[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
FIELD HEARING: KANSAS CITY, KS: SILICON
PRAIRIE: TECH, INNOVATION, AND A HIGH-SKILLED WORKFORCE IN THE
HEARTLAND
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
UNITED STATES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
HEARING HELD
OCTOBER 8, 2019
__________
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Small Business Committee Document Number 116-049
Available via the GPO Website: www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
37-895 WASHINGTON : 2020
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HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
NYDIA VELAZQUEZ, New York, Chairwoman
ABBY FINKENAUER, Iowa
JARED GOLDEN, Maine
ANDY KIM, New Jersey
JASON CROW, Colorado
SHARICE DAVIDS, Kansas
JUDY CHU, California
MARC VEASEY, Texas
DWIGHT EVANS, Pennsylvania
BRAD SCHNEIDER, Illinois
ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York
ANTONIO DELGADO, New York
CHRISSY HOULAHAN, Pennsylvania
ANGIE CRAIG, Minnesota
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio, Ranking Member
AUMUA AMATA COLEMAN RADEWAGEN, American Samoa, Vice Ranking Member
TROY BALDERSON, Ohio
KEVIN HERN, Oklahoma
JIM HAGEDORN, Minnesota
PETE STAUBER, Minnesota
TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee
ROSS SPANO, Florida
JOHN JOYCE, Pennsylvania
DAN BISHOP, North Carolina
Adam Minehardt, Majority Staff Director
Melissa Jung, Majority Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Kevin Fitzpatrick, Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
OPENING STATEMENTS
Page
Hon. Sharice Davids.............................................. 1
Hon. Emanuel Cleaver............................................. 10
WITNESSES
Mr. David Toland, Secretary, Kansas Department of Commerce,
Topeka, KS..................................................... 4
Ms. Delia Garcia, Secretary, Kansas Department of Labor, Topeka,
KS............................................................. 6
Mr. Thomas Salisbury, Regional Administrator, Region VII, Small
Business Administration, Kansas City, MO....................... 8
Ms. Neelima Parasker, President and CEO, SnapIT Solutions,
Overland Park, KS.............................................. 18
Mr. Ruben Alonso III, President, AltCap, Kansas City, MO......... 20
Ms. Tammie Wahaus, CEO, Elias Animal Health, Olathe, KS.......... 21
Mr. Brad Sandt, President & CEO, Menlo, K12itc, Civic ITC, Kansas
City, MO....................................................... 24
Mr. Daniel Silva, President & CEO, Kansas City Kansas Chamber of
Commerce, Kansas City, KS...................................... 25
APPENDIX
Prepared Statements:
Mr. David Toland, Secretary, Kansas Department of Commerce,
Topeka, KS................................................. 33
Ms. Delia Garcia, Secretary, Kansas Department of Labor,
Topeka, KS................................................. 36
Mr. Thomas Salisbury, Regional Administrator, Region VII,
Small Business Administration, Kansas City, MO............. 45
Ms. Neelima Parasker, President and CEO, SnapIT Solutions,
Overland Park, KS.......................................... 54
Mr. Ruben Alonso III, President, AltCap, Kansas City, MO..... 61
Ms. Tammie Wahaus, CEO, Elias Animal Health, Olathe, KS...... 63
Mr. Brad Sandt, President & CEO, Menlo, K12itc, Civic ITC,
Kansas City, MO............................................ 67
Mr. Daniel Silva, President & CEO, Kansas City Kansas Chamber
of Commerce, Kansas City, KS............................... 70
Questions for the Record:
None.
Answers for the Record:
None.
Additional Material for the Record:
Kansas Economic Report....................................... 72
SILICON PRAIRIE: TECH, INNOVATION, AND A HIGH-SKILLED WORKFORCE IN THE
HEARTLAND
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019
House of Representatives,
Committee on Small Business,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:00 a.m., at Dr.
Thomas R. Burke Technical Education Center, Kansas City
Community College, 6565 State Ave., Kansas City, KS, Hon.
Sharice Davids, presiding.
Present: Representatives Davids and Cleaver.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Good morning. The Committee will come to
order. Thank you all for joining us this morning and a special
thanks to the witnesses for being here today. I would
especially like to thank Congressman Emanuel Cleaver who
represents Missouri's fifth congressional district and serves
on the Financial Services and Homeland Security Committees. For
those in attendance, I would like to share some background on
the proceedings. This is a formal hearing of the House
Committee on Small Business. Due to the format, there is not an
opportunity for questions or public comments from the audience.
I thank you for your attendance and interest in this issue.
Field hearings play an important role in the work our
Committee does. Traveling to Washington D.C. and testifying
before Congress presents numerous barriers in costs and time
that can prevent some important voices from being heard. Field
hearings serve to bring the work of the Committee closer to our
districts and offer our communities the opportunity to share
their views and issues on the matter. Since I was sworn in at
the beginning of this year, one of my top priorities has been
to support the growth of small businesses and entrepreneurship.
The nearly 30 million small firms in the U.S. represent
99.7 percent of all employers and generate two-thirds of all
net new jobs, as we know how important it is to have a thriving
Main Street and support small firms, especially in our district
where the entrepreneurial spirit is baked into our DNA. On the
Small Business Committee, I am working every day to reduce
burdens for small firms, increase access to capital so that
entrepreneurs can start and grow small businesses, and support
policies that promote innovation.
In our last session we passed my bill out of the Committee,
out of the Small Business Committee, that will reauthorize the
Women's Business Centers for four years and increase the
funding level to $31.5 million for each of the next four years.
Women's Business Centers are an important resource partner of
the SBA and provide full range of counseling and training
services for small businesses primarily owned by women.
The Kansas City WBC located in our district already serves
over 600 clients annually through business trainings,
workshops, counseling, and access to capital programs. With
increased funding, the Kansas City Women's Business Center can
expand their counseling and outreach across the large
geographic region they serve. But that is not my only focus. I
have also been working to improve other SBA programs such as
the Small Business Innovation Research program, the SBIR, and
the Small Business Technology Transfer program, STTR.
These programs provide awards to small businesses operating
in high-tech and innovative fields for purposes of research and
development with the goal of commercializing those new
technologies. The work that WBCs are doing, and the SBIR and
STTR program awards, are creating jobs and investments that
will revitalize towns and cities across the country. For years,
investors via private equity and venture capital assumed that
the only place to start an innovative technology company was in
a small number of coastal cities, but thanks to the
affordability of places like our district, the availability of
high speed internet, and the highly educated workforce that the
Kansas City metro area has become known for, we are one of the
best places in the country for tech startups. Our startup
growth rate was the highest in the country in 2018, up 6.2
percent compared to last year. It is no wonder we are a leader
in innovation.
According to the 2018 state of the Silicon Prairie Report,
Kansas City received an A in cool jobs and STEM, led by a 29
percent in engineering, computer, and science jobs. We received
an A in connectivity due to our advanced fiber networks as
well. However, challenges remain. For over a year we have been
experiencing a workforce shortage that has prevented many small
businesses from expanding their operations. With a growing
skills gap and increasing retirements from our aging
population, small businesses are having a harder time than ever
of attracting a high skilled workforce.
This problem emphasizes the importance of transforming the
education process and requirements for future work in our
country. On top of the national workforce shortage, our
region's workforce has decreased since the great recession. So
despite the friendly entrepreneurship climate and ecosystem we
have cultivated and the attractive incentives that have brought
tech to this area, it will be virtually impossible to reach our
full potential when employers cannot find qualified workers.
Unfortunately, this workforce shortage disproportionately
affects our small businesses who rely on employees with
specialized skill sets to build and grow. When they are unable
to fill those positions that require technical training or
certification, their potential for growth is hindered. We need
to do more at the local, State, and Federal level to close the
skills gap and train the next generation of American workers.
The recent tech boom has opened the door to many blue-
collar tech workers that don't need a four-year degree. There
are thousands of mid-tech jobs in our region that are high-
paying and provide quality benefits. Workers can enroll in
apprenticeships, job training programs, and industry recognized
credentials to prepare them for these roles. We also need to
support on-the-job training and retraining programs that allow
workers to keep their jobs and get skilled up while they learn.
Our schools, technical colleges and universities, must be
part of the solution as well. From coding to technical
training, partnerships between businesses, high schools,
community colleges like the one we are in now, are changing the
nature of education to align those skills with what is needed
to build a 21st century ready workforce. While Kansas City is
the best city in the world for start-up growth, we cannot reach
our full potential without the skilled workforce to support the
ideas and innovation that come from this district.
I am excited to have officials from the State and Federal
levels to hear about programs and policies they are working on.
SBA and our State Department, Departments of Commerce, and
Labor are a natural fit to address some of the concerns as we
move our region's economy forward, and I am extremely thankful
to the small firms in different sectors of the economy that
have joined us here today to talk about the challenges they are
facing and the opportunities that lie ahead. I will just take a
moment to explain how this is going to work.
First of all, I will introduce all of our witnesses and
then each will be given some time to make an opening statement
that summarizes their written testimony. We usually use a timer
for this in D.C., but we will put that formality aside for
today. It is usually a five-minute timer though.
[Laughter.]
And then, after the introductions, we will hear a statement
from Congressman Cleaver. Our first witness is Mr. David
Toland, the Secretary of Kansas' Department of Commerce. Since
being appointed by Governor Kelly in January, Secretary Toland
has overseen sweeping changes within the State's leading
economic development agency. Under his leadership, the
department is conducting a new economic strategic planning
process for the State that will replace the 1986 Redwood-Krider
Report. Prior to his appointment, he was a CEO of Thrive Allen
County, a non-profit coalition that works to improve quality of
life economic conditions in Allen County, Kansas.
He also worked as an appointee in Washington D.C. with
Mayor Anthony Williams, holding key leadership positions in
D.C.'s economic development and planning offices. Thank you for
being here Secretary Toland. Our next witness is Ms. Delia
Garcia, Secretary of Kansas' Department of Labor. She returned
to Kansas after serving eight years in executive and senior
leadership in the national organizations of Reflect Us,
National Migrant Seasonal Head Start Association and the
National Education Association in Washington D.C. In 2004, she
was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives where she
served six years and served on the Commerce and Labor
Committee.
Ms. Garcia made history by becoming the first Latina and
the youngest female ever to serve in the Kansas legislature
when she was elected in 2004. She received her Master's degree
in Political Science with an emphasis in Public Administration
from Saint Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas and her
Bachelor's of Arts from Wichita State University. Welcome,
Secretary Garcia. Our third and final witness on the first
panel is Mr. Thomas Salisbury, the Regional Administrator for
Region 7 of the Small Business Administration. Before his
appointment, he worked in Kansas City Missouri as a small
business liaison for U.S. Senator Roy Blunt.
He spent most of his career working in the lending
industry, most recently as Vice President and Manager of
correspondent banking with UMB Bank. He received a Bachelor's
of Science from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1974
and attended the American Banking Association School of Banker
Management.
Thank you for being here, Mr. Salisbury. In the interest of
time, we are going to go ahead and start with Secretary Toland.
You are now recognized.
STATEMENTS OF DAVID TOLAND, SECRETARY, KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF
COMMERCE; DELIA GARCIA, SECRETARY, KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF LABOR;
THOMAS SALISBURY, REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR, REGION VII, SMALL
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
STATEMENT OF DAVID TOLAND
Mr. TOLAND. Thank you and good morning Representative
Davids, Representative Cleaver. It is a pleasure to be here
today to testify about the state of innovation and technology
in Kansas, both where we have been and where we have the
potential to go as a State. To talk first about the State's
early foray into the tech sector, it is important to talk about
the 1986 Redwood-Krider report. In '86, the Kansas legislature
and the State moved boldly on a bipartisan basis to establish
new and innovative tools for economic growth. Their vision and
action put Kansas on the map as a leader for advancing economic
development efforts, including specifically in the areas of
technology and innovation.
The Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation, or K-Tech,
was established in 1986 to stimulate the startup and
advancement of technology companies in Kansas. K-Tech's
investment portfolio leveraged public and private dollars to
invest early stage capital, facilitate programs to train and
develop entrepreneurs, and focus on innovations that prepare
the next generation of jobs in the knowledge industry.
Drawing on those successes, the 2004 Kansas Economic Growth
Act created the Kansas Bioscience Authority. At that time, the
legislature and the Governor, again on a bipartisan basis,
recognized another key opportunity. Pulling from the strength
of our State's agricultural heritage, the KBA advanced
solutions in agribusiness and helped Kansas establish and
maintain the largest concentration of animal health companies
in the world, which is now recognized as the heart of the
Animal Health Corridor. By drawing from a world-class
agricultural research institution in Kansas State and world-
class medical programs at KU, researchers made breakthroughs in
oncology, information technology, medical devices, and other
important areas of human and animal health.
These investments played a huge role in securing a home for
the national Bio and Agro Defense Facility, or NBADF, in
Manhattan as well as securing the NCI Cancer Designation for KU
Med Center. This work was truly ahead of its time and this bold
vision left behind a legacy of innovation and collaboration
across our State's economic development efforts. Kansas
continues to benefit today from the foresight and the ambition
of business and political leaders over the past 30 years, but I
think we all know the economic environment has changed.
Nationally, tech growth, commerce, and innovation are
moving at unprecedented rates and the job growth and economic
impact associated with tech shows no signs of slowing down
nationally. Now there are reasons to be optimistic about the
future of tech and innovation in Kansas. Just yesterday the KC
Tech Council released a comprehensive report on the current
state of the region's tech industry. The median tech occupation
wage in Kansas is higher than that of many other Midwest
States, and tech has permeated the Kansas City Metro's
employment base more than it has peer cities, with 9.2 percent
of Kansas side of Kansas City workers employed in tech
occupations compared to cities like Indianapolis which 7
percent, and Nashville at 6 percent.
In fact, Kansas City had the seventh highest net gain for
tech talent labor among the largest tech markets in North
America over the past five years. So that is great news.
However, these positive developments are concentrated to only a
few geographies in our State and so the bigger picture creates
reason for concern. Once a leader in tech and innovation,
Kansas has somewhat fallen behind in recent years as a whole.
We have experienced a loss of both tech jobs and tech
businesses in the State. In 2018, Kansas posted the second
highest amount of tech job losses among all 50 States and
posted a net loss of total tech businesses operating in the
State compared to 2017.
Simply put, this is not acceptable. We have an obligation
to the people of Kansas to understand what is driving this
decline and to make the necessary corrections and adjustments
to change the trajectory of tech and innovation in Kansas. Now,
there are programs and incentives already in place that help
address our State's challenges of attracting and retaining tech
businesses and knowledge jobs. One example is the Angel
Investor Tax Credit program, which encourages investment in
small businesses. Eligibility for the program requires that a
business demonstrate an innovative and proprietary technology
which incentivizes tech startups in Kansas.
We have also implemented unique workforce development
programs such as Workforce AID which is workforce aligned with
industry demand. Workforce AID brings together stakeholders
from Government, business, and higher ed to address very
specific workforce needs with targeted job training,
certification programs, and paths to employment at Kansas
businesses. And last month we made an important addition to our
executive team at commerce in hiring Trent Armbrust as our new
Director of Strategy for Technology and Bioscience.
This is a new position and it is critical to ensuring that
we rebuild relationships with private and public sector
partners as Kansas seeks to help advance new technologies,
support innovative research, create new jobs, and further
advance its leadership across key tech and bioscience sectors.
Our State universities are also engines of innovation and tech
growth with institutions such as NBADF at K-State and the
Bioscience and Technology Business Center, BTBC, at KU leading
the way.
And earlier this year Governor Kelly announced that the
Department of Commerce would undertake an initiative to
research and analyze the Kansas economy and deliver and
economic development blueprint for the State, one with
innovative strategies for business recruitment and retention.
Just yesterday we announced that work on the Kansas framework
for growth has begun, kicking off the development of a
comprehensive strategy to accelerate economic growth in our
State. The Kansas framework for growth marks the first time
since 1986 that the State of Kansas has taken a deep look at
our economy and aligned our economic development tools with our
State's strategic opportunities.
A very important component to this plan is a special focus
on what it will take to grow the tech sector of our economy,
including partnering with businesses and higher ed to address
the development of a highly skilled workforce that can fill the
knowledge jobs we have and those that we would like to recruit
to our State. These are just a few of the steps Kansas has
taken to begin regaining our position as a leader in tech and
innovation but we do have a long road ahead. Technology is
redefining our economy and our lives at a fundamental level and
we must find ways to make Kansas more competitive, the future
of our economy depends on it.
So I will close there and thank you for the opportunity to
testify.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Secretary Toland. I promise
not to bang on the mic again. Okay, would you mind turning your
mic off? Okay, I think three mics on at one time is too many.
This is all in the Congressional record.
[Laughter.]
I would ask that you please submit the KC Tech Council
Report that you referenced in your testimony to the record
because I think that it will be very informative.
Thank you. Secretary Garcia, you are now recognized.
STATEMENT OF DELIA GARCIA
Ms. GARCIA. Thank you, Congresswoman. Good morning,
Congresswoman Davids and Congressman Cleaver. Thank you for
this opportunity to testify. As you may know, I have grown up
in a small business setting with my family owning a small
business, the oldest in the State. So I very much value your
work and legislation that you do in this Committee. Our Kansas
Department of Labor actually has a lot to offer Kansas, whether
you are an employer or an employee, a job seeker or a policy
maker, an educational institution or an average Kansan, we
provide assistance with unemployment insurance, wage claims,
and workers compensation, and provide safety trainings across
the State and permits for amusement rides operating in the
State of Kansas.
One area that I really want to highlight today is our area
a division of Labor Market Information Systems, also referred
as LMIS. We collect data, aggregate and analyze this data, and
serve as a resource for Kansas employment related data like job
vacancies, wage and job growth or loss, unemployment insurance
claims, and administers and analyzes the data of some of our
Federal workforce development programs.
And recently, we shared a State of Labor Report around
Labor Day and would like to also submit the final one to you if
you would like. We just did highlights around Labor Day because
we do an annual report every September 30th where we analyze
all the aggregate data where we just have the state of
laborers. And in that we highlighted for the first time
publicly the different region areas because I wanted to make
sure we did highlights focusing on rural and urban areas. The
private sector grew by nearly 18,000 jobs over the past 12
months and real hourly earnings labor market continued to grow
as well in the past year.
These numbers are good, but the news is the even though
these numbers are good, we remain in a tight labor market like
the rest of the country. So this is an opportune time to focus
on areas where we could position Kansas as a leader in our
country, and the data that I provided in my testimony shows the
different data where we can highlight the areas of opportunity.
One of them States that the 96 percent of the job openings
projected will be from people exiting the labor force and
transferring to a new occupation. But only 4 percent of the job
openings will result from this industry growth.
Also what the table shows is employment projections show
Kansas will have 17,900 annual openings and jobs that require
post-secondary education less than a Bachelor's degree. This
includes post-secondary non-degree award, some college, and
Associate's degrees. Another area that the data will show is
Master's degrees and Bachelor's degrees are projected to grow
at the fastest rate of all educational groups.
And finally the median wage I would like to share of Kansas
is $35,950. Most STEM jobs pay higher wages with typical wages
above this value for 150 out of 158 STEM occupations with
publishable wage data in Kansas. So out of the 150, 121 of
these occupations pay above $50,000. Looking specifically at
computer and mathematical occupations within STEM group, median
wages range from $43,686 to $124,932. So partnering with some
of our education partners and stakeholders is an area that we
are going to want to go towards.
I also want to thank you all for the work that you did in
passing RESEA, also known as the Reemployment Services and
Eligibility Assessment, because when we do have people come
into the workforce centers, some of the stuff we supply the
data for is what I am just noting right now, the LMI data, that
shows if I am a job seeker, where can I be looking? If I am a
college student, where can I be looking? And I just wanted to
end with a good example of some of the efforts to grow the tech
sector here in Kansas. Just recently we met with one of our
stakeholders and he shared his startup small business where it
is a smart pavement with prefabricated, precast concrete
sections of a road service that would enable cheaper and faster
roads.
Another area that they are going to be working in is
integrated roadways as smart pavement fiber, which is an optic
sensing system that reports the position of vehicles in real
time. So these are awesome examples of how we can grow this
space and support. And I would be happy to answer any
questions. Thank you.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Secretary Garcia. And we will
look forward to you submitting the annual report to the
Committee. Mr. Salisbury, you are now recognized.
STATEMENT OF THOMAS SALISBURY
Mr. SALISBURY. I want to make sure we do not get our
microphones crossed here. Okay. Well, good morning. My name is
Tom Salisbury and I am the Regional Administrator for Region 7
of the United States Small Business Administration or the SBA.
I would certainly like to thank you, Representative Davids, and
the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business
for the opportunity to speak this morning on the SBA's role in
assisting existing and aspiring businesses to achieve their
American dream. And Congressman Cleaver, it is great to have
you with us as well.
I would like to take just a moment to introduce the
audience the District Director of the Kansas City office of the
SBA, John Malcolm Richards, who sits behind me here. That
office is responsible for the Western half of Missouri and an
area of Eastern and Northeastern Kansas that does include the
third Congressional district. This office works every day to
inform, educate, assist, and counsel the business community,
lenders, resource partners and investors, and entrepreneurs
regarding the many services available through our relationship
with the SBA.
Well, we all know that a small business owners' commitment,
energy, and skill are clearly the heart of any new or existing
business. Today's evolving business climate often prompts the
owner to seek and benefit from outside help. This help can
often be from Federal programs, many delivered through the SBA,
as well as from State and local programs. The SBA was created
in 1953 by then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Kansan as you
well know, to offer programs and assistance to an expanding
small business community being created by returning veterans
from two recent wars. Our mission is to encourage, council, and
foster success among small businesses.
The SBA has a lengthy array of financial, technical
assistance, and business development programs aimed at helping
entrepreneurs start, grow, and expand their particular
business. Additionally, the SBA plays a critical role in
disaster recovery by assisting businesses, homeowners, and
renters with direct financial assistance. I might highlight
just some of the ways the SBA is engaged on the topics that are
at hand today.
The SBA has a range of lending program designed for
virtually anyone seeking financing to start, grow, or expand
their business, from our Flagship 7(a) program, which produced
loans totaling $288 million in Fiscal Year 2019, to our 504
program for larger projects, which made $45 million in loans in
Fiscal Year 2019, all in the Kansas City District. Our Micro-
loan Assistance program helps make smaller loans available to
underserved communities where capital is often tougher to
access. These nonprofit micro lenders provide a much-needed
service.
The SBA also operates the SBIC program. While the agency
does not directly invest in small businesses through the SBIC
program, we do provide funding to qualified investment
management firms with expertise in certain sectors or
industries including tech firms. There is a licensed SBIC
located here in the third Congressional district and yet other
SBICs from across the country invested $58 million in Kansas
small businesses in 2018. Ensuring that these lending and
financial products reach rural parts of the country is a top
priority of the Administration.
Last year, the SBA and the USDA signed a memorandum of
understanding to enhance collaboration between the agencies and
increase access to capital. We are confident this partnership
will help grow investment opportunities and boost economies in
rural America. The SBA has a comprehensive array of programs
for entrepreneurs and small businesses seeking help. This
includes assistance to businesses you want to participate in
Government contracting, or who are interested in exporting, or
who need one-on-one counseling provided through SBA resource
partners such as Women's Business Centers, as you have
mentioned in your comments, Small Business Development Centers,
and our score network of retired executives.
Some of these resource partners are actually represented
here today. We also support veterans and returning service
members through Veterans Outreach Centers and our Boots to
Business programs. We simply could not do what we do as well as
we do it without the help of these resource partners. They are
critical to our mission. Specific to technology, I did want to
highlight a research and development program that you have
already mentioned that the SBA is heavily involved with across
the country.
SBA monitors, supports, and establishes the policy guidance
for the Small Business Innovation Research and the Small
Business Technology Transfer programs--that is the SBIR and
STTR programs that you mentioned. As part of SBA's outreach,
SBA and the participating agencies travel around the country
providing information to small business concerns on how to
access these funds to support research, development, and
commercialization of these innovative technologies. The SBIR
Road Tour actually came through Kansas City a little earlier
this year. The SBA is also aware of the workforce issue facing
our country's small businesses.
I recall a visit our former Administrator Linda McMahon
made to Kansas during her Ignite tour last year. She and I
visited Fire Lake Construction, a woman-owned information
technology based company based in Lenexa. Fire Lake is a
growing small business that participates in the 8(a) program
and performs work across the public and private sectors. During
our roundtable conversation with that company, the workforce
challenges that is facing the company and the region were
discussed.
The SBA is a participant on the President's National
Council for the American Worker. This is an effort to ensure
American workers receive the training and skills needed to fill
the job openings in our country. Part of it includes the Pledge
to America's Workers, an initiative to commit to job
opportunities and workforce training. To date, the pledge has
been signed by hundreds of companies in a bipartisan mix of 38
State Governors.
Of interest perhaps for this hearing, last week Google
pledged to help train a quarter of a million workers for
technology jobs as part of the Administration's pledge. Here in
the metro area, I recently accompanied our Acting
Administrator, Chris Pilkerton, on a visit to Geiger Concrete
Company, which has multiple locations in the region and has
committed through the pledge to adding 125 new jobs by 2022.
With the United States enjoying a roaring economy and
unemployment rates the lowest in over 50 years, optimism
regarding business investment is soaring.
Prospective business owners are encouraged to take that big
step and lenders are supportive. In addition to the efforts on
workforce, the Administration has a number of initiatives
designed to spur this growth. For example, the Tax Cuts and
Jobs Act has proven to be a great initiative to encourage
growth in the economy and to encourage investment.
Also, the newly negotiated USMC trade deal is very
important to small business growth. It is the first trade
agreement with a chapter dedicated to small business and
includes important provisions for technology companies such as
digital and IP trade protections. The SBA was at the table to
represent small businesses while the USMC was being developed
and I am very encouraged to see that Governor Kelly has urged
support for that agreement.
Representative Davids, there has never been a better time
to start a small business. I am honored to be a part of a great
agency like the SBA and to work alongside dedicated public
servants and job creators. As we like to say at the SBA, we
power the American dream. I would like to thank you and the
Committee for your support of our efforts and for hosting this
important hearing today. Thank you very much.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Salisbury. So I will
begin by recognizing the gentleman from Missouri, Congressman
Cleaver for questions.
Mr. CLEAVER. Thank you, Madam Chair. And first of all, I
would like to thank you for your visionary leadership in
calling this meeting together and the reason is of course, you
know, a field hearing is legally the same thing as holding a
hearing in Washington D.C. in a Congressional hearing room. And
I am hoping that this can not only continue but that it can
grow, and the reason is every year Silicon Valley sends out
invitations to individuals who are interested in small business
and minorities who are interested in getting into this whole
new field, and maybe 150 to 200 people are there and it is
continuing to explode and explode and explode.
Last summer, I spent one day in Fort Worth, Texas with a
FinTech company. The CEO was 12, I think the CEO was 9, they
were all 7 and 8 year old billionaires working. They were all
day in shorts and shoes without socks and so forth and you
know, I just stood there and watched them, and this is
exploding all over the country.
And what better spot I think for these companies to locate,
right here in the Midwest, and if we can paint the picture to
fit the reality that we have in the workforce, I think we are
in a good spot. We are within 500 miles of the geographical and
population centers of the country. It is not like somebody can
beat us out.
I mean this is the way it is, and the digital technologies
are transforming the whole U.S. economy and the financial
landscape. And we can do it. Bitcoins, cryptocurrency. I was
telling my wife last night, I was lethargic from, I just got
back into the country, so I am kind of not together so I would
only do this for your Congresswoman.
[Laughter.]
But the reality is that in a few years, and I am not saying
a decade, we are going to have so much business being
transformed with money people do not see. I mean a homeless guy
that stopped me and another member of Congress in Washington
last weekend, weekend before last, and we were at Harris Teeter
which is a grocery chain.
And I said to him and I was not joking, I said to the guy
asking me for money, I said, you need one of those little
credit card things, you know, so you can slide the credit card
over and give you a dollar to because--and I opened up my
wallet showed him I didn't have a single dollar in there. And
my colleague had two dollars. He showed him. So I mean the
world is changing and we ought to take full advantage of it and
we got to have a workforce.
My final statement and then a question to the Secretary.
The research division of USDA is moving to our community. I met
with the employees of them and found out a couple of things.
One, you know, the research division is not moving to our
community, the framework of a research division--most of the
people did not want to come. I won't get into the why, it is
not pretty and something that is not flattering for our
community, but they are not going to come. When we started
pursuing the USDA research division, they had almost 700
employees.
Now my understanding is they may bring less than 100 into
the community. These are high paying jobs. If you are inside
the Federal Government, you are not going to ever get rich
working for the Federal Government, but you know, you can have
a good job and do a lot of fabulous work.
So I mean, I keep thinking, I hope we have the workforce
for USDA to get a lot of those people who are coming into town.
And I am wondering, Madam Secretary, do you think that our
region understands the significance of what is taking place
with this transformation of our economy and whether or not we
are equipped to provide the workforce that will be demanded in
the present and certainly in the future?
Ms. GARCIA. Thank you, Congressman. That is what our job
is, is to make sure that we do share that information, which is
why I wanted to note what we do with our labor market because a
lot of people don't know that we even provide that information.
And we work closely with the Department of Commerce on
workforce issues.
We are one of the one-stop shops, but as you referenced
earlier, we recently went to a workforce conference a couple
weeks ago where they talked about the Industrial Revolutions in
1940 the car, in 1970 the computer, in 2000 the internet, in
2030 if we are not ready on both ends, because it will be the
first time that we have more robots doing things so if we have
to then invest and really hone in on the STEM areas but also on
the workforce places that will actually--I don't want to go to
a doctor and have a robot talk to me. I want somebody who is
going to have those power skills, also referred to as soft
skills.
So really putting our resources and working with
stakeholders is going to be our job to be making sure that if
the information is out there because also it is important to
note too that we have in our LMI, we have a lot of the Baby
Boomers who are we going to be retiring in these next few
years. And the good thing, the rich asset we have here in
Kansas and the Midwest is that it is very cheap to live here.
People are moving. The population growth has increased but also
we still have that tight labor market workforce.
So how do we capitalize on that opportunity? So that it
will be our job that we will be doing and continue to work with
leaders like yourself and then also groups like last week we
met with the Women Business Leaders. You know, how do we
support those, and thank you again for that funding, the
bipartisan legislation. Without that kind of support we won't
be able to grow. So it would be working with our policymakers,
education leaders, and leaders across the every spectrum.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. The gentleman yields back. So I would
like to start with my first question with Secretary Toland.
When you were appointed, how much of a priority did you see
education and workforce development as in the Department of
Commerce and how has that shifted with you taking the helm? And
then could you follow that up with some of the results that you
are seeing from--I know it has only been since January but with
some of your testimony earlier, it sounds like there is
probably a few results that you could share with us today.
Mr. TOLAND. Yes. Thank you, Congresswoman. So coming in in
January what we found is that there has been a focus on better
alignment between K-12 and higher ed with Department of
Commerce and our partners. The fact is we can do better. You
know, there have been relationships such as where there was
once a shared position between the Department of Commerce and
the Kansas Board of Regents so that we could make sure that as
our State universities are cranking out talented, qualified
graduates, that we are trying to keep those folks in the State
and that they are not becoming yet another export of the State
of Kansas.
We need to keep our talented young people in our region, in
our businesses, particularly in the tech sector. And so we have
made a focused effort to make sure that there is better
alignment between the Department of Commerce and K-12 and
higher ed. And so that goes all the way down through the
Secretary's Office to our workforce centers across the State,
and I think we are going to see some fruits of those labors. I
think also the decision to re-establish a position that is
focused on tech and the life sciences is an important step
forward.
So Kansas really got out of the game about a decade ago as
it relates to State Government engagement in the tech sector,
and so Governor Kelly has made it a priority that we re-engage
in a thoughtful way. And so the hiring of Trent Armbrust as our
Director of Strategy for Bioscience and Tech is really
important as we figure out what we do next. So Trent is going
to be engaging with companies across the region, and you know,
that is a series of conversations that are long overdue. And we
have had a really good response to that decision.
So I am excited to see where that goes. But you know, we
are trying to make up some lost ground, frankly, as a State,
and I am optimistic that we can do that and do it quickly
because we have got such a strong sector in Kansas City, and
that is both sides of the State line. You know, the USDA
decision was made possible because of a bipartisan, bi-State
cooperative effort to beat out 137 other communities that were
vying for those jobs.
And so, if we can take the same kind of cooperative
approach as we tackle how we continue to grow the tech sector
in Kansas City, I think we can make a lot of progress.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you. Okay. I think the batteries
are going out. I did talk for a very long time earlier. So I
actually want to just ask--I will ask one more question and
then we will return to Congressman Cleaver, and then we will
exchange time here.
So I wanted to follow up with some of the testimony and
then response to Congressman Cleaver's question, Secretary
Garcia. Around some of the bigger changes that we are seeing in
the labor market and with the recent report that you had come
out, can you talk to us a little bit about, you mentioned Baby
Boomers, but can you talk maybe about some of the biggest
trends that you saw coming out of that?
And I guess where we need to see our growing job training
programs that are going to help folks get into some of the
higher wage positions that you started to get into earlier?
Ms. GARCIA. Thank you, Congresswoman. So one of the things
we saw, and especially in the different regions, so we see a
lot of rural residents working in the urban areas, but then
they go back and live in the rural areas. And so one of the
things that was very evident in some of the labor market
research that we had in our data was that if we could just
support, put more of the emphasis in trainings across the
State. So one of the things that has been helpful in the data
that we did see was, particularly in the tech--and well there
is the TA, so it is the technical Ed partners and so working
with community colleges also was just in general. Part of the
data that we had seen in that, where the projections are going.
So right now we are in a 3.2 percent unemployment rate,
which is a low we have had in Kansas in 20 years and at the
national level as well. And so that is an exciting fact. I want
us to really focus on what could happen. It is not if but when
we have a recession, and so what we want to do is making sure
our workforce is trained, and so training is an area that we
know we would like to focus in. So that is some of the data
that we saw in the Labor Market Report to be able to--so we
have the workforce here, we just want to make sure that we are
supporting the programs, whatever it is, whether it is on the
community colleges, whether it is in the workforce centers, and
so back to what I was saying earlier.
The RESEA funding was very helpful because that is funding
that was not permanent, where the WIOA funding is not. So that
is an area that we would like to focus in using our labor
market information and to how to guide us to how we can move
forward with that.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Secretary Garcia. With that,
I will yield to my colleague, the gentleman from Missouri.
Mr. CLEAVER. Thank you again. Two, three weeks ago, I was
talking about my son. I said, we need to get a TWA museum in
Kansas City. He said, what is a TWA? And I said, what? And I
said, it is an airline. It used to be, and I said Kansas City
was the hub. And he said, oh, okay, you know, and I said you
probably do not remember Eastern Airlines which was a Kansas
City hub, and Braniff Airlines, which was a Kansas City hub.
We had most of the cities around in the whole Midwest with
three hubs right here in Kansas City. And so that, I am always
thinking hub, and we have some advantages and this for Mr.
Salisbury, but I would like for all of you to maybe contribute
to this answer. And that is, I think we ought to try to become
the Midwest technology hub. We got one Silicon Valley, but I am
talking about here in our metropolitan area and we have an
advantage that most of the members of Congress don't have, that
most of their constituents don't have, and this is unique.
Missouri delegation, we are the only delegation that can
meet without people bringing guns and swords and knives. And so
we meet, we work together, we get along, and just think about
this, no other city, no other area can do this but us. We have
Kansas Congresswoman Davids, Emanuel Cleaver, Sam Graves, Vicki
Hartzler, Jerry Moran all of us right here can concentrate on
this area. Nobody else can compete with us. What can we do to
make this a reality? What steps do we need to take? What can we
do to help make this a reality?
Mr. SALISBURY. That was for me? Well, you know,
Congressman, I would echo your comments on the hubs and so
forth. I just happened to be in your home State this past
weekend. And was in Love Field and drove up Braniff Way on the
way to the terminal as you note. To your point about what we
can do, I think we are well on the way to doing that. I would
refer you to the Kauffman Foundation which sits on, you may
have heard of it, Emanuel Cleaver Boulevard and the Kauffman
Foundation, for example, a number of years ago came up with the
concept called 1 Million Cups, which has now gone nationwide.
So there is that example of people gathering with concepts,
gathering, talking about these concepts, bouncing it off other
people with similar frames of reference and so forth, and that
one concept that we talked about, 1 Million Cups, is now
nationwide, but everybody knows that it was initiated and
emanated from Kansas City. We have other areas of attractions
as we have talked about, the low cost of living, the high
wages, a great workforce, people that are interested in
working.
We have now recognized and returned to recognizing that the
manufacturing sector is just as important as the tech sector as
far as employment is concerned. I think your reference to the
USDA research folks coming out here is a great indication that
other agencies have recognized the attractiveness of this
particular sector, and I would suggest that if they only come
here with 100 people, that we can easily backfill those other
600 jobs with people that are right here studying at K-State
and KU, and MU and Missouri Western and learning the skills and
learning the technology issues that have to do with coming in
and taking care of that.
So I would think that, I am going to lay some of this back
at your feet, I would think with the legislation power that you
individuals have and the fact that you do work together very
well, I would suggest we have got a great synergy of the
Representatives and Senators from the two States that can make
sure that people understand what a great area this is for
people to relocate to and bring their industries to.
Ms. GARCIA. I would also like to add, Governor Kelly has
been doing a great job with putting us on the map. Again, you
know, with her leadership in education policy moving forward
and as well as making sure people are healthy and happy when
they go to work.
So I think what with us and our Department of Labor really
sharing the information on the labor market information so that
we have small businesses who come. We are fabulous and
beautiful to come live in and we want the world to know that.
And so when we can share the information in our labor
market research so that people can use that to build businesses
to move here because it is the best place to live.
Mr. TOLAND. I think there are four things that we can do.
First, we need to have conversations and ask the right
questions of the tech companies that are already here, and you
can start with the big ones, Garmin, Cerner, Sprint. But also
small companies, some of whom are in the room today, and find
out what are the barriers that they see, what are the
opportunities they see, and let us take what they say and act
on it.
Second, I think if we focus in a specific area. So, for
example, cybersecurity. That is a slice of the tech sector that
holds a lot of opportunity and where there is a ton of need.
And I think if the Kansas City region and our States can make a
focused effort to solve the workforce shortage in one sector,
or one sub-sector like cyber security, that gives us an
opportunity to carve a niche for ourselves and grow from that.
Third, I think that quality of life is really important.
So, you know, you think about young people, Millennials in
particular, who are coming out of college. They can live
wherever they want, and it is important that communities like
Kansas City continue to invest in quality of life improvements,
and having a vibrant core, and having great schools, and parks,
and trails, and dog parks, and all those pieces that make one
community more attractive than another.
And then finally, I would just stress again the importance
of regionalism, and you know, the fact that we have
Representatives of both States here today on both sides of the
State line, Governor Kelly and Governor Parson have worked
closely together to achieve a ceasefire in the border war on
economic development incentives. And so I think that is a
building block that gives us an opportunity to do more
strategic things down the road that will grow our economy and
grow the Kansas City region and both of our States.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you. The gentleman yields back. So
I just want to say I appreciate you all taking the time. This
was a great question for us to end this panel on. I know you
all have busy schedules and so it is very, very important,
sends a strong signal that you were willing to take time out of
those schedules to be here with us today. You are now excused
from the Committee hearing, and we will take a moment while we
get our next panel setup. Thank you.
All right, well, thank you for everyone who stayed and to
our new panel of witnesses who are here today with us. The
first thing I want to do is before I get to the introductions
of the panelists who are here to offer testimony to the Small
Business for this field hearing is to recognize Congressman
Cleaver for opening statements for this panel, and then I will
go into introductions.
Mr. CLEAVER. Sure. I have gotten excited because of the
discussion we have had, and I want to thank Congresswoman
Davids for--and this is good stuff. This is visionary stuff.
And I think we have something we can sail. I live in Washington
in the Memphis building. It is first, right off of
Constitution. I live next to the Supreme Court. It is the only
none Government building on Capitol Hill and I pay $2,000 a
month rent.
And my apartment is about a fourth of the size of this
room. And you know, I can have parties with three people, and
it is crowded, so I understand. And if I had to pay $2,000 a
month here, I would have a $300,000, $400,000 home with a yard
and a dog. You cannot do that in Washington. And so when we are
talking about a workforce capable of taking the 21st century
jobs, we have got something to offer here in our metropolitan
area than Washington can offer or Chicago or New York or Miami.
You know, it is unique and so I think that, you know, if we
have the intellect and the commitment to do this based on what
the Congresswoman has already done, which is brought us
together for this initial conversation, I think we can do
something that generations down the road would look back and
say that, you know, they are happy that we met here in Kansas
City, Kansas Community College in 2019 to kick things off. And
let me just also say that the tragedy of this moment is if we
don't take advantage of this moment.
We are already ahead, and we have the Congresswoman who I
think has the know-how and also the support and everybody in
Congress likes her. Nobody is mad at her. So she can get things
done that other people cannot get done because people, you
know, both sides are interested in working with her. So I want
to thank you for being here and hopefully you can give us some
profundities that will allow us to move ahead.
And I am pledging to work with your Congress member to try
to do something that we can--you know, this is not just a
meeting to have a meeting that. That something come out of this
that would last for lifetimes. So thank you very much. I will
yield back the balance of my time.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. The gentleman yields back. I want to,
again, thank you to the witnesses on today's second panel. I
will take a minute to introduce each of you before you testify
and just so that no one is surprised, I do believe that
Congressman Cleaver will be exiting prior to the conclusion of
our panel today. So our first witness today is Ms. Neelima
Parasker, President and CEO of SnapIT Solutions in Overland
Park, Kansas. She has a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering
and a Master's in Computer Science with a Project Management
professional certification from the Project Management
Institute.
She has 15 plus years of experience in IT and held
leadership positions with Fortune 500 companies. She founded
SnapIT Solutions LLC, a technology services and solutions
company in 2015 with the goal to make a positive impact on
underserved and under-resourced communities that aspire to
promote STEM and bridge digital inclusion. Thank you for being
here.
Our second witness is Mr. Reuben Alonso III. As President
of AltCap, which is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri and
has recently expanded services to the Kansas side, Mr. Alonso
is responsible for the overall administration, management, and
ongoing development of the organization and its targeted
lending activity, as well as its small business and economic
development programming. He has led the organization since
2007, overseeing its certification as a community development
entity and then as a community development financial
institution.
Prior to his role with AltCap, he was a Project Manager for
the City of Kansas, City Missouri's Development Finance
Division, a Program Manager and Consultant for the Los Angeles
Minority Business Development Center, and Finance and Royalty
Accounting Supervisor for EMI recorded music. He earned a BBA
in Accounting from the University of Miami School of Business
Administration and a Master of Public Policy with a
concentration in Economic Development from the University of
Southern California's Price School of Public Policy. Thank you
for being here today.
Our third witness is Ms. Tammie Wahaus, the Chief Executive
Officer of Elias Animal Health, a subsidiary of TVAX Biomedical
Company. She joined as CFO in 2012. Ms. Wahaus has more than 25
years of experience in both public accounting and private
business. She has served as Vice President of Finance for Epic
Systems, Inc., as an audit partner with Ernst & Young LLP, and
as a Controller and Principal Accounting Officer for GE Global
Insurance Holding Corporation. She has a B.S. in Business
Administration from Kansas State University. Thank you for
being here.
Our fourth witness is Mr. Brad Sandt, as President and CEO
of Menlo, K12itc, Civic ITC, an information technology company
that helps K through 12 schools and local Governments cut their
IT costs and update their infrastructure. Before starting his
business, he was the Director of Technology at Park Hill School
District. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from Park
University in Management Information Systems, Business, and
Computer Science. Thank you for being here today.
Our final witness is Mr. Daniel Silva, the President and
CEO of the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Prior to joining
the KCK Chamber, Mr. Silva was the Director of Diversity and
Inclusion at the Greater Kansas City Kansas Chamber of
Commerce. He received his Bachelor's of Arts in Sociology from
the University of Missouri in Kansas City. Welcome, Mr. Silva.
Thank you for being here. So I will start off by recognizing
Ms. Parasker for--I forgot we were doing away with the
formalities--for approximately five minutes for your testimony.
STATEMENTS OF NEELIMA PARASKER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, SNAPIT
SOLUTIONS; RUBEN ALONSO III, PRESIDENT, ALTCAP; TAMMIE WAHAUS,
CEO, ELIAS ANIMAL HEALTH; BRAD SANDT, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MENLO,
K12ITC, CIVIC ITC; DANIEL SILVA, PRESIDENT AND CEO, KANSAS CITY
KANSAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
STATEMENT OF NEELIMA PARASKER
Ms. PARASKER. Thank you. May I please the Committee. Thank
you very much, Representatives Davids and Cleaver for inviting
me here today. My name is Neelima Parasker. I am schooled as
Masters of Computer Sciences and Engineering and have 15 plus
years of high-tech Information Technology industry experience.
In 2015, I founded SnapIT Solutions, an innovative technology
solutions and services company with the capabilities in IT
managed services, mobile and web application development, data
analytics, Cloud, DevOps, and also providing IT trainings.
I am pleased to inform that as of 2019 September, SnapIT
Solutions is also a certified training institute by Kansas
Board of Regents and Missouri Eligible Training Provider
Services. The current state of technology industry and high-
tech workforce shortage. The tech occupations are projected to
add about 500,000 new jobs in the current workforce and we need
upscaling and retraining to meet the ever-changing technology
innovations. Because of the landscape changes that are
happening in our industry that are including AI and new
technologies like ARVR, that tech shortage that we are seeing
right now is going to only increase tremendously.
The next point I want to bring out is small companies,
small businesses with their innovative new technologies disrupt
the industry but fail to sustain the growth in scale due to
high tech skills shortage. Large organizations attract
considerable interest in the technology job market but
struggled to re-skill their existing workforce in fast changing
technology industries. Computer Sciences four degree
requirements is a challenge to IT workforce because we are
hardly getting to the 25 percent mark of what the industry
needs as of today and not even considering the exponential
growth in this field.
Innovative tech companies like Google, Apple, and Netflix
have recently abandoned their requirements of four year degrees
college requirements. My journey started well aware of the
challenges that I will be facing in my tech company in terms of
finding right talent while I am scaling the company. Through my
job volunteering as a STEM engineering speaker, I stomped upon
great hidden opportunity that may help solve this challenge for
my small business here in Silicon Prairie.
SnapIT's innovative regenerative workforce model has been
recognized as a model that solves the high-tech skilled
workforce shortage for not only small business like ours but
also major corporations who seek us for their increasing demand
in IT skills, which is a good news. SnapIT Solutions is proven
for dynamic, regenerative business model implemented since 2016
that provides underserved and under skilled job seekers with a
platform to demonstrate their skills and push their limits
through our three step model, SnapIT Trains, SnapIT Solves, and
SnapIT Pods.
The way we have incorporated this model helps students like
Lisa who was a trained musician with a flair to enter into the
tech industry, went through trade SnapIT's IT trainings that
were designed to bring these non-tech background interest
students, and after the three months of rigorous training that
we conducted, she was hired as an intern and then converted
into an apprentice for software within the company, giving her
all through the internship and especially through the
apprenticeship real world projects to work on while the
timelines and aggressive, you know, dates are little eased
into.
That is when the SnapIT Solves comes into play where we
contract with small medium businesses to create the software
solutions, giving them a very cost-effective product where as
they give us the timeline constraint that we can work with our
junior associates to build these products. At the Pods level of
our business model, we bring in major corporations work in a
scope of work format and get the work done and delivered risk-
free for the major corporations while we are still working with
our associates to build the skills that are needed and incubate
them in these pods, while giving our subject here, Lisa, an
ability to not only increase her skills in technology, but now
she can code in three different software languages.
She was a musician a few years back, and she continues to
be a musician, but this places her pretty high and you know her
pay range. It is important for me to also point out the
trainers and mentors that SnapIT tracks who are senior
developers within our organization that are appreciated, and
actually their promotions, their next level is determined by
how many people they are mentoring and promoting within the
company. That creates an enthusiastic, you know, cycle within
seniors and the juniors that are coming into the company after
our trainings are done. What is the proven record for this
model?
It has been two years since we placed this model in
existence and we have created within SnapIT t32 full-time
positions. These are not placements. These are positions that
we are getting the work for done within the company. It is a
different model in terms of bringing these resources and taking
the responsibility of delivering the work using the resources
that we have skilled and trained. Out of the 32 full-time jobs
that we have, about 70 percent of our team is from the talent
that has been coming from untapped categories within our
communities here in Silicon Prairie.
We do not restrict the hiring of the students for training
with four-year degree. So that helps us quite a bit. SnapIT
trainings as such have been given to 90 plus individuals
specific to Missouri County, Missouri City--sorry, Missouri
State, because we work very closely with Missouri workforce
agencies. SnapIT is scaling its model across the Nation,
delivering value in government, private and public sectors all
from within SnapIT Silicon Prairie located here, locally.
We have the infrastructure to showcase our full
entrepreneur ecosystem and ensure access to vibrant ecosystem
that includes all the players. Intentional Government and
corporate investment in small medium businesses has tremendous
positive impact across the board. What will SnapIT need to
expand work in increasing talent in IT? Increasing the support
of engagement for all players in the ecosystem, specifically
Government agencies and corporations. We do have private
corporations that come to us with major work that they need to
get done.
I would love to see this be more of an initiative within
Federal Government as well, State and local, that can take this
model of, you know, getting their work done via resources that
have not traditionally gone through a four-year degree or
mandate them to have a four-year degree. More Governments and
corporations utilizing the students that have been trained
through not only training but also apprenticeship programs
would be a right fit to get into the Government agencies.
So these are the some of the things that we get think of.
There are SBIR, STTR activities from SBA. There has been SBA's
match competition as well that brings in fresh air of
recognition that IT talent is needed, and Federal Government is
looking at this space as considering one of the initiatives and
activities. So funds like that truly will help SnapIT or
companies like SnapIT that are invested in growing IT talent.
In closing today, I speak to, you know, continue to focus.
I thank Representative Davids and Representative Cleaver for
bringing the attention of this particular topic in small
businesses, and I continue to want that support for small
businesses and help create more highly skilled tech for
workforce here, locally, in Kansas. We invest in local
businesses, but we cannot do it alone. Again, this has to be an
ecosystem driven activity. We are already blessed with a lot of
partners identifying this new model. We would love to expand it
beyond these partners. Thank you.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Ms. Parasker. I appreciate
your testimony, and speaking of ecosystem, Mr. Alonso, you are
recognized.
STATEMENT OF RUBEN ALONSO III
Mr. ALONSO. Thank you. My name is Ruben Alonso III. I am
the President of AltCap, an impact-driven CDFI and SBA
Microloan intermediary serving the Kansas City metro. I am
also, a Board member of Equity Squared, an investment affiliate
created by AltCap focused on Opportunity Zone investments in
Kansas and Missouri.
I want to thank Representative Davids and members of the
Committee for the opportunity to speak today about supporting
tech innovation and a high-skilled workforce in the Heartland.
I will speak specifically to the importance of access to
capital and how it can help drive business investment in
technology and innovation in the Heartland. As jobs in the
manufacturing and agriculture sectors continue to wane,
investments in technology, innovation, R&D, and workforce
development are key to ensuring our economy in the Heartland
continues to grow.
While the Heartland offers a number of advantages that make
it attractive for business investment, for example, it is
centrally located, its low operating and living costs, our good
old Midwest work ethic, we continue to fall short when it comes
to attracting venture or equity capital. Around 80 percent of
venture capital investment is consistently concentrated on the
coasts.
Addressing this disparity is critical to supporting the
growth and development of industries and the broader economy in
the Heartland. As a CDFI, AltCap is focused on supporting
economic development through entrepreneurship and small
business investment. By providing financing through CDFI Fund
programs, including the New Markets Tax Credit program and
Financial Assistance Award program, AltCap is supporting start-
up and existing small businesses as well as our local economy.
Yet the debt financing that AltCap provides, while offering
significant flexibility to the borrower, is not always ideal
for tech-based businesses because of the burden of monthly debt
and interest payments, not to mention they typically have few
assets to help secure a loan.
That said, many of these businesses are what drive
innovation and are largely responsible for high-skilled
workforce development. They cannot be ignored. With the
creation of our recent Opportunity Zone investment affiliate,
Equity Squared, we now have a tool to deliver the type of
capital that can support deeper investments in tech and
innovation in the Heartland, and specifically in communities
that have lacked investment.
The Opportunity Zone incentive gives us the ability to one,
attract investment capital both locally and nationally, and
two, significantly increase our investment in innovation-
driven, tech-based businesses, offering them the type of
patient capital they need to develop and grow right here in the
Heartland. Our hope is that by using the Opportunity Zone
incentive we will be able to attract more investment capital
and open up new opportunities for investment by investors
throughout the country in tech and innovation in the Heartland.
Access to capital and investment tools such as New Markets
Tax Credits and Opportunity Zones will continue to play an
important role in supporting business investment in technology
and innovation in the Heartland. Much like our agrarian roots,
AltCap and Equity Squared are committed to leveraging these
tools to grow Kansas and Missouri small businesses and grow our
economy.
Representative Davids, thank you for the opportunity to
testify today. I am happy to address any questions that you may
have.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Alonso. Ms. Wahaus, you
are now recognized.
STATEMENT OF TAMMIE WAHAUS
Ms. WAHAUS. Good morning. I am Tammie Wahaus, the Chief
Executive Officer of Elias Animal Health and the Chief
Financial Officer for TVAX Biomedical. I would like to thank
the Committee on Small Business and in particular
Representative Davids, for the opportunity to share my
perspective on technology innovation and a highly skilled
workforce in the Heartland. ELIAS and TVAX are great examples
of the translational research being conducted in the Silicon
Prairie. Together, we are advancing a vaccine enhanced adoptive
cell therapy as a treatment for cancer in both humans and in
companion animals.
Collectively, our data demonstrate the potential
applicability of our innovative technology to any type of
cancer in humans or in dogs. In developing our technology, we
have worked with many of the great research institutions in
this region. Scientists, researchers, and clinicians, including
MDs and veterinarians have all participated in laboratory
research, preclinical studies, and clinical trials in humans
and in companion animals. We are currently located in the
Kansas Bioscience Venture Accelerator and have taken advantage
of what was the Kansas Bioscience Authority programs.
First, I would like to focus more on Elias Animal Health
and the job creation that we can accomplish here in this
region. We are a medical biotechnology company that is
commercializing now a novel targeted T-cell based immunotherapy
known as Elias Cancer Immunotherapy or ECI for short. The
company's proprietary and patented therapeutic approach offers
the potential for improved clinical outcomes with low toxicity,
changing the way cancer is fundamentally treated in the
companion animal market. Elias was founded in 2014 as a spin-
off of the human health company TVAX Biomedical and a
recognition of the market potential for innovation in the
companion animal oncology space.
In 2019, just five short years later, we are
commercializing our technology for the veterinary sector with a
platform that has the potential for all cancer types. Over the
past five years, clinical studies in key canine cancers have
been conducted evaluating ECI in multiple canine cancer types,
including osteosarcoma, B-cell lymphoma, and hemangiosarcoma.
To date, nearly 100 dogs diagnosed with cancer have been
treated with ECI and the results have included both complete
and partial responses with many of those patients achieving
improved survival times compared to traditional treatments such
as chemotherapy and radiation.
The results of our study in canine osteosarcoma have been
reported at several scientific conferences around the United
States. In that study, more than half of the dogs treated with
ECI survived over three times longer than what has historically
been achieved with the amputation alone, and one and a half
times as long as historically achieved with amputation plus
chemotherapy, all that with minimal adverse events. In the most
current analysis, 50 percent of the dogs in the study were
reported to be long-term survivors. They are disease free for
periods ranging between four and six times as long as
amputation alone and three times as long as chemotherapy.
In addition to improved median survival times we observed
regression of metastatic disease and slow disease progression,
highlighting the promise of this therapeutic approach developed
right here in this region for treating cancer in dogs. An
application for conditional licensure been submitted to the
USDA Center for Veterinary Biologics. In our manufacturing
facility currently located in Olathe, Kansas, we are
manufacturing following the regulatory guidelines of the USDA.
We have in place a team who together have more than 20
years of experience in the animal health industry from here in
the animal health corridor and with more than 30 years of
experience in cGMP, vaccine manufacturing and cell culture. We
currently employ seven full-time employees with two part-time
employees.
Our scale up plans have already been designed for this
facility that will enable rapid expansion. It can be replicated
at a low cost and at scale we estimate that we could create
manufacturing jobs for more than 100 microbiologists and
scientists along with quality assurance personnel. This would
include both two and four-year degrees. Through veterinary
specialty hospitals that we are training and certifying as ECI
treatment centers coupled with the positive clinical outcomes,
we intend to build market share of at least 37,000 patients per
year generating revenue in excess of $100 million per year.
Further growth can be achieved through expansion to markets
outside the U.S. as well as in other species such as cats and
horses.
To date, Elias has raised just over $5 million in equity
capital primarily from regional investors. By putting that
capital to work, we have employed a multidisciplinary team that
includes expertise in cancer immunology, veterinary medicine,
microbiology, clinical trial oversight, and regulatory
compliance to bring this product to market.
The progress that we have made in just five years with only
$5 million is rare in this industry. A funding round of up to
$5 million is currently being pursued to support the continued
expansion of our commercial launch. The Small Business
Innovation Research program is a potential source of funding
for early stage life sciences companies like ours that provides
an opportunity for businesses like Elias to pursue grant
funding that is additive to the capital raised from investors,
and we currently have an application under consideration right
now at the National Cancer Institute, so wish us well.
Raising adequate capital to support the rapid development
and commercialization of this cancer treatment is critically
important to the overall success of the business. Speed to
market is key as a differentiator for innovative technologies.
As mentioned, TVAX Biomedical was--I am also representing a
clinical stage biotechnology company that is testing the same
technology for applications in humans. They have treated over
200 patients with various types of cancer, including high-grade
gliomas, which is a brain cancer.
Surrogate outcomes demonstrated that 90 percent of the
patients developed an immune response and currently our plan is
to conduct a 75 patient phase 2B clinical trial to assess the
technology as a treatment for newly diagnosed pediatric and
adult brain cancer. In summary, Elias Animal Health and TVAX
Biomedical are focused on changing the way cancer is
fundamentally treated. Our mission is to provide a safer, more
effective treatment option for cancer patients, and to achieve
that goal we need increasing access to a workforce skilled in
biologics manufacturing, clinical trial oversight, cancer
immunology, human and veterinary medicine, and regulatory
compliance.
Bringing a life sciences product to market takes years of
scientific and clinical development and costs millions of
dollars. From early stage development through to regulatory
approval and marketing takes five to seven years. Along with
the great work being done by Elias Animal Health and TVAX
Biomedical, there are many other important life sciences
innovations being created in the Silicon Prairie.
In my experience, we have a robust angel investor
community, but it is critical that venture funds, institutional
investors, and the granting agencies become more robust in
their support of emerging technologies in the Heartland. We
have great universities that are building critical education
programs to train the workers that will support the life
sciences industry and the expanded support from the broader
investment community would provide the capital to bring our
cancer treatment and other innovations to market.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the Committee.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you for your testimony, Ms.
Wahaus. Mr. Sandt, you are now recognized.
STATEMENT OF BRAD SANDT
Mr. SANDT. Congresswoman Davids, I thank you and the
Committee for the opportunity to testify today. It is an honor
to be joined by my regional colleagues to speak about the great
things happening in the Nation's Heartland also known as the
Silicon Prairie. I offer this testimony on behalf of Menlo, a
tech focused small business that delivers managed technology
services to K-12 schools, municipalities, and other civic
entities under the brand's K12itc and Civic ITC. Our mission is
to reduce the pains associated with managing technology in
resource constrained environments.
As a fast growing organization, Menlo has been previously
named as the top small business in Kansas City by the Greater
Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, and one of the top four most
innovative companies in the Nation by the National School
Boards Association. In a little under 10 years, Menlo has
encountered a significant amount of success operating in the
region.
There are several factors that have contributed to this
success. The area's central location provides access to most of
the country within a four-hour flight, and the area's low cost
of living creates an intersection of affordable talent and a
high quality of life. The assistance of regional economic
development programs and community support organizations have
enabled Menlo to reinvest in growth and seek guidance in
critical times throughout the company history.
The company has recently leverage a Small Business
Administration's 504 loan program to secure a new office
location for the next phase of growth. All of these things have
combined to create a distinct advantage of operating a tech-
centric small business in the Silicon Prairie. While there are
many positive factors, we continue to combat a fundamental and
limiting issue.
Ultimately, we face a challenge of an adequately trained
and available workforce to fill tech jobs. In an effort to
address this, much work is being done with local foundations,
community groups, school districts, higher ed, and businesses
throughout our region. It is a challenge that will require
cooperation and support at all levels to effectively solve. At
Menlo, we are working to build the workforce by hiring student
interns and commonly offer full-time employment after
graduation.
The company also works to identify tech minded individuals
who have a desire to enter the workforce but may lack
experience. Menlo hires these individuals with an associated
30, 60, 90, and 180 day learning plan to actively train
technical aspects of the associated role. While this provides
long-term staffing impact, it is a challenge to implement in a
resource constrained small business.
While there are many activities focused on addressing the
workforce shortage, I believe a crucial workforce issue remains
overlooked. The issue is the lack of mastery, the long-term
potential to inhibit innovation, reduce quality of products and
services, and ultimately impact competitiveness of the country
on a global scale. In our observation, the stress on the
workforce and the ongoing trend of changing jobs more
frequently creates a lack of individuals who are masters in
their field. Quite simply, we do not have enough experts.
All that said, the state of tech-centric small businesses
in the Heartland is in full throttle and continues to increase
in relevancy compared to on a national scale. Local, regional,
and Federal programs continue to provide key elements of
support to fuel this growth. As previously stated, adequately
and trained available high-tech workforce continues to be an
ongoing challenge with long-running consequences.
Philosophically, we should think big, focus on relentless
innovation, and develop expertise in the workforce. With proper
support, small businesses can be the catalyst for achieving
these aspirations. Thank you for your support of small
businesses and thank you for your time today.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Sandt. Mr. Silva, you are
now recognized.
STATEMENT OF DANIEL SILVA
Mr. SILVA. I am honored to be here today representing the
KCK Chamber of Commerce. We are very pleased to see the
Committee on Small Business exploring opportunities to attract
tech, innovation, and a highly skilled workforce in the
Heartland and we look forward to participating in an ongoing
conversation to ensure that the Wyandotte County and KCK
community benefits.
I am here to provide testimony in support of smart
regulation and legislation, programs, and access to
opportunities that will position entrepreneurs, start-ups, and
local small businesses for growth and sustainability. We are in
favor of continued support of a high-quality education pipeline
that creates a career ready workforce for the benefit of all
Kansans. The KCK Chamber supports the collection of sales and
use tax on e-commerce sales, in which sales tax are collected
in such a way that does not place an unreasonable or onerous
compliance burden on business, specifically small business that
have less ability to administer compliance.
The KCK Chamber is proud to be at the forefront of the
community's success by enhancing and leveraging talents and
resources of its diverse members to sustain and catapult
development opportunities throughout the metropolitan area. The
Chamber is excited to serve as the convener and connector for
over 500 local and regional businesses to collaborate on
efforts that improve the economic vitality and quality of life
for our diverse region. This in turn creates opportunities in
KCK and Wyandotte County which build a quality community to
live, work, and conduct business.
We want to note that 60 percent of our KCK Chamber's
membership is comprised of businesses with 25 employees or
less. So very much as small business chamber. As a non-partisan
organization, the Chamber actively represents and advocates on
behalf of its membership at the local, State, and national
level.
The KCK Chamber supports a transparent legislative process
that follows the traditional Committee formant to ensure a fair
hearing of all legislative issues facing the State of Kansas
for the benefit of the citizens of the State. Thank you for
your time.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Silva. Well, I appreciate
the testimony that you have all provided here today, and we
will start with our questions for the second panel. And I will
do the first question. So the first thing I would like to do is
Ms. Parasker, demand has increased for the jobs that we have
been discussing today.
In your testimony touched on that, whether it is
certifications requirements on educational attainment, two-
year, four-year, and that sort of thing. What do you see as,
when you look at the increased number of people that are kind
of coming through your training program, what do you see as
the, I guess, space for growth there?
And then also, could you talk maybe a little bit more in
detail about how companies like you have already done it, start
to be more innovative with removing some of the requirements
that I think we are traditionally used to seeing?
Ms. PARASKER. Sure. I think by bringing innovation in the
process rather than only concentrating on products, it helps
the ever changing and growing information technology industry.
I am not against four year degree. This is about going beyond
just the skills or the resources of the students that are
coming out of these four year degree colleges.
There is a point that we wanted to make more prominently
is, for four years, that is a fixed learning curriculum through
a college. Once the student comes out of that four-year degree
college, they have the very good understanding on of the basics
of programming language, but any other skills that they have
been taught in the college is rapidly getting replaced with
newer technologies and new ways of doing the same, you know,
technology.
So what we have found is innovation in bringing that
education, whether it be in trainings, whether it be in
internships or apprenticeships, giving it more thought and a
process based approach rather than treating the students more
of, you know, in a very slow based learning that is
traditionally being done through a four-year college.
Really make innovation happen within the technology
industry. If we don't form a formulated process based approach,
everybody will try to do their own thing and that is not going
to be beneficial for the end result of how the industry will be
morphed into.
So if we want to innovate more in the space, it is about
how do we bring in more of the higher tech technology processes
that can be implemented, just like how IT moved from being a
waterfall methodology to Agile and scrum methodology. The same
kind of methodologies can be used in creating education process
for students with lack of financial support to go through a
four-year degree college.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, and I would like to follow
that up with Mr. Sandt, you spoke in your verbal testimony
about the need to philosophically think in a different way
about how we approach our training and workforce development
and this concept of getting to mastery and having more people
who are experts.
After hearing about a process based approach and what that
might look like, can you talk a little bit about what you are
seeing in the K through 12 space in terms of what do those new
models of learning look like for the students that are really
going to be taking positions, jobs and are going to be in
really areas that I think that some of us can't even
conceptualize at this point? If you could talk about that, and
then maybe also some of the outcomes that you are seeing from
these newer models.
Mr. SANDT. Thank you for that question. The great news is
that our K-12 schools are very active on a day-to-day basis
with this topic. And in particular when you look at high school
environments, there is a heavy emphasis and focus on
experiential learning to where the students are able to try
different roles, different fields out while they are still in
high school to determine if it is a path of study that they
would like to achieve.
These students are either able to confirm that is something
that they would like to do or change. But the great part about
that is that program not only exposes students to businesses
career opportunities, but also works to place teachers in
programs that are exposing them to opportunities in the
workforce.
Many students do not go the four-year path in today's world
and there are many, many opportunities. But it continues to be
a challenge though with the perspective of parents who may feel
like the four-year degree is the only way to go, and so
continuing to expose our communities to that information is
critical. Also, schools, K-12 schools, are working to start
this at a much earlier age. You see STEM programs moving all
the way down into elementary schools now in terms of learning
and developing those skill sets for the future.
In terms of outcomes, we are seeing substantial amount of
growth in this, particularly where we have sponsored students
at the high school level and have ultimately hired them for
paid internships over the summer, and those who do not go on to
four-year degrees moving to a full-time role at which point we
have been able to also put them into internal development
programs within the company.
So the landscape is absolutely changing. In terms of
mastery, there still is a challenge because much of the
workforce development is focused on getting people to the entry
point that is needed for the roles. And so we need to continue
as a whole community to foster lifelong learning, continue
those programs and companies to develop individuals because
expertise matters.
And then once we have experts, the more that they can
share, the more value is gained.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Mr. Alonso, well actually hold on. I was
thinking of something while you were answering the question,
which is I have had the opportunity to go to a number of
schools and speak with a number of educators in the third
district, and I was just at Bonner Springs High School and they
were showing me some of the technologies and coursework that
they have. I mean they have an AutoCAD class. They have got 3D
printers. They are working on robotics.
And I know that this is happening not just in Wyandotte
County, but it is also happening in Johnson County with, I
think, the Shawnee Mission School District has an Aeronautics
or Aerospace program. And so I think that it is very
encouraging to see that in the third district hopefully we
are--I would love to toot the horn of the third district
because I think that some of our high schools and school
districts are already getting out in front of that now.
So now, Mr. Alonso, first I want to say I love CDFIs, but I
would love to ask you about, you have the chance to see many
different founders startup businesses, folks who are interested
in expanding and growing their businesses, and I am curious if
you have seen instances where founders or enterprises are
unable to expand because they are unable to find the workforce
that they need to do so?
And then as kind of a follow-up, what are the ways that you
see an organization like AltCap or, you know, someone who is
part of the lending piece of the entrepreneurial ecosystem as
being able to foster or help figure out ways to address the
workforce shortages?
Mr. ALONSO. Thank you for the question and thank you for
being such a champion for CDFIs. You know, I was just at an
event last week that was organized by the KC Startup Foundation
called ``Back to KC'' where they brought founders back to
Kansas City that had moved away from Kansas City with their
business. And I think you know one of the issues that they had
when they started their company in Kansas City and moved away
was the lack of capital but also high skilled workforce where
they felt they could grow their business.
And I heard that from a number of founders. So I think that
is definitely an issue that, you know, we are maybe not
necessarily directly involved in around the workforce
development, but certainly, you know, it is something that we
can support by providing the capital to businesses so they
could stay here if we can remove that hurdle or that challenge
that they have.
And like Ms. Parasker said, it is a process, innovation is
a process, but also business development is a process,
financing businesses is a process, and kind of getting you
know, a community or getting institutions to support businesses
throughout their life cycle and being willing to take risk and
invest in businesses. We do that on a daily basis.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you. So I want to get to Ms.
Wahaus here. Well, first of all, as a dog lover, I appreciate
the work that you are--I threatened to bring a picture of my
dog that I had for a long time, Girl Dog, and enter her into
the Congressional record, but I decided against it. But I do
appreciate the work you are doing fighting canine cancer and
recognizing the importance that companion animals play in our
lives.
And as a company that is involved in some pretty cutting-
edge research and technology in this area, can you talk a
little bit about, you mentioned a little in your in your
testimony, but do you have any maybe specific examples that
would be helpful for us for what it looks like trying to find
people with the biomedical or other skills that you need?
And then, I suppose if you could talk a little bit about,
do you know of any apprenticeships or other type of programs
that we might be made aware of that would be good for us to be
supporting? Thank you.
Ms. WAHAUS. Sure. Thank you for the question. In terms of
finding the workforce, there are a number of places that we
look to. The KU Edwards Campus runs a biotechnology degree
program and they actually have a requirement for each of the
students in their final semester, they must participate in an
internship.
So we have taken advantage of that program and obviously
our goal is to bring someone in as an intern, turn them into a
full-time hire. From other sources, there are a number of
agencies in the region that specialize in biotechnology skilled
workforce. It is a work force that does tend to move companies
fairly often, so I do experience some of that same issue in
terms of trying to train them in our ways of manufacturing and
then retain them.
What we have done internally, because there is a limit to
what the universities can teach and the technical schools, so
what we do is we look for individuals that have great skills in
what we refer to as aseptic processing technique, which means
that you manufacture without introducing any contaminants. And
so we look for that skill, number one, that can be taught at
the university level, it can be taught in the two year
programs, the four-year programs, as well as a technical
schools.
We also then have developed an internal certification
program when they come in. We have about a three-month program
where we work them through the various aspects of the
biological manufacturing process to develop the rest of the
skills that are unique to our particular manufacturing. So I
think the internal certification programs are critical in terms
of training that staff and bringing their university knowledge
or their technical knowledge into your specific manufacturing
process.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Okay, thank you. So, Mr. Silva, I would
love to get your input after hearing from our Kansas Secretary
of Labor and the Secretary of Commerce, can you talk a little
bit about how the Kansas City Kansas Chamber of Commerce works
either with those specific Departments or other folks at the
State level? And then if you could maybe a little bit about the
work that you might do with folks at the Federal level to
expand workforce development or other opportunities in the
Kansas City Kansas area.
Mr. SILVA. Thank you for the question. Definitely
appreciate hearing from Secretary Toland and Secretary Garcia.
I think the level of engagement that we have had with this
Administration has been fantastic. We really appreciated the
focus that these folks and yourself, Representative Davids,
have put not just on the third district and Wyandotte County,
but the urban core as well. You know, we are continuing the
conversation.
It is of note that you know, Secretary of Commerce has
expressed interest in visiting more of our urban small
businesses and hearing more from those folks. We have been able
to have a round table with you and then that has been very
beneficial to us and hopefully to you so that we can further
communicate, you know, what our businesses are going through in
Wyandotte County.
So I think on the Federal level the engagement has been
great. And again on the State level has been fantastic. Now, we
have not come up with a set strategy on how to, you know,
really address the urban core which I think for us is becoming
even more important. As a chamber we are pretty spread out in
Wyandotte County, but the Legends and Village West is doing
well. 39th and Rainbow area obviously is doing well with the KU
Med.
But we are now beginning to see hopefully a resurgence of
the urban core and I think it is going to take commitment and
leadership and some risk taking, and definitely some support of
those businesses that would either like to locate their
businesses there or start to business there. And all that is
going to take private-public collaboration and employee
engagement to ensure that we are showing up that urban core
piece specifically around women-owned businesses and minority-
owned businesses.
I think there is still a gap there on the entrepreneur
piece, definitely on the tech, and innovation piece of
opportunities for these folks to enter that space and be
successful in that space. You know, I hear from folks that it
is hard for them to grow their business because they are not
securing the big contracts or the big grant dollars, and
oftentimes are not invited to participate in those contract as
subs. So it is going to take all of that.
We also have a very engaged Mayor and Commission at the
local level. So I think everyone is kind of pointing at, you
know, really lifting up this community, but we are going to
have to take it in pieces in terms of the workforce piece. Our
sister organization, Wyandotte Economic Development Council
leads a Workforce Solutions Committee where they are bringing
folks to the table like the community college, employers,
because we hear it every day, right. They cannot hire enough
folks, whether it is construction, you know, the trades, you
name it.
We do have an under trained community here in Wyandotte
County and it is going to take us, you know, working more
closely with employers, the school districts, the community
colleges to really get to the solution on this.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you, Mr. Silva. And I think that
one of the things that we heard a little bit about earlier was
from our regional SBA Administrator has to do with 8(a)
contracting, and I think that is an area where our office can
definitely try to get folks connected. And I look forward to
having conversations with you about that specific program, and
then additional conversations about just other types of Federal
contracting that we that just explore and see ways that we can
work together.
So I am only going to do I think one more question. It is
actually a great segue-way when Mr. Silva was mentioning access
to opportunities. Ms. Parasker, you have been a leader in
promoting STEM, particularly in underserved and under-resourced
communities and I wonder if you could speak a little bit to
that goal and advancements in either innovative ways of
thinking on that and you know in the entrepreneurial ecosystem
that I know you are a very active in, and whether or not you
are seeing sufficient advancement?
And if not, what do you suggest that either the people in
this room or our office can be doing to help support that?
Ms. PARASKER. Absolutely. It has been a true pleasure. I
have lived in Overland Park, Kansas for 19 years now. First 15
or so, maybe 14 years or so, was almost like a bubble. A
corporate job, you know, family and everything. Like I
mentioned in my testimonial, once I started volunteering into
areas beyond our boundaries, I could realize and I could see
the real-time impact of the students, of kids, who are actually
truly not getting the knowledge in their schools, their
communities, their institutes around.
It has changed quite a bit since four years to now, I
agree, with a lot of ecosystem partners and awareness is going
on. But I also call it STEM noise that has converted a lot of
awareness to only noise. And what is happening is we need to
make sums so that we can hit the frequency right for these
kids. There is awareness and there is no opportunity which
creates frustration.
So what we need to do is now cultivate more opportunities
to take that awareness from the society that we have created
quite a bit. Very good activities. I am not saying they should
not be continuing, but also focus on opportunities that are
actually creating, you know, real time interaction for those
kids saying yes, I need, I have the awareness that there is
health sciences. I have the awareness of education training. I
have an awareness the technologies. It is really not vertical.
It is a horizontal and on all verticals, but what do I do now?
Where do I go to learn it?
School does not teach me because computer science is not a
mandatory subject in schools. There are robotics and all those
activities that are more of spark events, is what they are
called, that is even more creating more activities and
awareness. But when they reach their house, they do not have
Wi-Fi. They do not have computers. They do not have access even
if somebody donates a physical computer, not talking about
laptops, a physical computer, they don't have place to put it
in their house.
That is what I experienced. When I saw that, I said and I
had girls who are 16 years old saying I was told that I have no
opportunities and there is no, you know, next steps for us. And
I want our community to think beyond just initiatives and get
to work. We may fail at certain things where I think we have to
start working and really putting actions in place.
There are so many kids who need us. And in fact, this
country needs those kids. Let's not go, you know, only those
kids. We are not helping only those kids, we are helping
ourselves. If we do not help each other, we as a country will
not keep our innovative edge in the world in United States.
Chairwoman DAVIDS. Thank you. Well, that is a powerful
answer for us to finish panel on. I appreciate all of you and
responding to the questions that we had, so thank you very
much. So I will just close with this that while our region has
always had a strong industrial and manufacturing base, we are
definitely seeing a shift in our economy.
We heard firsthand today from our witnesses that because of
our region's talented workforce, quality, schools, and
infrastructure that we are emerging as a magnet for investment
and a growing startup community, but we also know that
businesses are still having trouble finding adequate talent to
continue to grow those businesses.
This is where I think what we have seen today is where
business and Government can come together to work on programs
to educate, to train, and retrain, and create that workforce
for the 21st century economy that we need, along with
supporting affordable access to capital and entrepreneurial
development programs and innovation. This is what is going to
allow our small businesses to strengthen our communities.
Finally, I want to just thank all of you for sharing your
stories, for providing testimony and giving us some really
great ideas about how we can help your small businesses,
emerging businesses, and the rest of our entrepreneurial
ecosystem to grow and thrive.
At this point, I would just ask unanimous consent that
members have 5 legislative days to submit statements and
supporting materials for the record.
Without objection, so ordered.
And if there is no further business to come before the
Committee, we are adjourned. Thank you.
[Whereupon, at 12:35 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
Silicon Prairie: Tech, Innovation and a High-Skilled Workforce
in the Heartland
Testimony by David Toland, Kansas Secretary of Commerce
Good morning, Representative Davids and members of the
Small Business Committee. Thank you very much for the
invitation to testify before you today. I'm pleased to have the
opportunity to talk with you this morning about the state of
innovation and technology in Kansas, both where we've been and
where we have the potential to go as a state.
Let's talk first about the state's early foray into the
tech sector. In the years following the publication of the 1986
Redwood-Krider Report, the Kansas Legislature and the state
moved boldly on a bipartisan basis to establish new, innovative
tools for economic growth. Their extraordinary vision and
action put Kansas on the map as a leader for advancing economic
development efforts--including specifically in the areas of
technology and innovation. Our state had tools that no other
state had, which were truly the envy of economic development
experts in other states.
The Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC) was
established in 1986 to stimulate the start-up and advancement
of technology companies in Kansas. KTEC's investment portfolio
leveraged public and private dollars to invest early stage
capital, facilitate programs to train and develop entrepreneurs
and focus on innovations that prepared the next generation of
jobs in the knowledge industry.
Drawing on those successes, the 2004 Kansas Economic Growth
Act created the Kansas Bioscience Authority. At that time, the
Legislature and the Governor--again, on a bipartisan basis--
recognized another key opportunity.
Pulling from the strength of our agricultural heritage, the
Kansas Bioscience Authority advanced solutions in agribusiness
and helped Kansas establish and maintain the largest
concentration of animal health companies in the world, now
recognized as the heart of the Animal Health Corridor. By
drawing from a world-class agricultural research institution in
Kansas State University and world-class medical programs at the
University of Kansas, researchers made breakthroughs in
oncology, information technology, medical devices and other
important areas of human and animal health.
These investments played a huge role in securing a home for
the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, as
well as securing the NCI Cancer Designation for KU Medical
Center.
This work was truly ahead of its time, and the bold vision
left behind a legacy of innovation and collaboration across our
state's economic development efforts. Kansas continues to
benefit today from the foresight and ambition of business and
political leaders of the past thirty years.
But, the economic environment has changed. Nationally,
technology growth, commerce and innovation are moving at
unprecedented rates, and the job growth and economic impact
associated with tech show no signs of slowing down.
There are reasons to be optimistic about the future of tech
and innovation in Kansas. Just yesterday, the KC Tech Council
released a comprehensive report on the current state of the
region's tech industry. The median tech occupation wage in
Kansas is higher than that of many other Midwest states. And,
tech has permeated the Kansas City metro's employment base more
than it has in peer cities, with 9.2 percent of Kansas-side of
KC workers employed in tech
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