WASHINGTON – Arizona’s Senators Martha McSally and Kyrsten Sinema voted on Tuesday to provide an additional $484 billion dollars in relief to support small businesses, hospitals, and increased testing in Arizona. The package now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.
This latest coronavirus relief package delivers aid where it’s needed most. It will provide more aid for mom & pop shops, increase funding for hospitals, & scale up testing in places like @uarizona. https://t.co/FOpPhX8vTn
— Martha McSally (@SenMcSallyAZ) April 22, 2020
Today’s Senate package includes $370B to support small businesses, including funding for the Paycheck Protection Program so more employees can stay on payroll during the coronavirus crisis. pic.twitter.com/ldcoCTbZ4G
— Kyrsten Sinema (@SenatorSinema) April 21, 2020
The Senate passed the nearly $500 billion coronavirus “Phase 3.5″ relief bill on a voice vote.
The bill will replenish a small business rescue program known as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), provide hospitals with another $75 billion and implement a nationwide virus testing program to facilitate reopening the economy.
“This latest coronavirus relief package delivers aid where it’s needed most,” McSally said in a press release. “It will replenish the Payment Protection Program, which has already saved millions of American jobs across the country, and is needed to support our mom and pop shops and self-employed entities. With these additional funds, I urge banks to give precedence to true small businesses when lending funding. Our mom and pop shops, self-employed entities, and our smaller businesses—not the massive corporations with access to capital—should be the priority for these funds. I have continuously advocated for these small businesses and will keep doing so to ensure they can open their doors on the other side of this pandemic. I also fought for our Arizona farmers to be included in the EIDL program and am pleased to say now, they will be.”
Earlier in the day, McSally called for funds to focus on small businesses, after reports of publicly traded companies with access to capital and bank relationships receiving money quickly while many small business owners have struggled to access PPP funding.
Dear big banks: PPP is NOT your money. It is the taxpayers’ money intended to be a lifeline for small businesses & to keep them from going under due to coronavirus. We expected everyone in America, including you, to act with grace & speed to rescue those most hurt by this crisis.
— Martha McSally (@SenMcSallyAZ) April 21, 2020
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