[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 105 (Monday, June 8, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S2764]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 PPP FOR CRITICAL ACCESS HOSPITALS ACT

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to 
allow nonprofit critical access hospitals (as defined by the Centers 
for Medicare & Medicaid Services) that are undergoing Chapter 11 
bankruptcy reorganizations to apply for forgivable loans under the 
Paycheck Protection Program, if they are otherwise eligible. The 
language of my bill, the ``PPP Critical Access Hospitals Act,'' mirrors 
language originally introduced by Rep. Golden that was included in the 
House-passed ``HEROES Act.''
  While hospitals are not prohibited from participating in the PPP, 
those that have previously or are currently under bankruptcy protection 
have been unable to access PPP funds, due to an interpretation of 
underlying Small Business Administration 7(a) program rules. While I 
recognize the importance of protecting taxpayer investments in the SBA 
7(a) program, the PPP program, which I coauthored along with Senators 
Rubio, Cardin, and Shaheen, is by design largely forgivable when used 
for eligible expenditures.
  The hospitals that would benefit from this bill are critical 
infrastructure in the COVID-19 response effort, and many have 
experienced substantial increases in expenses associated with preparing 
for and responding to the pandemic. They simultaneously faced sharp 
declines in revenue associated with declining patient volumes due to 
the cancellation of routine and elective procedures, in order to 
protect public health and conserve limited supplies of Personal 
Protective Equipment, consistent with guidance from the Centers for 
Medicare and Medicaid Services.
  While these entities are few in number, they are vitally important to 
the communities they serve, both as frontline health care providers 
during this public health emergency and as anchor institutions that 
provide the paychecks and local economic stability that Congress 
intended the Paycheck Protection Program to preserve. These 
institutions need temporary financial assistance to weather sharp 
revenue decreases that have resulted from Federal and State 
instructions to cancel elective medical procedures as part of COVID-19 
response preparedness. Expanding the PPP to include these key employers 
will allow them to keep their doors open until they can resume normal 
operations once pandemic-related disruptions to their operations have 
passed.
  Two institutions in Maine that would benefit from this bill are 
Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln, and Calais Regional Hospital, in 
Calais. Both are in the midst of Chapter 11 proceedings, and both have 
suffered serious revenue shortfalls due to the cancellation or scaling 
back of elective procedures during the pandemic.
  The bill I am introducing today is carefully targeted to address a 
unique financial situation that frontline critical access hospitals 
face during this public health emergency. I urge my colleagues to 
support it.



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