We are living in a moment of time like no other. As we come together as a nation in a manner not seen since World War II, President Trump and the Republican Party are taking unprecedented actions to protect the well-being of each and every person in America, including our country’s 4.7 million proud Hispanic business owners and their employees.
Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. Hispanic-owned businesses alone contribute more than $700 billion to the economy every year, and 58.9 million people across our country are employed by small businesses. Hispanic entrepreneurs are among the most successful in our country, particularly Hispanic women. The president knows this, and in this time of need, he is making sure his administration lends a helping hand to those who need it.
It is because so many members of our country’s Hispanic community are at the forefront of our country’s economic success, that the Paycheck Protection Program is of the utmost importance in sustaining their economic well-being. Thanks to the PPP, small-business owners gained access to $350 billion in forgivable loans. This program is essential to small businesses as it provides them with eight weeks of cash flow assistance in this unprecedented moment in our country’s history.
The success of PPP has been a team effort between the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans. At the heart of this effort, in addition to the president’s leadership, has been the work of Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza and Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., through his work as chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Their understanding of the needs of small-business owners has been essential to ensuring that Hispanic small-business owners get what they need at this critical moment.
Thankfully, after an unjustified and partisan delay of 12 days after it was initially proposed, and five days after PPP funds ran out, Congressional Democrats finally stopped obstructing so that Congress could approve additional funds for the program. The U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved an additional $484 billion in coronavirus assistance for small businesses as well as hospitals. Of those newly approved funds, $310 billion will go into replenishing the PPP so that small-business owners can continue to apply for and receive forgivable loans.
While these new funds are a welcome relief, it should not have taken so long to come to the aid of our fellow people who are in such dire straits at this time. Congressional Democrats, disappointingly, chose to put politics ahead of the well-being of our country with this funding delay.
This is a time for us to come together. As I see my friends and neighbors in Michigan doing their best to make sure we defeat this virus, I hope that Capitol Hill Democrats will be able to look back on this moment and say that they, too, did their best.
Ronna McDaniel is chairwoman of the Republican National Committee.
