Letter to the Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader, the Hon. Nydia Velázquez, Chair of the House Small Business Committee, and the Hon. Steve Chabot, Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee - Reps. Cisneros and Balderson Lead Bipartisan Letter Urging for Small Business Access to Second Round of PPP in COVID Relief Bill

Letter

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, Chairwoman Velázquez, and Ranking Member Chabot:

The economic consequences of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has left small
businesses across the nation in need of assistance to ensure their continued survival. The Small
Business Administration's (SBA) disaster relief programs, such as the Paycheck Protection
Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), have been a critical lifeline to
help businesses stay afloat. As our understanding of this pandemic and its impact on our country
continues to evolve, so too must our government's adaptation of assistance to our small
businesses in need; whether it be in the form of an additional loan or renewed PPP eligibility.

Congress created the PPP on March 27, 2020, to provide our nation's economic engine --
American small businesses -- with the support they needed to survive the unique pressures
COVID-19 placed on already slim margins as states were just beginning to issue quarantine and
stay at home orders. Over the course of the previous four months, Congress has improved and
expanded many aspects of the PPP to deliver maximum relief in response to on-the-ground
realities, from extending the application window to lowering the thresholds to qualify for loan
forgiveness.

In order to continue to help meet the evolving needs of America's small businesses, we urge you
to include language in the next federal aid package to allow those businesses that have already
received PPP funding to be eligible for additional aid, whether that is a second PPP loan or
otherwise. We understand and agree that the priority for the remaining PPP appropriated funding
should rightfully go towards small businesses -- particularly minority, women-owned, rural, and
veteran-owned -- that have yet to receive their first round of PPP funds. However, the reality is
there are many small businesses that will not survive without another round of federal assistance.
We have heard from many small businesses in our districts that have either nearly or entirely
exhausted their initial PPP dollars, believing they had enough capital to weather the first few
months of the pandemic only to find themselves in this new reality with no end of the pandemic
in sight.

It is our belief the country's future economic health depends upon as many innovators on Main
Street and the nearly 60 million Americans they employ emerging from this pandemic. As our
country heads into continued months of uncertainty, and as states reopen and then quickly
reclose due to increased spikes of new coronavirus cases, it is imperative that federal assistance
for small businesses adapt just the same.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request. We look forward to continuing to
work together to ensure small businesses, cornerstones of our nation, survive and thrive as our
nation starts to rebuild.

Sincerely,