Press releases

Kennedy calls on Congress to pass additional funding to save jobs, small businesses

Apr 16 2020

“Failing to refuel the Paycheck Protection Program is a quick way to kill jobs and close down job creators for the long haul. I hope my colleagues in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle will allow us to inject an additional $250 billion into this program immediately—with no strings attached.”

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) released the following statement after the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program ran out of funding today:

“Right now, funding small businesses is a key way we save jobs. Failing to refuel the Paycheck Protection Program is a quick way to kill jobs and close down job creators for the long haul. I hope my colleagues in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle will allow us to inject an additional $250 billion into this program immediately—with no strings attached,” said Kennedy.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act gave $349 billion to the Small Business Administration to make loans to cover payroll expenses during the coronavirus pandemic. The program has saved millions of jobs but ran out of lending capacity in less than two weeks.

In recent days, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have demanded the following as pre-conditions for providing additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program:

  • $100 billion in additional funding for hospitals.
  • $150 billion in additional funding for state and local governments.
  • A 15 percent increase in the maximum benefit payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
  • Another round of $1,200 checks to individuals.
  • An extension of unemployment benefits for two additional months. 
  • New strings attached to the increase in Paycheck Protection Program funds that would force small-business owners to submit personal data about themselves and other owners and investors to their banks and the federal government. These requirements could result in additional paperwork, slow the application process and cause small businesses not to participate.
  • Additional restrictions would limit $125 billion of the $250 billion in funding to criteria that exclude many business owners.