BERLIN– A U.S. Senate committee held a field hearing in Berlin last week to discuss ways to improve small business resiliency.
On Thursday, Aug. 17, the Town of Berlin hosted a field hearing for the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. The committee, chaired by Sen. Ben Cardin, heard from four witnesses who talked about what was needed to support small business in a rural region.
“We need to target better our programs to help rural America,” Cardin said. “I think this hearing has helped us to understand that.”
Cardin, joined by Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Congressman Andy Harris, launched the field hearing last Thursday after a brief walking tour through Berlin. He said he’d seen the enthusiasm of the town’s business community firsthand.
“It is all those things that they do to make this community not only an economically livable community but a fun place to live,” Cardin said. “It makes it a much more exciting place.”
Cardin said the purpose of the hearing was to address challenges in rural areas related to small businesses. He said small businesses encountered those challenges during events such as natural disasters and pandemics.
“Small businesses have shown resiliency but we know we have to do more in order to help in regards to resiliency,” he said.
He said small businesses in rural areas needed help with things like workforce and connectivity.
“This committee is an advocate for small businesses,” Cardin said. “We want to know what we can do better. This hearing will give us a chance to hear how we can better serve small businesses in rural communities.”
Van Hollen agreed that the pandemic had been a difficult time for small businesses and pointed out that in acknowledgement of that, politicians had worked together to come up with solutions.
“We know that rebounding is not enough, we need to continue to grow and advance,” Van Hollen said. “That’s why I look forward to hearing the testimony from our four witnesses.”
Harris agreed and stressed the importance of the small family businesses on the Eastern Shore.
“Hopefully we can keep our rural areas vigorous,” he said.
Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall was in attendance at the hearing with other local officials.
““It’s a bit odd because I’m usually sitting where you’re sitting with our mayor and council but it is nice to come back to the place where I started which is sitting out here in the audience with all of our constituents,” he said.
Tyndall said he was eager to hear various viewpoints from the witnesses.
“I think we can learn a lot from each other,” he said. “I think that exchange of information, that understanding of one another, helps us all…I don’t think you can find a better place to showcase resiliency than right here in our small town.”
The committee went on to hear insight from Cassandra Vanhooser, director of economic development and tourism for Talbot County, John “Nick” Hargrove, owner and operator of Tilghman Island Seafood and Wittman Wharf Seafood, Roxanne Wolf, program director for Shore Gourmet of Denton, and Richard Loeffler, business consultant for the Maryland Small Business Development Center of Cambridge.
Cardin said the ideas and challenges the speakers addressed showed that government needed to do more for rural America.
“We recognize that we have to do more,” Cardin said. “We can’t wait for the next unexpected challenge and then say what can we do to respond. We have to have more permanent help.”