Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. GOTTHEIMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman for her excellent leadership. I thank Mr. Roy for his great bipartisan work and my dear friend, colleague, and fellow problem solver, Dean Phillips, for his remarkable leadership on this important piece of legislation. He did it the way he believes we all should govern, and that is working across the aisle. I am grateful for what he did on the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act, which was supported by the Problem Solvers Caucus, 50 strong--25 Democrats and 25 Republicans.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard over and over again from businesses in my community in northern New Jersey that they are so grateful for the PPP Loan Forgiveness Program and all of the jobs and businesses it helps protect. But they need more flexibility with the formula and timeframe. They need more time with the loan and more flexibility on how to spend it, from salaries to rent.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud that this bipartisan legislation does exactly that: helps the 131,000 small businesses in New Jersey that have been helped by the PPP Loan Forgiveness Program.

And I am equally grateful for the bipartisan TRUTH Act, which demands more transparency and accountability for every single dollar that is loaned out from the Small Business Administration to our businesses. I am glad that that legislation will pass here later today and that we will know where all the loans have gone.

Mr. Speaker, New Jersey's economy, including all of our small businesses, want to make sure their businesses can stay open at the end of this pandemic. They want to keep their workers. They want to keep giving back to our communities. They want to grow their businesses and give back to our great State. But they need our help. This bill does that, and I am hoping the Senate acts quickly to take it up.

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