Jackson Lee: “I continue to fight to ensure small businesses receive appropriate access to the funding in the Interim Emergency Coronavirus Relief Package. This stimulus package is not a corporate bailout, but a concerted effort to replenish the small business loan program created to support our very small businesses. It also provides $100 billion to keep hospitals open and operational which includes $25 billion for an expanded Coronavirus testing program. The key to reopening our economy is testing, testing, testing! We cannot wait. We must pass this bill now.”

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a Senior Member of the House Committees on Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Budget, released the following statement supporting the increased funding for small businesses, hospitals, and testing included in the Interim Emergency Coronavirus Relief Package.

“It is unfortunate that so many very small businesses that the Paycheck Protection Program was intended to help during this economic disaster, caused through no fault of their own, did not receive any funding to keep their business and employees whole during this difficult time. This is especially troubling for minority businesses who already have a difficult time accessing funding under normal circumstances,” stated Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee

“I support this legislation and urge my colleagues in the House to pass the Interim Emergency Coronavirus Relief Package – FOR THE PEOPLE.”

We have achieved an agreement that follows the path set by the bipartisan CARES Act with real support:

For small businesses: we have strengthened the Paycheck Protection Program with $310 billion in additional funding, with $30 billion reserved for community-based lenders, small banks and credit unions and $30 billion for medium-sized banks and credit unions. We are expanding small business support beyond PPP by securing $50 billion for SBA disaster lending, translating into more than $350 billion in loans, and $10 billion in SBA disaster grants. We have also secured strong protections to ensure that our nation’s farmers have access to this vital assistance.

For hospitals and health care workers: Democrats have secured $100 billion to provide resources to the frontlines, including Personal Protective Equipment, which includes $25 billion for testing. The Administration has also agreed to key improvements to be made in CARES 2, including significantly lowering the interest rate on advance payments, lengthening the repayment schedule and distributing payments from general revenues not the Hospital Insurance Fund.

For all Americans: we have secured $25 billion for testing, which is the key to reopening the economy and resuming our lives. The Administration has agreed to a national strategic testing policy that will focus on increasing domestic testing capacity including testing supplies.

The Interim Emergency Coronavirus Relief Package has specifically designated $60 billion for very small businesses and there are protections in place to prevent many of the predatory practices financial institutions utilized to prevent small, minority-owned businesses, and members of the gig economy from accessing these vital funds.

“These provisions are vital to ending this devastating pandemic. I have seen the heroic efforts undertaken by private organizations like the United Memorial Medical Center, who have opened five no-cost COVID-19 testing sites in Houston. Strategically positioning their locations to make testing accessible to vulnerable communities and provide state and local health departments and the CDC with valuable information. Efforts like these must continue to be supported and expanded. We must test as many people as we can, and the federal government must continue to allocate the resources necessary to make this happen.”

As we move toward developing the next stimulus package, I will continue to fight AGAINST Republican roadblocks to provide:

1) Provide hero pay for transit workers—Bus and Train.

2) Secure funding for revenue loss by local and state governments and provide additional funding

3) Increase childcare direct payment assistance to essential workers

4) Funding for CDC data collection and research regarding disparate impact of COVID-19 on African Americans and Latinos.

5) Direct expanded Medicaid payments to local counties in states that have not accepted the expanded Medicaid

6) Funding for an additional cash distribution of $2,000 per adult and $500 per child

“Small business owners, hospitals, and our first responders are counting on us to advocate for their needs. The key to getting Americans back to work and to ensure economic security is putting the health and safety of the American people first and defeating this terrible virus. While I am disappointed the Administration and Republicans have not agreed to more funding for state, tribal and local governments in this legislation, I am hopeful we can come to a consensus on behalf of the American people in the next stimulus package.”

The key to reopening our economy is testing, testing, testing. We cannot wait. We must pass this bill now!