Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate Thursday will quickly attempt to pass legislation that would bolster a program providing direct aid to small businesses shuttered during the coronavirus.
“It is quickly becoming clear that Congress will need to provide more funding or this crucial program may run dry,” McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, announced Tuesday. “That cannot happen. Nearly 10 million Americans filed for unemployment in just the last two weeks. This is already a record-shattering tragedy, and every day counts.”
Recommended Stories
Congress is not in session. To provide additional money, both the House and Senate must either approve an new bill by voice vote or unanimous consent, or call back lawmakers for a roll call vote. The Senate will meet in a pro forma session on Thursday, and that is when McConnell will attempt to pass the measure.
He’ll need the backing of Democrats, who can block any measure McConnell tries to pass without a roll call vote. The Treasury Department wants $200 billion for the program.
McConnell said he plans to work on a bipartisan deal to provide the new funding with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat.
A spokesman for Schumer said McConnell has not yet reached out to him about the proposed legislation, nor has Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican and co-author of the measure, contacted his Democratic counterpart, Sen. Ben Cardin, of Maryland. Senate Democrats are proposing their own ideas for a new economic relief package. Schumer told reporters Tuesday he wants the plan to require businesses to provide up to $25,000 in “hazard pay” for essential workers who are on the job during the coronavirus outbreak.
McConnell said Tuesday the Senate needs to move faster on the small business funding that is now running low.
“Congress needs to act with speed and total focus to provide more money for this uncontroversial bipartisan program,” McConnell said.
The small business loan program is part of the $2.2 trillion economic relief package Congress passed last month. It established a $350 billion fund to provide forgivable loans for 30 million small businesses that maintain most of their workforce.
McConnell said billions of dollars have been distributed, and the fund must soon be replenished.
Rubio said Tuesday he asked Mnuchin “to make a formal request for additional funds as soon as possible.”
“There is a critical need to supplement the fund to ensure America’s more than 30 million small businesses will be able to access this critical lifeline,” he said.
