{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://curtis.house.gov/press-releases/curtis-leads-bipartisan-legislation-to-enhance-industries-hurt-by-pandemic/", "Curtis Leads Bipartisan Legislation to Enhance Industries Hurt by Pandemic", "2020-07-31", "2020", "2020-07", "Republican", "House", "UT", "John Curtis", "C001114", "curtis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DCToday, Representatives John Curtis (R-UT), Susan Wild (D-PA), Chip\nRoy (R-TX), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), and Dan Meuser (R-PA) released the following\nstatements following the introduction of\ntheir new bipartisan bill to amend the Paycheck\nProtection Program (PPP). The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security\nAct's (CARES Act) PPP helped deliver important tools to temporarily support\nmillions of struggling businesses across the country and with the enhancements\nin the this new bill, the Paycheck Protection\nProgram Small Business Enhancement Act, small businesses will be able to\nreceive even more aid. \nDespite receiving a\nPaycheck Protection Program loan, countless Utah small business remain\nshuttered and could use the resources offered by the Paycheck Protection\nProgram, said Curtis. This is especially the case in many of\nour tourism communities, like Southeastern Utah  from tour companies that\norganize trips to Utah's natural treasures to bussing companies that transport\nadventurous travelers from across the globe through our famed national parks. A\nsecond PPP loan could be make or break for these mostly family-owned\nestablishments and fighting to keep their doors open is a cause that I am\nunquestioningly willing to support.\nGetting America back to work means\nensuring Americans have jobs to come back to. Since the beginning of this\npandemic, the PPP program has helped keep more than 108,000 people in my\ndistrict employed  and allowing businesses to access these funds a second time\nwill help make sure they stay employed as we continue to face this public\nhealth emergency, said Wild.\nAnd when people do return to work, they need to feel safe doing so. By making\nsure businesses have the resources to create and maintain safe work\nenvironments  with plenty of PPE, sanitation services, and support for regular\ntesting  we can start to create a framework in which economic recovery is\npossible. This bipartisan, commonsense effort protects small businesses and\nAmerican workers, and I am proud to support it.\nThe PPP program  as modified by the\nbipartisan flexibility provisions I was happy to lead to pass  has helped\nmillions of small businesses across the country and in Texas. They've been able\nto keep their doors open and their employees on the payroll. But for many I\nspeak to in Texas, the public policies of closure and distancing are continuing\nto crush them, and they say the need another round to stay alive, said Roy.I am happy to work with my friend,\nRep. Curtis, to offer targeted, clean legislation to focus on this problem and\nhonor our obligation to make people whole for taking away their livelihoods.\nThe Paycheck Protection Program was a\ntargeted response to unprecedented economic uncertainty. The program worked as\nit was intended  the average loan size was approximately $100,000,\ndemonstrating its efficacy at helping small businesses across America weather\nthe challenges brought on by COVID. In my district in Pennsylvania, nearly\n8,000 forgivable PPP loans have been distributed, saving nearly 80,000 jobs.\nThe provisions that Rep. Curtis, Roy, Van Drew, and I have worked on will\nensure the PPP continues to truly help small businesses in a thoughtful, clear,\nand targeted way, said\nMeuser.\nStatement of\nSupport\nMatt Haller, IFA Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Public Affairs: The Paycheck Protection Program Small Business Enhancement Act is\na thoughtful, effective plan to ensure that PPP loans are accessible to those\nwho need them and effective for those who receive them. Reps. Curtis and Roy\nhave put forward a strong bill that will address the most pressing issues for\nfranchise small businesses and their employees across the country.\nBackground \nThe\nRepresentatives are advocating for the following changes to PPP to help the aid\ngo even further:\n Allowing a second PPP loan for businesses that have experienced a reduction in gross receipts of more than 20% as compared to last yearIncluding 501(c)(6) nonprofits and franchised businesses that were left out of the first round of PPP to receive loans for the first timeAllowing businesses to spend PPP funds on protective equipment and testing expensesMaking eligible expenses tax deductibleEnsuring that lenders, especially smaller community banks, continue to participate in PPP by easing the burden PPP places on them by:Providing lenders with a robust safe harbor from liability for the statements and representations of borrowersAllowing automatic forgiveness for loans under $150,000 while maintaining the ability of SBA to audit those loans for compliance \nCongressman Curtis wrote an op-ed\nin the Deseret News earlier this week explaining that while the Paycheck\nProtection Program has helped Utah's economy, small businesses desperately need\nmore help, and proposed changes to the legislation to accomplish that goal.Click [HERE]\nto read. \nText\nof the bill available here.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://curtis.house.gov/press-releases/curtis-leads-bipartisan-legislation-to-enhance-industries-hurt-by-pandemic/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4329880941659212, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}