Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce, with my colleagues Senator Rubio, Cardin, and Shaheen, legislation to strengthen the Paycheck Protection Program, which has proven to be such an important lifeline to America's small businesses and their employees during this pandemic.

Senators Rubio, Cardin, Shaheen, and I worked together as part of the Small Business Task Force to create this program during the development of the CARES Act 2 months ago.

Since its launch in early April, this program has provided forgivable loans totaling more than $510 billion to approximately 4.3 million small employers across the country. The overwhelming majority of borrowers are very small employers.

In phase 1 of the program, the average PPP loan size nationally was $206,000. That translates to an average employer size of just 18 employees. As more loans have been approved in phase 2, the average loan size nationally has dropped to $118,000, suggesting an average business size of about 10 employees.

In Maine, the average loan size is even smaller, with borrowers having an estimated 12 employees in phase 1 and just three employees in phase 2. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly two-thirds of the small businesses in Maine have benefited from PPP loans, and that is, I am pleased to say, among the highest rates in the Nation.

In many ways, it is not a surprise. Maine is the State of small businesses. Ninety percent of all the Maine businesses are considered to be small businesses, and they employ approximately 60 percent of all the workers in our State. Overall, in Maine, the funds are sufficient to support approximately 200,000 jobs.

Let's think about this. That means that a business that is seeing receipts go down, is in a cash flow problem, liquidity has dried up can still retain employees who otherwise would have been laid off. In more cases, it has allowed a business to call back furloughed employees. And even in cases where the business has been forced to close its doors because of government orders, it has kept alive the connection between the employer and his or her employees. That is so important because, as the economy does open back up, we want to make sure that link between the employer and the employees remains intact so that the workforce can come back to work as soon as possible

It is important, as we discuss the economic data behind the PPP, to remember that these are real businesses with real people--people like Larry Geaghan, who owns and runs a craft brewery and pub in Bangor, ME. Larry calls the PPP a ``lifeline bill'' that has made all the difference in helping him to bring back 25 of his employees and reopen for takeout business.

Another Maine borrower--the owner of a small marina--told me that the PPP was exactly what he needed at exactly the right time. With the PPP, this marina has been able to keep all of its employees on payroll, and because they weren't worried about whether they would have a paycheck, these employees continued spending as they normally would--exactly what our Maine economy needs.

Another example of a small business helped by the PPP is the Frog & Turtle Gastro Pub in Westbrook, ME. This pub just completed an extensive renovation and is hoping to reopen June 1, the first day that sit-down dining service will be allowed again in the State of Maine.

The owner of this pub wrote to me to say that the ``PPP program allowed us to bring back our 15 employees and sustain our business during these trying conditions,'' and that taking a PPP loan was the ``right decision'' for his employees and for his small restaurant.

When we were initially developing the Paycheck Protection Program, we had no idea how long the pandemic would last. We did not know that there would be virtually universal economic shutdowns, nor did we know how each State would respond to outbreaks in their communities. The bipartisan bill that we are introducing today builds on the success of the PPP by providing small businesses with additional flexibility so that they can more effectively use these funds in conjunction with State reopening plans.

And, again, I would remind my colleagues that when we were drafting the first version of this, it was before there were widespread orders shutting down restaurants and bars and retail establishments.

Specifically, the Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act that we are introducing today would do the following: It would allow borrowers the flexibility to use their 8 weeks of funding at a point of their choosing within a 16-week period. Small businesses could choose the period that they believe works best to coincide with the reopening of their local economy.

So some small businesses took the loans very early, thinking that the shutdowns would not last or that the pandemic would be on the way down by now, which it is in some States, thank goodness, but not in all.

Well, this builds in more flexibility. You would have 16 weeks to use the loan funds instead of 8.

Second, it extends the deadline to apply for a PPP loan from June 30 to December 31 of this year.

Again, this reflects the fact that shutdowns lasted far longer in virtually every State than we anticipated when we were drafting the bill in March.

Third, the bill would allow borrowers to use loan funds to purchase personal protective equipment for employees and to pay for adaptive investments needed to reopen safely.

Adaptive investments could include modifications to a commercial property to comply with the social distancing regulations or guidelines from the CDC. It could mean creating or expanding a drive-through window service, erected physical barriers such as we see at the grocery stores now, those plexiglass barriers or sneeze guards. It could mean installing ventilation system upgrades or, as many restaurants have mentioned to me, they would like to add an outside patio for outdoor eating, which would allow them to maintain the same number of customers, which they can't do now, and abide by the social distancing guidelines.

The bill would also clarify that the current lender hold-harmless provision relates to all Small Business Administration and Treasury guidance regarding PPP loans. A lender that in good faith followed Federal guidance related to PPP would not be later held liable if the guidance subsequently changed.

I would like to give a shout-out to our small community banks and credit unions in the State of Maine. They have really stepped up to the plate for this program to serve the small businesses, small employers in our State, for the small nonprofits, and that has made a real difference to the employees of these establishments.

And finally, the bill would clarify that borrowers who have maintained payroll for 8 weeks will not lose loan forgiveness due to the extension of the program to 16 weeks.

Now, I would hope that that would be obvious, but we wanted to make sure that we were explicit.

The Paycheck Protection Program is the single most critical stimulus program protecting Main Street America from the economic devastation of the measures taken to control the spread of COVID-19. The bill we are introducing today strengthens the PPP to reflect the evolving nature of this pandemic, the necessity of regulatory actions that have caused a great deal of economic harm but were necessary to prevent the spread of the virus, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill ______

By Mr. CRUZ:

S. 3835. A bill to prohibit the use of funds for the production of films by United States companies that alter content for screening in the People's Republic of China, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

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