Any forgiveness should be limited to small and mid-sized firms that have suffered significant revenue declines and are not publicly traded.
The hardest-hit businesses should be eligible for at least partial loan forgiveness.
Businesses should have flexibility in how loan funds are used.
Support must last for longer than just the next two or three months.
Federally guaranteed loans, at favorable terms, that will enable small businesses to transform and sustain themselves through 2020 and well into 2021.
We believe that assistance should embrace the following principles: To survive until a vaccine is widely available, millions of small businesses will require longer-term support from the federal government.Īt this moment of crisis, we urge you to transcend partisanship and forge meaningful agreement on an assistance package to help our struggling small businesses and, in turn, tens of millions of Americans. Most small businesses don’t have enough cash in the bank to weather more months of reduced revenue and customer traffic. Although our country is in the process of reopening, it is hardly a return to normal, and many businesses may be required to close again. Another round of PPP would certainly be helpful for many of these businesses, but the hardest-hit sectors will need much more significant and sustained support. While the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has provided short-term relief for many, that lifeline is coming to an end. From retailers and restaurants to consulting firms and manufacturers, small business owners are facing a future of potential financial ruin that will make the nation’s current economic downturn last years longer than it must. Small businesses are too critical to our country’s economic strength to let fail. They employ almost half of all private-sector workers and account for 44 percent of U.S. We know that small businesses are essential to our country’s economic and social health. We write to you as more than 8,700 owners and leaders of some of America’s successful small businesses and organizations representing them.