WASHINGTON– Today, Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14) issued the following statement after voting in support of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, a bill to replenish critical Small Business Administration (SBA) programs during the COVID-19 pandemic:

“Having lived my entire life in Northeast Ohio, I know full-well how important small businesses are to our regional economy and understand the devastating impact this deadly virus has had on them. While I’m glad to be in Washington today to support this bill and ensure it makes it to the President’s desk to become law, there should have never been a delay in replenishing the Paycheck Protection Program to begin with. Every dollar that went out the door through this program kept workers employed, helped families stay afloat and sustained our economy. As we work to safely re-open Ohio and the rest of our country, Congress cannot allow partisan politics to get in the way of providing critical relief to those trying to pay their workers during a crisis that has already cost 26 million Americans their jobs.”

On March 27, 2020, Joyce voted for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and provided it with nearly $350 billion to help small businesses and their workers during this difficult time. In Ohio, businesses have received a total of $14,108,889,927 through 59,800 approved PPP loans. However, the funding for the program ran out on April 16, 2020, and no business has been able to apply for a loan since.

The legislation passed by the House this evening helps the SBA continue to provide much-needed, critical relief to small businesses by:

• Increasing the appropriation level for the PPP from $349 billion to $670.335 billion.
• Setting aside the following amounts for the PPP to be made by the following institutions:
  • $30 billion for loans made by Insured Depository Institutions and Credit Unions that have assets between $10 billion and $50 billion; and
  • $30 billion for loansmade by Community Financial Institutions, Small Insured Depository Institutions, and Credit Unions with assets less than $10 billion.
• Appropriating an additional $50 billion for the Disaster Loans Program Account.
• Appropriating an additional $10 billion for Emergency Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Grants.
• Allowing agricultural enterprises as defined by section 18(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 647(b)) with not more than 500 employees to receive EIDL grants and loans.

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