PROVIDENCE, RI – Today, the U.S. Senate approved a nearly $500 billion interim coronavirus relief package, known as ‘COVID 3.5.’ 

The legislation provides additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL) to help small businesses, and it provides a major boost for hospitals and health care providers, as well as injecting needed funds for more COVID-19 testing capacity.

U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) supported the package, which was unanimously approved by the full U.S. Senate, and is urging the U.S. House of Representatives to approve it unanimously without delay.

Senator Reed says that while this half-trillion dollar package is significant, it fails to include needed legislative fixes that would help real small businesses.  Reed noted that while big chains with 400-plus stores were swiftly approved for ‘small business’ assistance under PPP, thousands of local Main Street mom-and-pop shops were completely shut out even when they had a banking relationship and had their paperwork all set.

“Rhode Island small businesses are rightfully upset with how PPP has worked thus far.  I haven’t had many folks tell me it has worked well for them.  That’s why it’s imperative that Republicans get on board with fixing PPP’s very real shortcomings.  Helping genuine Main Street businesses should be something that both parties can support, but the Republicans seem dead set against reforms right now.  We’ve added some new pots of funding for smaller communities, grants for mom and pop businesses as well as women and minority owned small businesses, but we need to do more to fix the underlying programs.”

Senator Reed is calling for Congress to accelerate work on the next comprehensive coronavirus rescue package. 

“What America needs right now is responsible, principled leadership and a functioning government.  Americans are banking on their elected officials coming together to do the right thing and put the nation’s best interest above their own.  This interim package provides a needed measure of certainty in uncertain times and hopefully helps more worthy borrowers across Rhode Island to save their small businesses.  Congress must also enact legislative fixes and provide stronger oversight to ensure these programs are working as intended,” said Senator Reed.  “Americans clearly need more coronavirus help from Congress, and the Administration must do a better job of getting the money into the hands of those who need it.  The Trump Administration’s missteps and changing rules have taken a big bite out of small businesses’ ability to keep people employed.  This interim agreement replenishes funds, but the Trump Administration has to do a better job of execution and actually help small businesses.”

Reed, who successfully led the effort to include $150 billion for state aid, known as the Coronavirus Relief Fund, in the CARES Act, said he will continue advocating for Treasury to follow the law as written in ensuring the most flexible use of these funds while fighting for additional  resources for local and state governments to be included in the next comprehensive agreement, along with other targeted relief to help families, workers, renters, homeowners, businesses, and communities urgently address the COVID-19 pandemic from both a health and economic standpoint.

Key elements of the bipartisan interim emergency coronavirus package announced today include:

• $310 billion in additional assistance to small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Plan, with $60 billion channeled through community-based financial institutions that serve minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned small businesses in communities across the country, and improvements to ensure all eligible small businesses can access this critical funding and are not turned away by financial institutions;

According to the SBA, over $1.2 billion in federal Paycheck Protection Program funding has been approved for 6,100 Rhode Island businesses, although the agency refuses to say how much cash has actually gone out the door and many businesses continue to report that they have yet to receive the funding they were approved for. 

• $75 billion for health care providers such as hospitals, community health centers, and nursing homes, providing desperately needed resources to the frontlines of this crisis

• $50 billion for Economic Injury Disaster Loans and grants and $10 billion for grants of up to $10,000 each that disaster loan recipients can obtain.

• $25 billion to help boost COVID-19 testing. 

This interim emergency ‘COVID 3.5’ rescue package continues a series of emergency coronavirus measures that Congress has taken up.  The first two included an $8 billion appropriation to help address the spread of the virus and nearly $200 billion for free testing, expanded paid sick leave, and Medicaid funding.  The third bill was the CARES Act, which was originally billed as a $2.2 trillion initiative, but a new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) revised the estimated CARES Act price tag as costing $1.76 billion.

“Everyone wants America’s economy to snap back quickly, but achieving that goal requires a strategy and resources to deal with reality.  Failing to provide states with an appropriate level of assistance now could lead to a spiral of layoffs and cuts to services that will widen and deepen the economic recession,” said Senator Reed, who delivered $1.25 billion for Rhode Island in the CARES Act and continues working on a bipartisan basis for additional state and local funding.  Senator Reed is introducing legislation to provide an additional $600 billion in Coronavirus Relief Funds for state and local governments.

Senator Reed concluded by saying: “Congress must be prepared to provide sustained federal support to save lives now and secure our recovery over the long-term.  We need to enact legislation and make investments addressing pressing needs caused by the pandemic.  I will continue pushing for key initiatives like enhanced unemployment, school and transportation infrastructure, and housing assistance to prevent needless foreclosures and evictions, as well as funding for other worthy programs.”