Washington, D.C. – Today, the Economic Innovation Group (EIG) and a coalition of leading business and policy groups released a letter to congressional leaders urging immediate action to provide crucial relief to small businesses by renewing the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). As COVID-19 cases soar and states across the nation turn back to partial and full lockdowns, small businesses will be forced to shutter, and some will close permanently without swift and significant stop-gap relief. The coalition, which includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, NFIB, U.S. Travel Association, and others, calls on Congress to renew PPP in the near-term and create a long-term, zero-interest loan program to support the small business recovery.
According to Census Bureau data from late November, 46.4 percent of small businesses believe it will take more than six months before their business returns to normal levels of operation—nearly eight percent believe they never will.
“As businesses prepare for what is likely to be a devastating winter, and in the absence of a longer-term relief program, Congress should fund PPP at a level sufficient to provide vital resources to every qualifying small business across the country, along with requirements to ensure that eligibility for a second PPP loan is targeted to businesses suffering from lost revenues and operational disruption,” the organizations wrote.
Looking beyond the immediate need for short-term relief, the organizations also called on Congress to enact a longer-term relief program when it returns next year—one that would help the small business sector transition from crisis to recovery—similar to the small business lending facility outlined earlier this year by EIG.
The coming months will be extremely challenging for Main Street. An EIG analysis of Census Bureau data, just released on Friday, shows that one in four small businesses expect to need additional capital or financial assistance to stay afloat in the next six months—the highest share of firms since mid-August. Congress must make sure these businesses pull through in the short-term, while also enabling them to recover once the country begins to emerge from this economic crisis.
The 26 signatories represent many of the industries most deeply impacted by COVID-19 and include:
- American Hotel & Lodging Association
- Angel Capital Association
- Asian American Hotel Owners Association
- Center for American Entrepreneurship
- Economic Innovation Group
- Engine
- Experiential Designers + Producers Association
- Exhibitor Appointed Contractor Association
- Go LIVE Together
- Gusto
- International Association of Exhibitions and Events
- International Franchise Association
- Main Street America
- National Association for the Education of Young Children
- National Tooling and Machining Association
- NFIB
- North American Die Casting Association
- Precision Machined Products Association
- Precision Metalforming Association
- Society of Independent Show Organizers
- Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
- Small Business for America’s Future
- Small Business Majority
- The Payroll Group
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- U.S. Travel Association
A copy of the letter is available here.
EIG media contact: [email protected]
About the Economic Innovation Group (EIG)
The Economic Innovation Group (EIG) is an ideas laboratory and advocacy organization whose mission is to advance solutions that empower entrepreneurs and investors to forge a more dynamic American economy. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., and led by an experienced, bipartisan team, EIG convenes leading experts from the public and private sectors, develops original policy research, and works to advance creative legislative proposals that will bring new jobs, investment, and economic growth to communities across the nation. For more information, visit eig.org.
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