Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the majority leader for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, our Nation faces an unprecedented crisis. With one in three Americans being told to stay home to flatten the curve, the American economy has essentially been shut off. Restaurants, hotels, bars, retail stores, barbershops, dance and yoga studios, and gyms-- practically every segment of the small business sector is suffering immeasurably.

Whether it is Brooklyn, New York, or Brooklyn, Wisconsin, small businesses are the heart of America's Main Streets. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs are now facing impossible decisions about their future.

This bill is about assisting these Main Street small businesses and their workers, not Wall Street banks or big corporations.

We have taken a Republican-written bill that was unfairly weighted toward big companies and reshaped it to prioritize small businesses, their workers, and their families. This emergency package channels relief to small enterprises now. It provides more than $377 billion in relief for struggling small firms to help them pay workers and keep their doors open.

First, this bill allocates $350 billion for forgivable, low-cost loans for businesses to continue paying their employees. Let me be clear: These loans are fully forgivable if firms keep their workforce on the payroll during this crisis. Since the crisis began, I have been advocating for debt-free ways to get capital to small firms. This provision accomplishes that goal.

The new Paycheck Protection Program is designed to help businesses and workers weather the public health crisis, remain open, and, when we finally defeat this awful virus, resume growth quickly.

Beyond these fully forgivable loans, Democrats fought for emergency grants. I am proud to say, working with my counterparts in the Senate, we have secured $10 billion for SBA to provide grants to small businesses for the first time in its history.

Additionally, we must assist current SBA borrowers that have loan payments due soon. That is why we are providing every current 7(a) and 504 loan and Microloan borrower with payment relief for 6 months. This deferment will also be open to new borrowers to help them stay afloat. This bill provides SBA with $675 million in funding to not only hire new staff and equipment, but also to ensure SBA services are being delivered in languages other than English.

Last but not least, entrepreneurial development programs will get $265 million for counseling and training related to COVID-19.

I should note, this bill is not perfect. It is the result of painstaking compromise. As with any compromise, no one side got everything they wanted. For now, however, small firms need to stop the bleeding, and this bill provides an economic tourniquet.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the work we accomplished in this package. I thank Senators Cardin, Shaheen, Coons, and Rubio and all the members of the House Committee on Small Business that worked so hard on this bill, as well as the ranking member, Steve Chabot, and the amazing staff that worked long hours to get us here.

Mr. Speaker, I ask for everyone to support this bill.

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