If you are a business owner, you need to be a member of NFIB (you'll read why below). If you are a member, you need to tell others to join NFIB (you'll also read why below).
Good Morning, NFIB. Today’s clips include NFIB’s letter sent to Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza, the SBA loan program resuming with more funding, governors’ plans for reopening, and more…
NFIB issued a statement on a letter sent to Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza on behalf of NFIB President Brad Close: “NFIB requests the SBA make available both returned PPP loans and prepaid disbursements to small business owners who have not yet received one.” The statement includes a link to a new NFIB video that spotlights small businesses’ plight after delays and lack of funds. Watch the full video here.
The Los Angeles Times reports on the SBA loan program resuming with new funding, highlighting that the loan would be forgiven if employers maintain at least their pre-pandemic payroll for eight weeks after the loan is given. Director of Research and Policy Analysis Holly Wade said the rule “is very restrictive for many small business owners who aren’t up and running yet. The rehiring back to pre-crisis levels is a heavy lift for many businesses.”
In the States:
Spectrum Local News in Charlotte, North Carolina quotes NFIB President Brad Close on the additional funding approved by the U.S. Senate for SBA loans: “This could well be gone by middle-to-end of next week or even earlier, depending on how many applications go through quickly,” said Close. “Congress will probably have to re-examine this in the future.”
Michigan State Director Charlie Owens spoke to Moody on the Market on NFIB urging the state’s House of Representatives to pass bills that “would repeal Public Act 302 of 1945, reducing from 28 days to 14 days, the period that a state of disaster or state of emergency could remain in effect without a resolution from both chambers of the state legislature.” Owens said, “Unfortunately, efforts to address the serious situation with the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in unilateral actions by the executive office with little consultation or cooperation from legislative leadership.”
NFIB connected New York member Michael Theiss, General Manager of Manny’s University Sport Shop, with the Syracuse Post Standard to discuss the difficulties of rehiring employees who are reluctant to return to work because of an unprecedented boost in unemployment benefits approved by Congress. “The retail jobs don’t pay a tremendous amount, so most of our staff is staying home doing nothing,” Theiss said. “I don’t blame them. It’s tricky. I don’t know how we’re going to bring people back. The extra $600 is the killer.”
- State Director Greg Biryla said, “NFIB is hearing more and more from small businesses across New York who are worried that workers won’t want to return because of the generous federal unemployment insurance supplement.”
Insider NJ published a release from New Jersey State Director Eileen Kean thanking state Senators for requesting that Gov. Phil Murphy allow some low-risk businesses to open: “These businesses hope to start moving beyond the dire economic circumstances the pandemic created, and they will certainly comply with any safety measures that are required if they can reopen. Thanks to Senate President Sweeney and the other Senators who are calling for these first few businesses to reopen at this point.”
The Associated Press quotes Louisiana State Director Dawn Starns in a piece on the small business community's reaction to the planned loosening of coronavirus restrictions: “Small business owners are going to look at that and say, ’It’s not worth my time or cost to get to that level to reopen.′ So they’ll stay closed or with curbside service.” This article was syndicated to Biz New Orleans.
Tennessee State Director Jim Brown was a guest at Nashville Mayor John Cooper's daily coronavirus briefing. Brown discussed PPP loans and NFIB's legislative agenda for helping small businesses survive the COVID-19 outbreak. Watch the full briefing here.
Several outlets in Florida report on Gov. Ron DeSantis' plan to begin rebooting the state economy:
- “We’ll eagerly await for whenever he is ready to reopen Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach. As long as public health dictates, we’ll take the parts of the state that the governor is ready to open,” said Florida Executive Director Bill Herrle to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. This article was highlighted in Politico’s Florida Playbook.
- Herrle told Florida Politics: “Small business owners across the state will be very pleased with the announcement from the Governor that he is opening Florida for business on Monday, May 4.”
- “For 20 million people in Florida, there’s going to be nearly 20 million very personal decisions about what to do next,” said Herrle to The Tallahassee Democrat. This article was syndicated to The St. Augustine Record, Ocala Star-Banner, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and The Gainesville Sun.
Herrle also spoke with WFSU about PPP loans as larger chains are returning their loans after facing criticism for taking money intended for small businesses. “We don’t want to take away from the importance and vitalness from the PPP program, this is what has the best chance of saving hundreds of thousands of small businesses…Shame on those people that abused it. We are very much encouraging the SBA to track down these abuses and exact penalties if appropriate,” said Herrle.
Alabama State Director Rosemary Elebash spoke with WBHM in Birmingham about PPP loans. Listen to the full segment here.
That’s all for today. Click here for the full report. Check out our social media and please retweet:
No comments:
Post a Comment