María Elvira Salazar: “I thank the chairman for yielding his time and for supporting my bill. Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago Congress created the…”

“I thank the chairman for yielding his time and for supporting my bill. Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program in the CARES Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. What was the goal of this program? To keep small businesses open and to keep employees on payroll. The intention of the PPP program was clear, and it was very good. Unfortunately, bad actors took advantage of it and used it to steal billions of dollars from all of us. The Small Business Administration Inspector General has reported that there are potentially $200 billion worth of fraudulent loans. That is nearly 20 percent of all COVID pandemic loans. That is appalling and unacceptable. Mr. Speaker, a time of reckoning is now coming for those who stole those billions of dollars from the taxpayers' funds. My bipartisan bill, called the RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act, would require the Small Business Administration, the SBA, to create detailed rules and guidance for borrowers and lenders to return those stolen funds back to the United States Treasury Department. My district, the city of Miami, is home to thousands and thousands of small businesses, including some of the best restaurants in this country. Let's continue to support hardworking small businesses while punishing those bad actors. We can definitely do both. H.R. 4667 is the right step to regain government accountability in a bipartisan effort. Mr. Speaker, I thank my Democrat friend from Kentucky, Mr.…”