“Connecting SBA to Main Street: Examining the SBA Office of Field Operations.”
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House Small Business U.S. House of Representatives
Follow its sittingsSpeaker 2
I also learned that the Washington Metropolitan Area District office is being moved to Herndon, Virginia, which is about 1 hour away depending on traffic. I am hard pressed to understand how a small main street business in Prince George's County will be able to partake in workshops and events in a distant suburb. And finally, I would like to hear more about the importance of collaboration between the district offices and the resource partners. In 2019, we heard testimony from Mike Valente, your predecessor under the first Trump administration, who said that any time that they help events with the resource partners, there was a synergy that helped to create a better business climate and a better opportunity for businesses to succeed. But it is hard to host these types of events when SBA is slow walking the disbursement of funds to their resource partners and, in some instances, withholding money altogether.
SBA has withheld $10,000,000 to Score, which hasn't received reimbursements since last March and is seriously close to running out of money. SBA is also lagging behind on payments to the SBDC and WBCs, and the FY 2025 step grant funds still haven't been released. Given your previous experience as Iowa's SBDC director, you must be incredibly frustrated with SBA's most recent decision to postpone grant payments while it upgrades its system. Let me be clear, SBA is completely out of step with the challenges small businesses are dealing with on the ground. Rising costs, shrinking margins, mounting anxiety, and the mass deportation machine that is impacting small businesses in this country.
I look forward to your testimony. Thank you. Yield back.
Speaker 1
Lady, yield back. I will now introduce our witness, Associate Administrator Lisa Shimket. Associate Administrator Shimket leads the Office of Field Operations for the U. S. Small Business Administration.
She oversees 68 district offices and 10 regional offices across the country, where she leads the SBA's nationwide field network, ensuring that small businesses have access to vital capital, contracting assistance, and business development programs. Before her work with the SBA, associate administrator Shimkit served as state director of America's small business development center in Iowa, providing business counseling and support, disaster recovery efforts, and rural business development to foster small business growth. Associate Shempket earned an associate of arts degree from Iowa Central Community College and later received her bachelor's degree in master of business administration from Iowa State University. Thank you for joining us today. Look forward to a meaningful conversation.
And, I would like to remind you that your oral testimony is restricted to five minutes. If you see the light turn red in front of you, it means that your five minutes have concluded, and you should wrap up your testimony. And I now recognize administrator, associate administrator Shimket for her five-minute opening remarks.
Speaker 3
Chairman Williams, ranking member Velasquez, members of the committee. Thank you for this opportunity to testify today on behalf of the US Small Business Administration. My name is Lisa Schimkat, and I'm honored to serve as the associate administrator for SBA's Office of Field Operations. In this role, I oversee the agency's nationwide field network of 68 district offices and 10 regional offices, which serve as the frontline connection between the SBA and America's small businesses. Before taking this position, I served for more than a decade as the state director of America's Small Business Development Centers in Iowa, where I led a network of 15 centers dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs across the state.
During that time, our centers assisted more than 24,000 entrepreneurs, supported the launch of 2,500 new businesses, helped create more than 18,000 jobs, and secured more than 900,000,000 in capital infusion for small businesses. My experience reinforced everything I see every day in my current role. Small businesses succeed when federal programs support, rather than hinder, innovation, growth, and entrepreneurship. The SBA's field staff are the boots on the ground ambassadors executing the vision and agenda of the Trump administration's SBA under the leadership of administrator Kelly Loeffler. Under administrator Loeffler, the agency moved the vast majority of its workforce to the field, strengthening on-the-ground delivery and improving access for entrepreneurs in America's main streets.
After years of mission creep characterized by bureaucratic expansion and a politicized agenda, administrator Leftler fundamentally realigned the agency to serve its local lenders, job creators, and taxpayers. Today, 97% of SBA Office of Field Operations employees are located outside of Washington, DC, serving entrepreneurs through our regional and district offices across this great country. Through this robust nationwide network, SBA field offices remain deeply engaged with the lending community, small businesses, and other stakeholders under Administrator Leffler's leadership. Since 01/20/2025, our field network has hosted over 30,000 events, connecting with nearly half a million small business owners and entrepreneurs. These engagements include lender outreach, training opportunities, and partnerships with chambers, resource partners, and state and local economic development organizations to ensure that small businesses have more access to capital, training, and contracting opportunities.
The agency also shifted field resources to rural and veteran communities that were ignored by the previous administration. This fresh approach has produced real results. In FY '25 alone, the SBA delivered 7,100,000,000 in lending to rural small businesses and nearly 1,500,000,000 to veteran owned small businesses. Additionally, we're putting SBA staff back in the field where small businesses operate. Our district teams are spending more time in the field training the lenders, visiting manufacturers, restaurants, family farms, and startups in their communities to share the resources that the SBA provides at no cost to small business owners.
These visits allow us to hear directly from the small businesses about the barriers they face under the previous administration and highlight how rolling back $110,000,000,000 of burdensome regulations can support their growth as we continue the economic comeback under President Trump. Additionally, SBA staff are promoting the newly created red tape hotline, which provides a direct channel for small businesses to report burdensome, duplicative, and costly regulations that negatively impact their success. As responsible stewards of American taxpayers, the SBI identified opportunities to eliminate wasteful contracts and consolidate leases, including the closure of 19 offices that housed either zero or only one full-time employee that were not effectively serving small businesses and often working from home. The agency announced last year it would relocate six of its regional offices out of Sanctuary Cities to prioritize the safety of our SBA employees and the small businesses we serve, with a focus on less costly, more accessible locations that comply with federal immigration law. Most importantly, through roundtables, community visits, small business tours, and direct engagement, our field teams gather feedback and listen to entrepreneurs and small business owners across the US about the support they need from SBA to succeed.
America's 36,000,000 small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and the SBA field network plays a critical role in ensuring those entrepreneurs have the resources they need to start, grow, and compete. In closing, I wanna thank this committee for its continued partnership and oversight. Together, we can ensure SBA's Office of Field Operations remains a strong bridge between Washington and Main Street, delivering meaningful support to the entrepreneurs who power America's economy. Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
Speaker 1
Thank you. And we will now move to the member questions under the five-minute rule. I recognize myself for 5 minutes. Associate administrator Shemkett, a 2023 Government Accountability Office report found that under the Biden-Harris administration, the SBA headquarters operated at just 10% capacity. At the same time, the majority of the SBA's workforce is based in Washington, DC rather than in the field.
Fortunately, the Trump administration reversely often abused the work from home policy, and a majority of the SBA staff have been moved into the field closer to the small businesses that they serve. So my question is, can you explain how those changes have improved responsiveness and accountability for small businesses?
Speaker 3
Thank you, chairman, for the question. As we moved our teams out into the field, and as I said, the office of field operations has 97.98% of our folks out in the field. That way we can be the boots on the ground talking to the small businesses to get them to the right resource that they can use. We had a lot of offices. You saw the famous video of the administrator walking the halls, the empty halls.
So getting people back into the office, getting them back out into the field, so we can actually get the ground truth of what small businesses need has been critical to not only our success, but being able to advocate better for small business.
Speaker 1
Associate minister Shimkett, the SBA field staff are critical when disaster strikes. And in 2025, the agency deployed 381 field staff to 117 disaster centers and conducted more than 31,000 direct contacts with disaster survivors. So can you describe how the boots-on-the-ground role of district offices allows the SBA to quickly reach small businesses and communities recovering from disasters?
Speaker 3
Thank you for that question. And this is something that is a little bit even more unique under the Trump administration with Kelly Loeffler, administrator Loeffler leading the SBA. We've been able to eliminate those silos. And working closely with our office of disaster, we've been able to do some shared positions. And when there is a disaster headed to an area, our field offices are the boots on the ground, so they can give that ground truth.
They can tell them ahead of time and after the disaster what resources are needed, get them the information so that the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience can allocate the resources needed to better serve those small businesses and get them the help they need more quickly.
Speaker 1
Under administrator Leffler's leadership, the SBA has been heavily involved in onshoring and rebuilding the American manufacturing base. As part of this priority, the office of field operations has played a major role in the administrator's Made in America roadshow. In 2025, the SBA field offices hosted 683 Made in America events where you and other SBA representatives engaged directly with Main Street. So what has Main Street's reaction been to strengthening the domestic supply chain? And how are district offices helping small businesses access the tools available to carry out this mission?
Speaker 3
Thank you for that question. We had a roundtable, actually, in Newark, New Jersey. And the administrator was sitting there. On one side, we had a business say, I can't find any suppliers here in the United States. I'm gonna have to continue to source from China.
And on the other side of that same table, somebody raised their hand and said, well, I produce that. That was a moment for the administrator, for our team, that we needed to be that conduit, that concierge service to really connect folks, to find suppliers so that we can focus on onshoring. At the same time, we put together our onshoring portal, which is able to connect over 1 million suppliers on there so that people can source American products, American companies. We also have an onshoring handbook, and other projects that we've done, with our latest was last week in Charlotte. Did a supplier matchmaking expo.
So there's a lot of excitement and a lot of positiveness around being able to onshore and utilize American companies.
Speaker 1
I now thank you for that. And I now recognize the ranking member for five minutes of questions.
Speaker 2
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just would like to remind you that Democrats led the efforts during the 01/2017 Congress, 01/2019, to enhance. I led the efforts to enhance with Miss Goodlander and Mister Gordon the office of rural affairs, and we codify the office of Native American affairs. Those efforts were led by Democrats, so we do care about rural America. SBA post grant payments until May, well, they upgrade the system, but with FY 2025 payments already delayed, another long interruption will hurt small businesses that depend on the resources, Resource Partners services. Given your experience leading the Iowa SBDC and your current role, how do you reconcile these funding delays with the need to support small firms?
Speaker 3
Rinke Bamber, thank you for the question. I am here today to talk about the office of field operations. And what you're talking about is within the office of entrepreneurial development. OED is what we call it at SBA.
Speaker 2
I know that. I know that. But I do know that the resource partners help SBA achieve the goals of providing resources, educational, and capacity building for small businesses. In fact, you just mentioned, where was it, the matchmaking manufacturing, matchmaking export event in North Carolina. And I understand that you receive a tremendous amount of technical and logistical support from the local SBDC.
So events like this won't be able to take place with these funding delays. That is why I'm raising the issue of delays in payments for our resource partners.
Speaker 2
At least, look, what I want is if you commit yourself to raise this issue directly with the administrator, because it's hurting our resource partners.
Speaker 3
The event in North Carolina was a fantastic event, and we utilize Apex as well.
Speaker 2
My question is, would you commit yourself to share this issue with the administrator, the delay on payments to the resource partners?
Speaker 2
It is just so funny. You know, in the previous administration, when the administrator, democratic administrator, came before this committee, and we were discussing any other topic that was not related to taxes, the whole member on this side, all the members raised the issue of taxes. And when she said she wasn't here to discuss taxes, everyone said, yes, you are the voice of small businesses, and you have to commit yourself to share this information with the president of The United States. I'm just asking you to raise this issue with the administrator, because it's impacting the work and the services that are provided by our resource partners. It's quite simple.
Last March, the administrator announced an agency-wide reorganization, including cutting staff by 43%. Last year, the number of employees in the field offices declined by 27%. With our clear transition plan, leaving critical positions on the field, what specific steps are you taking to ensure staffing reductions do not undermine services to small businesses?
Speaker 3
Thank you for that question. And our focus in the field has also been, as I said, administrator Leffler had all of the associate administrators look at our programs. How can we streamline? How can we do business differently so we can be more effective? And as we did that, we're looking at all of our SOPs.
We've been able to cut some of the process time, and we've been able to make sure that our teams have the resources they need in the field. Yeah.
Speaker 2
Okay. So every poll that is taken with small businesses, they are raising the issues that are impacting them today. The rising costs of gas, the rising costs of the tariffs, the fact that they cannot find workers. And you're telling me that with a 27% cut and 43% previously, you're gonna be fine, that small businesses are going to be fine because when they call the regional offices, they are going to get a phone call answered. I yield back.
Speaker 1
Gentle lady, yield back. I now recognize Mister Mueller from the great state of Pennsylvania for five minutes.
Speaker 4
Thank you, chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. Shimkat. We really appreciate you being here, your opening testimony was very clear and confidence-inspiring. So, congratulations. My office has had a very good relationship in Pennsylvania with, in particular, Mike Cain and Steve Dixel, helping us with small businesses, loans, investments with the SBDCs, particularly at Bucknell and Kutztown.
So they work very well, particularly during the period of COVID, by the way. And, well, not from them, but there was a high level of frustration for four years during, frankly, during the Biden administration, which is amazing that would be brought up because the metrics, well, metrics don't lie. Right? Prior to the Biden administration coming in, there were 2,700 employees at the SBA, then it went up to 6,500. I don't know where they hired so many, 6500.
And by the way, we did a field trip over there one day. They knew we were coming, and I think they maybe had 12% of the employees there informing us, by the way, by the SBA administrator, that within six months, they're gonna be up to 40% of people showing up for work. So absolutely remarkable. We're now down, once again, to 2,700, where from 6,500, as you probably know, or in that range. And yet loans on seven and five zero four are up almost 15%, slightly less.
And SBIC investments are up over 15. So you're doing a lot more with less. And it's highly effective and highly noticeable, which is most important when we work with all of our small businesses. So maybe you can just expand upon the work you've done with the field office, how the improvements have expanded. Obviously, the experience that you brought to it has made it that much more effective just over the last fourteen months.
So maybe just talk about the field operations.
Speaker 3
Absolutely. I appreciate the question. Thank you very much. One of the things that we have done, especially out in the field, and as you mentioned, the SBA guaranteed $45,000,000,000 last year, the most ever in our 72 year history. So the amount, the volume is going up.
When it comes to field operations, we've been getting out there and talking to small businesses, which has been critical. And one of the small businesses we actually spoke to in Rhode Island, if I could share a story on them, is we spoke to her about it's a food-based product in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. She said, do you know the cost of liquid eggs at the end of the Biden administration was $5.29 a pound? And in one year, the cost of liquid eggs is down to 99¢ a pound. And she said, for the first time, she's getting ready to hire employees.
So we're starting to see that optimism out there. With our field staff as well, we're making sure that we have that partnership. As I said, we are working together in SBA and across the federal government, you know, under the Trump administration and an administrative leftler. Being able to work across the federal government has made it easier for us to get information and to get resources more quickly, to react to what small businesses need.
Speaker 4
And you are, of course, a small business advocate, as we all are. And that's why when you talk about competitive tax rates, like when we passed the tax cuts for working families act for small businesses, one ninety nine a, 20% reduction, bonus depreciation, no tax on tips, which certainly helps the workers for small businesses. No tax on overtime. You're not responsible for taxes, but my guess is you're an advocate of competitive taxes.
Speaker 4
I'd imagine so. Okay. But why that should be something that would be a surprise is, well, a bit of a surprise, from previous administrators. Anyway, how did chairman Williams' legislation on '7a and 504 loan limits, to $10,000,000 for small manufacturers? Can you discuss the impact this increase will have on small business ability to access capital?
Speaker 3
Absolutely. Thank you for that question. This actually came up last week at our event in North Carolina, at the supplier expo. In speaking with a couple of the lenders and some of the folks there, you know, the one big beautiful bill, being able for the, you know, depreciation or expensing it 100%. And some of the other items there are helping.
They're getting the equipment, etc. But a big expansion costs a lot more. And to have those higher loan limits has been a topic that has come up over and over. In fact, one of the lenders that was there said, I'm gonna send you some examples of deals we couldn't do because we're not at those levels. And that's what we hate seeing.
Speaker 4
That's fantastic. And thank you very much for the Make Onshoring Great Again portal. We're hearing very good things about that. So thank you very much for being here. Now yield back, Mr. Chairman.
Speaker 1
Gentlemen, yields back. I now recognize Mister Tran from the great state of California for five minutes.
Speaker 5
Thank you so much, chairman, and Rankee member for convening today's hearing. Thank you, administrator Shimkat, for being here. The Small Business Administration has unfortunately undergone several chaotic changes in the last year. For example, SBA announced the relocation of half a dozen regional offices without seeking any stakeholder input, then announced several district office relocation via tweets. The agency also issued reduction in force, publicly rescinded them, and then reversed those decisions, once reversing course in just one day.
Such actions hurt the SBA's credibility, and its credibility takes another hit when it unnecessarily stops supporting small business partners. Administration cat. As you know, the Small Business Development Center program is a vital federal program that provides technical assistance and training to entrepreneurs and small business owners throughout the nation. I'm proud to represent Orange County in the Inland Empire SBDC Network at California State University Fullerton, which is why I want to raise a serious concern about the reliability of the Small Business Administration support for local partners. Last year, SBA and the Office of Management and Budget withheld over 3,000,000 in funding from the Orange County Inland Empire SBDC.
Thankfully, my office successfully fought to release those funds to the community, providing much needed relief. However, the SBA is withholding millions of dollars in funding from its resource partners, including the mentorship program SCORE, women business centers, and the state trade expansion program. That helps small businesses trade internationally. This creates financially difficult, and harms programs, ability to provide services to thousand entrepreneurs across the country. It shouldn't take a member of Congress to fix this.
It is literally SBA's job to disburse this congressionally appropriated funding. So my question is, what safeguards are you and the SBA providing to ensure that grant payments to resource partners are delivered on time and without unnecessary political or administrative delays?
Speaker 3
Thank you for your question. As the associate administrator for the office of field operations, I wouldn't have insight into that. That would be my colleague at the Office of Entrepreneurial Development. But I'm happy to answer questions with regard to the office of field operations.
Speaker 5
So how does your office interact with making sure that this funding gets dispersed? You don't interact with that at all?
Speaker 5
Alright. Can you answer this question? SBA has paused all grant payments to update its grant solution system and may not resume until late May. We should be very clear about this. A system upgrade does not justify cutting off funding to small business support programs across the country.
You would agree with that?
Speaker 3
I can't offer any insight into that. I don't have any of the particulars. As the administrator for the office of field operations, that is where I can answer questions for you.
Speaker 5
Miss Shimka, I represent California's 45th congressional district, an international hub for America's small businesses. Over 90,000 small businesses call Orange County home, including many in Little Saigon. Our entrepreneurs grow their businesses and bring in more to our community by exporting and importing goods and working with partners overseas. Small businesses benefit immensely from international trade. That's why I'm proud to have co-led the Small Business Advocacy Improvement Act.
My bill would provide small businesses with improved access to international markets by expanding SBA's Office of Advocacy. What can the office of field operation trade specialists do to help small firms maintain the benefits of international trade as they navigate the president's reckless tariff and licensing policies?
Speaker 3
Sure. I can answer that question to the point of we don't have trade specialists under the office of field operations. But you have. We have, within our offices, we will work and point people to the folks with our resource partners, state partners, etcetera. And one of the things that I wanna make sure is you spoke about, especially on international trade, we have an amazing onshoring portal, and we wanna make sure that if a business is not listed there, an American business is not listed on that portal, we need to get them on that portal so that they have more opportunities to be able to have other companies look to them to be able to utilize them as an American resource within their own supply chain.
Hopefully, we can fill those supply chain gaps. We've had over 56,000 hits on that website to date for the onshoring portal.
Speaker 1
Gentlemen, he is back. And now recognize Miss Van Dyne from the great state of Texas for five minutes.
Speaker 6
Hey. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It's great to see you again. Shemcott, it's really good to see you again. We first met last August when you'd had the pleasure.
Yes. And we had the pleasure of hosting you at our annual job fair. It's amazing to hear some of the comments from the other side of the aisle talking about how employers cannot find workers. And yet what we do in our office, maybe it's different from what they do in theirs. But what we do with ours is we partner with the SBA.
We partner with our chambers, and we try to get these employers, workers, and we try to get folks in our district jobs. And so, in fact, you know, we had the largest job fair in the country last year. As you saw, we had 35000 people come out. And I think that just shows the strength of the economy. I think it shows the strength of Texas, that policies actually matter, and people are moving into our state.
And you saw it firsthand. You know, you had people who were looking for jobs. They wanna see, you know, better pay, more benefits, and more flexibility. And you saw that job market hiring like crazy. So that was our fourth annual job fair.
I think it always stands out to me just seeing that direct connection between the job seekers and the employers. Small businesses, trade programs, large employers are all in one place, you know, and they're creating these real, immediate pathways to employment. And it's to me, it's one of those things that we can actually do that's very successful that doesn't take an act of Congress. And I think there's a little bit of confusion about what your office does, at least at the questions that I'm hearing asked of you. Can you know, it's great that you are actually thinking outside of DC, recognizing the fact that the government can actually help people where they live, going to them as opposed to everything being DC based.
Can you just tell me a little bit about what your office does?
Speaker 3
Absolutely. No. And thank you very much for that question. Our office, with our 68 district offices across the United States, what we're able to do is meet with small businesses to find out what are the challenges. What is standing in your way?
And we'll walk a plant floor in Des Moines, Iowa, and talk with someone who says, you know, PowerBrace. The owner said, you know what? This part right here used to be made in China. Guess what? No more.
Now I'm gonna supply that for folks here in The United States to a coffee shop in Kannapolis that I was in last week that spoke about how so many of the regulations that came on in 2021, 2022 was hurting her business. We can take that information. And what we do is we work with the national ombuds office. We work with the office of advocacy so that we can also work with other agencies to hopefully shorten the runway to success for a lot of those small businesses, so that they can see financial success. They can see success in finding employees.
Under administrator Leffler's leadership, we also have an MOU with the Department of Labor because we can't talk small business without talking workforce.
Speaker 6
So, you're speaking of local events and what you're doing. So in 2025 alone, you guys hosted over 30,000 events. Yes. 30,000 events across the nation. Can you walk us through what kind of events and support the SBA has and how that benefited small businesses directly?
Speaker 3
Absolutely. Thank you for that question. One of the things, as you said, there's sometimes a misconception about the office of field operations. Our focus is lender engagement. We are working with lenders to help them take on more notes, to take on more loans with small businesses so we can get capital in the hands of small businesses who need it to look for expansions, to look for purchasing of equipment.
So, that is what we see as a lot of lender engagement. But then also, in partnership maybe with our disaster office, boots on the ground to get information to the communities. I did a presentation in a rural community that had a disaster, and it was under 1000 people there. And I had somebody say, you know what? For the first time, we feel heard.
And that is what our job is, to get the information out because, well, a lot of the decision making is done here in Washington, DC. The information to make those decisions is out in the field, and that's what we need to do, is to continue to strive to be that voice for small business.
Speaker 6
I really appreciate that answer. And, just real fast, when you talk about, like, the numbers, have those increased? Have they decreased?
Speaker 3
Our numbers have actually increased. It has been absolutely phenomenal. We are looking for consistency across all of our presentations across the United States, but also making sure that we're focused on what we're good at and what we need to do, and then utilize others. I wanna give you props as well with your job fair that I was at. I took some of the best practices there for our event in North Carolina so that we could put everything in one area, so people had resources.
They had what they needed, so that one-stop shop, and then get them going on success.
Speaker 6
I love it. Well, we're planning our next job fair in August. I look forward to seeing you and Secretary Loeffler. Thank you. Thank you.
Speaker 1
Gentle lady yields back. I now recognize Miss McIver from the great state of New Jersey for five minutes.
Speaker 7
Thank you so much, chairman and ranking member, for convening this hearing today, and thank you, administrator Shemkat, for being here to answer our questions today. America's small business owners have seen better days, for sure. In February, the United States lost 92,000 jobs. 92,000 jobs. And this year, we have seen the unemployment rate rise to 4.4%.
We continue to hear nonstop concerns from small business owners who do not know how much longer they can keep the lights on. If there was ever a time for the SBA to step up, it is truly now. The SBA has cut staff and proposed relocating offices away from the very communities they are meant to serve. These decisions are making it harder for entrepreneurs to access the support they need to start and grow a business. The American people deserve to know what the SBA is doing to help them out, not make things harder.
With that, administrator Shimkat, I wanted to piggyback off something you talked about. You talked about the SBA roundtables that you've been hosting, and you mentioned the largest city that I represent in New Jersey. With these roundtables that you host, do you ever invite members of Congress?
Speaker 3
Thank you for that question. And with each of our roundtables, we do have staff that show up, as we are out there. Many times you guys are in session. So.
Speaker 7
But do we get an invite? The question is, do our offices get an invite to the roundtables that you host?
Speaker 7
I mean, I hope you're gonna answer, because it's in your field of what you do. So you've been talking about what you don't answer because it's not in your department. But I want you to answer something that's in your field.
Speaker 3
Absolutely. No. I appreciate the question very much. And, yes, there are times that invitations do go out. Sometimes we could have a workshop that we have four lenders at, and maybe a lender requested a, for their market, maybe their commercial lenders only.
So there are times when there would not be an invitation going out, but we are always happy to work with, I mean,
Speaker 7
How do you deter who gets the invitation or not? When you go to Republican locations, do you invite members from the Republican Party to these events? Because I can tell you the one that you had in Newark, New Jersey, my invitation must have got lost in the mail. Because my staff didn't get an invite, and I did not get an invite to this big roundtable that you had in the city of Newark, which is the largest city in New Jersey, that I represent. I knew nothing about that roundtable.
So I'm asking, how do you determine if we get an invite or not, that we are included on this side of the aisle because we are members of Congress? How do you determine that?
Speaker 3
Thank you for pointing that out. And what our focus is, is to make sure that we are serving that small business owner, that we are getting it in front of the lender, and we're getting the information there. What we wanna make sure that we also do, I wanted to also say with some of our relocations when we talked about different offices, a horrific example was in Portland as we are relocating some of these offices.
Speaker 7
So first of all, I'm not interested in that. I asked you specifically about the invites that go out to members of Congress, because we all represent multiple districts across this country. And I find it very unfair that you all decide to invite members of the other side of the aisle in this body, in this chamber, but you don't invite us to the events that you're hosting, which is very inappropriate and unfair. So I want to point that out. Once again, you brought it up that you hosted this huge roundtable that was such a success in a city that I represent with 400,000 residents, and I did not get an invite, and my office was not notified about the event.
I find that to be very unfair, and it's very disappointing and disheartening. With that, you talked about decisions to relocate offices that have been tied to so-called sanctuary cities policies, despite these regions contributing significantly to national economic output. Do you believe small business owners in these communities deserve fewer federal resources because of local political disagreements? Yes or no?
Speaker 7
It's a yes or no. Do you believe that these businesses and these so called sanctuary cities deserve less federal support? Do you believe that? Yes or no?
Speaker 7
It's a yes-or-no thing. So, obviously, you believe yes. Do they deserve less federal resources? How does that align with the SBA's mission to serve all businesses? Once again, you don't get to decide which businesses you choose to support.
Rather they are Republican, Democrat, or independent, or hell, don't know what they are. You all don't get to decide who you serve. So how does that align with your mission to serve all businesses?
Speaker 3
The district offices do not have a large walk-in population, and we work with all of the resources out there for SBA to make sure those.
Speaker 7
Small businesses give what they, I disagree. First of all, my time is expiring. But I disagree with what you're saying. It's not right, and you're choosing who to serve under the SBA with taxpayer dollars. With that, I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
Speaker 8
Thank you. The chair now recognizes Miss King Heinz from the Northern Mariana Islands for five minutes.
Speaker 9
Thank you, mister chair, and thank you associate administrator Shemke for being here and allowing me the opportunity to have a conversation with you. First of all, I appreciate how you are prioritizing getting the SBA field office employees out into the field from DC and for prioritizing rural and veteran communities. I come from a very remote jurisdiction with a very high enlistment rate per capita in the country. And so I appreciate the work that is focused on prioritizing those communities. So last year, when we were figuring out how to right size and right fit government, the Guam SBA field office was shut down, and there's only one staff member there which was laid off.
So that field office handles SBA matters not only in Guam, but also in the district that I represent, the CNMI, the freely associated states, the FSM, and the Marshall Islands. So, basically, it's for the entire region. Right? And now the local SBDC matters are handled by the Hawaii field office, which
Speaker 9
a seven-hour flight away on a good day. On a bad day, it's about nine. And sometimes businesses and banks who are instructed to dial a number in Texas, which is eight time zones away, for advice and services that used to be provided by the Guam Field Office. And so I was just wondering, I know that there's been movement with regards to reinstating that position, but I kinda wanted to elevate that issue because it is a concern for folks on the ground and see where we're at with that.
Speaker 3
Absolutely. Thank you for that question. And, yes, we do have, what we call a procurement center representative, that also works with businesses, with regards to government contracting, etcetera. So we do have someone boots on the ground in Guam. And the Guam office, yes, also works with the SBA district office in Hawaii.
Also, our office just recently has, probably over the last six months, been working with CNMI with regards to our office of capital access. As I said, we're working across the agency to work with the team there as well as economic developers on onshoring. That has been a huge conversation point on how we can onshore, how we can work together with your existing infrastructure there. And, in fact, I think there was a team that was just here, not that long ago, and we were able to meet with them as well as capital access. So, we are listening to what we need to do to make sure that we have somebody there so that services are available.
Speaker 9
Yeah. And I appreciate all the effort that the administrator and yourself has put into trying to figure out how to make sure that we provide, you know, access on a regular basis to folks on the ground. And I do understand the need to right size and right fit, but my concern is that, you know, when folks are having to call different time zones or, you know, having to wait until certain times to be able to have access to somebody to either discuss their loans or things of that nature. And so I would like to work with you to figure out how we can, you know, find what an appropriate structure looks like to ensure that our small businesses there are taken care of. And then, you know, one of the asks basically from community members is, you know, what would it look like, and is it feasible to add a commercial loan officer to the field office should we get the Guam field office operational?
And I don't expect an answer. This is just something that I wanted to raise and flag for you. And perhaps in the future, sooner rather than later, we can have a conversation as to, you know, what the unique challenges are with regards to the region in general.
Speaker 8
Thank you. The chair now recognizes Mr. Olszewski from Maryland for five minutes.
Speaker 10
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to ranking member Velasquez, and thank you, deputy administrator Shimkat, for being here today. I appreciate your time. I look forward to a constructive conversation, how we can work together as we have the SBA district office of Baltimore just outside my congressional district. I want to begin by entering a few letters into the record addressed to the administrator, Administrator Loffler, that have gone unanswered regarding both the SCOR and the STEP programs at the SBA.
Committee staff has these letters, and I ask unanimous consent to add them to the record. I'm guessing that's approved. I hope so.
Speaker 10
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I enter these because, as an administrator, it is her responsibility to make sure that we have a working relationship with this committee. And I think a conversation and responding to communication is one of the most basic things that we can ask for. And so I would ask first that you please extend and urge the administrator to answer the questions that this committee sends to her.
I'm hoping that that's something you can do for us.
Speaker 10
Thank you. I appreciate that. I also wanted to point out I know you mentioned that the agency has shifted resources from rural and veteran entrepreneurs, who were ignored by the previous administration. I believe it's true that the Biden administration actually proposed to increase funding for veterans business outreach centers in fiscal 24. Are you aware of that?
Speaker 10
Okay. And I it's also my understanding that the Trump administration proposed to zero that funding out in fiscal year 2025.
Speaker 3
Once again, I have to speak to the Office of Field Operations, but that's why I'm here today. I'm happy to answer questions with regard to that.
Speaker 10
Okay. But I'm just saying, I think it's important to have the context of the full agency before we make these kinds of blanket statements about what the past and current administration does. I think all of these facts are important parts of the dialogue. I mentioned score and step specifically because I am concerned that there have been cuts in this space. More importantly, there have been withholding of funds from the American people for programs that have proven to support Americans.
Last June, I received countless outreach from constituents regarding the SCORE program that has since 1964 helped more than 17,000,000 entrepreneurs start, grow, or exit a business. There are 10,000 volunteers who provide free expert mentoring, resources, and education. SCORE served over 400 clients in my district alone, with 818 mentoring sessions. So with all the benefits that the program brings to main street businesses, I would think that you can understand our shock that almost $10,000,000 from SCORE is still being withheld by this administration. And can you agree that that might be problematic for folks who are looking to grow a business?
Speaker 3
I can say that the office of field operations stands ready to help small businesses get to the resources they need.
Speaker 10
Okay. Because I do commend you. I want to commend you. Know that you did a lot of work with 15 regional centers in your state back home. I understand that resource partners like SBDCs work hand-in-hand with the field office.
And I know that you are aware of the importance of this partnership. Some SBSDCs are on the verge of closing their doors due to receiving no funding since March 2023. I guess my question is what good does it do for American small businesses to have SBAs reliable and trusted resource partners close their doors?
Speaker 3
For the office of field operations, I can only speak to that. I don't have any insight into the funding under office of entrepreneurial.
Speaker 10
I'm actually glad that you said that because I know you said you can't discuss SBDCs, etc., because that's an OED. But my colleague, Mr. Mueller, asked about loans, and that was an answer that you gave. My understanding is that loans sit in the OCA. So if you're going to be prepared to talk about loans and other issues outside of your purview, I would suspect that you would be able to have that same conversation outside of your purview for questions that Democrats on this side of the aisle might have for you as well, or, frankly, that all my colleagues might have.
Speaker 3
I am happy to answer any questions with regards to Field. And our offices work with lenders to not only lender engagement, but also lender reengagement. When we have a lender that maybe hasn't engaged for a while and to teach them about the mark loan, our manufacturing loan that's out there with the line of credit, so that we can help capital stack with small businesses to help make them successful. That's where we get involved with our partners out there.
Speaker 10
Okay. Well, I think the withholding of funding that's happened in these critical programs is one way that we can help folks be successful too. So I'll have my staff follow up. The spaces where we can't get questions today, hopefully, you can help facilitate some answers. In the future, hopefully, if we're going to go outside of scope, we do it for everybody and not just for select answers.
But I appreciate it, and I yield back.
Speaker 8
The chair will now recognize me for five minutes. Associate administrator Shimka, thanks for coming. And, you know, the Trump administration has made it clear that public safety and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars must go hand in hand. In Northern Minnesota and across my congressional district, the 8th District of Minnesota, families expect government to protect workers and use their hard earned tax dollars wisely. On 03/06/2025, administrator Loeffler announced that the SBA will relocate offices out of sanctuary cities.
Can you explain how these relocations help protect SBA employees while also ensuring that taxpayer dollars are being used more efficiently?
Speaker 3
Absolutely. Thank you for that question. And I'm actually gonna start out with one of the most horrific examples that we have, as I had started, was in Portland. We had one of our employees get into the elevator. Homeless man got onto the elevator with her, made threatening remarks.
She rode the elevator up, was able to run into our office, lock the door, and hide. She called law enforcement. Law enforcement got there, found him passed out in a bathroom with fentanyl on the counter. That is absolutely unacceptable and scary for a small business, for the SBA. We need to prioritize, and I think everyone can agree on that, prioritizing employee safety.
We also had our New York District office had eight closures, and one of them was due to a white substance that was delivered to ICE. So we looked at all of our locations across the United States, and we looked at where we had employee safety issues, and that's where we needed to focus. That was our number one priority. But then also taking those offices and looking at what footprint we need. We have an office that has 20 cubicles that are open and empty and have been for four years.
We have another office that was in Pennsylvania that for the last four years, nobody's been in there to the cost of $60,000 per year plus Internet, plus heat, and we kept that office open. We have now since closed it. That's one of those 19 offices. So we focus on employee safety and being able to move at the speed of business, especially at our administrative leadership, to do what is right to be good stewards of the taxpayer dollars.
Speaker 8
So for each relocation, what specific steps are being taken to ensure the new office locations ultimately reduce costs while still allowing SBA to effectively serve small businesses across the country, including those in rural communities like the one I represent in Northern Minnesota?
Speaker 3
Absolutely. No. I thank you for that question. And we, as I said, we looked at where all the locations are in accessibility. We looked at the number of walk-ins.
You know, New York district office has had five walk-ins so far this year. We've had wait.
Speaker 3
And so what we needed to do was return our offices to Main Street. We have some locations where parking, especially if it's on a baseball day, and no disrespect to baseball, but on a baseball day, the parking could go over $50. And if you have a small business owner that maybe is the only or sole proprietor and they're already shut down because they're coming to meet with someone, but then they have to pay parking on top of it, etcetera. So we're trying to make it more accessible. And we don't have a lot of walk ins, we're able to look at where it makes more sense, so we can get those services out there.
Speaker 8
So for many small business owners in Northern Minnesota, their first interaction with the federal government often happens through an SBA field office. Can you speak to how the office of field operations has benefited from moving more SBA staff closer to the communities they serve? And, again, particularly small businesses in rural districts like mine in Minnesota's 8th Congressional District.
Speaker 3
Absolutely. No. I appreciate the question. Coming from a rural state myself and growing up in rural America, it is so important that there's a voice out there. So many times, you know, they refer to our state as a flyover state.
So we wanted to make sure that we are located where businesses are, the main street businesses, the forgotten ones. As our field operations folks are out there, they're talking with them. What are their needs? What are their pain points? We had a business saying, you know what?
I'm running into burdensome regulations with regards to PFAS. What do I need to do? Or labeling on my product. What do I need to do? We can take that information back.
We get it to the office of advocacy. We get it to our ombuds office so that they can help them out from there.
Speaker 8
Thank you. And then how do you work with administrator Lethlor to prioritize where the staff relocations and new hires should be placed, especially, again, in rural underserved regions where entrepreneurs may not have the same access to resources as businesses in some of our major cities?
Speaker 3
Absolutely. No. I appreciate the question. Our first focus is on employee safety. That has to be number one.
We have to keep our employees and our workforce safe. After that, we look at what is our footprint. What do we need to do, and where do we need to be located with regard to access? Is there parking? Is, you know, things that seem so simple, but can be the reason why somebody comes to the office or doesn't.
Speaker 8
Thank you very much, and my time is up. I now recognize Morrison from Minnesota for 5 minutes.
Speaker 11
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Chairman Williams and Ranking Member Velasquez for holding this hearing, and thank you, Associate Administrator Shimkat for taking the time to testify. I appreciate that during your testimony, you stressed the importance of keeping SBA staff in the field and acknowledge that keeping staff close to the small businesses they serve helps deliver better results for our small businesses. That's one of the reasons I was deeply concerned to hear that after Renee Good, an American citizen and a Minnesotan, was killed by federal agents, administrator Loeffler announced that she had ordered Minnesota's district office to be relocated. The Minneapolis Metro Area is home to more than 375,000 small businesses, more than 70% of the small businesses in the entire state.
Since 3,000 agents descended upon our state, overwhelming local law enforcement agencies, the small businesses in my district have been reaching out, asking for assistance to deal with the drastic loss in revenue that they've experienced during these past months. Small businesses across my district sustained 50 to 75% losses in sales and revenue. They're being forced to scale back services or considering closing. They are, in short, in dire need of assistance. Now more than ever, it's crucial for the SBA to provide assistance to Minnesota small businesses.
Is SBA planning to relocate Minnesota's district office?
Speaker 3
We are looking at all of our district offices. We looked at every single location out there. We did have to close the Minnesota district office multiple times because of protests that were located right by the building that they are in. And employee safety is our number one concern.
Speaker 11
And, respectfully, the irony of that, saying that the reason it was closed is to prioritize safety, is that in Minnesota, small businesses have employees that are too afraid to show up to work because they fear for their safety due to this administration's actions. How is relocating offices protecting their safety?
Speaker 3
We are looking at relocation of our offices to areas that we're able to better have safety protocols in place. We're looking at accessibility many times. As I said, parking becomes an issue. Once you get past employee safety, we run into parking constraints. We run into small businesses.
Sometimes, especially in rural small businesses, going into a city can be intimidating. So we wanna make sure that we take that off the table, and look for ways that we can get out there. Now, also, our field offices focus on lender engagement. So the individualized meetings with small businesses, aside from roundtables, etc., we don't see as much of that. But we have had a lot of success when we're working with them with regards to our expo, with regards to some of the other projects we've put together.
It's been fantastic.
Speaker 11
Thank you. Can I ask you to commit to keeping Minnesota's district office in Minnesota?
Speaker 11
Wonderful. And if you will commit also to following up with my office with more details regarding the plans for the Minnesota district office?
Speaker 11
You so much. And as I'm sure you're aware, last December, administrator Loeffler announced that the SBA would halt disbursement of 5,500,000 to SBA Resource Partners in Minnesota. Most notably, SBA has withheld over $2,200,000 in funding for Minnesota's small business development centers. I've been in touch with the director of Minnesota's small business development center, and I know they've been working hard to be good partners with SBA and ensure there are no issues with financial misuse of funds. Despite this, funding for these crucial programs has remained frozen.
What steps does the Minnesota Small Business Development Center state office need to take in order for SBA to release the funding? They have been guaranteed so that they can continue to deliver for Minnesota small businesses.
Speaker 3
Congresswoman, I appreciate the question. As a reminder, I am here today for the office of field operations. I don't have insights into the Office of Entrepreneurial Development. It's outside my scope, but happy to answer questions today regarding what we're doing here.
Speaker 11
Will you commit to working with associate administrator Paul Fitz... Fitzpatrick, to get my office an answer on this, please?
Speaker 11
Thank you very much for your testimony, and thank you, Mr. Chair. Yield back.
Speaker 8
Thank you very much. Chair now recognized Miss Sculpton from Michigan for five minutes.
Speaker 12
Thank you so much, mister chair, and thank you so much, madam administrator, for joining us here today. Over the past year, we've seen significant reductions in SBA staff, as we've talked about today. While administrator Loeffler has highlighted her goal of strengthening the agency, in the field, these things seem to be inconsistent to me. In Michigan, our main SBA field office is located in Detroit, all the way across the state with a virtual office in my district in Grand Rapids. We know that by September, agency-wide staff reductions had reached 27%.
Can you share how the Detroit SBA field office has been impacted by these staffing cuts, including any delays in wait times for counseling?
Speaker 3
Thank you for the question. Yeah. And for wait times in counseling, we don't do a lot of small business counseling, because our offices are more focused on, as far as the office of field operations, more focused on lender engagement, lender reengagement, and also being that voice for small businesses that maybe are struggling with regulation. And I do know this, that in But
Speaker 12
What does that mean, if I may? Being that voice for small businesses, what does that mean in practice?
Speaker 3
Sure. So, as I'm out in the road and, you know, administrator Loeffler has also taken charge and been out there and a strong advocate walking the plant floors. What are the pain points for these small businesses? So we can figure out what those are, Mhmm. And get them back here to DC and get the information out, so then we can look at is this a regulation that maybe doesn't need to be a regulation anymore?
Doesn't need to be modified? Because we can't have regulations. Obviously, we want a safe product. We want safe processes.
Speaker 3
But not having regulations that effectively zero out the ability of a small business owner to compete.
Speaker 12
Absolutely. And listening, of course, would seem to be a critical point, the first essential step in being a voice. Right? We know as representatives, we gotta go back, listen to our constituents, and then come back, take that message. Administrator Leffler is one person, right, covering the entire United States.
I guess my question is to be that voice, to do your job effectively, almost a third of the staff being reduced, that's less listening, that's fewer resources. So what I'm asking is, you know, how and feel free to speak nationwide, but I do wanna know about Detroit specifically and our office in Michigan. How can you continue to do that job effectively with a third of the people being the voice, you know, being cut.
Speaker 3
Absolutely. And a fair question. Appreciate that. And, actually, in FY 25, we had the highest number in four years of events that we had put together.
Speaker 3
So we have really streamlined what we need to do, how we need to do it, so that we can be more effective. And, also, looking at doing business differently, under administrator Leffler's leadership, she has done a fantastic job of allowing us to work at the speed of small business. Mhmm. And that's been very important for us. And I can't stress enough that
Speaker 12
No. I'm sorry to interrupt again. But do you have any data or results that you can share about how you have worked at the speed of small business. What, in particular, have you the speed of which have you increased? Are you know, is there have you how many visits has she done?
Is it more than the previous administration? How many cases have you resolved? Do you have publicly facing data, you know, metrics that we can look to to show that you're able to do more with less?
Speaker 3
Absolutely. No. And that's a great question. What we've been able to do, and I have the number of states that I've been to. We also have the information on the number of hits through our Red Tape hotline.
That's been a really great tool.
Speaker 3
For small businesses to have that voice. Many times before they said, oh, it's so intimidating if I have to write a case out, and things like that. But redtape@sba.gov, I apologize. I don't remember the 800 number, but I do remember the email, redtape@sba.gov, which is a tool where all they need to do is shoot an email to us saying, you know what? Here's my business.
Speaker 12
And I'm familiar, I am familiar with the hotline, and I, you know, we we've had hearings on it before. I think it's really important. But, again, the metrics, the publicly facing metrics, I think, again, the concern that so many of my colleagues have raised here today is we're talking about, in some field offices, a 50% reduction, a 100% reduction. And we wanna make sure that there are those eyes and ears. We agree with you 100%, the voice of small business elevating their issues.
How are you able to do that with less? And if you're saying we are now moving at the speed of small business, we want some demonstrable metrics, publicly available metrics, that we can look to and say, that's not just, you know, speech. There's actually data to show that you are doing it. So you can submit those afterwards because I did not hear any metrics in your response, but that is what we're looking for. Thank you.
I yield back.
Speaker 1
Gentle lady yields back. I now recognize Goodlander from the great state of New Hampshire for 5 minutes.
Speaker 13
Thank you, mister chairman, and thank you to our ranking member. Thank you to our witness for being here today. I appreciate it. I wanna start by saying I couldn't agree with you more that the most effective place for the SBA workforce to be is where our boss is, and that is in the field offices and on the ground. We agree on that point.
Do you agree that we should be adequately staffing our field offices?
Speaker 3
Thank you for that question. And I feel that we are adequately staffing our field offices.
Speaker 13
Okay. Can I ask you, in New Hampshire, how many field staff are in the field office in New Hampshire? What's been the reduction in force?
Speaker 13
head. Tell you that it started at 10 last year, and we're now down by 60 to 70%. Does that strike you as adequate, a 60 to 70% cut in the district, the field office workforce?
Speaker 3
Thank you for that question. And what I have to look at is what do we need to do at the end of the day to move the needle for small businesses? And making sure that our staff that we have in the field offices are trained the way they need to be trained, and getting the information out, working across the SBA, eliminating those silos, which the Trump administration has done for this and administrator Loeffler, eliminating those silos has made us way more effective out in the field for the field operations.
Speaker 13
Well, I can tell you that small businesses in New Hampshire are suffering because you haven't adequately staffed our field office. And I want to point out that on June 4, administrator Leffler came before this committee. She testified and gave us her commitment that we would get a full update on your plan to fully restaff the district offices, including in New Hampshire. And we still don't have that update. So can I get your commitment to giving me a full update on your plan to fully restaff New Hampshire's district office?
Speaker 3
We will always stand ready to work with your office. And at times, though, we have to also make sure that when it comes to HR, there are certain things that we have to keep confidential, but looking forward to continuing to move forward.
Speaker 13
I do too, because that was nine months ago when administrator Loeffler was before this committee, and this is an urgent moment for our small businesses. They've never felt more uncertain. The cost of doing business has never been higher. And so I just wanna confirm that I have your commitment to work with my team and with me to make sure we have a plan in place to fully restaff and adequately staff the district office in New Hampshire.
Speaker 3
We're always ready to stand ready to work with your office. And just as a reminder, the office of field operations, our focus is on lenders and lender engagement.
Speaker 13
And lenders are the constituents I hear from most on this front. They are suffering the most because of a lack of staffing in the field and on the ground. So I appreciate your commitment to working with me on this. You know, you and I share a commitment to cutting red tape and making sure regulations work for small businesses. You're currently running the office of manufacturing and trade within the SBA.
Is that correct?
Speaker 3
I am the acting administrator for the Office of Manufacturing and Trade. Yes.
Speaker 13
And that office is, its mission is to make sure that small businesses can compete in the global marketplace?
Speaker 3
Yes. That is the mission. But as of today, I'm here in regards to my position under the office of field operation.
Speaker 13
Okay. Well, I, you've said in that capacity too, you're committed to cutting red tape and to making sure regulations work for small businesses. What is the SBA's plan? When I hear from my small businesses, number one, the president's unconstitutional tariffs have been one of the biggest impediments to success. They've driven small businesses out of business.
What is your plan to work with small businesses across the country and in my state of New Hampshire to make sure that they are reimbursed the money that was unlawfully taken by the president's tariffs?
Speaker 3
I appreciate your question. I wanna start with saying what I'm hearing out in the field is vastly different from that. What we're hearing is small business accounts.
Speaker 13
I'm sorry. You're hearing that small businesses are in favor of this unconstitutional tariff regime?
Speaker 3
I am saying that small businesses, Acuron, a small business manufacturer in Massachusetts, said that tariffs have been a net positive for their business.
Speaker 13
Well, that is a first. I have not, this is a first, in the last year that I've heard from countless small businesses. I'm asking you what is your plan to address the concerns and the needs and the money owed to small businesses who are looking for refunds from these unconstitutional tariffs?
Speaker 3
Well, I'm very happy to say working under the Trump administration and under administrator Leffler's leadership with regards to this, the focus on not only the feedback we get from Power Brace out of Des Moines.
Speaker 3
From your onshoring portal, which is another way for your manufacturers, and I hope your manufacturers have all got listed on there so that we can help build back the American industrial base so that folks look local first. They look to America first.
Speaker 1
I'd like to thank associate administrator Shemkit for her testimony, for appearing before us today. Without objection, members have five legislative days to submit additional materials and written questions for the witnesses to the chair, which will be forwarded to the witnesses. I ask the witness to please respond promptly. If there's no further business without objection, the committee is adjourned. Okay.
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