Joe goes on road to boost small biz relief

President Biden’s hitting the road. Biden toured a minority-owned flooring company in his native Pennsylvania on Tuesday to hype up the aid for small businesses tucked into his recently-enacted $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.

The trip to Smith Flooring, Inc. in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester kicked off what’s expected to be a cross-country tour spanning several weeks, during which Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other top administration officials will highlight specific portions of the rescue legislation under the banner of “Help is Here.”

Tuesday’s stop was all about small businesses, and the more than $50 billion in relief for such companies that are included in Biden’s so-called American Rescue Plan.

“I think there’s hope ... More help is on the way for real,” Biden told Kristin and James Smith, owners of the flooring business.

Thousands of miles away, Harris was attending a small business forum in Denver and striking a similar message.

“Our small businesses are really part of the heartbeat of every community, our small business leaders are not only business leaders, you are civic leaders, community leaders, role models,” the vice president said.

The stimulus package’s small business relief is largely made up of three components: $28 billion in grants for struggling restaurants and bars; $7.5 billion to fill up the small business-benefiting Paycheck Protection Program, and $15 billion in “disaster” loans.