WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the House Small Business Subcommittee on Underserved, Agricultural, and Rural Business Development is holding a remote hearing on the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s Benefits for Small Businesses.”

Vice Ranking Member Roger Williams’ opening statement as prepared for delivery:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing today.

Infrastructure was once a common ground where Members on both sides of the aisle agreed. However, today, rather than focusing on areas of importance to our economy and our constituencies, such as improvements to our roads, waterways, bridges, railways, and broadband, my Democratic colleagues are focusing on policies that mirror radical ideas such as the Green New Deal.

The infrastructure law, where only a fraction of the new spending will be going towards traditional infrastructure, adds hundreds of billions of dollars in new debt – and let’s face it – will only lead to higher taxes, continued inflation, and will ultimately make America less competitive. Furthermore, nothing in the law was done to make any meaningful improvements to regulatory and permitting processes, which is something plaguing many small businesses today.

As we hold this hearing, inflation soars at a 40-year high of 7.5 percent and gas prices have spiked to the highest price since 2014. Rising costs continue to create uncertainty for small businesses and makes it harder to compete with big businesses who have larger pricing flexibility, long-term contracts, and preferential purchasing agreements.

It is no surprise that a recent survey from Goldman Sachs found 76 percent of small business owners reported that inflation had a negative impact on their businesses' financial health over the past six months.

We are also experiencing record-breaking backlogs at our ports resulting in supply chain disruptions. Just last week the New York Times headline read: “A Normal Supply Chain? It’s ‘Unlikely’ in 2022”.

The economic headwinds don’t stop there as labor shortages continue to stifle growth. With 10.9 million open positions across the nation, the economy is still nearly three million jobs short of its pre-pandemic peak. NFIB reports that almost half of all small business owners have job openings they couldn’t fill. Further, 93 percent of small businesses that were actively trying to hire, found little to no qualified applicants.

The rising cost of goods, delays in material, and labor deficiencies are harmful for the construction industry and cause infrastructure projects to be more costly and take longer to complete. Instead of providing solutions, this Administration has forced government mandates on businesses and employees and halted America’s energy independence.

Many people claim to support small businesses but ignore their calls to reduce burdensome regulations and put a stop to the current tax and spending agenda.

Washington cannot continue this reckless spending habit. We must implement pro-growth policies that support small businesses in combating the current economic challenges.

As the Administration continues to provide cost and implementation guidance for the infrastructure bill, it is imperative these projects are funded in a responsible manner and small businesses and rural communities are not left behind.

We must empower entrepreneurs and state and local governments to be in the driver’s seat, not bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.

I look forward to hearing the testimonies of the witnesses today, and I yield back.

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