WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The Small Business Administration says it’s run out of money and cannot accept any new applications for a loan program to help small businesses through the coronavirus crisis.
“I don’t want a small West Virginia business having the door shut on their face because we ran out of money,” West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said of the Paycheck Protection Program.
Capito says small businesses are key to our recovery.
“… Because this is what’s going to really get our economy moving once we get the green light,” Capito said.
But Senate Democrats have so far blocked a $250 billion addition to the loan program. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin says the blame lies with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
“… Mitch is not talking and conferring at all with anybody in the Democratic party, and leadership, or any of us that basically want to work with him,” Manchin said.
Democrats say they want Republicans to increase funding for others who need immediate help fighting the pandemic.
“We’re going to have to be thoughtful about how to advance the agenda for families, for workers, for small business and of course for those front line heroes who are out there every day, ” Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey said.
But House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy says Democrats should take a look at the latest unemployment numbers.
“I don’t know what more that it takes. You got five million reasons today, you got 22 million reasons for this month,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy says Democrats should vote to expand the loan program now and come back to the other issues later. Democrats say they’re willing to compromise if Republicans meet them in the middle.