Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Chamber of Commerce CEO to Congress: Expand SBA funding by Monday or everyone will 'get blame'

Chamber of Commerce CEO to Congress: Expand SBA funding by Monday or everyone will 'get blame'

"I think where we have to focus right now is let's take care of the little guys. They're critical to this economy”: U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue
Lawmakers must put politics to the side and agree on a plan to expand the small business rescue loan program by Monday, U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue told media on Friday.

“We all understand it. We’re coming up on an election,” he said on “Closing Bell.” “If they don’t, nobody’s going to get credit and everybody’s going to get blame.”

Congressional Democrats and the Trump administration will spend the weekend negotiating another emergency funding bill intended to resume the Paycheck Protection Program, the $349 billion small business loan program that maxed out on Thursday.

The Small Business Administration, which oversees the system facilitated by banks, stopped receiving loan and lender applications for the program after it reached the appropriated limit.

“They’re doing a good job under a difficult circumstance, but we’re out of money,” Donohue said, “and it’s time to put some more in and, by the way, it’s not the last time we’re going to have to do it.”

The talks follow failed efforts by Senate Republicans last week to advance a $250 billion extension of PPP and later Democrats to push through a $250 billion measure for small businesses, hospitals and other priorities.

Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, which is in the midst of a severe downturn.

“I think where we have to focus right now is let’s take care of the little guys. They’re critical to this economy,” Donohue said.

“Don’t think one party is going to do better than another on this.”

The new legislation would be the fourth in a series of emergency spending bills, including the historic $2.2 trillion CARES Act, passed by lawmakers since March. Officials have moved quickly to blunt the economic damage of the global coronavirus pandemic and subsequent shutdown orders across the United States, which nearly depleted consumer spending and business revenues in multiple industries.

Countless restaurants, retail stores, barber shops and other local businesses have closed their doors and tens of millions of individuals have filed unemployment claims in recent weeks due to coronavirus fears. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce found in a survey that a majority of small businesses, 54%, have shut down or plan to shut down temporarily within two weeks.

“What most people lose sight of is many, many of those small companies work as subs and assistants to the big companies, so there’s a very tight relationship,” Donohue said.

President Donald Trump signed the massive stimulus package, which directed billions in spending toward families, workers and businesses, in late March in a rare bipartisan moment in Washington.

With the small business loan commitments at their limit, the demand for funds remains high as companies seek to keep employees on their payrolls. It is not certain how many entities have received money.

Donohue, whose lobbying group represents about 400,000 small businesses, said about 1.5 million companies have received financing. There are about 30 million small enterprises in the U.S. and many won’t be able to get their hands on any money, he said.

“Now we’re looking at what we’re trying to do to finance in a way that these smaller companies, particularly the substantive ones, can hold on to their employees until we can move through to a point where the economy is back percolating,” he said.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce tends to support Republican initiatives, though it also has a history of supporting Democratic priorities.

“Nobody should try and take credit, because everybody is going to get the blame, both parties, if we don’t do it,” Donohue said.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
UK Government Tries to Sue 4chan for Breaching Online Safety Act
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
"Every Centimeter of Your Body Is a Masterpiece": The Shocking Meta Document Revealed
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
China Requires Data Centres to Source Majority of AI Chips Locally, For Technological Sovereignty
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
OpenAI’s ‘PhD-Level’ ChatGPT 5 Stumbles, Struggles to Even Label a Map
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
The World Economic Forum has cleared Klaus Schwab of “material wrongdoing” after a law firm conducted a review into potential misconduct of the institution’s founder
A Computer That Listens, Sees, and Acts: What to Expect from Windows 12
Bitcoin hits $123,000
Southwest Airlines Apologizes After 'Accidentally Forgetting' Two Blind Passengers at New Orleans Airport and Faces Criticism Over Poor Service for Passengers with Disabilities
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Russian Forces Advance on Donetsk Front, Cutting Key Supply Routes Near Pokrovsk
It’s Not the Algorithm: New Study Claims Social Networks Are Fundamentally Broken
Sixty-Year-Old Claims: “My Biological Age Is Twenty-One.” Want the Same? Remember the Name Spermidine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
The Billion-Dollar Inheritance and the Death on the Railway Tracks: The Scandal Shaking Europe
World’s Cleanest Countries 2025 Ranked by Air, Water, Waste, and Hygiene Standards
Denmark Revives EU ‘Chat Control’ Proposal for Encrypted Message Scanning
Perplexity makes unsolicited $34.5 billion all-cash offer for Google’s Chrome browser
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
×