MORGANTOWN — The U.S. Senate adjourned Thursday without reaching a deal on the $250 supplement the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Plan – PPP.
Both Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., expressed frustration that small businesses needing cash to stay afloat are left in the lurch until at least Monday.
Republicans and Democrats are at odds over the content of the package, dubbed CARES 3.5.
Republicans want to add $250 billion to the PPP’s original $350 billion, which has been tapped out already. The PPP offers forgivable loans for small businesses of 500 or fewer employees.
Democrats want to add another $250 billion to that: $100 billion for grants for hospitals, public and private entities and others to cover unreimbursed health-care expenses or lost revenues; and $150 billion for states tribes and local governments to backfill lost revenues.
In a conference call, Manchin said, “All we’ve asked for is a common-sense approach.: He wants to be sure the legislation carves out money for small rural businesses and small rural hospitals that are suffering and will likely be last in line for PPP and CARES dollars. “That’s what we’re fighting for.”
Manchin said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are working together to negotiate a deal and it could be ready when the Senate returns on Monday.
Manchin said the GOP’s $250 billion is needed but it’ll take closer to $500 billion to not only help small rural businesses, but also small rural hospitals that are suffering financially as they’ve had to cut back services and staffing to deal with the pandemic. “If we are not careful … the rural health-care industry may not be able to survive. … You’ve got serious problems even if the economy does come back.”
Capito released a comment she put out on social media: “This situation could have been completely avoided. Small businesses in America are in desperate need. We should not be playing politics and denying small businesses the help they need. Congress MUST fund #PPP.”
In a separate phone interview with The Dominion Post’ Suzanne Elliot, she said, “I’m frustrated that today we ran out of dollars and I’m worried that our West Virginia businesses … are going to get the door slammed and I’m worried for out smaller businesses … they’re going to get shut out here.”
She doesn’t understand, she said, why they just don’t refill the bucket to $250 million and deal with other issues separately. She’s said before that CARES contains $100 million for hospitals and only $30 million if it has gone out so far.
On a related note, Capito announced Thursday that President Trump appointed her to his Congressional Economic Task Force to lay the groundwork for reopening the country as the pandemic winds down.
Trump released his 18-page Opening Up America Again guidelines on Thursday.
Capito said the task force comprises members of both major parties from both wings of the Capitol – House and Senate.
“Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve been communicating with West Virginians daily to make sure they have the resources they need to meet this challenge head-on,” she said. “While we must continue to follow the advice of medical experts and practice social distancing, we need to look ahead to make sure we are taking the right steps to get our economy open and moving when this pandemic passes.
“That means working to make sure our small businesses and communities have the proper resources,” she said. “I am honored President Trump has selected me to serve on this task force and I look forward to working with him to chart a path forward to reopening our country and rebuilding our economy.”
Asked about Capito’s appointment, Manchin said during his conference call that he congratulates her and would be happy to offer her any help she might need from him.
Trump’s plan covers the medical criteria states should have in place before reopening, and Manchin cautioned it’s important not to reopen too soon. “We need to get our economy back but we need to get our people healthy,” he said.
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