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 the state of Small Businesses. 90 of all of the businesses there are considered to be Small Businesses, and they employ approximately 60 of all the workers in our state. Overall nationwide, the funds are sufficient to support approximately im sorry. This is a state of maine figure. These funds in maine have been sufficient to support approximately 200,000 jobs. So lets think about this, mr. President. That means that a business who, that has seen receipts go down, is in a cash flow problem, liquidity is dried up, can still retain employees that otherwise would have been laid off. In other cases, it has allowed a business to call back furloughed employees. And even in cases where the business has been forced to close its doors because of government orders, it has kept alive the connection between the employer and his or her employees. That is so important because as the economy does open back up, we want to make sure that that link between the employer and the employees remains intact so that the workforce can come back to work as soon as possible. It is important as we discuss the Economic Data behind the p. P. P. To remember that these are real businesses with real people. People like larry gayden, who owns and runs a Craft Brewery and pub in bangor, maine. Larry calls the p. P. P. A lifeline bill that has made all the difference in helping him to bring back 25 of his employees and reopen for takeout business. Another maine borrower, the owner of a small marina told me that the p. P. P. Was exactly what he needed at exactly the right time. With the p. P. P. , this marina has been able to keep all of its employees on payroll. And because they werent worried about whether they would have a paycheck, these employees continued spending as they normally would, exactly what our maine economy needs. Another example of a Small Business helped by the p. P. P. Is the frog and turtle gastro pub in westbrook, maine. This pub just completed an extensive renovation and is hoping to reopen june 1, the first day that sitdown Dining Service will be allowed again in the state of maine. The owner of this pub wrote to me to say that the p. P. P. Program allowed us to bring back our 15 employees and sustain our business during these trying conditions, and that taking a p. P. P. Loan was the right decision for his employees and for his small restaurant. Mr. President , when we were initially developing the Paycheck Protection Program, we had no idea how long the pandemic would last. We did not know that there would be virtually universal economic shutdowns. Nor did we know how each state would respond to outbreaks in their communities. The bipartisan bill that were introducing today builds on the success of the p. P. P. By providing Small Businesses with additional flexibilities so that they can more effectively use these funds in con junction with state reopening plans. And again, i would remind my colleagues that when we were drafting the first version of this, it was before there were widespread orders shutting down restaurants and bars and retail establishments. Specifically, the Paycheck Protection Program extension act that were introducing today would do the following, it would allow borrowers 16 weeks to use their loan funds instead of eight weeks. Small businesses could choose the period that they believe works best to coincide with the reopening of their local economy. So some Small Businesses took the loans very early thinking that the shutdowns would not last or that the pandemic would be on the way down by now, which it is in some states, thank goodness, but not in all. Well, this builds in more flexibility. You would have 16 weeks to use the loan funds instead of eight. Second, it extends the deadline to apply for a p. P. P. Loan from june 30 to december 31 of this year. Again, this reflects the fact that shutdowns lasted far longer in virtually every state than we anticipated when we were drafting the bill in march. Third, the bill would allow borrowers to use loan funds to purchase personal protective equipment for employees and to pay for adaptive investments needed to reopen safely. Adaptive investments could include modifications to a commercial property to comply with the social distancing regulations or guidelines from the c. D. C. It could mean creating or expanding a drivethrough window service, erecting physical barriers such as we see at the Grocery Stores now, those plexi glass barriers or sneeze guards. It will could mean installing ventilation system upgrades, or as many restaurants have mentioned to me, theyd like to add an outside patio for outdoor eating which would allow them to maintain the same number of customers which they cant do now and abide by the social distancing guidelines. The bill would also clarify that the current lender hold harmless provision relates to all Small Business administration and treasury guidance regarding p. P. P. Loans. This would ensure that our lenders, who in good faith followed federal guidance related to p. P. P. , would not be later held liable if the guidance subsequently changed. And id like to do a shoutout to our Small Community banks and Credit Unions in the state of maine. They have really stepped up to the plate for this program to serve the Small Businesses, the small employers in our state, the small nonprofits, and that has made a real difference to the employees of these establishments. And, finally, the bill would clarify that borrowers who have maintained payroll for eight weeks will not lose loan forgiveness due to the extension of the program to 16 weeks. Now, i would hope that that would be obvious, but we wanted to make sure that we were explicit. Mr. President , the Paycheck Protection Program is the single most critical Stimulus Program protecting main street america from the economic devastation of the measures taken to control the spread of covid19. The bill that we are introducing today strengthens the p. P. P. To reflect the evolving nature of this pandemic, the necessity of regulatory actions that have caused a great deal of economic harm but were necessary to prevent the spread of the virus. And i urge all of my colleagues to support this bill. Thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , seeing no one is seeking recognition, under the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell a few announcements for the information of all of our colleagues when we reconvene after meeting with our constituents and monitoring the Pandemic Response in our states, the senate will fill critical vacancies in the executive branch. This week we confirmed a new director of national intelligence, in a moment we will confirm a new secretary sef the navy. But our democratic colleagues would not allow us to fill several more posts at the pentagon. So as sadly has become the norm, the senate will be spending floor time and multiple roll call votes on each of the following