Shaheen: 4,400 Forgivable Loans Approved for NH Small Businesses, Urges Quick Delivery of Assistance & Implementation Fixes

Statement

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a lead negotiator of the small business assistance provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, announced today that 4,400 New Hampshire small businesses have been approved for forgivable loans as of Friday through the Paycheck Protection Program established by the CARES Act. These loans total $1.06 billion in obligated assistance to New Hampshire small businesses to help them stay financially afloat and keep employees on payroll through the COVID-19 crisis. Shaheen was joined by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Susan Collins (R-ME), who also led negotiations on bipartisan relief for small businesses in the CARES Act, providing more than $377 billion in assistance.

"Many small businesses in New Hampshire might not last the week, much less the month, which is why getting resources Congress has provided to these businesses now is so critical," said Shaheen. "Thousands of New Hampshire small businesses have been approved for assistance. Now the money needs to be delivered to them as soon as possible -- time is of the essence. Unfortunately, there have been unforced errors by the administration in implementing these loans and they need to be fixed immediately. I am working to make sure these programs deliver as intended. At every level of government we need to be doing everything possible to make sure our small businesses, and the jobs they provide, survive this crisis."

Senator Shaheen has frequently urged the Trump administration to fix implementation problems that have emerged with small business assistance programs. Last week, Senator Shaheen joined with the NH Delegation in sending a letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to address New Hampshire small business concerns about the implementation of these programs. The delegation also sent a letter calling on the administration to provide better guidance to lending institutions so they can issue loans through the new Paycheck Protection Program. In addition, Shaheen relayed concerns about emergency SBA programs from New Hampshire small businesses to Administrator Jovita in a call last week.

Source