[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 195 (Tuesday, November 17, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S7021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Economic Growth

  Madam President, on the economic front, the good news continues. The 
October jobs report showed yet another reduction in the unemployment 
rate and revealed that the economy created more than 600,000 jobs in 
October.
  While we definitely have a ways to go to get back to where we need to 
be, the speed and strength of our recovery are encouraging. It is a 
testament to the strength of our economy before the virus hit. Thanks 
to Republican tax relief and regulatory reform, our economy was 
thriving before the coronavirus descended, and that economic strength 
provided the groundwork for a strong recovery.
  Republican-led coronavirus initiatives like the Paycheck Protection 
Program have also helped keep the economy going during the virus. More 
than 5 million small businesses, including more than 23,000 in South 
Dakota, have taken advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program's 
forgivable loans to help keep their businesses operating and their 
employees on the payroll