Political Quotes

“Mr. President, let me just clarify some of the issues the majority leader pointed out. I am afraid that this unanimous consent is basically a political stunt because it will not address the immediate need of small businesses in the legislation that we have passed, and let me clarify that. The majority leader indicated that the PPP, the Paycheck Protection Plan, is running out of money. It hasn't. Thirty percent hasn't been committed. It hasn't been yet released. But there are programs under the CARES Act that have run out of money. The EIDL program, the emergency disaster relief loan program which provides funds for businesses--we have allowed businesses that have been affected by the coronavirus to file those claims--that has run out of money, and I will give you the numbers in a few moments. And the grant program that is included in the CARES at up to $10,000, where a small business can get a grant from the Small Business Administration, is out of funds. They need money today in order to process applications. The SBA doesn't need money today to process the Paycheck Protection Program. The Paycheck Protection Program was negotiated in good faith by Senator Rubio, Senator Collins, Senator Shaheen, and myself, and we are very proud of that program. It is working very well. It is a good program. We strongly support it. It is bipartisan. But this unanimous consent request was not negotiated.…”