A prepositional phrase is a phrase that contains the following types of words:
A preposition, that are function words used to link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words within a sentence. Examples of prepositions are <em>without, in, up, after, before, at, with, for, through.</em>
The object of the preposition, like nouns, pronouns, gerunds, etc.
And one or more than one modifiers of the object (Sometimes, not always), such as "a" and "the".
So, "without a coat" is a prepositional phrase because it has all those elements: It has the preposition "without" that indicates the absence or lack of something ("a coat"), it has the object of that preposition which it's "coat", and it also contains a modifier of that object which it's "a"
The term "vetted" means "to make a careful examination," or "to investigate someone thoroughly." It is commonly used to ensure someone is trustworthy for a job. When Whitehurst says that the candidates have already been "extremely vetted," it is implied that the candidates were investigated to a great extent.
You could use evidence from the National Small Business Owners Association to give statistics on the effect. You can give an opinion of how you feel the government should handle the potential closing of many small businesses.