Political Quotes

“Madam President, I am pleased to be able to join my colleague Senator Cardin, who is the ranking member on the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, as well as Minority Leader Schumer. I am pleased that the chairman of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, Senator Rubio, is also here because Senator Cardin, Senator Rubio, Senator Collins, and I all worked on the Paycheck Protection Program and the small business provisions that are in the CARES package that we passed over 5 weeks ago. I am proud of our efforts to negotiate in a bipartisan way to help small businesses get through this crisis. Not only did we pass, in that first CARES package, $350 billion to help small business, but just a couple of weeks ago, Congress also came together to pass an additional $370 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program. Our intent in passing that legislation was to deliver relief to small businesses that are truly hurting. Small businesses are the lifeblood of this economy nationally, really, and certainly in New Hampshire, where 99 percent of our businesses are considered small businesses. They employ over 50 percent of the New Hampshire workforce. In New Hampshire, 20,000 small businesses and nonprofits have received over $2.5 billion in low-interest, forgivable loans under the Paycheck Protection Program. There have been challenges.…”