PRESS RELEASE: SEN. BEN CARDIN, NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCATES DISCUSS URGENT NEED FOR MORE COVID RELIEF, UNVEIL NEW SURVEY OF SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2021

Contact:
Maddy McDaniel, Communications Director
[email protected] or 914-471-7716

SEN. BEN CARDIN, NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCATES DISCUSS URGENT NEED FOR MORE COVID RELIEF, UNVEIL NEW SURVEY OF SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

Senator Ben Cardin: “The December omnibus bill was meant to get us to March. Well, March is here and we need now to pass another round of help to make sure small businesses succeed.”

New National Survey of Over 1,200 Small Business Owners: Majority of Small Business Owners Want Robust Economic Relief — Even If Republican Lawmakers Fail To Come On Board; 69% Support the American Rescue Plan

Nearly 330 Small Business Owners and Leaders — Including Representatives From 30 Chambers Of Commerce — Signed a Letter Urging Bold Action On The American Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With at least 400,000 small businesses forced to permanently shut their doors and national revenue down by 33.1% nationally, small business owners are calling for robust public investment as part of the American Rescue Plan.

Senator Ben Cardin, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and national small business advocates made the following statements during a press call hosted by Invest in America and Small Business for America’s Future:

“We know that small businesses are the growth engine of America. But we also know that the resiliency during an economic downturn is much more challenging for small businesses,” said Senator Ben Cardin, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. “We need to act now. The December omnibus bill was meant to get us to March. Well, March is here and we need now to pass another round of help to make sure small businesses succeed.”

“There is bipartisan support from small business owners for the American rescue plan,” said Rhett Buttle, senior advisor for Small Business for America’s Future. “It’s really not hard to understand why they feel this way. Our survey paints an important picture that small businesses are really continuing to struggle and we know that this is true particularly for business owners of color.”

“The pandemic is far from over and small businesses like mine are going to need a lot more relief and help,” said Tiara Flynn, president and CEO of Sumnu Marketing in Las Vegas, Nevada. “I’m extremely grateful for the Biden Administration’s updates to the PPP program. It’s tremendous for small businesses to feel like we have a window to get that relief and support that we so desperately need.”

Yesterday, President Biden announced new reforms to make the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) more equitable and accessible to ensure that small businesses will primarily benefit from crucial public investment, not the massive corporations like Newsmax and Hallmark which received aid in the previous packages during the Trump Administration.

About Invest in America

Invest In America is a national rapid response operation advocating for robust public investment to rescue the economy from the COVID crisis and create prosperity for the future, and to fight back against fear-mongers who use deficit concerns as a scapegoat to starve American communities and businesses of resources.

The operation consists of two components: Invest in America, the charitable and public education arm, which is a fiscally sponsored project of Economic Security Project funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Economic Security Project co-chair Chris Hughes; and Invest in America Action, the advocacy and social welfare arm, which is a fiscally sponsored project of Economic Security Project Action funded by Chris Hughes and the Omidyar Network.

Learn more at InvestInAmericaNow.com and @InvestNowUSA, and InvestinAmericaProject.com.

About Small Business for America’s Future

Small Business for America’s Future is a national coalition of small business owners and leaders working to provide small businesses a voice at every level of government. We’re committed to ensuring policymakers prioritize the nation’s 30 million small businesses to create an economy that works for them, their workers and their communities. Visit www.smallbusinessforamericasfuture.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. #SmallBizAF.

###