Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, clashed with MSNBC host Willie Geist over the Democrats' unwillingness to pass an economic relief package for small businesses struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
"Sen. Schumer, as you just laid out, that PPP [paycheck protection] program has run out of its $350 billion worth of funds," Geist told Friday during MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
Geist continued: "There's that $250 billion legislation proposed to get that money to small businesses right now. It looks to help a lot of small business owners who are waiting for the checks, who actually have had loans approved but now hearing from their banks there’s no money left in the fund . . . Like you all, the Democrats, are standing in the way of that because you want to negotiate another piece for hospitals and state and local governments."
"No, that's not true," Schumer replied.
Schumer also talked about the importance of providing funding to keep hospitals afloat and stop layoffs within local and state governments.
"And when they lay off hundreds of thousands of people, which they will before May 4 when we come back, that’s just as bad as the small business person not being able to employ people . . . these immediate things are needed," he said.
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