Letter to Jovita Carranza , Admin. of the Small Business Administration - Stanton Calls on Small Business Administration to Extend Coronavirus Relief to Arizona Farmers

Letter

Dear Administrator Carranza:

We write to urge your immediate attention and swift action on an issue that threatens to
discriminate against rural areas and the farmers that are the backbone of rural economies.
On March 27, the House passed the CARES Act (PL 116-136) to respond to the economic effects
of the coronavirus pandemic, and the bill was then signed into law. Because the public health
measures necessary to slow the spread of coronavirus are taking a particular toll on small
businesses, including our nation's farmers, the CARES Act provides a broad range of assistance
to help tide over small businesses that might otherwise not be able to survive the impact.

Among those provisions, Section 1110 of the CARES Act creates an emergency economic injury
grant program. In recognition that the coronavirus is affecting many types of entities that may not
traditionally be considered small businesses, this provision expands the eligibility criteria in the
underlying economic injury disaster loan program.

As a result, we were shocked and disappointed that, contrary to Congressional intent, the Small
Business Administration singles out farmers and agricultural businesses as ineligible for this
program. We ask that you share the Small Business Administration (SBA)'s rationale for
excluding farms from this program, including any statutory limitations on aiding farmers.

We urge you to ensure that agricultural businesses and farmers are eligible to access the EIDL
program, and the other small business provisions in the CARES act. Farmers need our help to
make it through this pandemic while continuing to feed American families, fuel our economy, and
sustain other resources which are essential to our survival. Now more than ever we must provide our farmers and rural communities with federal assistance needed to combat this pandemic and
not turn our backs on these communities.

Thank you, Administrator Carranza, for your attention to this critical matter, and for SBA's work
to address the economic impacts of this pandemic. SBA's swift action on this issue will help
alleviate the concerns of our nation's family farms, which are vital to our country and our
communities.

Sincerely,