Extending the Authority for Commitments for the Paycheck Protection Program
Floor Speech
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Mr. SCOTT of Florida. I want to thank my colleague for bringing up this important bill today. This crisis is unprecedented, and leaders across the Nation have taken steps to address the virus and the devastation it has caused both to the health of Americans and to our economy.
The Paycheck Protection Program has helped so many businesses in Florida and across the Nation to stay afloat during this unimaginable time. As we continue to reopen our economy and get Americans back to work, we have to continue looking for ways to help our small businesses that are hurting, and extending the Paycheck Protection Program is one way to do that.
My focus has always been on how we get this money to those who truly need it. We have heard all the stories--stories of big businesses with thousands of employees that found loopholes to qualify for these loans, universities with massive endowments accepting these loans, and even small businesses taking these loans when they haven't seen a downturn in their revenue.
Under my colleague's proposal, companies that are not being harmed at all by the coronavirus crisis will have the ability to receive taxpayer-funded loans that can be forgiven.
This program needs to be reformed so money isn't being taken out of the hands of those who really need it. I have offered an amendment to my colleague's bill today that will prohibit businesses that have not seen a downturn in their revenues to the COVID-19--during the coronavirus pandemic from being eligible for a Paycheck Protection Program loan going forward. My amendment would not be retroactive; it would only apply to those businesses applying for a loan going forward.
It is incumbent on us to create accountability in the Paycheck Protection Program, and I encourage my colleague to accept this commonsense amendment to help those businesses hurt by this crisis.
I ask that Senator Cardin modify his request and instead the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 4116, introduced earlier today, but that my amendment at the desk be agreed to; further, that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
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Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, first, I want to thank Senator Cardin for worrying about the businesses. I think the Senator is absolutely right. I think we all can acknowledge that in the original bill, it could have been done better. So some of the businesses that got it shouldn't have probably gotten it in the beginning, and we could have targeted more for some of the smaller businesses.
I thank Senator Cardin for what he is doing. I am not going to stand in the way of this. I look forward to working with him to try to make sure that the money goes to people who actually need it and that it doesn't go to people who haven't actually had a downturn in their business.
We don't have unlimited resources up here, as we all know. I just want to make sure the money is spent well.
So I am not going to stand in the way.
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