeer founded vermeer corporation in a small machine shop in pella. Today, vermeer is a global company generating more than $1 billion in annual revenue and employing over 4,000 people worldwide. Just for the record, today, my wife and I were walking around capital square, in front of the library, there was a group cleaning up some branches.
▶ 0:28:37Mayor Dewaard: There was a vermeer wood chipper there. I was able to take a picture and send it back to some of the family. Ppi, another company founded by local entrepreneurs, has grown into a global leader in engineered conveyor components. Today, it is employee-owned, serves international markets, and employs more than 700 people.
▶ 0:29:02Mayor Dewaard: One thing that pella has done, we celebrate and have held onto our heritage, and that's had a huge impact on our tourism industry. For a community of our size, our tourism industry is very vibrant. We just celebrated our 91st tulip time in pella. Pella is a town, as I said, a little under 11,000 people. Every first thursday, friday, saturday of may, we celebrate our tulip festival which celebrates the dutch heritage of our community.
▶ 0:29:34Mayor Dewaard: We get around 200,000 people that come to visit our community during tulip time. And the rest of the year. Our tourism industry is very vibrant. It's a huge economic driver for our community. Very important. But to do that, to have a festival like that with that many people coming into a small town, it takes a whole lot of volunteers. Volunteerism is a huge part of our community.
▶ 0:30:06Mayor Dewaard: You can imagine with that many people coming in over a three-day period, a lot of logistical issues. So it takes an army of people to pull that off year year-in and year-out. It is only growing. I see I have about one minute left. The last thing I want to talk about is the power of cooperation. As I've talked about, some of our larger corporations, our large corporations are supported by many of our small businesses.
▶ 0:30:37Mayor Dewaard: On any given day during monday through friday, we have somewhere between 5000 and 6000 people that commute into pella on a daily basis to work. Our local restaurants, gas stations, our shops have to support all those people. One of the challenges for us as a community is to continue to be able to, for our large corporations, to stay in a community of our size.
▶ 0:31:04Mayor Dewaard: So it takes all the small businesses to support our larger businesses. As a community, working in cooperation, we have been able to accomplish that.
▶ 0:31:13Chair Ernst: Thank you very much, mayor dewaard. Did you bring any treats today?
▶ 0:31:20Mayor Dewaard: I'm sorry, I did not. Hoping that means you can come to pella and I can get them to you.
▶ 0:31:26Chair Ernst: Open invitation for everyone to come to tulip time as well. It's really beautiful. Thank you so much for your testimony. Next, we are going to recognize Mr. miller for five minutes. Thank you for joining us.
▶ 0:31:42Mr. Miller: Thank you very much, chair ernst, the state which members of the committee, for allowing me to be here today. From reno to las vegas, nevada has always been built by people, innovators, founders who arrived with nothing but hope and a plan. Las vegas founded 121 years ago as a railroad stop is one of the first places the world pictures when they think of this country. Because of what people with big ideas and a willingness to work built there.
▶ 0:32:10Mr. Miller: Small business by small business. It is the foundation of our state's history and it's why I'm here today. I am karen ch miller, I leave the urban chamber of commerce, and for almost 46 years, we've been dedicated to helping small businesses start, grow, and stay.
▶ 0:32:37Mr. Miller: Before this role, I served in the better legislator and spent two decades building businesses of my own. I know what it takes to make payroll have been when margins are tight, what it looks like when a business built over years start losing ground in months, and I know firsthand how decisions made in buildings like this one land on the ground for real people like our members. The good news, nevada posted a 13% increase in new business formations this year, placing us in the top five in the country. That is a real win.
▶ 0:33:07Mr. Miller: People know that the bed is open for business. But the question this committee should be asking is not how many business are being created but how many of them will still be open in five years, and what policies are in place to help them get there? A reliable small business infrastructure is the backbone to a safer, stronger and more economically secure middle-class america. It's the difference between a community that holds together and one that has to be rebuilt. In vegas, we know the story all too well.
▶ 0:33:37Mr. Miller: We had a front row seat to the devastation of the historic jackson avenue established back in 1940, a thriving black business main street known as the black strip. It's history reminds us that dropping business districts require more than individual determination. They require access to capital, technical assistance, supportive institutions, and long-term investment. When the infrastructure disappears, community suffer. When it is restored, communities can drive again.
▶ 0:34:05Mr. Miller: Jackson avenue is on the brink of recovery but with 67% because two small business administration funding, the new business that starts there could face the same realities of those that came before them. A reality that keeps many of our members up at night. Business owners who survived 2008 and made it through covid are telling us this is the hardest stretch they have ever faced. And it's not only in southern nevada.
▶ 0:34:29Mr. Miller: From every major metro corridor to every rural main street across the state, owners are dealing with rising costs, customers pulling back, and support systems that are not keeping up. Tourism shapes the vet a different way than most states be when the visitor volume drops, the volume does not stay inside the resorts and hotels. It hits every restaurant, every boutique, every service business in the state. Las vegas visitation fell 70% in 2025, the steepest drop since the pandemic.
▶ 0:34:59Mr. Miller: International visitors who stay longer and spend more have pulled back and our conference and events members tell me that groups make these decisions 12 to 18 months out, meaning the recovery ahead could be longer than anyone expects. Let me tell you about two business owners from our state. One is a live event vendor was also the only black-owned plastics manufacturer and distributor in the country. He says tariffs, high fuel, shipping and freight costs have hit his business hard. He is not asking for a handout come he is asking for stability.
▶ 0:35:30Mr. Miller: Another built a landscaping team from scratch. Right now, that team is now getting rising costs and immigration policy uncertainty. If they cannot keep their team, they cannot take on larger contracts. If they cannot grow, the families depending on their wages are on their own. This is what chambers across america here every single day. In 2023, the urban chamber launched a capital readiness program.
▶ 0:35:59Mr. Miller: In 2025, a federal executive order paused it. Advises were laid off. Technical assistance stopped. Businesses went out without support. That showed up in the loan not being funded, the contract not won, in the small business doors that closed. In closing, I have three asks today. Maintain the capital readiness program and similar advisory programs with a renewed commitment to stable multiyear funding and strong small business infrastructure. Second, invest in chambers as a delivery system.
▶ 0:36:29Mr. Miller: We are trusted, efficient, and we are underfunded for the work that our communities, and us to do. Third, four tourism-dependent states like nevada, create a federal response network with a rational tied to visitor volume more small business closure rates that initiates as a coordinated response before the damage becomes irreversible. The vet a small businesses made it through recessions and a pandemic because people were willing to work hard and there were system in place to support them when things got tough.
▶ 0:36:58Mr. Miller: All I'm asking today is for us to consider that that infrastructure be protected. Thank you.
▶ 0:37:02Chair Ernst: Thank you, Mr. miller. Next we will go to Mr. rubio. You are recognized for five minutes.
▶ 0:37:09Mr. Hruby: Good afternoon. I'll be have of the founder and president of perceptview and the all boise-based team, it's my honor to represent small businesses across america, more specifically in idaho. Perceptview represents the modern face of main street manufacturing, highly technical, agile, deeply committed to national security, and entirely dedicated to maintaining a robust domestic supply chain.
▶ 0:37:38Mr. Hruby: Our specialized small businesses focus on research, development, software and hardware engineering for advanced long-range electro-optical and infrared surveillance tracking and counter small technologies. In the spirit of america 250, our story reflects a timeless american tradition, a nimble, innovative frame identifying critical vulnerabilities, building an expert localized team and iterating practical solutions faster and more efficiently than traditional
▶ 0:38:08Mr. Hruby: Contractors burdened by legacy overhead. For small businesses in advance manufacturing, hardware sector, physical info structure represents one of the steepest financial hurdles to scaling operations. The specialized tax credits for manufacturing and production space embedded within the one big beautiful bill act serves as an essential catalyst for domestic industrial growth.
▶ 0:38:33Mr. Hruby: Much like past landmark reforms lowered corporate barriers to allow family-owned businesses to expand, these targeted production space have reduced the after-tax cost of contracting, constructing, expanding, high-tech facilities. More specifically, recent conflicts have made clear that technological advances now turns on speed adaptability, and direct feedback from the field.
▶ 0:39:01Mr. Hruby: Ukraine's success in resisting russia's aggression has demonstrated the rapid innovation especially in drones, sensors, electronic warfare, and counter unmanned aircraft systems is no longer a secondary battlefield advantage. It is essential to operational survival. It's critical. Solutions are being designed, tested, modified, and redeployed in compressed cycles measured in days and weeks, not years. That model should inform how the united states invests in its own small business innovation base.
▶ 0:39:31Mr. Hruby: Furthermore, the rapid proliferation of inexpensive commercially available small unmanned aircraft systems suas has created immense economic utility but it has introduced a highly complex asymmetrical threat. To the homeland.
▶ 0:39:48Mr. Hruby: Unauthorized or malicious drone operators present severe security, safety, and operational challenges across a diverse array of domestic targets including commercial airports, national laboratories, energy facilities, military installations, and highly populated outdoor sports and intimate venues. Because these environment very dramatically, a rigid one-size-fits-all defensive posture is fundamentally insufficient.
▶ 0:40:14Mr. Hruby: This mission has taken on highlighted significance following the passage of the safe skies act of 2026. This critical legislation represents a ground breaking shift in domestic airspace defense comprehensively expanding counter uas detection and authorities to state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agency as well as federal and state correctional facilities.
▶ 0:40:38Mr. Hruby: By authorizing the cross deputization of local law enforcement officers and unlocking hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grant funding, including critical security allocations for host cities managing massive public events such as the world cup, the safe skies act of 2020 six establishes an unprecedented interagency framework to intercept and neutralize illicit drone operations.
▶ 0:41:04Mr. Hruby: In closing, the narrative of the american experiment is inexorably linked to the stories of its builders, makers, independent innovators. As we commemorate america to supporting while small manufacturers is not an economic priority. It's an absolute national security imperative. The next chapter of american technological leadership will be written in communities where small teams turn pressing national challenges into practical resilient capabilities.
▶ 0:41:31Mr. Hruby: To see these cutting-edge capabilities firsthand, perceptview extends a warm invitation to the members of this committee and its staff to visit our facilities in idaho. Boise proudly experiences a world-class river and trail system throughout the city, picturesque foothills, and four beautiful seasons, all providing a spectacular backdrop to witnessing the idaho growing technology sector.
▶ 0:41:56Mr. Hruby: More importantly, a site visit will afford the committee a copperheads of demonstration of our counter uas capabilities and realistic operational environments. We would be deeply honored to host you do to the street how american small businesses build a secure a domestic systems that fly, detect and the track, identify, and safely defeat unmanned aerial systems to protect our national critical infrastructure and preserve the security of our skies. Thank you.
▶ 0:42:20Chair Ernst: Thank you very much, Mr. rubio. Next to Mr. vaddi, you are recognized for five minutes.
▶ 0:42:32Dr. Vaddi: Madam chair, ranking member, the steepest members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity of appearing before you today. I founded prelude therapeutics in 2016 and serve as the chief executive officer in wilmington, delaware. With a handful of scientists with a big vision to bring new treatment option for patients with cancer. Today, prelude is a thriving clinical stage oncology company with a promising pipeline of potential medicines for multiple cancers.
▶ 0:43:04Dr. Vaddi: As the coo, I'm honored to lead a team of highly dedicated individuals with the singular mission of advancing our fight against cancer. My testimony, however, is not about me, it is about a promise. A promise that this country has made to every person who dares to dream, who is willing to work hard, and who believes that their idea might make a difference for society.
▶ 0:43:33Dr. Vaddi: I am here today simply as one small piece of evidence that the promise is real. And to urge you to protect it. I grew up in india, the son of a physician. My father was the first doctor in a small town and a very devoted one. I watched him my whole childhood, working day and night, to take the best care of anyone who came to see him. I was moved by what he did.
▶ 0:44:00Dr. Vaddi: But what fascinated me most were the medicines he used to treat his patients. Those pills, injections that could reach inside a human body and make his patients better. I wanted to create more of them. That desire eventually brought me to the united states. I arrived as a graduate student, with money my father had raised by mortgaging our family home. I want you to understand what that means. My family had no safety net.
▶ 0:44:29Dr. Vaddi: For me to fail was not just a personal disappointment -- it was the dismantling of everything my father had staked on my behalf. Failure was simply not an option. My first job in america after graduate school was at a small startup company in boston called proscript. We were truly a small business. We had about twenty scientists.
▶ 0:44:57Dr. Vaddi: But we had something that large companies often struggle to hold onto. The belief that a group of small driven people, connecting dots that others cannot see, can saw a big help our problems. We were right. That team's work led, ultimately, to the development of a medicine called velcade® -- a treatment for multiple myeloma, a deadly blood cancer. Velcade has given hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide more time to continue living their lives and be with the people they love.
▶ 0:45:28Dr. Vaddi: It was born in a startup, with limited resources, by scientists who worked relentlessly. While proscript did not survive as independent company, the lessons I learned staying with me. Starting small does not mean limited scope. Small can be the beginning of something that matters enormously.
▶ 0:45:50Dr. Vaddi: A few years later, I had the opportunity to be a part of the small start up team again to reinvent a company called incyte. We were just coming off of an acquisition of dupont pharmaceutical company in delaware, where we worked and decided to stay in delaware and continue our important work that we started there.
▶ 0:46:11Dr. Vaddi: The book that I had the privilege of championing resulted in a medicine called jakafi, transforming the outcomes of patients with serious blood disorders and personally the most meaningful part of my career journey to date. The work that we started as a small team was the foundation for what incyte has become today, a global enterprise with over 2000 people still headquartered in delaware.
▶ 0:46:39Dr. Vaddi: That is not an unusual story in america. It is in fact a defining one. Everything I described, the companies, the medicines, the patients who benefited, the employees who built their careers, all of it traces back to a graduate student who arrived in this country with nothing but a dream and a belief that america is the right place to chase it.
▶ 0:47:01Dr. Vaddi: That belief was correct, and it remains correct today for millions of people around the world who are watching this country and wondering whether that door is still open. America's willingness to welcome ambitious people, give them access to capital, protect their ability to take risks and allow them to compete, these are not the incidental features of an economy. These are the parts of innovation. America is still the shining city on a hill.
▶ 0:47:32Dr. Vaddi: I respect we ask the committee to help preserve the conditions that make this country the destination of choice for the world's most driven dreamers. Thank you.
▶ 0:47:42Chair Ernst: Thank you very much to our witnesses. I understand ranking member, you'll submit your opening statement for the record. Ok. Without objection, so ordered. We will go ahead and start the question and answer portion of our committee hearing. I will hold my questions until the end of the first round. We will go ahead and start with senator young.
▶ 0:48:07Sen. Young: Thank you chair ernst, ranking member for this hearing. This is terrific. I want to thank the witnesses. Enjoy your testimony. I will begin with Mr. ruby, in part, because you are an air force academy grad, I am a navy guy. I find the counter uas a I find the counter uas a business that you are employed by, perceptview, intriguing.
▶ 0:48:38Sen. Young: They provide counter unmanned systems, services. Much-needed these days. Just this week the fbi announced it had disrupted a counter U.S. intervention, elected plot involving explosive growth targeting the white house. This was during a ufc event that was well-publicized. There were nearly 100,000 attendees at that event.
▶ 0:49:07Sen. Young: We have the world cup also going on in this country at this time, which is the largest sporting event in the world. There have been much discussion for many months about the threat that unmanned systems could conceivably pose to fans. Good people are doing everything they can to prevent that. In my own state, indiana, we host the indianapolis 500, the largest single day sporting event in the world.
▶ 0:49:36Sen. Young: I itemize these different events and episodes because these are things that are rituals of our daily lives. These sporting events. They must continue. But we have to figure out this problem set. Your business is doing that. Doing that through close coordination among federal agencies, state and local governments, and industry partners. Mr.
▶ 0:50:02Sen. Young: Ruby, I will just ask, how can the federal and state entities be a better partner with small ua as an counter U.S. manufacturers. To accelerate the testing and evaluation, deployment of these technologies and make sure they are built here in the united states?
▶ 0:50:19Mr. Hruby: Thank you, senator, for that question. Also this morning I read an article, at the world cup, there were upwards of 15 or more drones that were detected and captured, if you will, by the fbi. It permeates all aspects of life , from outdoor events as you mention, to sporting events, to the concerts, prisons, and national labs, you name it.
▶ 0:50:49Mr. Hruby: There is no one-size-fits-all solution. There are a lot of players in the space. If anybody tells you they can provide the answer, the solution, you are looking at a team's approach, layered approach. I would say two things specific to your question. The reauthorization act earlier this year is a big step forward for small business especially in this tech space, other emerging quantum, ai, etc.. I am just touching on a few.
▶ 0:51:23Mr. Hruby: Putting safeguards in place that were put in in this legislation were essential. There is a long leadtime that comes withsbir programs. We can discuss that separately. Prioritizing congressional ask for small businesses. The large oems, the primes have full lobbying teams, teams here in D.C., government affairs.
▶ 0:51:47Mr. Hruby: Small businesses across america trying to navigate this tech space, prioritizing well vetted small business congressional ads is a tremendous benefit because it comes direct to that small business. It is partnered with an accepting government program manager, sponsor who is ready to utilize those funds and that work. Those are two.
▶ 0:52:11Sen. Young: Great suggestions. Back home there is a lot of discussion in addition to concerns related to sporting events, discussions -- our office was able to work with the governor and other members of the federal delegation to earn a test bed designation for drone testing in the state, potentially counter drone testing activity.
▶ 0:52:37Sen. Young: Craig naval base, as you may be aware, is also managing the ground dominance portfolio for dod. I've at some of the stakeholders about the regulatory bitumen or testing barriers that prevent small uas and counter uas companies from deploying their technology to keep up with adversaries. Is there a thing or two, because my time is running out?
▶ 0:53:09Mr. Hruby: I have been there. When you have a government test of that, results of that test event are validated even if it is an army test event, it's great for the marine corps, air force, good for the navy, good for fbi, good for other agencies. We don't have to go and deal with it from test event at different sites across the country every week, every month. I think that would be very helpful.
▶ 0:53:34Sen. Young: Let's stay in touch with your indulgence, sir.
▶ 0:53:37Chair Ernst: Thank you, senator young. Next I recognize senator markey for five minutes.
▶ 0:53:44Sen. Markey: Thank you, chair. Today is the third series celebrating small businesses and the role they have played in the history of our country. I want to thank you, madam chair, for having an inclusive bipartisan approach to this entire process.
▶ 0:54:02Sen. Markey: But this series actually stands in stark contrast with what we are witnessing from the white house, as president trump hijacks our nation's 250th birthday and turned it into a celebration of himself and yet another opportunity for self-dealing. Freedom 250 run by the white house, staffed by trump loyalists, should really be called corruption 250. Trump's celebration of saul dema allows corporate donors to write blank birthday checks to the president with no oversight.
▶ 0:54:34Sen. Markey: A one million-dollar donor is invited to a thank you reception hosted by president trump. For 2.5 million dollars, donors could you speak at an event in washington. On july 4. And instead of celebrating our nation's independence day, president trump's july 4 celebration will be a partisan trump rally on the national mall that shamelessly makes himself the center of attention.
▶ 0:55:03Sen. Markey: Among freedom 250 donors, we know about many of them come a large government contractors with regulatory issues pending before the trump administration. Meanwhile, a report I released last week found -- this is unbelievable. Small businesses, they have dropped by $47 billion and 6500 small firms have left the federal marketplace since january 20 of last year.
▶ 0:55:34Sen. Markey: The goal of trump's power consolidation is clear. You want more billionaires and truly nears, contractors to get their way to the birthday bout at the expense of small businesses. The contrast is just so stark what he is doing to small businesses in our country. Mr. vaddi, I was struck by a figure you cited in your testimony. As many of half of new medicines in the world are invented here in america.
▶ 0:56:03Sen. Markey: That is astounding come something we should be proud of. We should also recognize that much of the brainpower and risk-taking was supplied by people who are not born here but were drawn to america because of the opportunities it offers hard-working people with bright ideas. According to m.I.t., immigrants are 80% more likely to start businesses than someone born here. Accounting for now 24% of all entrepreneurs in our country, despite making up only 14% of our population.
▶ 0:56:35Sen. Markey: When it comes to innovations specifically, 23% of all new patents annually are produced by new americans. So your story is not unique, it is absolutely at the core of what is going on in our country right now. When he sends out this signal that is just so anti-immigrant, these people are going to go to other parts of the world. They will not feel welcome here. I understand, Dr.
▶ 0:57:00Sen. Markey: Vaddi, your company used as the a small develop meant business center in delaware to develop its growth strategy. There are countless other immigrant home businesses that have use the sbdc program to grow and used sba lending program to get capital. If the trump administration shuts off small business resources to immigrants, how will this affect our competitiveness as a nation in sectors like biotechnology?
▶ 0:57:29Dr. Vaddi: Thank you for the question. Yes, as a start up company in delaware, we were enormously benefited from the support that we received from the state in the form of grants, space, laboratories where we could actually turn some of our ideas into meaningful molecules that ultimately attracted a lot of venture capital funding, allowed us to grow continuously.
▶ 0:58:00Dr. Vaddi: This is the story, as you quoted, a significant fraction of the new businesses particularly in biotech, without the support of the government, the policies, particularly in immigration, where we really rely on a number of students that come to this country for higher education for the great
▶ 0:58:30Dr. Vaddi: Institutions we have in the country, to really hone their skills. If we don't have the policies that are supportive of this sort of aspect of our country, I think there will be a city print price to play in the long run.
▶ 0:58:55Sen. Markey: , Mr. vaddi, you are the example of the american dream. We have to draw the welcome mat to people like you. That is what helps to regenerate our country, make america a more perfect union, continually improving on who we are today. All I can tell you is, if we don't have a government policy that is inclusive of immigrants, we are going to lose the global bout.
▶ 0:59:21Sen. Markey: We thank you, we think our family, and the impact you have had on your community as well, all that you have done. Representing in testimony here in committee.
▶ 0:59:31Chair Ernst: Thank you, ranking member. I will wait until the end. The second boat has started, so I want to make sure that we can all make our boat. I will recognize senator rosen for five minutes.
▶ 0:59:45Sen. Rosen: Thank you, chair ernst, ranking member markey for holding the hearing. Thank you to the witnesses for being here. I want to say quickly about what senator young has talked about. We are entering a decade of sports, international sports. We have the olympics, world cup. In las vegas, we have f1, we have had super balls, and we have it all.
▶ 1:00:09Sen. Rosen: Understanding those uas threats and the special event activity ratings, we worked on those, homeland security committee. They have been very responsive to the increased challenges that drones place on these large, particularly sporting events that we have that generate so much for our communities. We have to continue to build on that. I have been working on that in the past. We will continue to do that.
▶ 1:00:38Sen. Rosen: I will talk a little bit about tourism. Our favorite bill on childcare, senator ernst. Mr. miller, what you describe in your testimony exactly is what I've been hearing from our nevada businesses. Some of the erratic policies coming out of washington really have a detrimental effect on our tourism and the cost of doing business because travel and tourism are the backbone of nevada's economy.
▶ 1:01:04Sen. Rosen: Again, world-class events on the las vegas strip to outdoor record great -- recreation on our public lands. We are the most mountainous state in the lower 48, so from hiking to biking, skiing, you name it, we have it all. The bed is exciting entertainment, natural beauty invites visitors from around the world. And those visitors come to all of our attractions, they draw in small businesses who want to participate in our booming tories and economy.
▶ 1:01:32Sen. Rosen: We are known for those large casinos, but those businesses only make up 1% of our thriving business community. 99% of businesses in nevada are small business. This is super important to us and really the fabric of our community and the flavor of our community. Mr. miller, you mentioned las vegas, visits fell 5.7% in 2025.
▶ 1:01:59Sen. Rosen: I am hearing the president's harsh treatment of our allies, particularly canadians. We have a lot of canadian torahs that love to come to southern nevada. Visitation dropped 20% from canada. What are you hearing from your members about a slowdown in international tourism generally that is impacting our businesses in nevada?
▶ 1:02:18Mr. Miller: Thank you for the question, senator. There are lots of great reasons to come to nevada. That is why tourism is the backbone of our economy. It supports so much. What happens when visitors stop coming to las vegas, and I mentioned this. It doesn't just stay in the 1% of the businesses. It radiates throughout the community. What that looks like for a restaurant is one less table turned an hour.
▶ 1:02:46Mr. Miller: What that looks like for an employee is less tip income which then results into the barbershop or beauty salon having someone book every other week or every other month versus on the regular cadence. That has a reading effect throughout the entire state. To every single business in every single sector we can ultimately imagine.
▶ 1:03:12Mr. Miller: The decrease in visitors, international visitors, particularly those from canada, who are the largest share of our international visitors on a regular and consistent basis, those international travelers spend more dollars and stay longer. When they are they are spending all of their money, staying as long as they can, every business benefits from that. When that is not happening, it becomes a decrease in the possibilities for every business owner.
▶ 1:03:46Sen. Rosen: I think you are exactly right. What happens even in the tulip festival, people spend their, and of the folks that benefit from that, go out for an extra dinner, maybe buy an extra dryer and washer, whatever it is. Really important. In my last remaining moments, I want to get to childcare. The severe shortage of affordable options are squeezing families across the country. Lack of access to childcare is a problem for small business and parents alike. It creates a barrier for parents that want to start a business, grow a business.
▶ 1:04:16Sen. Rosen: It makes it harder for small businesses to retain employees who are struggling to find affordable care. The chairwoman and I have a wonderful bill together, small business childcare investment act, bipartisan bill. It will increase the availability of affordable high childcare by allowing nonprofits, your church, boys and girls club, ymca come to take advantage of sba loan programs that for-profit companies can. Mr.
▶ 1:04:46Sen. Rosen: Miller, can you talk about how the childcare prices really impact people who want to start a business or hire people for their business?
▶ 1:04:52Mr. Miller: Absolutely. Thank you for the question, senator. Exactly what you are saying, it's a double whammy. You have childcare, first of all, new visits owners, most of them are women. They are primarily the childcare provider. When they go to start a business, every entrepreneur has to put in more hours than on a traditional hour to get the business, to get that business off the ground. When that happens, they knew childcare that they can afford, that is good and safe.
▶ 1:05:24Mr. Miller: Then you have the other aspect of their staff. Their business starts to grow and expand, they need to hire an employee. The employee need to be able to find good, quality of affordable childcare so that they can be there as much as they possibly can. When those two things don't happen, that means the business makes one less sale, or deal, or on a one less contract because their staff is not available or the business owner themselves is not available. It is key to the success of small business growth.
▶ 1:05:53Sen. Rosen: Critical infrastructure. Thank you. I yield.
▶ 1:05:57Chair Ernst: We recognize senator she's dead, and on senator coons. Thank you, chair ernst. I'm looking at the witness list today and I appreciate you all for being here.
▶ 1:06:19Chair Ernst: I want to -- small businesses are the majority, the vast majority of employers. The great thing about it is that people can start small, they can grow big, they can design a business however they want. But that is one of the american capitalism and entrepreneurship, one of the backbones of what made america the most prosperous nation in the history of the world.
▶ 1:06:46Chair Ernst: We know that you talk to any small business owner and they're about less government in their life, more of the resources that they have earned to stay in their pockets so they can reinvest in the things that are important to their future. The work tax cut plan strengthens this foundation with a 20% deduction for qualified business, small business income, making that permanent, reducing the cost of capital to invest in machinery, equipment, research and development.
▶ 1:07:18Chair Ernst: Bottom line is, they don't need a government intervention, they just need to keep more of their own money to invest in these things so they can repeat. They will make a better decision, decide on how to make those investments. 12 million business owners by an average -- this assault 12 men this -- million business owners.
▶ 1:07:41Chair Ernst: The permit deduction has lower taxes for 8 million small business owners by an average of $4600 annually which has led to new business formations at record highs of 2.9 billion -- million new businesses created through may, the strongest five months on record, and ohio new business formation is up 10% during that same period. I also look at stats in my own state. We have a record number of people who are employed.
▶ 1:08:11Chair Ernst: More jobs than any other time in our state's history, almost record low unemployment rate of 3.9%. Clearly, these policies are helping small businesses. It's also putting more money in the pockets of their employees. The working family tax-cut plan, for a family of four in ohio making $80,000 a year, $6,000 more in their pockets than if we had not passed it.
▶ 1:08:42Chair Ernst: Including the 22 hundred dollar per child tax credit that they can use for things like childcare, whatever they want to do for their family. Mr. hruby, I just want to ask you to elaborate on what these tax policies, particularly the 20% deduction for expanded expenses, means to small businesses?
▶ 1:09:06Mr. Hruby: Absolutely. The legislation -- this legislation from the one big beautiful bill, pro-small business legislation cannot be overstated in its value at the local level. Not only from us, buying a decades-old drycleaners in part of a community in garden city, a suburb of boise. Partnering with the chamber to come as part of a revitalization of that part of the city.
▶ 1:09:38Mr. Hruby: 8000 of the 11,000 square-foot space is production space. It is always tepid some -- tax deductible. Now we can take that revenue that would have been paid in taxes and reinvested into the company, into hiring more employees, into r&d.
▶ 1:10:02Mr. Hruby: Yes, the government provides non-diluted r&d through provisions, congressional ads, but it is very helpful when you can your own destiny and put that money back into your company to r&d and hiring new employees, through proactive tax benefits for small businesses.
▶ 1:10:21Mr. Hruby: >> anybody to talk to a business owner, if they want to compete, if we want to do more made in america, if you want to pay our workers more than the low wages they pay against a lot of the countries that we are competing against, you have to have money to invest in machinery and equipment, all of the latest automation so you can get your productivity gains so you can pay your people more. Isn't that right?
▶ 1:10:47Mr. Hruby: Absolutely. As a small business, it allows us to attract talent that may have gone to the larger companies that can pay higher wages. We can compete with that because we have longevity in the company, security come money to invest in a competitive salaries.
▶ 1:11:03Sen. Husted: Quickly, Mr. dewaard, ohio likes to consult the heart of itself, but iowa is in the heart of the heartland. What do you and your friends who are in business, how do you feel about this, is this helping?
▶ 1:11:21Mayor Dewaard: Yes, it is, for sure. Paying taxes is really the cost of doing business. Obviously, an expense that you have in a business, if you pay less of it, it's good for the business. There are a couple of things that I think really help small businesses. I have two children that are entrepreneurs who have their own businesses.
▶ 1:11:46Mayor Dewaard: The ability to expense reinvestment into business, year-end purchases is a huge help to a small business. From an employee standpoint, my son who has a tire shop, he has some employees who work out in the shop, make $25 an hour. They mark 45 to 49 hours a week.
▶ 1:12:14Mayor Dewaard: The provision to allow them to get a credit on some of their overtime. When someone is making $45,000, that is two or $3000, that's a big deal.
▶ 1:12:26Sen. Husted: That's a big deal, in some cases, 5% -- almost 5% of their income. Great, thank you.
▶ 1:12:35Chair Ernst: Thank you. I will recognize senator coons.
▶ 1:12:41Sen. Coons: Thank you for this series, our 250th anniversary, the central role that small businesses and entrepreneurship have played in creating and sustaining the american dreams. Thank you so much, Dr. vaddi, for what you've done for our community, our state, for your compelling testimony, for what you continue to do at prelude. You have a small and capable and high-performing team. I would be interested in hearing about some of the challenges you face.
▶ 1:13:09Sen. Coons: You have chosen to launch a second, be involved in a third. There are not a lot of folks that would do this again after your experience at incyte. A lot of folks would retire or do something less stressful. Tell us about the challenges that you faced in leading, growing come sustaining prelude. What role does the workforce that is available to you in delaware play in your choosing to stay? What should we hear as a committee about what we can best do to help small businesses thrive?
▶ 1:13:41Sen. Coons: Biotech is particularly high-risk, high reward. Interested to hear
▶ 1:13:46Dr. Vaddi: Thank you for the question. The first part of your question is about what motivates to as a journey.
▶ 1:14:03Dr. Vaddi: We are all wired to do different things and I particularly am truly excited and wired to find solutions to problems work.
▶ 1:14:24Dr. Vaddi: After launching it and seeing the impact it had on people firsthand it was incredibly motivating to try to redo it and then the question came as you know a lot of venture capital community, apart from incyte, there is not a lot of smaller early-stage companies.
▶ 1:14:48Dr. Vaddi: That is changing now but 10 years ago, obvious thing is to move to boston or the bay area or somewhere else but I truly felt I started my career as a fellow, I truly believe dupont, delaware is a wonderful community.
▶ 1:15:15Dr. Vaddi: Such a heritage of innovation, science and I saw no reason for moving somewhere else to do the work we wanted to do. It is not the easiest, from the standpoint of venture capitalists. Clearly, incyte was a great example.
▶ 1:15:40Dr. Vaddi: Not only that it started as a small entity that has grown and survived and thrived and became globally a place of innovation. I think that really helped. It is a continuing challenge, particularly for smaller companies. This issue was brought up earlier. Immigration is still a very important aspect of our industry, technology, health care.
▶ 1:16:12Dr. Vaddi: We attract global workforce, provide opportunities for them to not only work in great companies, but start great companies. One of the biggest challenges, apart from capital and other factors, is to attract and retain top-notch talent.
▶ 1:16:33Dr. Vaddi: I urge the committee and policy makers truly take that into consideration as they think about how to nurture innovation we have.
▶ 1:16:47Sen. Coons: Thank you. My own view, we should make this as welcoming and supportive as possible for in particular graduate students, stem graduates, folks who want to bring an entrepreneurial spirit to the country. Outside the big centers it is challenging. My gut hunch is, I don't know about vegas. It attracts a lot of capital, but I have family in iowa, the beautiful small town of pella. Hard to attract a lot of talent.
▶ 1:17:24Sen. Coons: Although there are a lot of windows. It is a beautiful place, but it is hard to get capital the scale. It is also hard when we are reducing federal investment in cutting edge science and cutting or making less easily accessible investment in graduate research and programs that link our defense community and material science and biological science with small startups.
▶ 1:17:52Sen. Coons: I look forward to continuing to work on those issues and am happy to have you here and look forward to staying in touch as prelude continues to grow. Thank you, Dr. vaddi.
▶ 1:18:02Chair Ernst: I now recognize myself for five minutes and I will start with mayor dewaard. In your testimony you highlighted the successes of pella and what it has in building and maintaining a thriving mainstreet, including how you have over 200,000, 300,000 visitors that come to
▶ 1:18:32Chair Ernst: The tulip time festival. Drawing on your work as mayor of this beautiful community. In your own extensive experience when it comes to small businesses how can elected officials from all levels of government be better, do better in supporting the needs of those small businesses within our communities?
▶ 1:18:58Mayor Dewaard: You mentioned when you introduced me that I was in the cpa business for 13 years. I started in that in 1982. Ages me. So I, that was in pella. I immediately after graduation got an accounting degree and a career in public accounting. I worked with small businesses, farmers, in pella.
▶ 1:19:32Mayor Dewaard: So I've seen since that time a whole lot of changes in tax policies. Obviously there have been so many bills that have changed over time. I think may be stability. As small business owners think about the future, try to plan for the future.
▶ 1:19:55Mayor Dewaard: Having things remain stable so they know what to expect as they make their plans for growth, whatever those plans might be. I think a stable tax environment is critical for the future of the small businesses.
▶ 1:20:11Chair Ernst: Yes, and thank you. You know that as being mayor of a community. I recognize that as well. When I was a county auditor over in montgomery county, as we deal with property taxes. I appreciate that and there is so much we need to be collaborating on rather than butting heads and working against one each other.
▶ 1:20:37Chair Ernst: You mentioned you have two children working as entrepreneurs in different businesses. What are the successes and challenges may have encountered in their own businesses? And, as their dad and as a successful businessman yourself, and someone who now serves the community, what kind of advice are you offering to those young entrepreneurs, young business owners? Especially when they are facing adversity.
▶ 1:21:06Mayor Dewaard: I think my daughter and her husband built a culvers restaurant, started in pella 15 years ago. One of the bigger challenges, covid was a time where things got worse. Workforce was a challenge for them during that period. It has gotten better but still remains. We are a small community.
▶ 1:21:39Mayor Dewaard: Finding workforce is one of the challenges of small businesses that I see them struggling with a little bit. We have so much competition for our jobs in pella with eager corporations and small businesses. Trying to attract more people. As I mentioned we have somewhere between 5000 and 6000 people in our community in pella on a daily basis to work.
▶ 1:22:07Mayor Dewaard: That says a lot about the job environment in pella and lack of people living there. Housing is on our radar all the time. Getting housing for people so they can move into town and not commute into tune. Those are challenges. One of the bigger challenges for us in rural iowa is our first responders, our ambulance services.
▶ 1:22:38Mayor Dewaard: As a city we ended up taking over an ambulance service that existed for 40 years on a volunteer basis and private funding basis and it couldn't exist anymore. That is a real challenge for communities like us in rural iowa. Finding a solution for that is something we as a city, we took that over, but it is very expensive to do that.
▶ 1:23:05Mayor Dewaard: Those are solutions which are -- we should try to work together from our local government to state and federal government to work out some way to get better response times and take care of people that live out in our rural areas.
▶ 1:23:22Chair Ernst: Beautifully said. Thank you so much. It does require a lot of collaboration up and down the entire food chain from that business owner through the various levels of government. Thank you so much. Next I recognize senator risch for his five minutes.
▶ 1:23:41Sen. Risch: Thank you chair ernst for holding this important hearing and recognizing the tremendous impact small businesses have on our nation over the past 250 years. Most people know that, but they don't, they are focused on bigger businesses and don't pay attention much to smaller businesses. Those smaller businesses are the backbone of our community, particularly in rural states.
▶ 1:24:11Sen. Risch: Hearing the ambulance story it sounds like your rural areas are a lot like iowa's. A lot of challenges but people that live in rural areas are really good at meeting challenges so that is a good thing. I would like to extend a special thanks to jack hruby for being here today and perceptview for being here today. Perceptview exemplifies strength of the american entrepreneurial spirit and power of small businesses in idaho.
▶ 1:24:43Sen. Risch: Their ingenuity, leadership and expertise have helped drive the gem state, idaho, to the forefront of the counter drone industry and exemplify why idaho is a leading state for small business development. Today perceptview has risen to meet the growing challenges of national security risk posed by drones.
▶ 1:25:06Sen. Risch: Their technology has been deployed across our navy and agents capital and ensuring our nations 250th birthday festivities are safe and secure for all americans to celebrate. Mr. hruby, in perceptview, they are well suited to represent idaho and main street america.
▶ 1:25:31Sen. Risch: They are testament to the power of small businesses and their success highlights the importance of congress' support for our nation's entrepreneurs. That is what this committee does. Thank you for your work in that regard. I have a chairman I would like to ask with permission of the chair. Mr.
▶ 1:25:49Sen. Risch: Hruby, I sit on foreign relations and the intelligence committee and all of us around here have become incredibly aware of the difference in war fighting since the ukraine war started and it surrounds drones and that is your backyard. I would appreciate you for testifying here today as we celebrate our 250th birthday.
▶ 1:26:19Sen. Risch: With what is going on in that industry not only in america but around the world, we know it is just exploding and will change the way -- has already changed the way wars are fought on the ground. I'm sure in that regard you and perceptview face that challenges, challenges of rapid growth. Could you talk about that for a minute and how you responded?
▶ 1:26:43Mr. Hruby: The innovation cycle is tighter than we have experienced in my 40 years of professional life and 15 plus and small business pursuits. That cycle of innovation is in days and weeks and maybe months at most. Being able to fund investment directly to the companies on the innovative edge through vetted needs through government customers, their congressional ads is paramount for us.
▶ 1:27:15Mr. Hruby: Specifically on the move accountability, can't have a one-size-fits-all fixed sight. What works on the front steps of the capitol versus the back steps is a different system based on buildings in front of you versus the open national mall. Long-range radar but behind you you can't use that.
▶ 1:27:38Mr. Hruby: Every city and sporting event is different based on where the skyscrapers are in downtown clutter, where you need different types of cameras and detection. And the various mitigation techniques. Drone on drone, promising technologies in drone on drone, but it can't be an expense ratio 10x the cost of that drone. How'd you put a low-cost laser on a drone for a collision with another drone?
▶ 1:28:08Mr. Hruby: Examples across the board and continuing to invest in the agile innovation small businesses bring, no matter the industry.
▶ 1:28:16Sen. Risch: Were you challenged as your business grew quickly when you started with getting financing?
▶ 1:28:23Mr. Hruby: You always say it is a great problem to have but it is indeed a challenge. Fortunately in our situation we had come from another successful small business and had capital to invest. But the one big beautiful bill surely did help us with production space. We invested in bought the building in garden city west of downtown boise, just because it was too good a deal versus leasing.
▶ 1:28:52Mr. Hruby: We were going to move to a new space but the decision to buy was decided upon because of the tax benefits from the one big beautiful bill.
▶ 1:28:59Sen. Risch: Let me give you some solace on the difficulty of financing. We had a small business that started in boise, idaho when they were having trouble getting financing. But they had a different challenge in that they were in an industry that was a startup industry. People didn't even know what the industry did. Banks would not finance them because it was so new.
▶ 1:29:24Sen. Risch: They went to a private entrepreneur and said they wanted to borrow some money, a person known for this sort of thing. This person challenge them and said what are you making? They said we are making chips. He said I make chips. He made potato chips. In any event he said what do they do? They said, they will replace the tubes in radios and tv's and what have you.
▶ 1:29:54Sen. Risch: You know where this story is going, I suppose. This private entrepreneur took a flyer on this little company and wrote a check and took an equity interest in the company, a significant equity interest in the company. Today it is a trillion dollar company. It can be done but you have to be novel about finding the financing. Thank you for what you do.
▶ 1:30:24Sen. Risch: Love to have you and ido. It is a great -- love to have you in idaho. It is a great place to do business. We look forward to many years of your business succeeding.
▶ 1:30:36Chair Ernst: I will click -- quickly close out our hearing today. I apologize, I'm probably one of the last to go vote. I want to thank you so much for coming and sharing your expertise and knowledge on your small businesses and communities with this small business committee. I ask unanimous consent that the record of today's hearing remain open for two weeks for members to revise and extend remarks, submit additional information into the record. Without objection so ordered.
▶ 1:31:08Chair Ernst: Thank you all for being here to celebrate our series on america's 250th anniversary of its birth. God bless you all. Thanks so much. With that the committee on small business and entrepreneurship stands adjourned. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap.org]