Sen. Tim Scott called for an economic bailout strategy that keeps the needs of each type of small business in the United States in mind as the federal government works to help owners and employees affected by the coronavirus.
“Some businesses are labor-intensive, some are not,” Scott said Tuesday. “The overhead expenses for a small business as a gym [for example], hundreds of thousands of square feet, your revenue goes towards the rent, it goes towards the mortgage more so than it does to the employees.”
Scott, a member of the Senate Financial Services Committee, said Congress should “look at equilibrium and do a targeted approach to helping businesses either stay open or get back open.”
Part of the $2 trillion economic relief bill passed by Congress and signed by President Trump last month is a Paycheck Protection Program — a $350 billion effort allocating eight weeks of cash flow to qualifying small businesses so they can pay employees and avoid layoffs.
Such blanket-style aid does not help all small businesses, Scott said.
“If you have no business, you have no paycheck,” the Republican from South Carolina said.
A record number of Americans have been put out of work as states across the country have virtually shut down all daily business and limited travel by residents outside the home.
U.S. health experts said this week that social distancing measures are proving effective, but cautioned governors should not rush to relax restrictions in an effort to boon local economies.
In the meantime, Scott said Congress should review legislation it has already passed to make sure it helps as many Americans as possible based on their specific needs.
“So, if we have a chance to go back, we should start targeting businesses and sectors so that the relief actually ends up keeping businesses open and paychecks flowing,” he said.
