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“The U.S. Chamber applauds the work of Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship Chairman Marco Rubio and Ranking Member Ben Cardin to ensure struggling small business owners obtain the funds necessary to keep their teams employed and survive the pandemic,” said Tom Sullivan, Vice President for Small Business Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “The small business provisions in stimulus legislation awaiting the President’s signature represent a truly bipartisan effort by Senate and House small business committees. The ability to break through partisan gridlock and provide aid to America’s Main Street employers bodes well for an economic recovery in the new year.”
 
“Small business owners and entrepreneurs desperately need capital and certainty right now, and the funding provisions in the relief package will help many of them tap into a pool of capital that will help to maintain jobs and bolster local economies,” said Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO, SBE Council.” We are grateful that PPP will resume with needed changes to provide small businesses with flexibility and support, additional capital for businesses that need it, and remove some of the uncertainties around PPP like deductibility of forgiven expenses.”
 
“The action taken by Congress today will keep tens of thousands of restaurants from closing in the coming months,” said Tom Bené, President & CEO of the National Restaurant Association. “A second round of PPP, combined with unique enhancements for the restaurant sector, will provide critical access to capital.”
 
“The legislation contains many of the provisions AHLA has advocated for, including a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans, increasing the size of PPP loans to 3.5 times payroll, and making PPP loan expenses tax-deductible,” said Chip Rogers, President and CEO, American Hotel and Lodging Association. “This will provide a critical lifeline for hotels and other businesses that have been decimated by the pandemic.
 
“For hoteliers, the most significant components in this package include a second round of PPP funding to help keep employees on payroll during the most difficult time of year,” said Cecil P. Stanton, President & CEO, Asian American Hotel Owners Association. “We also particularly appreciate that congressional leaders understood the unique challenges faced by hoteliers and provided an increase in the PPP loan amounts to our industry. In addition to addressing payroll challenges, this bill also includes critical banking relief to enable hoteliers to defer mortgage payments for the near term.”
 
“U.S. movie theater owners today applauded the bipartisan COVID relief agreement that includes a $15 billion lifeline of grants to movie theaters, live entertainment venues, live theaters, and museums,” said John Fithian, President and CEO, National Association of Theatre Owners.  “Theater owners are also gratified by the extension of the Paycheck Protection Program. The vast majority of small and mid-size U.S. movie theaters and their employees will have the resources to make it through to the end of that tunnel.”
 
“This relief package provides important and much-needed help for America’s franchise small businesses and their employees,” said Robert Cresanti, President and CEO, International Franchise Association. “The proposal makes additional funding available for small businesses in the hugely successful Paycheck Protection Program, while ensuring tax deductibility of PPP expenses and streamlining forgiveness for some businesses – all hugely important for franchises struggling to stay afloat.”
 
“The Paycheck Protection Program will help companies […] continue to protect the health and wellbeing of their workers as they support U.S. national security and the pandemic response,” said Eric Fanning, President and CEO, Aerospace Industries Association. 
 
“Most important, the measure reaffirms the original Congressional intent that employers that used Paycheck Protection Program loans to save jobs will not be forced to pay more taxes next year as a result,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, Chief Executive Officer, Associated General Contractors of America. 
 
“We applaud Congress for restoring vital tax treatment that family farms and other small businesses relied upon in using the Paycheck Protection Program to protect their workers’ jobs,” said RJ Andrus, Vice President for Legislative and Government Affairs, National Potato Council. 
 
“More help will be made available to specialty and non-specialty crop growers, and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) will be expanded, which will allow small farmers to continue operating and paying their employees,” said Zippy Duvall, President, American Farm Bureau Federation.
 
“This agreement is an overdue victory for millions of small businesses on Main Streets across the country,” said Richard Hunt, President and CEO, Consumer Bankers Association. “Instead of worrying about bureaucratic paperwork, businessmen and women can focus on reopening, growing local economies and paying their employees. Banks across the country are proud of the work thousands of bankers have done during this pandemic to distribute decades of small business loans in a matter of months and look forward to continuing to work with these businesses – the backbones of communities – as they help heal the economic damage caused by this pandemic.”
 
“We support important provisions in the agreement to re-launch the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), provide simplified loan forgiveness for loans under $150,000, and fund grants through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, among other measures,” said John Arensmeyer, Founder and CEO, Small Business Majority.