[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 120 (Tuesday, June 30, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4023-S4027]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  EXTENDING THE AUTHORITY FOR COMMITMENTS FOR THE PAYCHECK PROTECTION 
                                PROGRAM

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, shortly, I am going to make a UC request. 
I am not going to do it now because we are still working out some of 
the specific details, and Senator Scott will be on the floor when I do 
that, but let me just explain while I am on the floor.
  My colleague Senator Shaheen, a key member of the Small Business 
Committee and one of the negotiators on the small business package, is 
on the floor, and we are joined by Senator Schumer, who has been a real 
champion in making sure we get help to America's small businesses. I 
want to acknowledge the work of Senator Coons, who I expect will be on 
the floor a little later. One of our key cosponsors in 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 talked to 
Senator Rubio, and he has informed me that this has cleared the 
hotline, so we are hopeful that we will get this UC done today.
  As we are waiting for the paperwork to get to us, let me just explain 
what the UC does before I make the UC request.
  The authority of the Small Business Administration to approve any 
more Paycheck Protection Program loans expires at midnight tonight. 
With the deadline we established when we passed the CARES Act in 
March--that was a reasonable assumption in March. We thought that by 
the end of June, 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 bipartisan Flexibility Act. It changed the time 
period for use of PPP funds from 8 weeks to up to 24 weeks and changed 
the allocation that Treasury had established of using 75 percent of the 
funds for payroll to 60 percent of the funds for payroll. We recognize 
that times have changed.
  The PPP program is extremely popular. As of 5 o'clock tonight, $520.6 
billion of forgivable loans have been issued under the PPP 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 PPP program. We 
kept them alive, and we have saved jobs. The Labor Department's May 
estimate of 2.5 million jobs added--a large number as a result of the 
PPP funds.
  Small businesses need additional help. They need additional help. 
Times have changed. We know, for example, that in the State of Texas 
and Florida, we are seeing a record number of infections just now. The 
need is still there. We have mandatory closures of bars in those 
States. We certainly didn't anticipate that when we passed the 
legislation last March. Small businesses need additional help. We don't 
want to close the door on the PPP program.
  The good news is that we have $130 billion remaining in the coffers 
for the PPP program. So the resources are there, the need is there, and 
we just need to change the date. So the UC I am going to be making in a 
few moments would change the deadline for filing for a PPP loan from 
June 30 to August 8. We picked August 8 because that is the end of the 
next work period. We certainly hope that by then, we are going to have 
the next stimulus package signed by the President of the United States.
  I must tell you, we need to do more than just extend this date; we 
need round two of help for small businesses. I am very pleased that I 
have had the help of Senator Shaheen and Senator Coons. We filed 
legislation that targets the next round. The first round was to get 
money out quicker to save small businesses. The second round needs to 
be targeted to those small businesses that really need the help. That 
is why our legislation targets it to small businesses under 100 workers 
and those that have economic needs that can be demonstrated and helping 
particularly the underserved, underbanked community.
  I was very pleased that this type of a second round was acknowledged 
by Secretary Mnuchin at an oversight hearing before the Small Business 
and Entrepreneurship Committee. There have been good-faith negotiations 
with Senator Rubio. We worked on this bipartisan issue. I think we can 
get it done today.
  I am disappointed, though, that we are going to go into the recess 
scheduled for the end of this week. We are 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 PPP money 
and need additional help are not going to get our attention until we 
come back July 20. That is wrong.
  We should have taken up this bill by now. The House passed the Heroes 
Act months ago. We should have been taking this up now. As I said, 
small businesses have exhausted a lot of their PPP funds, and we need 
to act.
  Tonight, we will have the opportunity to extend the June 30 deadline

[[Page S4024]]

by the UC request. I am pleased that we are 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 are the growth engine, job 
creator, innovator, and we need to act, and we need to act tonight.
  With that in mind, I 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 that the motion to reconsider be considered made 
and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, reserving the right to object. I 
want to thank my colleague 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 to 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 who 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, and even 
small businesses taking these loans when they haven't seen a downturn 
in their revenue.
  Under my colleague's proposal, companies that are not being harmed at 
all by the coronavirus crisis will have the ability to receive 
taxpayer-funded loans that can be forgiven.
  This program needs to be reformed so money isn't being taken out of 
the hands of those who really need it. I have offered an amendment to 
my colleague's bill today that will prohibit businesses that have not 
seen a downturn in their revenues to the COVID-19--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 incumbent on us to create accountability in the Paycheck 
Protection Program, and I encourage my colleague to accept this 
commonsense amendment to help those businesses hurt by this crisis.
  I ask that Senator Cardin modify his request and instead the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 4116, introduced earlier 
today, but 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 motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, reserving the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator so modify 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 that is why we are looking 
at additional help for small businesses.
  The legislation that I filed with Senator Shaheen and Senator Coons 
includes a needs-based approach to the next round of PPP loans because 
we are going to need to do more.
  Secretary Mnuchin acknowledged that we are going to have to do more, 
but he also acknowledges that 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 
required the needs-based as in the Senator's amendment.
  So here is the dilemma that the Senator is offering. We are not 
looking at this PPP-2 program. This is the original program that we 
want to keep alive as we negotiate the next round.
  So if the Senator's amendment were adopted, you could have a bar 
owner in Maryland who has been closed, who has been able to get the PPP 
program, but now you have a bar owner in Florida who just recently got 
notice that they have to close and wants to apply for a PPP loan and is 
not going to be able to get it in a timely way because they are going 
to have to establish--maybe prospectively--the loss of revenue after 
guidelines are given, et cetera.
  That is not fair. It is not fair to treat one small business of one 
State differently than we treat a small business in another State.
  The second point I would point out to the Senator is this: As we have 
looked at the evolution of the PPP program, the late applications, 
those that are filing now, they are invariably the smallest of the 
small businesses, the ones in the greatest need. So why would we want 
to change the rules for those that had the greatest need when we didn't 
do it on the original round?
  So I would just urge my colleague: Let's work together. I assure you 
that we want to do this in the next round. I am disappointed we are not 
doing it this week before we adjourn, but that is a decision made not 
to bring up the next stimulus package at this point. I would urge my 
colleague to recognize that this would create an administrative burden, 
an inequity, and it is not really germane to what we are trying to do 
in moving forward with the second round of the PPP program.
  With that, I would object to modifying my unanimous consent request.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard on the modification.
  Is there an objection to the original request?
  The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, first, I want to thank Senator 
Cardin for worrying about the businesses. I think the Senator is 
absolutely right. I think we all can acknowledge that in the original 
bill, it could have been done better. So some of the businesses that 
got it shouldn't have probably gotten it in the beginning, and we could 
have targeted more for some of the smaller businesses.
  I thank Senator Cardin for what he is doing. I am not going to stand 
in the way of this. I look forward to working with him to try to make 
sure that the money goes to people who actually need it and that it 
doesn't go to people who haven't actually had a downturn in their 
business.
  We don't have unlimited resources up here, as we all know. I just 
want to make sure the money is spent well.
  So I am not going to stand in the way.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 4116) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, 
was read the third time, and passed, as follows

                                S. 4116

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. EXTENDING AUTHORITY FOR COMMITMENTS FOR THE 
                   PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM AND SEPARATING 
                   AMOUNTS AUTHORIZED FOR OTHER 7(A) LOANS.

       Section 1102(b) of title I of division A of the Coronavirus 
     Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Public Law 116-136) 
     is amended to read as follows:
       ``(b) Commitments for PPP and Other 7(a) Loans.--
       ``(1) PPP loans.--During the period beginning on February 
     15, 2020 and ending on August 8, 2020, the amount authorized 
     for commitments under paragraph (36) of section 7(a) of the 
     Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) shall be 
     $659,000,000,000.
       ``(2) Other 7(a) loans.--During fiscal year 2020, the 
     amount authorized for commitments for section 7(a) of the 
     Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) under the heading 
     `business loans program account' under the heading `Small 
     Business Administration' under title V of the Consolidated 
     Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116- 93; 133 Stat. 2475) 
     shall apply with respect to any commitments under such 
     section 7(a) other than under paragraph (36) of such section 
     7(a).''.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, let me thank my friend from Florida for 
allowing this to go forward. I think we do share the same objective. We 
want

[[Page S4025]]

to make sure the money gets out, and we also want to make sure that 
those who really need it get the funds.
  I assure the Senator, I would be happy that we could bring up the 
second round this week, but let's make sure we work together with your 
colleague from Florida, Senator Rubio. We have 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 for the 
small businesses that really need it.
  I see on the floor Senator Collins, who was part of the negotiating 
team that was able to come up with the PPP program--incredible 
contributions. Senator Shaheen was also part of that negotiating team--
with Senator Rubio--that came up with the PPP program, and I thank you 
for your support on this unanimous consent request.
  Senator Coons, as I have already mentioned earlier, is one of the key 
members of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, one of 
our cosponsors of round 2 of relief to small businesses.
  With that, I yield the floor to my colleague from New Hampshire.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am really pleased to be here to join 
the ranking member of the Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship, Senator Cardin; Democratic Leader Schumer; Senator 
Coons, who is 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.
  I am 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 I am 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 that is what tonight does, but we also need 
another round of PPP.
  This has, by far, been the largest business relief effort in our 
Nation's history--for small businesses, anyway. I am hearing now from 
so many small businesses in New Hampshire. Those that have used the PPP 
program effectively have kept their workers on the payroll; they have 
paid their rent; and they are 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.
  In New Hampshire, the tourism and hospitality industries, which have 
been the first to close and are going to be the last to reopen, are 
just vital to New Hampshire's economy. And New Hampshire restaurants 
account for nearly 70,000 jobs, with $3 billion in sales, and hotels 
represent another 29,000 jobs and $1 billion in wages and salaries.
  I have heard from small businesses like LaBelle Winery, which is a 
beautiful winery, conference, and wedding venue in Southern New 
Hampshire. It has 100 employees. It is fighting to survive. The owners 
of LaBelle Winery have put in two decades of work, yet all of their 
events are canceling for the summer and fall. They have spent their 
first round of PPP. They are operating now at just a fraction of their 
capacity. Before the pandemic, this was a thriving business with 
expansion plans for opening an inn and a second restaurant. Now, if 
they don't get that second round, they are in real trouble.
  Colby Hill Inn and The Grazing Room restaurant, which is in the only 
Henniker on Earth--Henniker, NH--is about to lose 65 percent of its 
revenues this year. The revenue from their high-end restaurant isn't 
even covering payroll or food costs. They had 95 percent of all of 
their events cancel this year.
  The life savings of Bruce, the owner, and his husband Jeff are in 
this inn, and if they lose their business, they not only lose their 
business; they lose their home. If they don't get a second round, if 
they can't apply for that second round, they may not still be here.
  So I am really pleased we have gotten this extension tonight. That is 
progress. But we need a second round.
  There is $130 billion left in the Paycheck Protection Program. We 
need to help those small businesses that need additional assistance.
  I am pleased that we are working in a bipartisan fashion to try and 
get a bill. We have a bill that Senators Cardin, Coons, and I 
introduced. Now we are working with Senator Rubio, chairman of the 
committee, and Senator Collins, who was part of that four-person 
negotiating team. I am hopeful and cautiously optimistic that, if we 
work together, we will 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 not just 
for America's small businesses but for all of the people who have taken 
such a hit as a 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 percent, and it is now 14.5 percent. We have to help those 
small businesses get through this period, and I am 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 on the way.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I want to commend the Senator from 
Maryland, the ranking member on the Senate Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship 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 
that has literally been a lifeline to small businesses and their 
employees throughout this country.
  More than 4.8 million loans have been made under this program. These 
are forgivable loans. As long as the small business, the employer, uses 
the percentage that is established now at 60 percent in order to pay 
for his or her employees, then the loan, at the end of the day, is 
forgiven.
  This has made the difference between a small business 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.
  Through no fault of their own, the pandemic has led to government-
issued orders that have closed businesses down or their customer base 
has simply dried up. As a result, these small businesses were facing 
extreme cashflow problems, with no liquidity, and were unable to keep 
their businesses going without the assistance from the PPP.
  I am 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 
businesses--that is almost 75 percent of small businesses in our 
State--have received more than $2.2 billion worth of forgivable loans. 
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 businesses 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 that bond between the small business 
employer and his or her employees intact so that, as restrictions are 
lifted and as the economy reopens, the small business and its workforce 
can be quickly reunited. That benefits every community in this country.
  So I am 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 don't see an interruption in this program.
  I, too, understand the concerns raised by Senator Scott. In our 
negotiations on a phase 2 program of the PPP, we are looking at having 
a revenue test, and I think 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 businesses alive and paychecks flowing to their 
employees.
  I look forward to continuing the negotiations with my colleagues. I 
want

[[Page S4026]]

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 made literally the difference 
between going out of business and surviving this terrible pandemic.
  Let me end, as Senator Shaheen did, with a story of a small business 
in the tourism industry in my State. This is an innkeeper who has run 
an inn that has been in her husband's family for generations.
  In the month of June, usually--and last year--her occupancy rate is 
94 percent. This June, it was 6 percent--6 percent. When I saw her, she 
told me that but for the Paycheck Protection Program, her business 
would not be in operation. She was able to keep all of her year-round 
staff employed because of the PPP. I think it is obvious that this 
business, like so many others, is going to need additional help to 
survive this pandemic. And that is what we must do.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.
  Mr. SCHUMER. 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 relent, who, originally, 
of course, wanted to block this bill all day long. It is going to 
benefit two groups of people. The first, very simply, are those 
businesses whose businesses had gone bad in the last few months.
  When this proposal was passed, plain and simple, the economy everyone 
thought, might get better sooner. It hasn't, and there are large 
numbers of businesses that are going to need to apply now. Had this 
program run out today, they would have been out of luck. Now, with this 
renewal, in 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 had to come back and fix it 
twice. There are many businesses in New York and elsewhere that applied 
initially and were rejected or that went to their bank and their banks 
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--and all the other things 
that happened--didn't happen. There are many businesses that were 
rejected the first time. I talked to many in New York in the last few 
weeks: Can I apply again? Now it has been straightened out because of 
the good work that Cardin and Shaheen and we Democrats did, forcing the 
Republicans to help small businesses.
  They originally just wanted to renew the PP Program as is, and 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, and that is a very good thing.
  I would recommend to our small businesses that have been rejected to 
reapply because it might be available to you again.
  Let me say, this shouldn't have happened. Our Republican colleagues 
have been missing in action on COVID-19 throughout--on small business, 
on unemployment insurance, on aid to localities, and on so many other 
issues. The only reason we are here tonight is that we Democrats said 
we are going to force you to come here with the unanimous consent 
statement.
  Let us hope--there is always hope here--that this will repeat itself; 
that our Republican colleagues will see that sticking their heads in 
the ground, following Leader McConnell, who said that we will have to 
assess the situation--I guess tonight we are not assessing the 
situation, but thank God we are acting--that we will move forward on 
issue after issue after issue.
  We have many more UCs this week. The need to pass those UCs is every 
bit as pressing as to move this UC. 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. No, no way, no negotiation.
  We have had to push our Republican friends to help small business, to 
help the unemployed, to help those who rent, and so many other people, 
and to help States and localities. They didn't want to do any of it. 
But tonight might be a metaphor for what is 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 that this happened tonight not because of 
bipartisan action, as much as I would like to see bipartisan action in 
this body. It happened because Democrats said we are going to go to the 
floor and demand a UC. Until the last minute, our Republican friends 
said we are going to block it for one reason or another. Thank God they 
didn't. They deserve praise for not doing it. But let's make no mistake 
about it. This is not the end. This is the beginning. We have a lot 
more to do for small business and for many other parts of our economy 
and our healthcare system that are struggling and suffering. They need 
action. We need bipartisanship like we saw tonight in these areas as 
well.
  I yield floor
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I rise to join my colleagues and to express 
our 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 Committee. The ranking member and his talented colleague from 
New Hampshire have worked tirelessly to shape the PPP, or the Paycheck 
Protection Program, that was part of the CARES Act enacted more than 2 
months ago.
  It has delivered, as you heard tonight, remarkable assistance to 
nearly 4 million businesses, more than $500 billion--I think $526 
billion in assistance--and has helped millions of businesses all over 
our Nation not have to close.
  Today--tonight--was supposed to be last minute, the last chapter in 
the PPP program, but because of the unanimous consent request that was 
successfully negotiated by Senator Cardin, there is now 5 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 SBA 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 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 businesses in our country face an uncertain 
future.
  In my home State, Governor John 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 beaches, and 
New Hampshire, which has 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 opened is putting a 
burden and 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 businesses I know in Delaware that have benefited from the 
resources made possible by this program negotiated by these great 
colleagues. And $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 unspent. Rather than shutting it down, we are going to 
make sure that there are windows of opportunity for small businesses in 
our States.
  This helps a company like Zoup! in Newark, DE. Eric Ames is the 
owner. I was there at the opening of his first Zoup! franchise years 
ago. This PPP loan--a loan-to-grant program--has made it possible for 
him to keep functioning. Jimmy Vennard, who is the

[[Page S4027]]

creative, innovative brewer in Newark, DE, of Autumn Arch Brewing has 
benefited from a PPP loan. Yvonne Gordon, whom I have known for years, 
who runs Orange Theory Fitness and is a minority business owner in Pike 
Creek, has been able to stay open and reopen because of her PPP loan. 
And in Dover, DE, our capital, the wonderful Green Turtle Restaurant 
was able to stay open because of this loan.
  These aren't abstractions. These aren't statistics. These are real 
flesh-and-blood families and businesses that have benefited because of 
the PPP. As several of my colleagues have said, in the early stages of 
this program, not enough small businesses and not enough minority-owned 
businesses, because of fewer banking connections and because of the 
unpredictability of the rules, were able to access to the PPP. Some 
were denied by multiple lenders. That is why it is important that we 
extend this deadline tonight.
  Let me also speak about what we hope will be the next phase--the 
Prioritized PPP Act. Extending the deadline of this first loan period 
for 5 weeks is good but not enough. There are other businesses that can 
and should get access to the lifeline of a prioritized second PPP loan.
  As Senators Cardin and Shaheen have mentioned, this would focus on 
fewer than 100 employees and with more than 50 percent greater revenue 
loss. I am particularly excited about the set-aside of $25 billion or 
about 20 percent of the total funding for those with 10 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.
  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 session by constitution. 
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 businesses 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 1.6 million of 
them have already been laid off as State and local revenues plummet.
  We have to work together to make sure this is part of the next 
program. We have to extend unemployment benefits. We need to ensure the 
American people can safely vote, and we need to expand national service 
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 to address the needs of the 
American people.
  Thank you so much to my colleagues, both for tonight's exciting 
extension of the PPP program and for the work we have yet to do in the 
days and months ahead
  With that, I yield the floor.
  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 issue of the State and local governments 
are real.
  I have heard from Governor Hogan of Maryland. I have heard from Mayor 
Young of Baltimore City. I have heard from our county execs. Their 
fiscal 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. That is going to mean they are going to 
have to consider layoffs. It means it will be difficult to open up 
schools in the fall. And the list goes on and on and on. They need help 
from us.
  The CARES Act was important. It did provide some meaningful help, but 
the CARES Act dealt with the direct cost to State and local government 
of taking care of COVID-19, not the revenue loss as a result of income 
tax revenues down, as a result of the special fees that local 
governments receive for parking or for rental cars or hotel taxes. We 
never made up any of that. They have to balance their budget. We needed 
to act on that.

  Senator Coons is absolutely right when he talks about the fact that 
in March, when we passed the CARES Act, we thought that the unemployed 
would have jobs available, certainly, by July, but that is not going to 
be the case for millions of Americans.
  We are going to have to do something about the expiring unemployment 
insurance, and we have to deal with election security. There are a lot 
of issues.
  We have to deal with pre-K through 12 and higher education. They have 
direct costs that have yet to be met. They are in danger of not being 
able to safely reopen in the fall, and we have to act to help them in 
that regard. I just really want to underscore the point that Senator 
Coons made.
  I want to thank Senator Coons, and 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 businesses will look like. We put a 
priority, as I think we should, on the smaller of the small businesses, 
first, by eligibility--100 employees or less--and, second, by 
guaranteed set-asides for those that are 10 employees or less. We have 
a needs-based approach, 50 percent loss in revenue as a result of 
COVID-19, and we make it easier for the smaller small businesses to be 
able to get loans by making it more financially rewarding for the 
financial institutions to make those loans. We have stepped up to say 
that this is what we need to look at.
  I must tell you that we are in a pretty good position in the Small 
Business Committee because we have open dialogue and negotiations. 
Today, on two occasions, I was in contact with the chairman of the 
committee, and we are negotiating this and we will be ready. We want 
you to know that we put out our proposal, and I want to thank Senator 
Coons and Senator Shaheen for joining me in that effort.
  I would hope lightning could strike and perhaps we could bring up the 
bill this week and get something done. I think that is highly unlikely, 
knowing the leader's schedule for this week. That is wrong. He should 
have acted before the July recess. Let's hope we can use the 2 weeks 
during the recess to put together a bill that cannot only pass the 
Senate and the House but be signed by the President, to help not just 
small businesses, not just State and local governments, but all the 
people in this country get through this horrible pandemic.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. PERDUE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. McSally). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________