STUART: JOINING US, TREASURY SECRETARY STEVEN MNUCHIN,
JOINING US ON THE PHONE.
MR. SECRETARY, THIS PROGRAM HAS
BEEN DELUGED WITH SMALL BUSINESS
OWNERS ASKING US PLEASE TELL US
HOW DO WE GET OUR MONEY AND WHEN
DO WE GET IT.
WOULD YOU ANSWER THOSE
QUESTIONS, MR. SECRETARY?
ON THE PHONE: -- UP AND RUNNING
WITH THE SBA IS ONE OF THE MOST
EXCITING PARTS OF THIS PACKAGE.
I’VE SAID THESE LOANS WILL BE
AVAILABLE STARTING ON FRIDAY
WHICH WILL BE AT LIGHTNING
SPEED.
SPEED. WE HOPE LATER TODAY, THAT WE
WILL BE RELEASING THE DOCUMENTS
AND THE INSTRUCTIONS.
IT WILL BE A VERY SIMPLE PROCESS
WHERE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS CAN
GO TO ANY OF THE EXISTING SBA
LENDERS BUT THEY CAN ALSO GO TO
ANY FDIC INSURED INSTITUTION,
ANY CREDIT UNION, AND ANY FINTEC
LETTER THAT SIGNED UP FOR THIS
PROGRAM.
PROGRAM. WE EXPECT IT WILL BE VERY EASY.
THEY WILL GET EIGHT WEEKS OF
PAYROLL, PLUS 25% FOR OVERHEAD
AND AS LONG AS THEY USE THAT
MONEY TO BRING BACK THEIR
EMPLOYEES OR PAY THEIR
EMPLOYEES, IT WILL BE FORGIVEN.
THIS IS A GREAT WAY OF GETTING
AMERICANS BACK TO WORK.
STUART: HOW MUCH MONEY WILL BE
FLOWING OUT THERE IN THE WAY
YOU’VE DESCRIBED TO SMALL
BUSINESS?
BUSINESS? ON THE PHONE: $350 BILLION.
WE THINK THIS COVERS ABOUT 50%
OF THE PRIVATE WORK FORCE SO
AGAIN, THIS IS A VERY EFFECTIVE
WAY THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS
DESIGNED FOR US TO KEEP PEOPLE
AT WORK SO THAT WHEN THE ECONOMY
OPENS UP, THEY’RE READY AND
SMALL BUSINESSES HAVE THEIR
EMPLOYEES AND ARE OPEN FOR
BUSINESS.
BUSINESS. STUART: IF THE NUMBER OF
APPLICATIONS SURGES, IS THERE
MORE MONEY AVAILABLE PERHAPS IN
THE FUTURE ABOVE AND BEYOND $350
BILLION?
BILLION? ON THE PHONE: WELL, THIS IS A
VERY POPULAR PROGRAM WITH
REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS AND
THE PRESIDENT LIKES IT A LOT, SO
IF WE RUN OUT OF MONEY AND THIS
IS A HUGE SUCCESS, WE WILL
ABSOLUTELY GO BACK TO CONGRESS
AND ASK FOR MORE MONEY.
BY THE WAY, IT MAKES ECONOMIC
SENSE BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE
PERSON THAT WE PUT THROUGH THIS
PROGRAM, WE DON’T HAVE TO PAY
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE. SO THIS IS A GREAT WAY OF
PROTECTING OUR SMALL BUSINESS
WORKERS AND THE COMPANIES.
STUART: HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU
THAT THE ECONOMY CAN START TO
RECOVER BY JUNE 1st AS THE
PRESIDENT SUGGESTS?
PRESIDENT SUGGESTS? ON THE PHONE: WELL, I THINK THE
PRESIDENT’S DONE THE RIGHT THING
LISTENING TO MEDICAL
PROFESSIONALS THAT WE ARE GOING
TO WAIT A LITTLE LONGER TO MAKE
SURE WE KILL THIS VIRUS, AND WE
ARE PREPARED.
ARE PREPARED. WE HAVE A LOT OF MONEY, AS YOU
KNOW, OVER $2 TRILLION TO PUT TO
WORK, PLUS WE CAN LEVER ANOTHER
$4 TRILLION WITH THE FEDERAL
RESERVE AND THE PRESIDENT AND I
ARE 100% DETERMINED TO PROVIDE
LIQUIDITY TO THE MARKET.
WE THINK THIS EXISTING PACKAGE
GETS US THROUGH THE NEXT EIGHT
TO 12 WEEKS SO WE ARE IN THE
PROCESS OF PUTTING A LOT OF
MONEY INTO AMERICANS’ POCKETS
AND PROVIDING LIQUIDITY FOR
BUSINESS.
BUSINESS. STUART: BUT IT IS GOING TO BE A
ROUGH EIGHT WEEKS, AS WE HAVE
EXTENDED THE SOCIAL DISTANCING
RULES OUT THROUGH APRIL 30th.
GOING TO BE A ROUGH QUARTER,
ISN’T IT?
ISN’T IT? ON THE PHONE: IT IS.
I WOULD JUST SAY WE ARE VERY
SYMPATHETIC, THERE WILL BE
PEOPLE WHO LOSE THEIR JOBS,
HOPEFULLY THIS IS A TEMPORARY
ISSUE, AND THROUGH THE
THREE-PART PROGRAM, THE SMALL
BUSINESS PROGRAM, THE DIRECT
DEPOSIT CHECKS THAT WE’LL HAVE
IN PEOPLE’S ACCOUNTS IN THREE
WEEKS AND THE ENHANCED
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, YOU
KNOW, THAT’S A WAY TO PROTECT
AMERICAN WORKERS WHO, NO FAULT
OF THEIR OWN, THIS HAS NOTHING
TO DO WITH THE AMERICAN ECONOMY,
THIS ALL HAS TO DO WITH A
MEDICAL DISEASE.
MEDICAL DISEASE. STUART: A FEW MINUTES AGO,
PRESIDENT TRUMP APPEARED ON "FOX
& FRIENDS" ON THE FOX NEWS
CHANNEL AND SUGGESTED THAT
HAZARDOUS PAY, HAZARD PAY FOR
FIRST RESPONDERS, NURSES, WOULD
BE CONSIDERED.
BE CONSIDERED. ARE YOU CONSIDERING THAT, SIR?
ON THE PHONE: I THINK I AGREE
WITH THE PRESIDENT, I THINK THAT
MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.
WHEN WE GET TO THE NEXT BILL IN
CONGRESS, THAT’S DEFINITELY
SOMETHING WE WILL PUT IN THE
NEXT BILL.
NEXT BILL. STUART: THE NEXT BILL, THAT
IMPLIES A FOURTH STIMULUS
PROGRAM.
PROGRAM. ARE YOU ORGANIZING THAT NOW?
ON THE PHONE: NOT YET.
WE HAVE A LOT OF MONEY NOW THAT
WE’RE DEPLOYING AND OUR NUMBER
ONE JOB AT TREASURY RIGHT NOW,
WE HAVE THE TEAM WORKING AROUND
THE CLOCK MAKING SURE WE GET
THESE PROGRAMS UP AND RUNNING.
THESE PROGRAMS DON’T DO ANY GOOD
FOR AMERICANS THREE OR FOUR
MONTHS FROM NOW, SO WE ARE
DEPLOYING THIS MONEY NOW, AND AS
WE SEE HOW THE VIRUS GOES
FORWARD, WE ARE READY TO WORK
WITH CONGRESS IF WE NEED MORE
ENHANCEMENTS OR ADDITIONAL
FUNDS.
FUNDS. STUART: YOU TALKED ABOUT THE
ECONOMY COMING ROARING BACK.
YOU HOLD WITH THAT, WE COME
ROARING BACK AFTER JUNE 1st?
ON THE PHONE: I THINK SO.
I THINK WE WILL HAVE A ROUGH
ORDER BECAUSE WE SHUT DOWN MAJOR
PARTS OF THE ECONOMY, BUT OUR
ECONOMY WAS IN GREAT SHAPE.
OUR ECONOMY WAS THE ECONOMY THAT
WAS REALLY GROWING AND LEADING
THE WORLD AND AMERICAN BUSINESS
IS GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS AND
WE ARE GOING TO BE PREPARED, AND
I EXPECT THAT WITH ALL THIS
LIQUIDITY WE ARE PUTTING INTO
THE ECONOMY TO GET THROUGH THE
NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, WHEN WE
REOPEN, WE WILL BE READY AND THE
ECONOMY WILL SURGE BACK.
STUART: IF THE ECONOMY SURGES
BACK, WOULD YOU SUGGEST THAT THE
STOCK MARKET DOES AS WELL?
ON THE PHONE: ABSOLUTELY.
IF YOU SEE THE STOCK MARKET, YOU
SEE THE BOND MARKETS, AGAIN, I
HAVE ALWAYS SAID I CAN’T PREDICT
WHERE THEY ARE GOING TO BE IN
ANOTHER DAY OR ANOTHER WEEK, BUT
I THINK A YEAR FROM NOW, U.S.
INVESTMENTS ARE STILL THE BEST
INVESTMENTS IN THE WORLD AND FOR
LONG-TERM INVESTORS, IT’S A
GREAT TIME TO CONTINUE TO INVEST
IN THE U.S.
STUART: MR. TREASURY SECRETARY,
STEVEN MNUCHIN, THANK YOU VERY
MUCH FOR TAKING TIME OUT TO BE
WITH US THIS MORNING.