Shaheen Leads Call with NH Small Businesses & Non-Profits That Have Been Unable to Access Aid Through Small Business Relief Programs
(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, held a conference call with New Hampshire small business owners and non-profit leaders who have been unable to receive much-needed assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Shaheen was a lead negotiator of the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which created the PPP and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) grant program. She has held frequent conversations with New Hampshire small businesses and non-profits as the programs have been negotiated and implemented to gather feedback on how the programs can be improved and best deliver assistance.
“Much more needs to be done in Congress to address the Trump administration’s implementation flaws, adapt these programs to this rapidly changing crisis, and provide additional assistance so that small businesses can continue to access relief,” said Shaheen. “I helped negotiate the small business provisions in the CARES Act, and the intent of this law is to deliver urgently needed help to mom-and-pop shops – not large publicly traded corporations that have connections with big banks. I will be sharing the feedback from this conversation, as well as the reports I received yesterday from small businesses who have received funding, with administration officials and I’ll continue to press for more transparency and stronger oversight of small business relief programs as Congress negotiates upcoming COVID-19 relief legislation.”
Shaheen Leads Call with NH Small Businesses & Non-Profits That Have Been Unable to Access Aid Through Small Business Relief Programs
In New Hampshire, nearly 20,000 small businesses and nonprofits have received more than $2.5 billion in low-interest, forgivable loans under the PPP. Yesterday, Shaheen spoke with New Hampshire small businesses and profits that have received assistance through small business relief programs.
On Tuesday, with Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), Shaheen unveiled the Transparency and Oversight of COVID-19 Small Business Recover Assistance Act to provide greater transparency and oversight of the Trump administration’s implementation of the PPP and EIDL grant program. The Senators sought to pass this legislation through the Senate through unanimous consent, but were blocked by Senate Republicans.
Senator Shaheen has called for oversight hearings on the implementation of small business relief programs in the CARES Act, as many small businesses continue to experience difficulties accessing the programs. She has also called for changes that would allow for better access for smaller businesses to access the program, particularly businesses that don’t have a relationship with big banks, as well as additional funding for health care providers. Senator Shaheen continues to call for other changes to the PPP program to help New Hampshire’s small businesses, including extending key deadlines, and is urging that these fixes be included in future COVID-19 response legislation.
