{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://neal.house.gov/2025/12/08/neal-highlights-democratic-leadership-that-kept-businesses-open-and-americas-recovery-the-strongest-in-the-world/", "Neal Highlights Democratic Leadership that Kept Businesses Open and America\u2019s Recovery the Strongest in the World", "2025-12-08", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Richard E. Neal", "N000015", "neal.house.gov", "neal", "https://neal.house.gov/category/press-releases/", "scraper", "Charlemont, MA \u2013 Today, Congressman Richard E. Neal joined Jon Schaefer, CEO of Berkshire East Mountain Resort, to highlight how Democratic leadership has helped keep businesses open and protect local jobs during times of need.\n\nThis visit comes after Berkshire East celebrated opening weekend for the 2025-2026 season \u2014 the forty-ninth season under the Schaefer family \u2014 and just five years after the ski resort faced extraordinary economic challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, thanks to economic programs established under the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act, Berkshire East and their sister businesses were able to receive the financial support they needed to continue operating.\n\n\u201cToday\u2019s visit is an important reminder of what the federal government is capable of when we meet the moment with competence and a commitment to investing in the American worker,\u201d said Congressman Richard E. Neal. \u201cAnd it is also a reminder of what happens when that leadership disappears, resulting in workers facing higher costs, businesses facing greater uncertainty, and rural economies like Charlemont\u2019s being left to grapple with the fallout of shortsighted policy decisions.\u201d\n\nBerkshire East Mountain Resort and its sister businesses employ hundreds of year-round and seasonal workers whose income supports local restaurants, shops, schools, and municipal services. Without federal intervention during the height of the pandemic, the ripple effects of prolonged closures would have been devastating for the region. The relief Congress delivered under Democratic leadership allowed the Schaefers to retain staff and avoid permanent layoffs, providing economic stability for them and their employees, ultimately positioning them for a faster, stronger recovery.\n\n\u201cCongressman Neal\u2019s visit is an opportunity to highlight how federal programs intersect with real-world rural operations. For us at Berkshire East, Catamount Resort and Zoar, we received federal funds that helped maintain payroll during the pandemic period,\u201d said Jon Schaefer, CEO of Berkshire East Mountain Resort. \u201cIn rural economies like ours in Western Massachusetts, every single job has a multiplier effect on families, schools and local businesses. Having our teams intact allowed us to not only maintain our infrastructure during unpredictable times, but also allowed for a faster and stronger recovery once restrictions were lifted. Maintaining a nonpartisan line, we truly appreciate any government program that helps working people stay working and supports rural businesses.\u201d\n\nAmong the critical economic programs established under Congressman Neal\u2019s chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee, included in the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act and benefitted small businesses are:\n\nEconomic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL): $390 billion to nearly four million small businesses and nonprofits\n\nPaycheck Protection Program (PPP): $763 billion in forgiven loans to more than 968,000 businesses and nonprofits\n\nRestaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF): $28.5 billion to more than 100,000 businesses\n\nShuttered Venue Operator Grants (SVOG): $14.6 billion in grants to more than 13,000 businesses and nonprofits\n\nState and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF): $350 billion to state, territorial, local, and tribal governments, many of which provided grants to businesses and nonprofits in their district\n\n\u201cWith these programs now fully implemented across the country, we are calling attention to what these funds have meant for businesses and communities throughout the First District of Massachusetts,\u201d continued Neal. \u201cAs workers and businesses grapple with the reckless and chaotic economic policies of the current administration, it\u2019s important to call attention to stories like the one here at Berkshire East, reminding us of what thoughtful, responsible leadership can achieve. For families like the Schaefers, the pandemic represented some of the worst moments for their business. They were looking for a partner in the federal government, and that\u2019s precisely what we delivered.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "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://neal.house.gov/2025/12/08/neal-highlights-democratic-leadership-that-kept-businesses-open-and-americas-recovery-the-strongest-in-the-world/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5987688675522804, "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"}