PPP Extension Act of 2021 (Cong. Rec., March 24, 2021)
Summary
This is S1731 of the Congressional Record, Senate, March 24, 2021, with interleaved columns. Under the heading PPP Extension Act of 2021, a speaker whose name is not printed in the text read says that the SBA has approved 8.2 million PPP loans worth more than $715 billion in the year since the CARES Act was enacted, and describes steps the Biden administration took, including a 14-day exclusive window for small businesses with fewer than 20 employees. The page also begins with remarks on immigration reform and a visit to the southwest border in El Paso with Secretary Mayorkas, with the views and figures attributed to the speaker.
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“PPP Extension Act of 2021 (Cong. Rec., March 24, 2021).”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2021-03-24-crec-2021-03-24-pt1-pgs1731-8ac6d8455a/
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March 24, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1731
for 6 years, Republicans had the oppor- This Saturday, March 27, will be the demonstrate a 25-percent loss in rev-
tunity to bring together a conversation 1-year date since the CARES Act was enue. The bill also expanded eligibility
around comprehensive immigration re- enacted. In that time, SBA has ap- of PPP to include certain local news-
form, and they didn’t. Hopefully, we proved 8.2 million PPP loans worth papers, TV stations and radio stations,
will have the opportunity to do that more than $715 billion. as well as 501(c)6 nonprofits.
now. These loans have saved small busi- I must remind my colleagues that
Lastly, behind every single one of nesses throughout our Nation. They while the SBA was beginning to imple-
these individuals coming to the border would not be here today but for this ment the improvements we made to
is a story, is a real human being. Ask program. It also saved the stress on our the PPP in the Economic Aid Act, the
yourself, if your child were being re- unemployment insurance system by Agency was also undergoing a transi-
cruited into vicious drug gangs with a keeping small business employees on tion from the Trump administration to
high likelihood of serious harm or the payroll. And as I am sure the Pre- the Biden administration. Transitions,
death, would you not take steps to siding Officer knows, for a small busi- even under the best circumstances, can
keep your child safe? Would you not ness, it is difficult to find a workforce be disruptive to an Agency’s work.
bring them to a place like America and to keep a workforce, and the Pay- On February 22, the Biden adminis-
that was safer for that child? check Protection Program allowed tration took strong action to get fund-
I visited, on Friday, the southwest small businesses to maintain their ing to small businesses that were ei-
border. I was in El Paso with a group of workforce so that when the pandemic ther left out or underfunded during
bipartisan colleagues and Secretary is over, they are going to be ready for prior rounds of PPP. The administra-
Mayorkas, who is doing a good job, who our growing economy. tion implemented a 14-day exclusive
is managing this emergency with skill. The world feels a little different window for small businesses with fewer
I met a little girl, about 13 years old, today than it did a year ago. The than 20 employees. It updated the max-
who was in one of these processing fa- American people are finally beginning imum loan calculation formula for sole
cilities waiting to be moved into the to see a light at the end of the tunnel. proprietors, and it eliminated rules
asylum process. She was truly scared. More than 124 million vaccine doses prohibiting small businesses owned by
She was truly scared. She knew she have been administered, and public formerly incarcerated individuals and
was going to have a chance to reunite health officials nationwide are begin- individuals with delinquent Federal
with her family in the United States, ning to ease restrictions on public student loans from securing a PPP
but these detention centers—they are gatherings. loan.
better than they were in 2019, but they We can see a light at the end of the It made it possible and much more
are no place for kids. tunnel, but we are not there yet. Small worthwhile for small businesses to
That little girl was coming from businesses are struggling, but in spite apply for PPP loans, but it takes time.
Guatemala, a place where there are of those struggles, small businesses are PPP is a forgivable loan, but you have
certain neighborhoods that are more still showing up for our communities. to have a financial institution to make
violent than any war zone in the Mid- The Baltimore Sun recently pub- that loan. It has to be processed, it has
dle East, a place where murder rates lished a story about a restaurant in my to be approved, and it can’t be done by
eclipse anything we can even imagine hometown of Baltimore that captured the end of this month.
in the United States. the essence of the value that small During the exclusivity period, SBA
So that little girl, she needs America businesses bring to our communities. approved PPP loans for more than
to survive, but I would argue that Steve Chu and Ephrem Abebe, co- 400,000 small businesses and nonprofits
America needs her more because with- owners of the popular restaurant in with fewer than 20 employees, nearly
out her and the thousands of other Baltimore named Ekiben, recently half of which were first-time bor-
children arriving at our border, hungry drove 6 hours from Baltimore to rowers. We are reaching the hard to
for a better life, we are going to risk Vermont to prepare a meal for a long- serve, the most needy of the small
abandoning the entire original idea of time customer who was on her death- businesses. They finally got help.
this great, one-of-a-kind Nation, a Na- bed. They did this at their own cost be- Earlier this month, we passed the
tion that opens its arms to those who cause that is what small business own- historic American Rescue Plan. The
are fleeing violence and desperation. It ers do. They are part of our commu- plan expanded PPP eligibility even
is not just our tradition; it is our defi- nity. Afterward, Mr. Chu and Mr. more, to include more nonprofits as
nition as a country—more reason for Abebe called the decision a ‘‘no- well as digital news platforms. The
those of us in the U.S. Senate to resist brainer’’ and viewed their trip as a way plan provides overdue aid to the local
the temptation to play politics with to say thank you to a customer who chapters of large nonprofits, such as
these kids’ lives and with the very had supported them for years. the YMCA and Goodwill, which had not
complicated, nuanced, important issue That is what makes small businesses had prior access to PPP due to having
of immigration and instead find ways special. They are more than places we multiple locations totaling more than
to be truthful about what is happening go to buy products or enjoy a meal. 500 employees. The plan makes these
at the border as a means to come to- They are vital pillars in our commu- nonprofits eligible for PPP loans worth
gether and do something about it. nity. That story and countless others up to $10 million, as long as each loca-
I yield the floor. like it are why we passed the PPP pro- tion does not exceed the employee
I suggest the absence of a quorum. gram initially and why we must pass limit. That makes sense.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The the PPP Extension Act—so PPP can During a hearing examining PPP last
clerk will call the roll. continue to be a lifeline for small busi- week, the small business community
The legislative clerk proceeded to nesses in the coming months. heard testimony from John Hoey, who
call the roll. Congress and the Biden administra- leads the YMCA chapter that serves
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask tion have implemented significant im- the Baltimore region. John urged us to
unanimous consent that the order for provements to the PPP in recent extend the PPP to give nonprofit lead-
the quorum call be rescinded. months that have made the program ers more time to understand the pro-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without more equitable and useful. So we must gram. He said:
objection, it is so ordered. now extend the deadline to allow small I can tell you that colleagues of mine who
PPP EXTENSION ACT OF 2021 businesses and nonprofits to take full run large Ys around the country and large
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise advantage and receive the help that nonprofits in Baltimore are still trying to
today to urge swift passage of the PPP they need. understand the program and figure out if
Extension Act, which will extend the In December, Congress passed the bi- they qualify. I think a 3-month extension is
March 31 deadline for the Paycheck partisan Economic Aid Act, which pro- not only warranted but owed to all of us
Protection Program 2 months, to May vided an additional $284 billion to PPP after what we’ve been through this past year.
31, and give the SBA an additional and made second-round PPP loans We also heard testimony from Lisa
month, through June 30, to process any available to small businesses that had Mensah, who leads the Opportunity Fi-
backlogged applications. spent their initial PPP loan and can nance Network, which is the national
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S1732 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 24, 2021
association of CDFIs, our mission lend- Our bipartisan legislation would re- world. Without the ERA in the Con-
ers. She warned us that ‘‘thousands of move the deadline for the States’ rati- stitution, the statutes and case law
business owners will not receive access fication of the Equal Rights Amend- that have produced major advances in
to PPP without an extension.’’ ment, the ERA, and I am pleased that women’s rights since the middle of the
She told us about a CDFI in Jackson, the House adopted the companion last century are vulnerable to being ig-
MS, that estimates that 1,300 loans version of this legislation, H.J. Res. 17, nored, weakened, or even reversed.
from small businesses that applied for last week. I now urge the Senate to Congress can amend or repeal anti-
PPP will not receive funds if we do not take up and pass this legislation. discrimination laws by a simple major-
extend the deadline. Of these 1,300 ap- Ratification of the ERA would ex- ity. A new administration can fail to
plicants, 98 percent are businesses with pressly prohibit discrimination on the vigorously enforce civil rights statutes.
fewer than 20 employees, 95 percent are basis of sex in the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court can use a lower
minority-owned, and nearly 100 of them The amendment simply reads: standard of intermediate scrutiny to
are veteran- or veteran-spouse-owned Equality of rights under the law shall not permit certain regressive forms of sex
small businesses. be denied or abridged by the United States or discrimination.
This is only one CDFI out of hun- by any State on account of sex. Indeed, even today, women do not re-
dreds nationwide. The story will be re- In January 2020, Virginia became the ceive equal pay for equal work. The
peated—those that have been left out. 38th State to ratify the ERA, which ERA would provide a needed constitu-
The committee has also been urged to was first proposed in 1972. Congress has tional basis for legislation advancing
extend the deadline by the business the authority under article V of the women’s equality. Historically, the
community. On March 15, more than 90 Constitution to set and change dead- equal protection of the laws clause of
chambers of commerce, trade groups, lines for the ratification of constitu- the 14th Amendment has been used to
and business organizations sent a let- tional amendments and has done so on fight discrimination on the basis of
ter urging extension, and they said: numerous occasions. Recall that, in gender. However, without language in
Nearly one year into the COVID–19 pan- the Constitution specifically estab-
1992, the 27th amendment of the Con-
demic, the continued liquidity challenges of
the small business sector are acute. stitution, prohibiting immediate con- lishing that there shall be no denial or
gressional pay raises, was successfully abridgement of rights on the basis of
It is clear that there is still an over-
ratified after 203 years. That amend- sex, the Supreme Court will likely con-
whelming need for PPP loans, which is
ment was initially proposed as part of tinue to apply a lower level of scrutiny
why the PPP Extension Act passed the
the original Bill of Rights in 1789. in cases related to discrimination
House of Representatives by a 415-to-3
There should be no time limit on against women. By contrast, the Su-
vote. This is bipartisan. The bill that
equality. Even as we celebrate Amer- preme Court uses the ‘‘strict scrutiny’’
we are talking about is sponsored by
ica’s first female Vice President, our test in reviewing cases of racial and re-
Senator COLLINS. Senator SHAHEEN and
Nation is held back as the only modern ligious discrimination.
I are also on that bill. As former Supreme Court Justice
The good news is that the resources Constitution that fails to enshrine full
equality for both men and women. This Antonin Scalia, a fervent originalist,
are there. We have been informed by
is unacceptable. Most Americans are once stated, ‘‘Certainly the Constitu-
the SBA that the extension of the
deadline can work within the funds surprised to learn that the ERA is not tion does not require discrimination on
that have already been made available already part of the U.S. Constitution. the basis of sex. The only issue is
by Congress. The money is there. The States have done their job to make whether it prohibits it. It doesn’t.
This is not the first time we have this happen. Now Congress must finally Former Supreme Court Justice Ruth
done this. I must remind my colleagues do its job and remove any legal obsta- Bader Ginsburg stated:
that, last year, as PPP was approach- cle to certifying the ERA. Every constitution written since the end of
Women were indeed left out of the World War II includes a provision that men
ing its deadline, I brought a bill to the and women are citizens of equal stature.
floor of the Senate and worked with Constitution intentionally by our
Ours does not. . . . If I could choose an
Senator RUBIO to give small businesses Founding Fathers. American women,
amendment to add to the Constitution, it
more time to get their applications however, did demand equality as our would be the Equal Rights Amendment. I
filed. I must also remind my colleagues country was being founded. In a letter would like my granddaughters, when they
that we passed that extension to pre- in March 1776, Abigail Adams wrote to pick up the Constitution, to see that no-
serve access to PPP while we continued her husband John Adams, urging him tion—that women and men are persons of
negotiating on broader changes to the and other members of the Continental equal stature—I’d like them to see that in a
program. We need to do the same thing Congress not to forget about the Na- basic principle of our society.
again. tion’s women. The future First Lady Public polling indicates that the
I know that there are other modifica- wrote, in part: country is ready for the ERA. Today,
tions to the program that we will have I long to hear that you have declared an nearly half the States—including
an opportunity to discuss, and I am independence. And, by the way, in the new Maryland and Alaska—have a version
committed to conducting those discus- code of laws which I suppose it will be nec- of the ERA written into their State
sions in the same bipartisan manner essary for you to make, I desire you would constitutions. In the era of ‘‘Me Too,’’
remember the ladies and be more generous there has been a renewed energy for
that I have approached the develop-
and favorable to them than your ancestors.
ment of these programs. In fact, later Do not put such unlimited power into of the
adopting the ERA, as society finally
today, in just 45 minutes, there will be hands of the husbands. Remember, all men addresses the longstanding problems of
a hearing of the Small Business Com- would be tyrants if they could. If particular violence and sexual harassment against
mittee where we will be doing over- care and attention is not paid to the ladies, women and demanding justice and ac-
sight on the programs that we made we are determined to foment a rebellion, and countability.
available during COVID–19, and we will will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated
have representatives from government which we have no voice or representation. International Women’s Day worldwide,
responsible for those programs, includ- Sadly, the Founding Fathers did not on March 8, with the 2021 theme:
ing the SBA. heed Abigail Adams’ call. Most nota- ‘‘Choose to Challenge.’’ It is now far
But the bottom line: We first need to bly, women were denied the right to past the time we bring the conversa-
extend the program. We have got to vote for nearly 150 years. More broadly, tion of women’s equality and empower-
make sure it doesn’t expire next week. women were treated as second-class ment to center stage.
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
We must get this done. The need is citizens through our Nation’s history The United States of America is one
there, and the funds are there. and were denied other basic and funda- of the most developed, wealthiest, and
EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT mental rights, such as being able to admired countries in the world today,
Mr. President, I rise to celebrate own property or work in their chosen and immigrants from all over the world
Women’s History Month and support occupation. continue to travel to the United States
S.J. Res. 1, legislation I introduced Women comprise a majority of the to pursue their dreams and make a bet-
with my partner in this effort, Senator underrepresented in government, elect- ter life for themselves and their fami-
MURKOWSKI of Alaska. ed office, the courts, and the business lies. However, to this very day, the
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