Rep. Mike Burgess, R-Texas, says it’s “unbelievable” that $250 billion in small business loans is being blocked in the Senate for “purely political reasons.”
“This paycheck protection program was one of the tools that could be used and it’s unbelievable that it could be stopped for purely political reasons but that’s what seems to have happened,” Burgess said Thursday during an appearance on Newsmax TV’s “The Chris Salcedo Show.”
“The money is necessary. … We will beat this virus, we always do. I can’t tell you how long it will take, but the important thing is that we have to have something on the other side other than just smoke and ruins.”
Funding for the initial $350 small business loan program was exhausted Thursday just two weeks after it launched, and Democrats last week objected to an emergency infusion of $250 billion for loans without more help for hospitals, states and cities – Republicans refused.
“Yes, we know we need more money for this program,” Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, said on the Senate floor on April 9. “But for goodness sake, let’s take the opportunity to make some bipartisan fixes to allow this program to work better for the very people it’s designed to help.”
The Senate is not scheduled to return until May 4th.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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