WATCH: Small biz struggles didn’t begin with pandemic pinch, says Rep. Davids; solutions go beyond COVID relief
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exaggerated pain points that small business owners were already facing before the global health crisis, said U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids.
"I really think that what the pandemic did was, in some ways, highlighted the things that we should have been focusing on. … I know a lot of businesses are really feeling this workforce pinch," Davids — elected in 2018 to serve Kansas' 3rd congressional district — told Startland News. "People are having a hard time finding folks to fill positions — that was an issue in my first year [in Congress] … but now we're hearing about it a lot more."
Finding workers, however, is only a piece of the challenge facing businesses across Kansas City and beyond.
Watch the video below for an exclusive Startland News interview with Rep. Davids, then keep reading about her recent visit to one of Kansas City's top startups. The conversation touches on her passion for entrepreneurs, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act, the Women's Business Centers Improvement Act and more.
Earlier this month, Davids voted to pass the COMPETES Act, which includes incentives for domestic semiconductor manufacturing, resources to strengthen supply chains and reduce inflation and policies that will promote American global leadership amongst countries like China.
"It's hard to know if we would have been thinking about bringing much more manufacturing back domestically if it weren't for the pandemic," Davids said.
On Wednesday, Davids toured Ronawk — an Olathe-based biomanufacturing startup focused on cell culture — amid ongoing efforts to find solutions to the small businesses' common problems. Much of the visit focused on addressing lingering supply chain and logistics challenges hitting industries across the globe.
"If we want to fix our supply chain, address rising prices, and stay competitive against countries like China, we should be investing in our talent and capacity here at home," Davids said. "Ronawk is a great example of the cutting-edge manufacturing we have right here in the Third District."
Within the field of cell culture, several specific hurdles in the supply chain impact the speed, cost and results, said A.J. Mellott, the CEO and co-founder of Ronawk. The COMPETES Act supported by Davids would help manufacturers like Ronawk with supplying customers in and outside of the U.S. with premium cell culture development technology, he continued.
"Additionally, it will help scientists all over the world accelerate research and potentially lower the cost of production for life science and pharmaceutical companies across the globe," Mellott noted.