Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) issued the following statement after the Senate unanimously approved additional COVID-19 response funding, including for the Paycheck Protection Program established under the CARES Act. Senate Democrats blockaded this additional funding for two weeks, even as that program ran out of money last Thursday and unemployment rolls eclipsed 20 million Americans.
“After two weeks of letting American small businesses and workers languish in limbo, Senate Democrats finally came to their senses and allowed us to restart the critical Paycheck Protection Program. In the time that my Democrat colleagues held back this additional help, small businesses across the country have had to make wrenching decisions about layoffs, closures and liquidation. These are store owners, manufacturers, restaurant owners who could have stayed solvent and kept employees on payroll if not for these delays.
“I understand the desire to add funding elsewhere and support its inclusion, but the only programs that ran out of money in the last two weeks were those geared toward helping small businesses. The House of Representatives needs to approve this measure without any further lollygagging. Livelihoods are still on the line.”
