Congresswoman Claudia Tenney Opposes Partisan Reconciliation Bill in Small Business Committee

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22) today voted against the Democrats’ radical “human infrastructure” budget reconciliation proposal in a House Small Business Committee markup. 

“It is astonishing that Democrats on the Small Business Committee propose to spend a staggering $23.6 billion, without addressing any of the inflation, tax, or workforce concerns that small businesses across the country have raised over the last year,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “Once again, Democrats refuse to have meaningful debate on the issues and instead push through a massive spending bill that we know will hurt our economy. Democrats released a draft of this bill just 48 hours before the committee meeting, in the middle of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar, celebrated by many staff and Members of Congress. This is a nothing but a disrespectful and cynical attempt to circumvent serious debate and substantive amendments. Government cannot function this way.”

Congresswoman Tenney offered two amendments to the reconciliation proposal during the House Small Business Committee markup. The first was to redirect $9.5 billion in spending from the new untested Venture Small Business Investment Company Facility in the Small Business Investment Company program toward the pro-jobs American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, which she introduced earlier this year. This bipartisan legislation would expand access to capital to America’s small manufacturers, helping bring well-paying and stable jobs back to areas like upstate New York. 

Tenney’s second amendment directed $35 million in funding from the New Start Entrepreneurial Development Program for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals to Small Business Development Centers, which have a proven track record of outreach and resources to help rural small businesses. During this time of increased financial hardship for America’s small businesses, policymakers must be laser-focused on helping struggling small businesses, not footing the bill for a progressive wish list of items that includes preferential loans to former criminals.

In addition, Congresswoman Tenney also voted for an amendment, introduced by Congressman Garbarino, that would have directed $23.6 billion in funding towards replenishing the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The amendment would have also enacted the provisions proposed in H.R 4568, the ENTRÉE Act, to ensure adequate oversight of taxpayer and prohibit preferential treatment. The Restaurant Revitalization Fund has suffered multiple legal issues, with courts in Texas and Tennessee finding that the fund unlawfully discriminates based on gender and sex. However, to this date House Democrats have been too interested in social engineering and picking winners and losers to fix these issues and get needed relief to restaurants suffering around the country. 

Unfortunately, Democrats on the House Small Business Committee unanimously opposed both of Congresswoman Tenney’s commonsense amendments, and all other Republican-offered amendments. This was yet another example of the Democrats’ failed partisan style of governance, which eschews good-willed debate and improvements. The Democrat reconciliation package is nothing more than the far-left aiming to ram through their unpopular and regressive Green New Deal priorities rather than advance significant policies to help everyday working Americans.=

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