[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 96 (Thursday, May 21, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2589-S2590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Collins, Mrs. Shaheen, 
        and Mr. Durbin):
  S. 3833. A bill to extend the loan forgiveness period for the 
paycheck protection program, and for other purposes; read the first 
time.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce, with my 
colleagues Senator Rubio, Cardin, and Shaheen, legislation to 
strengthen the Paycheck Protection Program, which has proven to be such 
an important lifeline to America's small businesses and their employees 
during this pandemic.
  Senators Rubio, Cardin, Shaheen, and I worked together as part of the 
Small Business Task Force to create this program during the development 
of the CARES Act 2 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 1 of the program, the average PPP 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 2, the average 
loan size nationally has dropped to $118,000, suggesting an average 
business size of about 10 employees.
  In Maine, the average loan size is even smaller, with borrowers 
having an estimated 12 employees in phase 1 and just three employees in 
phase 2. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly two-thirds of the 
small businesses in Maine have benefited from PPP loans, and that is, I 
am pleased to say, among the highest rates in the Nation.
  In many ways, it is not a surprise. Maine is the State of small 
businesses. Ninety percent of all the Maine businesses are considered 
to be small businesses, and they employ approximately 60 percent of all 
the workers in our State. Overall, in Maine, the funds are sufficient 
to support approximately 200,000 jobs.
  Let's think about this. That means that a business that is seeing 
receipts go down, is in a cash flow problem, liquidity has dried up can 
still retain employees who otherwise would have been laid off. In more 
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 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 PPP, to 
remember that these are real businesses with real people--people like 
Larry Geaghan, who owns and runs a craft brewery and pub in Bangor, ME. 
Larry calls the PPP 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 
PPP was exactly what he needed at exactly the right time. With the PPP, 
this marina has been able to keep all of its employees on payroll, and 
because they weren't 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 PPP is the Frog & 
Turtle Gastro Pub in Westbrook, ME. This pub just completed an 
extensive renovation and is hoping to reopen June 1, the first day that 
sit-down dining service will be allowed again in the State of Maine.
  The owner of this pub wrote to me to say that the ``PPP program 
allowed us to bring back our 15 employees and sustain our business 
during these trying conditions,'' and that taking a PPP loan was the 
``right decision'' for his employees and for his small restaurant.
  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 we are introducing today builds on the success of 
the PPP by providing small businesses with additional flexibility so 
that they can more effectively use these funds in conjunction 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 we 
are introducing today would do the following: It would allow borrowers 
the flexibility to use their 8 weeks of funding at a point of their 
choosing within a 16-week period. 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 8.

[[Page S2590]]

  Second, it extends the deadline to apply for a PPP 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 CDC. It could mean creating or expanding a drive-through 
window service, erected physical barriers such as we see at the grocery 
stores now, those plexiglass barriers or sneeze guards. It could mean 
installing ventilation system upgrades or, as many restaurants have 
mentioned to me, they would like to add an outside patio for outdoor 
eating, which would allow them to maintain the same number of 
customers, which they can't 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 PPP loans. A lender that in good faith followed 
Federal guidance related to PPP would not be later held liable if the 
guidance subsequently changed.
  I would like to give a shout-out 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, small employers 
in our State, for 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 8 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.
  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 COVID-19. The bill we are 
introducing today strengthens the PPP 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
                                 ______