Political Quotes

“Madam President, 4 years ago, Jill Larsen opened Crayons 2 Pencils Early Learning Center in Norwalk, IA. This state of the art childcare center offers full day, before and after school care, and preschool-only programs for children from 6 weeks old to school age. They have even expanded to include a learning center and recreation center. It truly is topnotch. But when COVID-19 hit, Crayons 2 Pencils' enrollment dropped from 150 children to 32. And it was only through the Paycheck Protection Program that this childcare center was able to stay afloat and keep their workers paid. Jill Larsen's story is not unique. Without the help of the Paycheck Protection Program, so many of our small businesses and childcare programs across the country would have gone under. Ninety-nine percent of Iowa's businesses are small businesses, and the Paycheck Protection Program has been a critical lifeline for so many of them. I hear it time and again on my 99-county tour--most recently on a Main Street tour in Albia with some outstanding female small business owners. Nearly 60,000 small businesses in Iowa have received PPP loans, saving hundreds of thousands of jobs. But, folks, there are more funds left in the program, and many of these folks need additional help. That is why we should allow our most distressed businesses to receive a second PPP loan--so they can continue to keep workers paid and their doors open. The HEALS Act would make that possible.…”