Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Urgent Need For The Senate To Extend The Bipartisan Pay Check Protection Program (PPP) This Week

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding the need for the Senate to act this week to extend the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

In addition to these nominees, the Senate has another important matter of legislative business on the agenda this week: an extension of the bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program, which is set to expire at the end of the month.

Since its inception, the Paycheck Protection Program has generated more than 7.8 million loans to keep America’s businesses afloat during what has been the worst economic crisis in three-quarters of a century, since the Great Depression.

With the help of the American Rescue Plan, our economy is finally turning the corner. But businesses are not out of the woods yet, and are likely to need assistance for another few months as the country continues to recover.

Many borrowers are currently awaiting loan approvals at the Small Business Administration, and many more are still looking to apply. Working with the Biden Administration, we have made important changes to the PPP program to expand eligibility and access to nonprofits, to hard-hit independent venues, and to make it easier for the smallest, most underserved businesses to get relief, particularly microbusinesses, sole proprietors, women-owned and minority-owned businesses.

There is no reason, no reason, to let this program expire while there are still scores of applicants in line and billions of dollars left in the program.

The House already passed the extension of the program by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote: 415-3. A bipartisan group of Senators including Senators Cardin, Collins, Shaheen, Marshall, Sullivan, and Murkowski support identical legislation here in the Senate.

So we are not going to end this week without passing an extension. Again: the Senate must pass another extension of the Paycheck Protection Program before the end of the week and make sure the nation’s small businesses can access this very vital lifeline.

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