COVID-19 Protecting Small Business, Individuals, and Families
When the pandemic swept over the world, Congress came together with a three-fold response: protecting health care, protecting individuals and families, and protecting small business.
continue to employ as many people as possible. We supported individuals with a payment of $1200 to protect against economic anxiety. We also extended federal unemployment compensation as part of state unemployment benefits.
As traumatic as coronavirus has been for our nation, I am extraordinarily proud of Nebraskans. We have led the nation in sustaining important food production, caring for patients with COVID-19, and meeting the needs of small business.
One of the bills, the CARES Act, included important protection for businesses, particularly small businesses. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a bipartisan airlift, saved over 300,000 jobs in the Cornhusker State. Nebraska ranked number one in the nation in the number of PPP loans approved, per capita. A national reporter called to ask me why. “Nebraskans know how to plow,” I replied. Our financial institutions are community-oriented: The banker knows the farmer, the banker knows the barber, the banker knows the café owner. In coordination with small business associations, the Small Business Administration (SBA), and community bankers, we got the word out quickly. The entrepreneurial spirit of Nebraska kicked into high gear as a lot of people got busy.
CORONAVIRUS RE PONSE Congress responded early in the pandemic with a series of bills. We invested in vaccines, treatments, diagnostics, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to ensure that our medical system and professionals could care for patients with COVID-19. We transferred resources to states so they could provide a public health response for citizens. We provided funds to ensure that businesses could
Due to COVID-19, telehealth, tele-education, and telework are here to stay. They are revolutionizing how we interact as a community. Poor Internet in places holds us back. I am working to ensure that all Americans have access to this vital service. Watch my speech on rural broadband from the U.S. House of Representatives: https://bit.ly/3jKMKNQ
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