Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate Senate Extends Deadline F

Senator schumer and we are joined by senator schumer who has been a real champion on making sure we get help to americas Small Businesses. Im going to acknowledge the work of senator coons who i expect will be on the floor a little later, one of our key cosponsors on the next round of aid is senator rosen. I want to acknowledge the cosponsors of the unanimous consent request legislation, including myself and senator schumer, senator shaheen, senator coons, senator rosen, and senator collins. I also want to acknowledge that this is bipartisan. I have talked to senator rubio. He has informed me that this has cleared the hotline. So we are hopeful that well get this u. C. Done today. But as were waiting for the paperwork to get to us, let me just explain what the u. C. Does before i make the u. C. Request. The authority of the Small Business administration to approve any more Paycheck Protection Program loans expires at midnight tonight. That was the deadline we established when we passed the cares act in march. That was a reasonable assumption in march. We thought by the end of june that our economy would be back on track and we would not need to have additional applications after that date. Well, a lot has changed since march of this year, and we recognized that when we passed the partisan flexibility act. It changed the time period for use of p. P. P. Funds from eight weeks to up to 24 weeks and changed the allocation that treasury had established of using 75 of the funds for payroll to 60 of the funds for payroll. We recognize the times have changed. The p. P. P. Program is extremely popular. As of 5 00 tonight, 520. 6 billion of forgivable loans have been issued under the p. P. P. Program to 4,856,647 Small Businesses. Quite frankly, these are Small Businesses that very well may not have been here today but for the p. P. P. Program. We have kept them alive, and we have saved jobs. The labor departments may estimate of 2. 5 million jobs added, a large number is the result of the p. P. P. Funds. Small businesses need additional help. They need additional assistance. Times have changed. We know, for example, in the state of texas and florida, we have seen a Record Number of infections. Just now. So the need is still there. We have mandatory closures of bars in those states. And we certainly didnt anticipate that when we passed the legislation last march. Small businesses need additional help. So we dont want to close the door on the p. P. P. Program. And the good news, we have 130 billion remaining in the coffers for the p. P. P. Program. So the resources are there, the need is there. We just need to change the date. So the u. C. That i am going to be making in a few moments would change the deadline for filing for a p. P. P. Loan from june 30 to august 8. We pick august 8 because thats the end of the next work period. And we certainly hope by then were going to have the next stimulus package signed by the president of the united states. I must tell you we need to do more of this. We need round two to help Small Businesses. Im very pleased that i have had the help of senator shaheen and senator coons. That targets the next round. The first round was to get money out quicker and save Small Businesses. The second round needs to be targeted to those Small Businesses that really need the help. Thats why our legislation targets it, Small Businesses under 100 workers, those that have Economic Needs that can be demonstrated and helping particularly the underserved, underbanked communities. I was very pleased that this type of a second round was acknowledged by secretary mnuchin at an oversight hearing before the Small Business entrepreneurship committee. There has been goodfaith negotiations with senator rubio. We have worked on this on a bipartisan issue. I think we can get it done today. I am disappointed, though, that were going to go into recess scheduled for the end of this week were not coming back until july 20, and Small Businesses are going to run out of money during that period of time. The Small Businesses that have used up their p. P. P. Money and need additional help are not going to get our attention until we come back july 20. Thats wrong. We should have taken up this bill by now. The house passed the heroes act months ago. We should be taking this up now. As i said, Small Businesses have exhausted a lot of their p. P. P. Funds. But we need to act. Tonight well have the opportunity to extend the june 30 deadline by the u. C. Request. I am pleased that were likely to be able to get that done. The last day that we anticipate the end of the work period, the next work period, we will have time to Work Together, act together, and hopefully pass additional bipartisan help for Small Businesses in this country. Small businesses, the growth engine, job creator, innovator. We need to act, and we need to act tonight. With that in mind, mr. President , i would ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. 4116 introduced earlier today. I further ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer is there objection . A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from florida. Mr. Scott mr. President , reserving the right to object. I want to thank my colleagues for bringing up this important bill today. This crisis is unprecedented and leaders across the nation have taken steps to address the virus and the devastation it has caused both to the health of americans and to our economy. The Paycheck Protection Program has helped so many businesses in florida and across the nation stay afloat during this unimaginable time. As we continue to reopen our economy and get americans back to work, we have to continue looking for ways to help our Small Businesses that are hurting and extending the Paycheck Protection Program is one way to do that. My focus has always been on how we get this money to those that truly need it. We have heard all the stories, stories of big businesses with thousands of employees that found loopholes to qualify for these loans, universities with massive endowments accepting these loans, even Small Businesses taking these loans when they havent seen a downturn in their revenue. Under my colleagues proposal, companies that are not being harmed at all by the coronavirus will have the ability to receive taxpayerfunded loans that can be forgiven. This Program Needs to be reformed so money isnt being taken out of the hands of those that really need it. I am offering an amendment to my colleagues bill today that would prohibit businesses that have not seen a downturn in their reasons due to covid19 during the coronavirus pandemic from being eligible for a Paycheck Protection Program loan going forward. My amendment would not be retroactive. It would only apply to those businesses applying for a loan going forward. It is cumbent on us to create it is incumbent on us to create accountability in the Paycheck Protection Program and i rely on my colleagues to create this commonsense amendment. I ask that senator cardin modify his request and that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of senate 4116 introduced earlier today, and that my amendment at the desk be agreed to. Further, that the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed, that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. A senator reserving the right to object. The presiding officer is the senator so modifying his request . Mr. Cardin mr. President , reserving the right to object to modifying the amendment. Under my reservation, let me first thank the senator from florida. I agree with his concerns and thats why we are looking at additional help to Small Businesses, legislation that i filed with senator shaheen and senator coons includes a needs based approach to the next round of p. P. P. Loans because were going to need to do more. Secretary mnuchin acknowledged that were going to have to do more. He also acknowledges we can target that aid. The first round was aimed at getting money out quickly. And we could not have gotten money out quickly if we had underwriting standards that require the needs base that is in the gentlemans amendment. So heres the dilemma that youre offering. Were not looking at the p. P. P. Two program. This is the original program that we want to keep alive as we negotiate the next round. So if your amendment were adopted, you could have a bar owner in maryland whos been closed, whos been able to get the p. P. P. Program but now you have a bar owner in florida that just recently got noticed that they have to close, that wants to apply for a p. P. P. Loan and is not going to be able to get it in a timely way because theyre going to have to establish maybe prospectively the loss of revenue after guidelines are given, et cetera. Thats not fair. Its not fair to treat one Small Business of one state differently than we treat another Small Business in another state. Second point i would point out to you, as weve looked at the evolution of the p. P. P. Program, the late applications, those that are filing now, they are invariably the smallest of the Small Businesses, the ones that are in the greatest need. So why would we want to change the rules for those that had the greatest need when we didnt do it on the original round . So i would just urge my colleague lets Work Together. I assure you that we want to do this in the next round. Im disappointed were not doing it this week before we adjourn but that was a decision made not to bring up the next stimulus package at this point. But i would urge my colleague to recognize that this would create an administrative burden, an inequity and its not really germane to what were trying to do in moving forward with the second round of the p. P. P. Program. And with that, mr. President , i would object to modifying my consent request. The presiding officer the objection is heard to the modification. Is there an objection to the original request . Mr. Scott mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from florida. Mr. Scott first i want to thank senator cardin for worrying about the businesses. I think youre absolutely right. And i think we can all acknowledge in the original bill, some it could have been done better. So some of the businesses, they shouldnt have probably gotten it in the beginning and we could have targeted more for some of the smaller businesses. I thank you for would youre doing. Im not going to stand in the way of this. I look forward to working with you to try to make sure the money goes to people that actually need it and doesnt go to people who actually havent had a downturn in their business. We dont have unlimited resources up here as we all know and i want to make sure the money is spent well. Im not going to stand in the way and i yield the floor. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection, so ordered. Mr. Cardin mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from maryland. Mr. Cardin let me thank my friend from florida for allowing this to go forward. I think we do share the same objective. We want to make sure the money gets out and we also want to make sure those who really need it get the funds. I assure you i would be happy if we could bring up the second round this week, but lets make sure we Work Together with your colleague from florida, senator rubio. Weve been in Constant Contact and we hope to have a bill ready. I want to acknowledge on the floor senator schumer who has been our leader on our side to make sure that we really target the help to the Small Businesses that really need it. I see senator collins on the floor who was part of a negotiating team who was able to come up with the p. P. P. Program, incredible contribution. Senator shaheen was also part of that negotiating team with senator rubio that came up with the p. P. P. Program. I thank you for your support on this unanimous consent request. Senator coons as ive already mentioned earlier is one of the key members of the Small Business committee, one of our cosponsors of round two of relief to Small Businesses. With that, mr. President , i would yield the floor to the distinguished to my colleague from New Hampshire. Mrs. Shaheen mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from New Hampshire. Mrs. Shaheen im really pleased to be here to join Ranking Member of the Small Business committee, senator cardin, democratic leader schumer, senator coons whos also a member of the Small Business committee, and senator collins who worked so hard with the negotiating team to put in place the Paycheck Protection Program. And im pleased because we have an agreement to extend the Expiration Date to august 8. I came here thinking that we would not be able to get agreement so im glad that senator scott was willing to work with us as we try and get not just an extension because we need an extension of that first round. And thats would tonight does. But we also need another round of p. P. P. This is by far been the largest business relief effort in our nations history. For Small Businesses anyway. But what im hearing now from so many Small Businesses in New Hampshire, those that have used the p. P. P. Program effectively, theyve kempt their workers on the kept their workers on the payroll. Theyve paid their rent. Theyre beginning to open back up again, but that funding is about to run out. And they need more assistance as our economy reopens, particularly those mom and pop businesses with very few employees. And in New Hampshire, the tourism and Hospitality Industries which have been the first to close and are going to be the last to reopen, and they are just vital to New Hampshires economy. The New Hampshire restaurants account for nearly 70,000 jobs for 3 billion in sales. And hotels represent another 29,000 jobs and a billion dollars in wages and salaries. Ive heard from Small Businesses like lavelle winery which is a beautiful winery conference and wedding venue in southern New Hampshire. It has a hundred employees. Its fighting to survive. Two decades of work that the owners of labelle winery have put in. And yet all of their events are canceling for the summer and fall. Theyve spent their first round of p. P. P. Theyre operating now at just a fraction of their capacity. And before the pandemic, this was a thriving business with expansion plans for opening an inn and a second restaurant. Now if they dont get that second round, theyre in real trouble. Coby inn and grazing restaurant which is in the only henniker on earth, henniker, New Hampshire. Its about to lose 65 of its revenues this year. The revenue from their highen end restaurant high end restaurant isnt even covering payroll or food costs. Theyve had 95 of their events canceled this year. Bruce, the owner, if they lose their business, they not only lose their business, they lose their home. If they dont get a second round, if they cant apply for that second round, they may not still be here. So im really pleased weve gotten this extension tonight. Thats progress. But we need a second round. Theres 130 billion left in the Paycheck Protection Program. We need to help those Small Businesses that need additional assistance. And im pleased that were working in a bipartisan fashion to try and get a bill. Weve got a bill that senators cardin, coons, and i introduced. Now were working with senator rubio, chairman of the committee, senator collins who was part of that fourperson negotiating team, and im hopeful and cautiously optimistic that if we Work Together, well be able to agree, republicans and democrats, on what should be in that second round. The challenge then is to get another package of assistance for not just americas Small Businesses but for all of the people who have taken such a hit as the result of this global pandemic. Over 128,000 americans, 339 granite staters have lost their lives. New hampshire has an Unemployment Rate that before the pandemic was under 3 . Its now 14. 5 . Weve got to help those Small Businesses get through this period. And im hopeful that working together we can do that. We can get another package of legislation, and we can say to americans again that help is again on the way. Thank you, mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from maine. Ms. Collins thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i want to commend the senator from maryland, the Ranking Member on the senate Small Business<\/a>es. Im going to acknowledge the work of senator coons who i expect will be on the floor a little later, one of our key cosponsors on the next round of aid is senator rosen. I want to acknowledge the cosponsors of the unanimous consent request legislation, including myself and senator schumer, senator shaheen, senator coons, senator rosen, and senator collins. I also want to acknowledge that this is bipartisan. I have talked to senator rubio. He has informed me that this has cleared the hotline. So we are hopeful that well get this u. C. Done today. But as were waiting for the paperwork to get to us, let me just explain what the u. C. Does before i make the u. C. Request. The authority of the Small Business<\/a> administration to approve any more Paycheck Protection Program<\/a> loans expires at midnight tonight. That was the deadline we established when we passed the cares act in march. That was a reasonable assumption in march. We thought by the end of june that our economy would be back on track and we would not need to have additional applications after that date. Well, a lot has changed since march of this year, and we recognized that when we passed the partisan flexibility act. It changed the time period for use of p. P. P. Funds from eight weeks to up to 24 weeks and changed the allocation that treasury had established of using 75 of the funds for payroll to 60 of the funds for payroll. We recognize the times have changed. The p. P. P. Program is extremely popular. As of 5 00 tonight, 520. 6 billion of forgivable loans have been issued under the p. P. P. Program to 4,856,647 Small Business<\/a>es. Quite frankly, these are Small Business<\/a>es that very well may not have been here today but for the p. P. P. Program. We have kept them alive, and we have saved jobs. The labor departments may estimate of 2. 5 million jobs added, a large number is the result of the p. P. P. Funds. Small businesses need additional help. They need additional assistance. Times have changed. We know, for example, in the state of texas and florida, we have seen a Record Number<\/a> of infections. Just now. So the need is still there. We have mandatory closures of bars in those states. And we certainly didnt anticipate that when we passed the legislation last march. Small businesses need additional help. So we dont want to close the door on the p. P. P. Program. And the good news, we have 130 billion remaining in the coffers for the p. P. P. Program. So the resources are there, the need is there. We just need to change the date. So the u. C. That i am going to be making in a few moments would change the deadline for filing for a p. P. P. Loan from june 30 to august 8. We pick august 8 because thats the end of the next work period. And we certainly hope by then were going to have the next stimulus package signed by the president of the united states. I must tell you we need to do more of this. We need round two to help Small Business<\/a>es. Im very pleased that i have had the help of senator shaheen and senator coons. That targets the next round. The first round was to get money out quicker and save Small Business<\/a>es. The second round needs to be targeted to those Small Business<\/a>es that really need the help. Thats why our legislation targets it, Small Business<\/a>es under 100 workers, those that have Economic Needs<\/a> that can be demonstrated and helping particularly the underserved, underbanked communities. I was very pleased that this type of a second round was acknowledged by secretary mnuchin at an oversight hearing before the Small Business<\/a> entrepreneurship committee. There has been goodfaith negotiations with senator rubio. We have worked on this on a bipartisan issue. I think we can get it done today. I am disappointed, though, that were going to go into recess scheduled for the end of this week were not coming back until july 20, and Small Business<\/a>es are going to run out of money during that period of time. The Small Business<\/a>es that have used up their p. P. P. Money and need additional help are not going to get our attention until we come back july 20. Thats wrong. We should have taken up this bill by now. The house passed the heroes act months ago. We should be taking this up now. As i said, Small Business<\/a>es have exhausted a lot of their p. P. P. Funds. But we need to act. Tonight well have the opportunity to extend the june 30 deadline by the u. C. Request. I am pleased that were likely to be able to get that done. The last day that we anticipate the end of the work period, the next work period, we will have time to Work Together<\/a>, act together, and hopefully pass additional bipartisan help for Small Business<\/a>es in this country. Small businesses, the growth engine, job creator, innovator. We need to act, and we need to act tonight. With that in mind, mr. President , i would ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. 4116 introduced earlier today. I further ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer is there objection . A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from florida. Mr. Scott mr. President , reserving the right to object. I want to thank my colleagues for bringing up this important bill today. This crisis is unprecedented and leaders across the nation have taken steps to address the virus and the devastation it has caused both to the health of americans and to our economy. The Paycheck Protection Program<\/a> has helped so many businesses in florida and across the nation stay afloat during this unimaginable time. As we continue to reopen our economy and get americans back to work, we have to continue looking for ways to help our Small Business<\/a>es that are hurting and extending the Paycheck Protection Program<\/a> is one way to do that. My focus has always been on how we get this money to those that truly need it. We have heard all the stories, stories of big businesses with thousands of employees that found loopholes to qualify for these loans, universities with massive endowments accepting these loans, even Small Business<\/a>es taking these loans when they havent seen a downturn in their revenue. Under my colleagues proposal, companies that are not being harmed at all by the coronavirus will have the ability to receive taxpayerfunded loans that can be forgiven. This Program Needs<\/a> to be reformed so money isnt being taken out of the hands of those that really need it. I am offering an amendment to my colleagues bill today that would prohibit businesses that have not seen a downturn in their reasons due to covid19 during the coronavirus pandemic from being eligible for a Paycheck Protection Program<\/a> loan going forward. My amendment would not be retroactive. It would only apply to those businesses applying for a loan going forward. It is cumbent on us to create it is incumbent on us to create accountability in the Paycheck Protection Program<\/a> and i rely on my colleagues to create this commonsense amendment. I ask that senator cardin modify his request and that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of senate 4116 introduced earlier today, and that my amendment at the desk be agreed to. Further, that the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed, that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. A senator reserving the right to object. The presiding officer is the senator so modifying his request . Mr. Cardin mr. President , reserving the right to object to modifying the amendment. Under my reservation, let me first thank the senator from florida. I agree with his concerns and thats why we are looking at additional help to Small Business<\/a>es, legislation that i filed with senator shaheen and senator coons includes a needs based approach to the next round of p. P. P. Loans because were going to need to do more. Secretary mnuchin acknowledged that were going to have to do more. He also acknowledges we can target that aid. The first round was aimed at getting money out quickly. And we could not have gotten money out quickly if we had underwriting standards that require the needs base that is in the gentlemans amendment. So heres the dilemma that youre offering. Were not looking at the p. P. P. Two program. This is the original program that we want to keep alive as we negotiate the next round. So if your amendment were adopted, you could have a bar owner in maryland whos been closed, whos been able to get the p. P. P. Program but now you have a bar owner in florida that just recently got noticed that they have to close, that wants to apply for a p. P. P. Loan and is not going to be able to get it in a timely way because theyre going to have to establish maybe prospectively the loss of revenue after guidelines are given, et cetera. Thats not fair. Its not fair to treat one Small Business<\/a> of one state differently than we treat another Small Business<\/a> in another state. Second point i would point out to you, as weve looked at the evolution of the p. P. P. Program, the late applications, those that are filing now, they are invariably the smallest of the Small Business<\/a>es, the ones that are in the greatest need. So why would we want to change the rules for those that had the greatest need when we didnt do it on the original round . So i would just urge my colleague lets Work Together<\/a>. I assure you that we want to do this in the next round. Im disappointed were not doing it this week before we adjourn but that was a decision made not to bring up the next stimulus package at this point. But i would urge my colleague to recognize that this would create an administrative burden, an inequity and its not really germane to what were trying to do in moving forward with the second round of the p. P. P. Program. And with that, mr. President , i would object to modifying my consent request. The presiding officer the objection is heard to the modification. Is there an objection to the original request . Mr. Scott mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from florida. Mr. Scott first i want to thank senator cardin for worrying about the businesses. I think youre absolutely right. And i think we can all acknowledge in the original bill, some it could have been done better. So some of the businesses, they shouldnt have probably gotten it in the beginning and we could have targeted more for some of the smaller businesses. I thank you for would youre doing. Im not going to stand in the way of this. I look forward to working with you to try to make sure the money goes to people that actually need it and doesnt go to people who actually havent had a downturn in their business. We dont have unlimited resources up here as we all know and i want to make sure the money is spent well. Im not going to stand in the way and i yield the floor. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection, so ordered. Mr. Cardin mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from maryland. Mr. Cardin let me thank my friend from florida for allowing this to go forward. I think we do share the same objective. We want to make sure the money gets out and we also want to make sure those who really need it get the funds. I assure you i would be happy if we could bring up the second round this week, but lets make sure we Work Together<\/a> with your colleague from florida, senator rubio. Weve been in Constant Contact<\/a> and we hope to have a bill ready. I want to acknowledge on the floor senator schumer who has been our leader on our side to make sure that we really target the help to the Small Business<\/a>es that really need it. I see senator collins on the floor who was part of a negotiating team who was able to come up with the p. P. P. Program, incredible contribution. Senator shaheen was also part of that negotiating team with senator rubio that came up with the p. P. P. Program. I thank you for your support on this unanimous consent request. Senator coons as ive already mentioned earlier is one of the key members of the Small Business<\/a> committee, one of our cosponsors of round two of relief to Small Business<\/a>es. With that, mr. President , i would yield the floor to the distinguished to my colleague from New Hampshire<\/a>. Mrs. Shaheen mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from New Hampshire<\/a>. Mrs. Shaheen im really pleased to be here to join Ranking Member<\/a> of the Small Business<\/a> committee, senator cardin, democratic leader schumer, senator coons whos also a member of the Small Business<\/a> committee, and senator collins who worked so hard with the negotiating team to put in place the Paycheck Protection Program<\/a>. And im pleased because we have an agreement to extend the Expiration Date<\/a> to august 8. I came here thinking that we would not be able to get agreement so im glad that senator scott was willing to work with us as we try and get not just an extension because we need an extension of that first round. And thats would tonight does. But we also need another round of p. P. P. This is by far been the largest business relief effort in our nations history. For Small Business<\/a>es anyway. But what im hearing now from so many Small Business<\/a>es in New Hampshire<\/a>, those that have used the p. P. P. Program effectively, theyve kempt their workers on the kept their workers on the payroll. Theyve paid their rent. Theyre beginning to open back up again, but that funding is about to run out. And they need more assistance as our economy reopens, particularly those mom and pop businesses with very few employees. And in New Hampshire<\/a>, the tourism and Hospitality Industries<\/a> which have been the first to close and are going to be the last to reopen, and they are just vital to New Hampshire<\/a>s economy. The New Hampshire<\/a> restaurants account for nearly 70,000 jobs for 3 billion in sales. And hotels represent another 29,000 jobs and a billion dollars in wages and salaries. Ive heard from Small Business<\/a>es like lavelle winery which is a beautiful winery conference and wedding venue in southern New Hampshire<\/a>. It has a hundred employees. Its fighting to survive. Two decades of work that the owners of labelle winery have put in. And yet all of their events are canceling for the summer and fall. Theyve spent their first round of p. P. P. Theyre operating now at just a fraction of their capacity. And before the pandemic, this was a thriving business with expansion plans for opening an inn and a second restaurant. Now if they dont get that second round, theyre in real trouble. Coby inn and grazing restaurant which is in the only henniker on earth, henniker, New Hampshire<\/a>. Its about to lose 65 of its revenues this year. The revenue from their highen end restaurant high end restaurant isnt even covering payroll or food costs. Theyve had 95 of their events canceled this year. Bruce, the owner, if they lose their business, they not only lose their business, they lose their home. If they dont get a second round, if they cant apply for that second round, they may not still be here. So im really pleased weve gotten this extension tonight. Thats progress. But we need a second round. Theres 130 billion left in the Paycheck Protection Program<\/a>. We need to help those Small Business<\/a>es that need additional assistance. And im pleased that were working in a bipartisan fashion to try and get a bill. Weve got a bill that senators cardin, coons, and i introduced. Now were working with senator rubio, chairman of the committee, senator collins who was part of that fourperson negotiating team, and im hopeful and cautiously optimistic that if we Work Together<\/a>, well be able to agree, republicans and democrats, on what should be in that second round. The challenge then is to get another package of assistance for not just americas Small Business<\/a>es but for all of the people who have taken such a hit as the result of this global pandemic. Over 128,000 americans, 339 granite staters have lost their lives. New hampshire has an Unemployment Rate<\/a> that before the pandemic was under 3 . Its now 14. 5 . Weve got to help those Small Business<\/a>es get through this period. And im hopeful that working together we can do that. We can get another package of legislation, and we can say to americans again that help is again on the way. Thank you, mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from maine. Ms. Collins thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i want to commend the senator from maryland, the Ranking Member<\/a> on the senate Small Business<\/a> committee, for bringing this legislation forward this evening. I also want to commend my neighbor from new england, senator shaheen. Senator cardin and senator shaheen along with the chairman of the committee senator rubio and i crafted the Paycheck Protection Program<\/a> that has literally been a lifeline to Small Business<\/a>es and their employees throughout this country. More than 4. 8 million loans have been made under this program. These are forgivable loans, mr. President , as long as the Small Business<\/a>, the employer uses the percentage that is established now at 60 in order to pay for his or her employees. Then the loan at the end of the day is forgiven. And this has made the difference between a Small Business<\/a> shuttering its doors forever, laying off its employees permanently, and surviving this pandemic. Small businesses do not want to lay off their employees. Their employees are their family members, their friends, their neighbors. They are committed to them. They are committed to their communities. But through no fault of their own, the pandemic has led to governmentissued orders that have closed businesses down or their Customer Base<\/a> has simply dried up. As the result these Small Business<\/a>es were facing extreme cash flow problems. No liquidity, unable to keep their businesses going without the assistance from the p. P. P. Im proud of what we have been able to do. I know the difference that it has made in the state of maine where more than 26,000 Small Business<\/a>es, thats almost 75 of Small Business<\/a>es in our state have received more than 2. 2 billion worth of forgivable loans. Mr. President , that is equal to nearly half of the entire state budget for the state of maine. Those forgivable loans have sustained paychecks for nearly 200,000 employees in my state. It has allowed Small Business<\/a>es to retain employees. It has allowed them to recall employees. And it has allowed them to send paychecks to employees who have been furloughed due to a lack of work. Most of all, it has kept take bond between the Small Business<\/a> employer and his or her employees intact so that as restrictions are lifted and as the economy reopens, the Small Business<\/a> and its workforce can be quickly reunited. And that benefits every community in this country. So im very pleased that the legislation that we brought to the senate floor under the leadership of senator cardin tonight has been approved so that we dont see an interruption in this program. I, too, understand the concerns raised by senator scott, and in our negotiations on a Phase Two Program<\/a> of the p. P. P. , we are looking at having a revenue test. And i think that that is likely to be a provision included in the next stage of this program. But in the meantime, let us make sure that we continue our efforts to keep our Small Business<\/a>es alive and paychecks flowing to their employees. Mr. Mr. President , i look forward to continuing the negotiations with my colleagues. I want to thank senator cardin, senator shaheen, and senator rubio for their extraordinary leadership, and it has been a great pleasure to work with them on such a concrete program that has meant literally the difference between going out of business and surviving this terrible pandemic. Let me just end, as senator shaheen did, with a story of a Small Business<\/a> in the Tourism Industry<\/a> in my state. This is an innkeeper who has run an inn that has been in her husbands family for generations. In the month of june, usually, last year, her occupancy rate is 94 . This june, it was 6 . 6 . And when i saw her, she told me that but for the Paycheck Protection Program<\/a>, her business would not be in operation. She was able to keep all of her yearround staff employed because of the p. P. P. But, mr. President , i think its obvious that this business, like so many others, are going to need additional help to survive this pandemic, and that is what we must do. So thank you, mr. President , and i would yield the floor. Mr. Schumer mr. President. The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer thank you, mr. President. Let me salute senator cardin and senator shaheen for bringing this measure to the floor and forcing our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to relength, who originally, of course, wanted to block this bill all day long. Now, its going to benefit two groups of people. The first, very simply, are those businesses whose businesses have gone bad in the last few months. When this proposal was passed, plain and simple, the economy everyone thought might get better sooner. It hasnt. And there are large numbers of businesses who are going to need to apply now. Had this program run out today, they would have been out of luck. Now with this renewal, short time, august 8, they at least get the chance to reapply. But there is a second group. This program was rolled out very poorly by the administration. We all know that. We have to come back and we had to come back and fix it twice. There are many businesses in new york and elsewhere who applied initially and were rejected or who went to their bank and their bank said no because this program was not aimed at helping the smaller businesses by the administration as they rolled it out. The guidance that was supposed to be issued, all the other things that happened didnt happen. There are many businesses who were rejected the first time, and i have talked to many in new york and the last few weeks in new york in the last few weeks. Can i apply again . Now that its been straightened out because of the good work that cardin and shaheen and we did, forcing the republicans to help Small Business<\/a>es. They wanted to just renew the p. P. P. Program. We said no, we said no, and we got a much better bill. These businesses can now apply again with the new guidelines that were passed in covid 3. 5. That is a very good thing. And i would recommend to our Small Business<\/a>es who have been rejected, reapply because you might it might be available to you again. But let me say this shouldnt have happened. Our republican colleagues have been missing in action on covid throughout. On Small Business<\/a>, on Unemployment Insurance<\/a>, on aid to localities, on so many other issues. The only reason were here tonight is we democrats said were going to force you to come here with a unanimous consent statement. Now, let us hope there is always hope here that this will repeat itself, that our republican colleagues will see that they are sticking their heads in the ground, following leader mcconnell who said well, well have to assess the situation. I guess tonight were not assessing the situation, but thank god were acting. That we will move forward on issue after issue after issue. We have many more u. C. s this week. The needs to pass those u. C. s is every bit as pressing as the need to move this u. C. Maybe they will relent again, and maybe they will come back and say we need to negotiate. Speaker pelosi and i have asked leader mcconnell to sit down and negotiate now. Nope, no way. No negotiation. We have had to push our republican friends to help Small Business<\/a>, to help the unemployed, to help those who rent. So many other people to help states and localities. They didnt want to do any of it. But tonight might be a metaphor for whats going to happen in the future as we move to the heroes act. Our republican friends, pressured by the very people in their own states who desperately need help will have to say yes, we agree with you. But i have to say, this happened tonight, not because of bipartisan action. As much as i like to see bipartisan action in this body. It happened because democrats said were going to go to the floor and demand a u. C. Until the last minute, our republican friends said were going to block it for one reason or another. Thank god they didnt. They deserve praise for not doing it. But lets make no mistake about it, this is not the end. This is the beginning. We have a lot more to do, for Small Business<\/a> and for many other parts of our economy and our Health Care System<\/a> that are struggling and suffering. They need action. We need bipartisanship like we saw tonight in these areas as well. I yield the floor. Mr. Coons mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from delaware. Mr. Coons mr. President , i rise to join my colleagues and express enthusiasm for the work that lies ahead. I am so grateful to the senator from maryland for his leadership in bringing this important effort to the floor tonight. Senator cardin and senator shaheen have been stalwarts in the Small Business<\/a> committee. The Ranking Member<\/a> and his talented colleague from New Hampshire<\/a> have worked tirelessly to shape the p. P. P. , the Paycheck Protection Program<\/a> that was part of the cares act enacted more than two months ago. It has delivered, as you have heard tonight, remarkable assistance to nearly four million businesses. More than 500 billion, i think 526 billion in assistance that have helped millions of businesses all over our nation not have to close. Today, tonight was supposed to be the last minute, the last chapter in the p. P. P. Program, but because of a unanimous consent request that was successfully negotiated by senator cardin, there is now five more weeks of running room for businesses large and small across our states excuse me businesses small and smaller across our states to have an opportunity to get to the s. B. A. To apply for a loan through their lender of choice and to have another opportunity. Why do we need this . Because the pandemic is so far from over. Despite the wishes and the rhetoric of the president and others, we all know that in our states and in other states around the country, a Record Number<\/a> of new cases were reported. Several times this week, the highest number of cases so far in this pandemic. Cases are rising in dozens of states, and Small Business<\/a>es in our country face an uncertain future. In my home state, our governor jordan carney who has made good but hard decisions has stopped the opening of our economy. Like several other states, maryland which shares the wonderful Eastern Shore<\/a> beaches. New hampshire which has a wonderful summer and winter hospitality businesses up and down its state. This is a critical time of year for our seasonal businesses. To not have them fully open is putting a damper on exactly those hospitality businesses that took the hardest hits right at the beginning of this pandemic. I want to take a few minutes and talk about just a couple of the Small Business<\/a>es i know in delaware that have benefited from the resources made possible by this program negotiated by these great colleagues. 1. 4 billion has been delivered to delaware businesses and nonprofits quickly, helping them to stay open or reopen, helping them to hire or retain workers, yet even tonight 134 billion in this Program Remains<\/a> unspent. Rather than shutting it down, were going to make sure that there is windows of opportunity for Small Business<\/a>es in our states. This helps a company like zoup in newark, delaware. Eric ames is the owner. I was there at the opening of his first zoup franchise years ago. This p. P. P. Loan, a loantogrant program has made it possible for him to keep functioning. Jimmy bernard, has a creative, innovative brewer in newark, delaware, of autumn arch brewing has benefited from a p. P. P. Loan. Yvonne gordon who i have known for years who runs orange theory fitness, a minority Business Owner<\/a> in pike creek who has been able to stay open and reopen because of her p. P. P. Loan. And in dover, delaware, our capital, the wonderful green turtle restaurant owned by p. J. Gioraman has been able to stay open because of this loan. These are abstractions, these arent statistics. These are real fleshandblood families and businesses that have benefited because of the p. P. P. As several of my colleagues have said, in the early stages of this program, not enough Small Business<\/a>es, not enough minorityowned businesses, because of fewer banking connections, because of unpredictability, the rules were able to access the p. P. P. Some were denied by multiple lenders. Thats why its important that we extend this deadline tonight. Let me also speak about what we hope will be the next phase, the prioritize p. P. P. Act. Extending the deadline of this first loan period for five weeks is good but not enough. There are other businesses that can and should get access to the lifeline of a prioritized second p. P. P. Loan. As senators cardin and shaheen have mentioned, this would focus on fewer than 100 employees with more than 50 greater revenue loss, and im particularly excited about the setaside of 25 billion or about 20 of the total funding for those with ten or fewer workers. I know that senator cardin and senator shaheen will be working hard in the weeks to come to narrow and to focus and to prioritize where we will go in the next relief bill, but with the forbearance of my colleagues, i want to talk about one other issue. In my home state of delaware today, june 30 was the end of the budget year, the end of our General Assembly<\/a> session by constitution. And all of us received a letter from the seven largest organizations representing state, county, and local governments all over our country, saying it is urgent that this next relief bill include not just another round of assistance to Small Business<\/a>es but critically needed assistance to state and local governments. There are 15 million americans who work for state and local governments teachers, paramedics, firefighters, police officers, the folks who make our state and local governments run, and 11. 6 million of them have already been and 1. 6 million of them have already been laid off as state and local revenues plummet. We have to Work Together<\/a> to make sure this is part of the next program. We have to extend unemployment benefits. We need to ensure the American People<\/a> can safely vote, and we need to expand National Service<\/a> opportunities. There is so much for us to do, i look forward to more successful efforts with my colleagues and for the opportunities for us to Work Together<\/a> to address the needs of the American People<\/a>. Thank you so much to my colleagues, both for tonights exciting extension of the p. P. P. Program and for the work we have yet to do in the days and months ahead. With that, mr. President , i yield the floor. Mr. Cardin mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from maryland. Mr. Cardin mr. President , i want to thank senator coons for his comments and senator shaheen. Senator coons is absolutely right. There are many reasons why we needed to bring up the next stimulus package before we go on recess. The issues of state and local government are real. I have heard from Governor Hogan<\/a> of maryland, i have heard from mayor young of baltimore city, i have heard from our county execs. Their fiscal year year begins at midnight tonight. They have hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue shortfalls that they have to make up because they have to have a balanced budget. Thats going to mean they have to consider layoffs. It means its going to be difficult to open up schools in the fall, and the list goes on and on and on. And they need help from us. Now, the cares act was important. It did provide some meaningful help. But the cares act dealt with the direct cost to state and local governments of taking care of covid19, not the revenue loss as a result of Income Tax Revenues<\/a> down, as a result of the special fees that local governments receive for parking or for rental cars or for total taxes. We never made up any of that. They had to balance their budget. So we needed to act on that. Senator coons is absolutely right when he talks about the fact that we have in march when we passed the cares act, we thought that the unemployed would have Jobs Available<\/a> certainly by july, but thats not going to be the case for millions of americans. So were going to have to do something about the expiring Unemployment Insurance<\/a> and deal with election security. There are a lot of issues. We have to deal with prek12 and higher education. They have direct costs that have yet to be met. Theyre in danger of not being able to safely reopen in the fall and weve got to act to help them in that regard. So i just really want to underscore the point that senator coons made, and i want to thank senator coons, i want to thank senator shaheen because we have put out there for the public to take a look at what the second round of help for Small Business<\/a>es will look like. And we put a priority as i think we should on the smaller of the Small Business<\/a>es, first by eligibility, a hundred employees or less. Second, by guaranteed set asides for those that are ten employees or less. We have a needs base approach, 50 loss in revenue as a result of covid19 and we make it easier for the smaller Small Business<\/a>es to be able to get loans by making it more financially rewarding for the Financial Institutions<\/a> to make those loans. So we have stepped up to say this is what we need to look at. Now, i must tell you were in a pretty good position on the Small Business<\/a> committee because we have open dialogue and negotiations. Today on two occasions i was in contact with the chairmanofthe chairman of the committee and were negotiating this and well be ready but we wanted you to know that we put out our proposal and i want to thank senator coons and senator shaheen joining me in that effort. Mr. President , i would hope lightning would strike and perhaps we could bring up the bill this week and get something done. I think thats highly unlikely knowing what the leaders schedule for this week. That is wrong. We should have acted before the july recess. But lets hope that we can use the two weeks during the recess to put together a bill that cannot only pass the senate and house but be signed by the president to help not just Small Business<\/a>es, not just state and local government, but all the people in this country get through this horrible pandemic. With that, mr. President , i would yield the","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia601908.us.archive.org\/8\/items\/CSPAN2_20200701_062800_U.S._Senate_Senate_Extends_Deadline_for_Small_Business_Loan_Program\/CSPAN2_20200701_062800_U.S._Senate_Senate_Extends_Deadline_for_Small_Business_Loan_Program.thumbs\/CSPAN2_20200701_062800_U.S._Senate_Senate_Extends_Deadline_for_Small_Business_Loan_Program_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240716T12:35:10+00:00"}