Urgent Ask – Make Small Business Whole Again from COVID-19- Pass Needed Funding & Protections
The Senate and House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senators Wyden and Merkley and Representative Suzanne Bonamici:
At a time when many small businesses are still struggling to regroup from measures taken during the COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions, several provisions of the CARES Act are coming to an end with no additional funding in sight.
The Tigard Chamber of Commerce is a member of the Save Small Business Coalition and we are supporting their fight to keep small businesses alive. We ask that Congress:
Provide Business Liability Protection:
- Protect business owners who follow applicable federal, state, or local government guidelines from COVID-19 related exposure liability.
- Protect businesses from liability claims arising from COVID-19 medical care for healthcare workers and facilities.
Include Workforce Development:
- Provide $1.3 billion to assist job seekers in accessing employment, education, training, and support services through a combination of new and existing programs.
Assist with State and Local Aid:
- Assist state and local governments experiencing one-time COVID-related expenses and revenue shortfalls based on a fixed share of actual costs and revenue shortfalls within an overall funding cap.
Extend and Enhance the Paycheck Protection Program:
- Broaden the definition of forgivable expenses to include costs associated with protecting employees and customers and expand the period during which expenses qualify for loan forgiveness.
- Simplify good-faith certification for the forgiveness of loans under $150,000.
- Expand eligible borrowers to include all non-profits, including 501(c)(6) organizations with no more than 300 employees, as long as PPP funds are not used for lobbying.
- Authorize a second round of loans for small businesses experiencing revenue reductions of 35% or higher.
The Tigard Chamber and our business community is counting on you to make small businesses whole again.
Sincerely,
Debi Mollahan
CEO, Tigard Chamber