Biden visits the DC hardware store that received the PPP loan

by

President BidenJoe BidenCNN: The Bidens dogs removed from the White House The federal judge considers that “shaman QAnon” is too dangerous to be released from prison. Pelosi says the Capitol riot was one of the most difficult moments of her career On Tuesday, he visited a hardware store in the Washington, DC neighborhood that received a coronavirus aid loan to highlight his administration’s efforts to prioritize assistance to the smallest companies affected by the pandemic.

Biden visited WS Jenks & Son, located in Northeast DC, which the White House says it has received a loan under the Wage Protection Program (PPP) for the past two weeks, as the Biden administration has limited applicants to businesses with less than 20 employees.

The Treasury Department’s loan program was established by the bipartisan CARES law last year. The program was popular, but withstood criticism in 2020, when data showed that much of the funding in the first round of loans was given to large companies, such as major national chains.

Biden met with hardware store co-owners Mike and Jerry Siegel and the owner of a local farmer, Little Wild Things Farm, adjacent to the hardware store. The manufacturer has also received a loan in the last two weeks.

Biden asked the owners what hit them hardest about the pandemic. Mike Siegel said the biggest challenge was deciding what to do with their staff, noting that the store sent at-risk employees home when the virus struck. Siegel said the first wave of PPP loans last year helped the hardware store continue to pay its employees who stayed home.

Biden said his administration changed the PPP to make sure the aid was given to small businesses, noting that about 400,000 closed during the pandemic. He blamed the Trump administration for not making sure the money went to small businesses.

“We found out that a lot of it was for big companies that didn’t have to qualify,” he said.

The Biden administration set up a 14-day period between February 24 and March 9, during which time only companies with less than 20 employees could apply for assistance through the popular loan program. The special period ends on Tuesday, and companies applying for PPP loans must apply before the 31 March deadline.

The Biden administration has also made other changes to the program, such as changing its formula for calculating loans for the self-employed and lifting restrictions on those who have not received student loan debt or have previous non-fraud convictions to aimed at assisting the smallest and minority enterprises.

Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters later Tuesday that the Biden administration had seen a “significant increase” in the number of loans to small businesses, first-time participants and women and minority-owned firms. from changes.

Specifically, Ramamurti said the government approved more than 300,000 loans to companies with less than five employees, an increase of 15, and nearly 200,000 loans to PPP borrowers for the first time, an increase of 25% during for two weeks.

Ramamurti said there was also a 14% increase in loans to women-owned businesses, a 20% increase in loans to minority-owned businesses and a 12% increase in loans to rural businesses.

A brief visit on Tuesday comes as the House prepares to pass Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus aid plan after it passes the Senate on Wednesday. The bill provides an additional $ 7.25 billion for PPPs, $ 28 billion in funding for a new restaurant financing program, and other provisions to support companies affected by the pandemic.

—Updated at 1:50 p.m.

.Source