Molson Hart

Chairwoman @NydiaVelazquez asked substantive questions, but rushed through them in her 5-ish minutes and declined to follow up later (she could have kept the witnessses there as long as she wanted)

. @RepSteveChabot followed with this softball, holding up a glossy Google PR book: “What is Google able to do to allow America’s small businesses to more successfully market their products across the globe?"

. @Repkevinhern thanked Google for its data center near Tulsa and Amazon for its fulfillment center there. He offered each witness 90 seconds to talk about what they do for small businesses.

. @RepDwightEvans didn’t ask any questions of Amazon or Google. Instead he asked amorphous questions about the philosophy of regulation to a third witness, an economist from an industry trade group. You can guess whether this broke any new ground.

. @RepHagedorn mentioned a constituent who sells espresso makers on Amazon, and asked about Amazon’s fees. His question: “In general, do you think the way that you are charging these small businesses is fair?” Guess what Amazon’s answer was.

A glimmer of hope came when @RepGolden started pressing Amazon about how it might favor itself in search results. He asked if Amazon gets down-ranked in the case of a shipping mishap, the way other sellers do....

... Amazon’s witness said the company takes accountability for shipping. Which doesn’t really answer the question. Golden’s response: “All right. Good.”

. @RepBalderson talked about the billions of dollars Amazon and Google have invested in Ohio, including a Google data center. His question: “Would each of you please explain to this committee what the growth of the internet and information age has meant for small businesses?”