Unanimous Consent Request (Cong. Rec., April 9, 2020)

Summary

Page S2168 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for April 9, 2020, under the heading Unanimous Consent Request. McConnell asks unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the bill at the desk, to be read a third time and passed. Cardin reserves the right to object, calls the request basically a political stunt, and says it does not address the immediate need of small businesses. Cardin says the emergency disaster relief loan program and the grant program of up to $10,000 have run out of money, with 3.8 million requests representing $372 billion of loans and only $7.3 billion of loans authorized.

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“Unanimous Consent Request (Cong. Rec., April 9, 2020).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-04-09-crec-2020-04-09-pt1-pgs2168-baddc2ecb2/, SHA-256 b4f851aaea8373f4e1d0faf14992d4917673e733b54f8ca7b895b305d21a2628.

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S2168 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE April 9, 2020
CARES Act, including parts that have UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST from the current numbers. We have to
not even started to work yet. Mr. MCCONNELL. Now, Mr. Presi- protect small businesses to protect
The country cannot afford unneces- dent, I ask unanimous consent the Sen- their payroll, and that is what our
sary wrangling or political maneu- ate proceed to the immediate consider- plans do.
vering. Treating this as a normal kind ation of the bill at the desk. I further Yesterday, we were informed by the
of partisan negotiation could literally ask that the bill be considered read a SBA, as the majority leader indicated,
cost Americans their jobs. We are in a that we have about $100 billion that has
third time and passed and the motion
situation right now where passing a been processed. Now, that has not been
to reconsider be considered made and
bill means either unanimous consent or distributed yesterday. It hasn’t been
laid upon the table.
a voice vote. Everyone knows—every- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- distributed in large numbers because of
one—there is zero chance that the documentation problems and know
pore. Is there objection?
sprawling proposal that our Demo- Mr. CARDIN. Reserving the right to your customer rules have prevented
cratic friends have gestured towards object. some of these funds—a lot of these
could pass either Chamber by unani- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- funds, the majority of these funds—to
mous consent this week—no chance. pore. The Senator from Maryland. be released.
The President has already indicated he Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, let me Today, applications are being proc-
would not sign it. The country needs us just clarify some of the issues the ma- essed. Tomorrow, applications are
to be nimble—nimble—to fix urgent jority leader pointed out. I am afraid going to be processed. The day after
problems as fast as we can, to be able that this unanimous consent is basi- that, applications are going to be proc-
to have focused discussions on urgent cally a political stunt because it will essed because we provided $350 billion.
subjects without turning every con- not address the immediate need of At this moment, we are at about $100
versation into a conversation about ev- small businesses in the legislation that billion. We are going to have to prob-
erything. We need to patch holes as we we have passed, and let me clarify that. ably provide more money, and we are
see them and keep moving forward to- The majority leader indicated that all for that.
gether. the PPP, the Paycheck Protection But where is the urgency, as far as
Everybody in the Senate voted to Plan, is running out of money. It the small businesses are concerned? So
send historic funding to hospitals and hasn’t. Thirty percent hasn’t been let me go over those. One, the emer-
healthcare providers. Everyone sup- committed. It hasn’t been yet released. gency grant program—this is a pro-
ports funding hospitals. I am in favor But there are programs under the gram where grants are offered by the
of even more funding for hospitals and CARES Act that have run out of Small Business Administration. You
providers down the line. I have been money. The EIDL program, the emer- don’t have to have a banking relation-
talking to a number of them, as I am gency disaster relief loan program ship with a commercial bank in order
sure our colleagues have, over the last which provides funds for businesses— to get these loans. It is very, very pop-
couple of weeks. we have allowed businesses that have ular—3.8 million requests have come
But certainly, we need to see the ex- in, in regards to these loans—3.8 mil-
been affected by the coronavirus to file
isting funding begin to work before we lion, representing $372 billion of loans.
those claims—that has run out of
know what additional resources may be But here is the problem: We have
needed. I have been urging Secretary money, and I will give you the numbers only authorized $7.3 billion of loans
Azar to push this money onto the in a few moments. And the grant pro- under the program. That is why we are
frontlines as soon as possible. I am glad gram that is included in the CARES at suggesting, if you add another $50 bil-
tens of billions are going to go out to- up to $10,000, where a small business lion—you can authorize another $300
morrow. There is only one part of the can get a grant from the Small Busi- billion of loans under the emergency
CARES Act that is already—already— ness Administration, is out of funds. disaster relief program. Today, if you
at risk of exhausting its funding right They need money today in order to have requested that loan today and you
now—only one part of the CARES Act process applications. requested the average amount that is
is at risk of exhausting its funding The SBA doesn’t need money today being requested—and you have to show
right now: the Paycheck Protection to process the Paycheck Protection need in this program—you have got to
Program. Program. The Paycheck Protection document the need that the disaster
We are asking small business owners Program was negotiated in good faith has affected your viability as a busi-
across America to place their faith in by Senator RUBIO, Senator COLLINS, ness. The average loan is $200,000. That
us. We are asking them to keep work- Senator SHAHEEN, and myself, and we is what they are requesting.
ers on payroll because Congress, the are very proud of that program. It is Guess how much money the SBA can
Treasury, and the SBA will have their working very well. It is a good pro- issue today? It is $15,000. That is an ur-
back. We must not fail them. My col- gram. We strongly support it. It is bi- gent need that we should deal with
leagues must not treat working Ameri- partisan. today, and we are prepared to deal with
cans as political hostages. This does But this unanimous consent request it. There is a second program for
not have to be, nor should it be conten- was not negotiated. There was no effort small—by the way, smaller businesses
tious. We don’t have to divide along made to follow the process that we participate in these programs more so
the usual lines so soon after we came could get this done, so it won’t get than the PPP program.
together for the country. done. It is not going to be enacted, and There is a second program. It is a
To my Democratic colleagues, the majority leader knows that. So grant program up to $10,000. Our work-
please—please—do not block emer- what Democrats are prepared to make ing bipartisan group recognized that
gency aid you do not even oppose just clear—every small business that is eli- there are some businesses that are in
because you want something more. Do gible to receive the Paycheck Protec- desperate need of cash immediately.
not block emergency aid you do not op- tion Plan, we are going to support These loans are processed within 3
pose just because you want something their applications being received, proc- days. We have had—so far requests for
more. essed, and fully funded. We will put as the grant program, 3.5 million small
Nobody believes this is the Senate’s much money as needed to make sure businesses have requested funds, total-
last word on COVID–19. We don’t have that every small business can partici- ing a request for $11 billion on a sliding
to do everything right now. In fact, our pate that is eligible in that program. scale. It doesn’t even give every small
posture of needing unanimous consent The UC does not affect that today, but business $10,000.
does not even permit us to try to do ev- what the UC leaves out is where small How much money did we appro-
erything right now. We cannot play businesses need help today from the priate? $10 billion. SBA cannot release

dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with SENATE
games with this crisis. Let’s pass more U.S. Congress. those funds in 3 days because they
noncontroversial funding for Ameri- Yesterday, we had an opportunity to don’t have the money to do it. The UC
cans’ paychecks. Let’s do it today, and find out the numbers—and as the ma- by the majority leader does not provide
then let’s continue to work together jority leader pointed out, we have got that money so that those small busi-
with speed and bipartisanship. We will to get this right. There are 6.6 million nesses can get that cash. That is not
get through this crisis together. more uninsured today, as we learned provided.

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April 9, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2169
Now, we got that information yester- UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST nizing the demand would be huge, as it
day, and maybe the majority leader Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, re- is on other programs. It is not just in
didn’t have it, but we can tell you they serving the right to object. need of more money. It needs some im-
can’t issue those grants, and that is This is an unfortunate moment for portant fixes, which I daresay would
under the CARES Act, and that is out the U.S. Senate. We came together on have bipartisan support as well.
of money. a bipartisan basis just a very short I don’t know if the majority leader
I am also going to tell you some sto- time ago to pass the CARES Act. It saw the letter just this morning from
ries we have heard in Maryland, and we passed here 96 to nothing. That fol- the National Restaurant Association.
have heard it all over the country. I lowed two other bipartisan efforts that Here is what they say:
have heard from small businesses that came out of the House, passed the Sen- The PPP is funded at $349 billion, and we
went to their bank in order to partici- ate, and were signed by the President, expect that lenders will reach that ceiling
again, with overwhelming support. shortly. We appreciate the bipartisan calls
pate in the PPP loan, and they were
Yet, today, we see from the majority this week to provide prompt additional fund-
told that they didn’t have a credit ing for the program.
card, so the bank wasn’t going to write leader a complete political stunt here
on the floor of the U.S. Senate—some- Then they go on to say:
the loan, or they hadn’t had a previous
thing that does not have bipartisan However, equally important is the need to
loan with that bank, so the bank is not address the limitations of the program that
going to write the loan. support, something that is go it alone,
do not recognize the unique and evolving
take it or leave it, and totally violates
We have heard from some community challenges of the restaurant business cycle
the spirit all of us have been working and our path to recovery.
banks that they can only handle exist-
on during this crisis where we were
ing customers; they can’t do additional This is not a Republican group or a
able to come together in the U.S. Sen-
customers at this point. We have heard Democratic group. This is a group that
ate and the House of Representatives
from rural small businesses; they can’t represents small businesses, res-
with the White House to, on three prior
find lenders who will write these notes. taurants, just trying to get by, and
occasions, pass legislation in a way
We have to do a better job. what they say to us this morning is:
that addressed the issues that are im-
What did we find out yesterday? Of Yes, we do need additional money. We
portant to this country.
the total 7(a) lenders that are out there Yet, today, we have this situation know that. But equally important,
today, about 90 percent were certified where the majority leader knew full let’s fix some of the kinks, and there
before the CARES Act. We have only well there was not agreement and con- are kinks in this program.
increased their numbers by about 10 sensus on moving forward with this I got a letter at 12:44 a.m. this morn-
percent. That is not enough. We can’t proposal. That is why we are here ing from a small business owner who
reach these underserved communities. today. This was, in fact, designed to had been banking with Wells Fargo.
We have to do a better job in reaching fail, designed as a political stunt. It is Then, of course, Wells Fargo hit the
these underserved communities so that actually not the first time we have cap. We thought we had dealt with that
a small business that doesn’t have that seen this. You may recall that, just be- in recent days. But he is not sure he is
type of relationship with a bank can fore we came together and passed the still going to be able to get that loan
still participate in the Paycheck Pro- CARES Act 96–0, the majority leader through Wells Fargo, and he says:
tection Plan. This UC does nothing at came to the floor of the Senate back I’ve also now looked at more than 100
all about that issue—nothing at all websites of 7(a) lenders in the greater DC
then and tried to ram through an un- area and have found that NONE—capital let-
about that. finished product while negotiations ters NONE—will accept a PPP application
The urgent issues are not dealt with were going on between Secretary from any small business that did not bank
in this UC. That is why the process of Mnuchin and Democrats in the House with them before February 15, 2020.
negotiating—allowing us to come to- and the Senate to try to finalize the Here are some other headlines in re-
gether and figure out what is the best bill, and that actually caused unneces- cent days:
way to move forward—will result in us sary delay. But the majority leader ‘‘Baltimore-area small businesses
actually getting something done to came to the floor then and tried to ram complain of continuing problems gain-
help the small business community. it through. It didn’t work then, and it ing access to federal lending program.’’
There are other urgent needs. My col- is not going to work today. ‘‘ ‘Nightmare’: 3 small-business own-
league, Senator VAN HOLLEN, is going I would ask the majority leader—and ers describe process of applying for
to talk about some of these. I think all of us would—to go back to PPP coronavirus loans.’’
The healthcare issues, my colleague trying to address these issues the way The Journal Record: ‘‘Community
and I have participated in numerous we addressed them in a successful man- bankers frustrated with PPP rollout.’’
conference calls over the last 2 weeks. ner before. I am going to shortly pro- Another headline, this one from an-
I am sure my other colleagues have pose an amendment that addresses other part of the country: ‘‘PPP loan
done the same. We have heard from our some of those concerns—an amendment plan a mess so far for small businesses
healthcare providers, that they are to the majority leader’s proposal. riding out coronavirus crisis.’’
ready to close the doors. They need im- I would like to address some of the ‘‘Billions ‘disbursed’ through Pay-
mediate help and a lot more than the issues first, and my colleague, Senator check Protection Program? Small busi-
$100 billion that has been provided. CARDIN, has addressed many with re- nesses say not yet.’’
spect to small businesses. First of all, The Wall Street Journal: ‘‘Big Banks
We talked to our Governor yesterday.
he pointed out that the one program to Favor Certain Customers in $350 Bil-
He is the head of the National Gov-
help small businesses that has actually lion Small-Business Loan Program.’’
ernors Association. They requested $500
really run out of money is the emer- Another article: ‘‘Many small busi-
billion. They need money. Their reve-
gency loan and grant program. nesses are being shut out of the new
nues are down. We know we didn’t do Let’s talk about the PPP program. loan program by major banks.’’
right for the District of Columbia. We This is a really important program to Mr. President, what we are saying
know we didn’t do right for smaller incentivize small businesses and non- here today is, yes, we know we need
communities. We need to correct that profits to keep employees on the pay- more money for this program. Many of
now because they can’t stay in busi- roll and allow them to help keep the us predicted this before we passed the
ness today. It is urgent, and the UC lights on, pay fixed costs, pay the CARES Act. But for goodness’ sakes,
does nothing to help in that regard. mortgage, pay the rent, whatever it let’s take the opportunity to make
So, Mr. President, if I could, I would may be, so that they can emerge on the some bipartisan fixes to allow this pro-

dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with SENATE
like to allow my colleague from Mary- other side of this storm without having gram to work better for the very peo-
land, whom I believe has a reservation had to fold. Many of us anticipated ple it is designed to help: small busi-
also, and then he has a UC request of long before the CARES Act passed that nesses, nonprofits.
his own. this program would need more money. That is what they are asking us to
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- I was part of a group that proposed $600 do. That is what the restaurant asso-
pore. The Senator from Maryland. billion for a program like this, recog- ciation is asking us to do. That is what

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