Political Quotes

“6 months ago, our Nation's small businesses faced an existential crisis and unprecedented threat. Like the rest of us, they didn't truly know what this virus was, how hard it would hit us, how long it would last, or what the future would hold. But they did know that their businesses were preparing to close, that employees were being told to stay home, and they needed help, which is why I and every other colleague in this Chamber passed the CARES Act and created the Paycheck Protection Program. We gave money to the administration, which, in turn, gave that money to lenders, and those lenders, in turn, loaned that money to small businesses to use for employee retention. If they followed the rules, they were told they wouldn't have to return the money. That was the commitment we made to them while we strongly encouraged them--I emphasize ``strongly encouraged them''--to use the program, and it worked. We had nearly 5 million PPP loans worth $571 billion out the door and into the hands of our businesses that put it into the hands of their employees, which kept tens of millions of people, by some counts, on the payrolls instead of on the unemployment rolls. History will be the judge of the long-term success of the program, for sure, but it is unquestionable that in the short term, this program succeeded. It is time for us now to uphold our commitment.…”