Program during the development of the cares act two months ago. Since its launch in early april, this program has provided forgivable loans totaling more than 510 billion to approximately 4. 3 million small employers across the country. The overwhelming majority of borrowers are very small employers. In phase one of the program, the average p. P. P. Loan size nationally was 206,000. That translates to an average employer size of just 18 employees. As more loans have been approved in phase two, the average loan size nationally has dropped to 118,000, suggesting an average business size of about ten employees. In maine, the average loan size is even smaller with borrowers having an estimated 12 employees in phase one and just three employees in phase two. According to the u. S. Census bureau, nearly twothirds of the Small Businesses in maine have benefited from p. P. P. Loans, and that is, im pleased to say, among the highest rates in the nation. In many ways its not a surprise. Maine is
Vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote . If not, the yeas are 65, the nays are 28. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to legislative session. The presiding officer question is on the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 655. The presiding officer question is on the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, department of defense, victor g. Mercado of california to be an assistant secretary. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report the cloture motion.
[inaudible conversations] we are going to get started. Thank you. Good morning. The hearing will come to order. I thank everyone for joining us this morning and i want to especially thank my colleagues for joining us today for the House Committee on business hearing the response to covid19. We have had a hard stop act once again. We will move as quickly as we can but should we not be able to accommodate every member in person today, we will be accepting statements for the record until thursday, april 30. This important hearing i want to mention the chairwoman has been in our thoughts and prayers we wish you nothing but the best as you recover. Small businesses and entrepreneurs play a Critical Role within the american economy. Not only do they employ half of the nations workers but created two out of every three new jobs in the nation. You only need to take the poll from main street america. It is demonstrated Small Businesses and employees and the Response Congress created with a Payc
Hopes infections have now reached their highest level. We are living in the peak of this epidemic. I believe in one weeks time, maximum ten days, we will see a drop, a significant drop of positive cases. Spain is to introduce even tighter limits on who can leave their homes, as it announces a new Record Number of deaths in the past 2a hours. And the worlds oldest man is celebrating his 112th birthday, but therell be no party due to self isolation. Now on bbc news, Victoria Derbyshire has the latest information and Health Advice on coronavirus including what the symptoms are and how to self isolate. Hello and welcome to this special programme. Im Victoria Derbyshire. Over the next half an hour, we are going to try and tell you as much as we can about coronavirus to help you that you can share the information with others. For the latest on the spread of the disease, you can always head to our website for information on how its affecting people in your community and your country. The main
New measures are expected, giving Financial Support to self employed people and freelancers. The chancellor will unveil a package of help later after criticism that millions had lost income because of coronavirus. I immediately went from earning to not earning, whereas people i know that are employed are still getting their salary. Its not clear whether all self employed people will be eligible for help well have more on whats expected. Also this lunchtime. As nhs staff say they need more protective equipment, the army helps with the distribution of medical supplies. The death toll in the United States goes over 1000. We have exclusive access to south koreas intensive care units
and see how the country is managing to bring down infection rates. Do you need anything at all, brenda . And the challenges of living through lockdown at the top of a tower block. And in sport, the task of rearranging the olympics begins its back to the drawing board for some events. Good afternoon and welcome