Chu, Schiff Vote in Favor of Relief Packages Which Would Aid Local Businesses

Pasadena’s elected officials in Congress — Judy Chu and Adam Schiff — voted to support relief packages that would aid local businesses during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act will increase appropriations for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) from $349 billion to $670.355 billion, including $310 billion for loans.

The bill also establishes a set-aside of $30 billion specifically for community banks and smaller lenders with between $10 billion and $50 billion in assets and an additional $30 billion for institutions with less than $10 billion.

The set-aside does not prevent these lenders from accessing the remaining PPP funds available for all lenders. The bill also increases appropriations for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) emergency grant program from $10 billion to $20 billion, makes agricultural enterprises with fewer than 500 employees eligible for EIDL loans and grants, and increases appropriations for Disaster Loans by $50 billion.

This bill also includes $75 billion in additional appropriations for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund to reimburse health care providers for expenses or lost revenue that are attributable to the coronavirus. And it provides $25 billion for expenses related to COVID-19 testing, including $11 billion for States and localities to develop, purchase, administer, process, and analyze COVID-19 tests.

“Our twin priorities right now are to contain this virus and reopen our economy. But we cannot do either until we have an accurate count of who has been infected. This has been impossible, though, because of the severe shortage of COVID-19 tests across the nation, including here in the San Gabriel Valley. That’s why I’m so proud that Democrats fought to include $25 billion in this package to expand our testing capacity,” Chu said.
The House also voted to create a House Select Committee dedicated to overseeing the trillions in relief spending Congress has authorized to respond to the pandemic and the associated economic crash.

“Americans are hurting, small businesses are struggling to stay open, and people across the nation are calling for more testing – and today’s relief package will begin to address some of those issues,” Schiff said. “But we need to be clear-eyed – we are going to need to do more before this over, a lot more This additional funding will provide emergency assistance to small businesses who really need it, hospitals and community health centers, and a national testing strategy which must be established in order to safely reopen the economy. Even as we pass this legislation, we continue to work on additional legislation that will prioritize funding for states and localities, hazard pay for frontline workers, and much more.”