Political Quotes

“I rise today to introduce, with my colleagues Senator Rubio, Cardin, and Shaheen, legislation to strengthen the Paycheck Protection Program, which has proven to be such an important lifeline to America's small businesses and their employees during this pandemic. Senators Rubio, Cardin, Shaheen, and I worked together as part of the Small Business Task Force to create this program during the development of the CARES Act 2 months ago. Since its launch in early April, this program has provided forgivable loans totaling more than $510 billion to approximately 4.3 million small employers across the country. The overwhelming majority of borrowers are very small employers. In phase 1 of the program, the average PPP loan size nationally was $206,000. That translates to an average employer size of just 18 employees. As more loans have been approved in phase 2, the average loan size nationally has dropped to $118,000, suggesting an average business size of about 10 employees. In Maine, the average loan size is even smaller, with borrowers having an estimated 12 employees in phase 1 and just three employees in phase 2. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly two-thirds of the small businesses in Maine have benefited from PPP loans, and that is, I am pleased to say, among the highest rates in the Nation. In many ways, it is not a surprise. Maine is the State of small businesses.…”