Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday that while Republicans have no appetite for another stimulus package now, they are looking at potential changes that could be made to previous stimulus laws enacted by Congress and President Trump.
“We’re going to look at this on a daily basis, and react to the needs and look at the mistakes we may have made in the previous legislation and go about correcting them,” said the Kentucky Republican.
“Every day, we’re looking at adjustments. The Treasury is trying to make adjustments on their own,” McConnell said. “Some may require legislative activity. We’ve heard from a lot of the governors who would like to add more flexibility to use the money we’ve already sent them.”
Although McConnell did not reveal what kind of changes could be made to coronavirus relief laws enacted previously, other Republicans told the Washington Examiner that some small-business owners who fell through the cracks and did not qualify for Small Business Administration loans through the Paycheck Protection Program needed a second look.
“In terms of the situation that some of the smaller firms are facing, I think we’ve got to admit that the PPP was a vital lifeline at the very beginning of this crisis. It was not set up to deal with 30 million people unemployed. It just was not set up to deal with the scale of this crisis,” Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, said.
“And I think we’ve got to look at something beyond that that will help people get rehired and get back to work, and that doesn’t punish workers — like If they’re part of a firm that is larger or smaller that doesn’t qualify for a PPP,” Hawley said.
Congress enacted the CARES Act in March, which included $350 billion of federally guaranteed loans for eight weeks. While sole proprietors and independent contractors are among those included who are eligible for the loans, many are having difficulty qualifying for loans offered the COVID-19 stimulus relief packages.
The PPP is intended to provide these loans through banks to businesses with 500 employees or less, but despite the program’s claim that sole proprietors and independent contractors are eligible, the self-employed are reportedly being rejected for loans for not having any employees.
“What we need to do in the next installment is see if there are ways, if we haven’t been able to help them yet, if they haven’t been able to access resources, we need to try to find a way to throw them a lifeline too,” Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said.
“But I think the fact of the matter is there is going to be many small businesses that simply will cease to exist,” Cornyn said. “Many of them have operated month to month, and with no demand, because of the mitigation efforts, it’s going be very damaging. But the goal is to try to minimize the harm as much as we can, and then be prepared to reopen once the once we get the green light from public health guidance.”
