On Friday morning, Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, filed a discharge petition in the United States House of Representatives to force a vote to extend the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal program that has helped small businesses in Southwest Washington and across the country.
If the petition gets the required 218 signatures from United States representatives, it will allow the House to bring a bill to the floor that will distribute the nearly $135 million in PPP funds currently sitting idle after the program’s expiration in August.
“This public health crisis has left our small businesses near permanent closure, and that will happen on a massive scale if Congress doesn’t act. Yet Congress isn’t acting, so I’ve filed the discharge petition in the House today so we can bypass the political posturing and bring relief to our nation’s small businesses and their employees. Other relief remains vital, but we either save jobs and businesses now or provide triage soon for the damage caused by empty buildings, lost livelihoods and health care plans, and fewer employment opportunities overall. Reviving the PPP has to be our priority,” Herrera Beutler said in the news release.
“Since March, small businesses—corner stores, retail shops, and family restaurants—have been struggling to survive. Congress worked in a bipartisan manner to pass the CARES Act, which delivered rapid assistance to small firms through programs like the Paycheck Protection Program. Unfortunately, in recent months, additional relief for small businesses has been caught up in the partisan logjam and the livelihoods of real people hang in the balance. Congress must work together to get help to small businesses in Washington, Ohio, and across our great nation. Rep. Herrera Beutler’s discharge petition to force a vote on my legislation is the way to do just that. I thank her for her leadership on behalf of America’s small businesses,” House Committee on Small Business Ranking Member Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, said.
— The Reflector
