Houlahan: PPP saved 190,000 jobs

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) announced that the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal program she has helped shepherd through Congress, has helped small businesses save 190,657 jobs in Pennsylvania’s Sixth District, inclusive of Chester County and the southern part of Berks County.

The program has helped a total of 18,148 businesses in our community. More than 15,000 companies received loans of $150,000 or less, indicating many of them are among the smallest businesses in our area. To access the data regarding the impact of PPP for PA-06, click here.

“Since this pandemic began, I have been working with local small businesses to make sure their concerns are not only heard but also addressed in Congress,” said Houlahan. “The Paycheck Protection Program has helped save thousands of jobs in our community and kept afloat many of our smallest of small businesses. Through our town halls and continuous outreach, my office has become a crucial resource for small businesses during these uncertain times. I firmly believe our small businesses represent the backbone of our economy. To successfully navigate this COVID-19 pandemic, we in Congress need to continue working with and supporting our small businesses.”

Houlahan has led a number of initiatives to improve the PPP, aid our smallest of small businesses, and increase transparency within the program. Building on feedback she has heard during multiple town halls from small business owners in her community, Rep. Houlahan has:

•Pushed House leadership to pay special attention to unique needs of our micro-businesses as they weather this crisis. Houlahan and her team have been working with many sole proprietors and business owners with 20 or fewer employees to help them gain access to Federal assistance. In a letter to House and Senate Leadership, Houlahan advocated for the smallest of businesses in our communities to have equal access to capital through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and Paycheck Protection Program, as well as any other emergency assistance.

•Wrote to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration asking for information about who has received assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) program, and other debt relief programs. Rep. Houlahan believes the American people deserve to know how these taxpayer funds are being used.

•Wrote to urge SBA and Treasury to conduct proactive outreach to underserved and minority-owned small businesses to assist with applying for the PPP.

•Voted to increase funding for and extend the Paycheck Protection Program. The deadline to apply for a PPP loan is now August 8, 2020.

•Voted for the bipartisan TRUTH Act to require the Small Business Administration to make information about the recipients of Federal COVID-19 relief loans publicly available.

Over the past several months, Rep. Houlahan has heard from a number of small business owners and employees in her community about the importance of these financial lifelines:

“Cashflow is critical to businesses, and hopefully the PPP can allow small businesses to keep their employees paid, and ready to reopen when it becomes safe to do so,” said Tom, a small business owner in Phoenixville, PA. “Thank you to Representative Houlahan for all her assistance and for listening.”

“As a small business owner that established in 2004 that grew to 3 physical therapy facilities over the years, we had to close our doors overnight and lost all sources of revenue due to the threat of the COVID19 pandemic,” said Lisa of Exton, PA. “As a small business owner who competes with large businesses within the same industry, it is hard to be competitive to attract not only patients but employees as well by providing competitive salaries and benefit packages. The need for this funding is crucial to the survival of our business.”

“This effort will have a huge impact on many of my clients who are small business owners,” said Mary Kay, attorney from West Chester. “I am very grateful that my clients and I have such excellent representation in Washington.”

SUBMITTED PHOTO During the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-6th, of Easttown, speaks to more than 4,000 of her constituents during a telephone Town Hall earlier this week.