CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) today released the below statement following Democrats’ objection of standalone emergency funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP):
“Today’s unanimous consent request was an attempt to continue a program that is all about saving small business jobs in West Virginia and across the country. So far, hundreds of thousands of small businesses across the country have applied for these loans. Bottom line: this program is working, and it’s saving jobs.
“But because of the program’s popularity, congressional action is necessary to prevent the PPP from hitting its funding limit and to allow the program to save even more small business jobs. Today, Senate Republicans asked unanimous consent to provide those urgently needed additional resources to the PPP. Unfortunately, in a time of global crisis, Democrats blocked this supplemental funding, cutting off additional help for small businesses.
“The CARES Act included $100 billion for health care providers and a $150 billion fund for state and local governments that has not yet been released. I strongly support these investments. I am glad that the first $30 billion of this health care funding will be sent to medical providers tomorrow. And I am working hard to make sure that state governments will have flexibility in using their CARES Act funding to meet the needs in our local communities.
“No one believes that Congress is finished legislating in response to our current emergency. Additional legislation will certainly appropriate more resources to health care providers and others impacted by COVID-19. Today, the bipartisan PPP program needed a simple tweak to allow it to save more small business jobs, which is why it is disappointing that Senate Democrats decided to block needed funding for a program that has strong bipartisan support and is helping protect the paychecks of workers across the country.
“I don’t want to see any West Virginia businesses left out of this program because the funding has run out. That would put more people out of work and more people on unemployment. Lives and livelihoods are at stake. I hope to regain that bipartisan spirit moving forward as we work to help provide more aid for Americans hurting during this uncertain time.”
Senator Capito launched a page on her website to help bring current and accurate information to West Virginians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Click HERE to access the webpage for the latest updates and resources.
# # #