North American Wetlands Conservation Extension Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the updated Heroes Act.

I want to thank House leadership and, of course, our distinguished chair of the Appropriations Committee, Chairwoman Lowey, for introducing this vital update.

First, let me just say, look, we are all entitled to our own views and opinions in this Chamber, but we are not entitled to our own set of facts.

As I have heard some of the comments from my friends on the other side of the aisle, I have been a bit confused because, as we all know, 4 months ago, this Chamber passed, on a bipartisan basis, the Heroes Act, $3.4 trillion, to provide an economic lifeline to small business and working families struggling across this country.

The Senate declared a so-called pause, decided that they would do nothing, wouldn't meet us halfway, wouldn't come talk to the House Democrats to try to reach a compromise bill. So we continued to get to work, and we put together an updated Heroes Act that is now a $2 trillion bill that provides an economic lifeline to so many Americans across our great country.

The fact that House Democrats continue to make every effort to work with anyone in good faith to deliver for the people of our country, in my view, is something that we should continue to pursue in this great Chamber.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I want to say one of the reasons I support this bill is because it includes significant relief for small businesses, which are the backbone of Colorado's economy.

My Republican colleague and I, John Curtis, introduced a bill just a few weeks ago to provide EIDL relief, essentially ensuring that we would exclude the EIDL advance when determining forgiveness for PPP loans.

We have heard from countless business owners in my district, in Fort Collins and Loveland, who are struggling and who have told us that this provision would provide needed relief to ensure that they can continue to keep their businesses solvent, keep their doors open, serving the people of our great State of Colorado and, of course, my colleague, the State of Utah, and small business owners across the country.

That provision is in this bill. It is in the updated Heroes Act, alongside so many other important provisions to help small businesses in our country recover.

I say to my colleagues: Let's get this done. Let's pass this bill. Let's provide the relief that the American people are counting on us to provide.

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