The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday called for Congress to suspend payroll taxes for employers and to allow the Federal Reserve to provide loan guarantees to businesses with more than 500 workers to mitigate the negative effects of the coronavirus on the economy.
It also called for legislation to expand the Small Business Administration disaster loan program to cover small businesses hurt by the pandemic.
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“We are pleased that Congress has taken some steps in the right direction. Let’s keep going,” said Chamber CEO Tom Donohue. “No business or family should go bankrupt from the temporary but significant disruption caused by the Coronavirus.”
In a letter to President Trump and congressional leaders, the Chamber called for canceling payroll tax payments for employers for March, April, and May. Employees also pay this tax, but the Chamber did not call for canceling those payments.
Regarding loan guarantees, the Chamber has called for legislation that would ease restrictions on the Fed regarding the entities that qualify for emergency lending.
It has also called for legislation allowing the SBA to streamline its disaster-loan approval process for amounts below $350,000 in order to provide emergency capital more quickly to businesses affected by the coronavirus.
The U.S. Chamber also approved of action taken in recent days by the government to respond to the outbreak, including the Federal Reserve’s move on interest rates on Sunday and coronavirus relief legislation currently under consideration in Congress.
