Political Quotes

“Madam President, with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to devastate our public health and our economy, it is far past time that we reach agreement on another relief package that is so desperately needed. It will require good-faith negotiations on both sides of the aisle, not just saying no and turning the tragedy of 200,000 COVID deaths into a partisan political issue. For my part, I believe there should be nine elements in the bill. First, there should be an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program, known as PPP. This is a program that I crafted with Senators Marco Rubio, Jeanne Shaheen, and Ben Cardin to provide forgivable loans to our small businesses so that they could pay their employees. I am pleased to report that, in my State, 28,000 small businesses-- that is nearly three out of four of our small businesses--have taken advantage of $2.3 billion in forgivable loans, sustaining 250,000 jobs. It has truly made a difference. Now we need to do a second round of PPP for the hardest hit businesses, those for whom the first PPP loan was the lifeline but they need additional help. So we have set a revenue test such that, if your revenue is 35 percent below what it was in an equivalent quarter last year, you would qualify for another PPP loan. In addition, those who have never received a first PPP loan could apply under the initial rules.…”