Chris Coons: “I rise to join my colleagues and to express our enthusiasm for the work that lies ahead. I am so grateful to the Senator…”

“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.…”