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Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, released statements regarding two substantive amendments they filed to ensure Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding is extended and underserved small businesses have the capital and resources they need to recover in the long-term. Senators Rubio and Collins, along with Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), co-authored the Paycheck Protection Program as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-36).
 
Last week, Rubio and Collins introduced the Continuing Small Business Recovery and Paycheck Protection Program Act, a federal relief package that builds on the success of the bipartisan PPP and other small business relief programs in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-36). 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.
 
“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,” Chairman Rubio said. “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 3 out of 4 small businesses and 240,000 jobs in Maine alone,” said Senator 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.”

The first amendment would create a second draw of PPP for businesses with 300 or fewer employees with a 35 percent revenue decline. It 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 amendment text can be found here and the section by section can be found here. 

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. The amendment also would appropriate an additional $10 million for the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).The amendment text can be found here and a section by section can be found here.