U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the chairman of the U.S. Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, is doubling down on his efforts to offer relief for small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
With the help of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Rubio is pushing some amendments to the coronavirus relief package which Congress is trying to get across the finish line before the end of the session.
“The package aims to ensure small businesses, including minority-owned firms and those in underserved communities, have the necessary resources to weather the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill would allow the most severely affected small businesses to receive a second PPP loan. It would also create a new long-term recovery loan program, which would provide working capital to industries that have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The nearly $60 billion long-term recovery loan program would target low-income communities, as well as minority-owned, and seasonal businesses,” Rubio’s office noted.
Rubio weighed in on his efforts this week.
“Congress has acted unanimously on PPP three separate times, which is a testament to the program’s success at saving tens of millions of jobs and preventing widespread small business bankruptcies,” Rubio said on Wednesday. “With a deadline quickly approaching, I am proud to once again partner with Senator Collins to file these amendments to provide a second round of PPP funds to the hardest-hit businesses and long-term working capital needed for a sustainable recovery. I hope my Democratic colleagues can once again join Republicans, put politics aside, and act decisively to help our nation’s small businesses and the tens of millions of American workers they employ.”
“The Paycheck Protection Program has been a tremendous success, supporting three out of four small businesses and 240,000 jobs in Maine alone,” said Collins. “As the deadline for the PPP approaches and many small businesses, particularly those in the hospitality sector, are continuing to experience severe financial harm, we must act quickly to help them survive and protect the jobs of their employees. The amendments Senator Rubio and I introduced this week will build on our bipartisan efforts by allowing the hardest-hit small businesses to apply for a second forgivable PPP loan, expanding the list of forgivable expenses, and simplifying the loan forgiveness process.”
Rubio is pushing an amendment to “create a second draw of PPP for businesses with 300 or fewer employees with a 35 percent revenue decline.” The amendment “includes a $25 billion set-aside for small businesses with 10 or fewer employees and $10 billion for loans made by small community lenders, including small farm credit system institutions and Community Financial Development Institutions.”
The senator’s office noted the “second amendment mirrors the provisions of the first amendment, and like the Continuing Small Business Recovery and Paycheck Protection Act introduced last week, includes the creation of a new long-term recovery loan program, which would provide working capital to industries that have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic” and would appropriate an additional $10 million for the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).”
At the end of last month, with the help of Collins, Rubio introduced the “Continuing Small Business Recovery and Paycheck Protection Program Act” as he hopes to build off of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the $2.3 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress and approved by the White House at the end of March.
The Florida Republican’s office offered some of the rationales behind his new proposal.
“The package aims to ensure small businesses, including minority-owned firms and those in underserved communities, have the necessary resources to weather the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill would allow the most severely affected small businesses to receive a second PPP loan. It would also create a new long-term recovery loan program, which would provide working capital to industries that have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The nearly $60 billion long-term recovery loan program would target low-income communities, minority-owned, and seasonal businesses,” Rubio’s office noted.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
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