Yesterday I reported that Pelosi/Schumer may stymie Paycheck Protection Program expansion over unrelated new spending demands.
The PPP provides forgivable loans to small businesses on the condition that the funds be used for paying workers, with a portion permitted to be paid for certain fixed costs like rent.
The goal is to keep people employed until the economy can restart, and hopefully to keep small businesses afloat. Yet Democrats once again are holding such relief hostage to additional demands for funding and social goals.
All Republicans in the Senate sought to do was increase PPP funding from $350 billion to $600 billion. But to do that, the Senate needed to vote by unanimous consent to consider the bill.
Democrats refused. Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin, and rose to object when Mitch McConnell requested unanimous consent. Cardin’s argument was that there are additional things that need to be done, so we’re not going to expand funding for PPP unless we simultaneously address those other issues.
In place of a simple, clean funding increase for PPP, Senate Democrats will propose a $5 billion bill that addresses many other issues, including promoting minority community lending.
The Senate is now adjourned until April 13.
You can watch this mornings proceedings here:
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