Walden cheers OK of virus relief bill, wears face covering on House floor
WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., released a statement after he voted in support of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, H.R. 266.
“We can continue to go back and forth about the Democrat Leaders' political posturing and needless delays, but the message I want small businesses, their employees, and our nation's health care workers on the front lines to hear right now is this: We are with you. More help is on the way. And we will continue to fight alongside you as we work towards safely reopening our country,”said Walden.
The legislation, which passed the Senate earlier this week, will refill the Paycheck Protect Program (PPP), which ran out of funding last week. The bill includes $310 billion for the PPP and $10 billion for EIDL advance/grant program, $50 billion for EIDL program, $75 billion for hospitals/providers, and $25 billion for testing.
Nationwide, the PPP approved forgivable loans to more than 1.6 million small businesses and processed nearly $350 billion in only 14 days. In Oregon, the PPP approved over 18,700 forgivable loans and processed over $3.8 billion in only 14 days.
Before the vote, Walden spoke on the House Floor about the bill. You can watch his remarks on the House Floor here.
Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:
I rise in support of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, which provides a fourth installment of funds to continue to address the impact of COVID-19 on the American people. The bill replenishes the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses and provides additional funding for health care providers and expanded testing.
I’m glad we are finally here.
For too long, Democrat Leaders in the House and Senate have played partisan politics, needlessly delaying the initial passage of the CARES Act and preventing a quick replenishment of funds for the PPP, leaving small businesses and their employees in the lurch.
With record unemployment claims, we’ve seen that every single day counts in this pandemic – that’s why Republicans and President Trump were so adamant over the last two weeks about the need to not let these programs run out of money.
Painfully, Democrats took an ice-cream break, while small businesses were left empty-handed. A pointless week-long shuttering of the Paycheck Protection Program.
As a member of President Trump’s bipartisan task force on reopening the economy, I am committed to ensuring there are resources and strategies in place for the widespread testing that our health and economic experts have said is needed to reopen the country. While I support the additional funding for health care related expenses, it should never have come at the expense of bankrupting more small businesses and throwing more people into the unemployment lines.
The American people’s plight should not be used as “leverage” for partisan priorities, especially in the midst of a crisis. We must move forward in a united way that puts the needs of the American people first. Now, let’s pass this measure and get it to the President’s desk so we can begin to safely reopen the country.
