THIS. JOINING ME, TEXAS CONGRESSMAN
KEVIN BRADY, THE TOP REPUBLICAN
ON THE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE.
CONGRESSMAN, THANK YOU FOR
JOINING US THIS MORNING.
THERE’S BEEN A LOT OF CRITICISM
OVER WHO IS APPLYING AND
ACTUALLY GETTING SOME OF THESE
LOANS.
LOANS. DOES THIS BILL MISS AN
OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE THE
LANGUAGE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE
MONEY GETS TO THE BUSINESSES
THAT NEED IT MOST?
IF YOU MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO
EVERYONE, EVERYONE IS GOING TO
GO FOR IT.
>> YES, SO ABSOLUTELY NOT.
THESE ARE GOING TO SMALL
BUSINESSES.
BUSINESSES. THE AVERAGE LOAN IS ABOUT
$200,000.
$200,000. THAT’S MAIN STREET.
MOST OF THESE COMPANIES, THE TOP
FOUR OR FIVE ARE WHAT YOU WOULD
EXPECT.
EXPECT. LOCAL RETAIL, CONSTRUCTION,
HEALTH CARE, DOCTORS AND OTHERS
WHO DON’T HAVE ELECTED
SURGERIES.
SURGERIES. RESTAURANTS.
RESTAURANTS. SOME TECH OFFICE SPACES AS WELL.
THERE HAVE BEEN, AS YOU NOTED,
SOME PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES
THAT TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THIS.
BUT TO PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE,
THAT’S ONE OUT OF EVERY 10,000
SMALL BUSINESS LOANS ARE
PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANY.
THE PRESIDENT HAS SAID, I THINK
RIGHTLY SO.
RIGHTLY SO. LOOK, IF YOU’VE GOT ANOTHER WAY
TO GET CAPITAL, GET IT THERE
BECAUSE WE’RE TRYING TO STRETCH
THESE DOLLARS FOR OUR LOCAL
SMALL BUSINESSES.
SMALL BUSINESSES. I THINK THAT’S EXACTLY THE RIGHT
WAY TO GO.
>> BUT WHY IS THAT TAKING
ADVANTAGE?
ADVANTAGE? IF I RAN A CHAIN OF SMALL
RESTAURANTS OR IF I OWNED A
BOUTIQUE HOTEL WITH 400 PEOPLE,
THEN I WOULD BE LIVING THE
AMERICAN DREAM IN TERMS OF BEING
A SUCCESSFUL SMALL TO MEDIUM
SIZE BUSINESS OWNER.
IF THEY SHOULDN’T APPLY, WHAT
ARE YOU DOING FOR THEM?
>> NO, I THINK -- I THINK, ONE,
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE MOVE
SO QUICKLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE
WE COULD INJECT CASH INTO THIS
CASH FLOW CRISIS.
THAT’S WHY WORKERS JUST KEEP
THEIR WORKERS ON THE PAYROLL.
THAT’S WHAT IT SUCCEEDED TO DO
OVER 1.6 MILLION BUSINESSES
SAVING ABOUT 30 MILLION JOBS.
THAT’S A GREAT START.
YOU KNOW, I THINK WE’RE HAVING A
PUBLIC DEBATE ABOUT, CAN WE
STRETCH THOSE DOLLARS FURTHER?
I THINK, AND I THINK YOU WOULD,
TOO, STEPHANIE, THE WASHER AND
DRYER IN THE BACK OF A
RESTAURANT IS JUST AS IMPORTANT
WHETHER YOU WORK FOR A RUTH’S
CHRIS OR YOU WORK FOR A LOCAL
DELI.
DELI. THOSE JOBS ARE STILL PRETTY
CRITICAL.
CRITICAL. BUT THE QUESTION, OBVIOUSLY, IS,
IF THERE DOESN’T APPEAR TO BE AS
MUCH MONEY AS YOU’D LIKE, SHOULD
WE BE SETTING SOME PRIORITIES IN
ASKING BUSINESS TO FIND CAPITAL
ELSEWHERE IF THEY CAN DO THAT?
I THINK THAT’S FAIR.
I DO THINK WE DELAYED TOO LONG,
16 DAYS, TO GET THIS PACKAGE IN
PLACE.
PLACE. I THINK IT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE,
FRANKLY, IN FIVE MINUTES.
BUT NOW IT IS DONE, AND I THINK
NOW WE’VE GOT TO TAKE A LOOK AT,
OF ALL THIS $2.5 TRILLION WE’VE
SENT OUT IN REMARKABLY QUICK
ORDER, WHAT’S WORKING?
WHAT’S NOT.
WHAT’S NOT. WHAT ELSE DO WE NEED TO DO TO
HELP KEEP THAT PRESSURE ON THE
VIRUS
VIRUS VIRUS, OBVIOUSLY, HAS TO BE JOB
ONE.
ONE. HOW DO WE HELP BUSINESSES REOPEN
SAFELY IN A HEALTHY WORKPLACE AS
THOSE HEALTH CONDITIONS PERMIT?
AND HOW DO WE GET PEOPLE BACK TO
WORK BECAUSE 26 MILLION
AMERICANS OUT OF JOBS IN A
RECORD AMOUNT OF TIME,
UNFORTUNATELY, THAT’S A HUGE JOB
FOR US AS WELL.
WE’VE GOT TO BE ABLE TO GET THEM
BACK TO WORK.
>> BUT THAT’S WHAT I DON’T GET
BECAUSE WE WATCHED LAWMAKERS AND
REGULAR EVERYDAY FOLK HUMILIATE
AND SHAME BUSINESSES LIKE RUTH’S
CHRIS FOR TAKING THE MONEY, BUT
RUTH’S CHRIS DID LAY OFF ALL
SORTS OF WAITERS AND DISH
WASHERS AND THE MONEY WAS
AVAILABLE TO THEM.
SO WHY ARE WE LOOKING AT SMALL
BUSINESSES DIFFERENT THAN WE
LOOK AT PEOPLE WHO GO ON
UNEMPLOYMENT?
UNEMPLOYMENT? IF YOU AND I BOTH LOST OUR JOBS
AND BOTH FILED FOR UNEMPLOYMENT,
THERE WOULDN’T BE A PUBLIC
DEBATE OVER WHO NEEDS THE MONEY
MORE THAN ONE ANOTHER.
WE’D BOTH BE ELIGIBLE FOR
UNEMPLOYMENT BECAUSE WE’RE BOTH
OUT OF WORK.
THESE BUSINESSES ALL LAID
WORKERS OFF, AND NOW WE’VE
PUBLICLY SHAMED SOME OF THEM
INTO GIVING THE MONEY BACK.
I DON’T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHY
THE GOVERNMENT WOULD CREATE THAT
FOOD FIGHT SCENARIO.
>> YOU KNOW, I DON’T THINK THE
GOVERNMENT DID NECESSARILY.
CERTAINLY I THINK THE PUBLIC AND
THE MEDIA HAVE NAMED AND SHAMED
THESE COMPANIES AS IF THEY DID
SOMETHING WRONG.
SOMETHING WRONG. LOOK, THEY WERE ELIGIBLE.
THERE’S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.
AND WE HAVE MORE LENDING
PROGRAMS FOR MEDIUM SIZED
BUSINESSES AND FOR LARGER
INDUSTRIES BECAUSE WE BELIEVE
WORKERS, REGARDLESS OF WHERE
THEY WORK, ARE IMPORTANT.
WE WANT THEM TO KEEP WORKING AND
GET THOSE PAYCHECKS.
THERE’S BEEN SCRUTINY.
THE PRESIDENT IS RIGHT IN
SAYING -- IN ASKING, NOT
DIRECTING, BUT SAYING, IF YOU
CAN FIND OTHER CAPITAL, FIND IT
SOMEWHERE ELSE.
SOMEWHERE ELSE. SO THAT WE CAN STRETCH THESE
SMALL BUSINESS.
SMALL BUSINESS. I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE WITH
THAT.
THAT. >> SHOULD THE PRESIDENT DO THE
SAME FOR HIS BUSINESSES WHERE HE
WANTS A BREAK?
>> WELL, SPECIFICALLY WHICH
ONES?
ONES? >> HIS HOTELS, HIS GOLF COURSES?
>> I THINK HE OUGHT TO PLAY BY
EXACTLY THE SAME RULES AS EVERY
OTHER BUSINESS DOES.
JUST AS MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, THE
CABINET, ANYONE IN AMERICA.
SHOULD PLAY BY THE EXACT SAME
RULES.
RULES. AND I THINK, TOO, THE WORKERS
AGAIN, REGARDLESS OF WHO THEIR
OWNER IS OR WHAT TYPE OF
BUSINESS THEY’RE AT, YOU KNOW,
WE SHOULD TRY TO PROTECT THEIR
JOB AND KEEP ON THE PAYROLL.
THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT THIS HAS
DONE.
DONE. I THINK THESE NEW DOLLARS ARE
GOING TO BE VERY HELPFUL.
I THINK THE NEW DOLLARS FOR THE
ECONOMIC DISASTER LOANS, WHICH
ARE LOCAL BUSINESSES HAVE BEEN
USING AS WELL, IS GOING TO BE
CRITICAL.
CRITICAL. AND I DO LIKE ANOTHER ROUND OF
FUNDING FOR OUR HOSPITALS AND
FOR TESTING BECAUSE I THINK
THAT’S PRETTY CRUCIAL.
WE’VE ALREADY DEVOTED $100
BILLION FOR HOSPITALS AND HEALTH
CARE, PLUS A WHOLE BUNCH OF
OTHER THINGS.
OTHER THINGS. BUT OBVIOUSLY, THEY’VE LOST A
LOT OF REVENUE.
THEY’VE BEEN ON THE FRONT LINE.
AGAIN, THIS WAS A PACKAGE THAT
COULD HAVE BEEN AGREED ON IN
FIVE MINUTES.
FIVE MINUTES. I’M REALLY FRUSTRATED IT WAS
DELAYED 16 DAYS.
BUT THANK GOODNESS IT’S READY.
IT’S GOING TO BE SIGNED.
IT’S GOING TO HELP.
>> WITHOUT A DOUBT.
DO YOU THINK THE SBA NEEDS MORE
HELP?
HELP? IN A NORMAL YEAR, THE SBA GETS
THROUGH ABOUT $30 BILLION.
WE’RE NOW TALKING ABOUT OVER
$500 BILLION.
$500 BILLION. DOES THE GOVERNMENT NEED TO GIVE
MORE RESOURCES TO BEEF UP THE
SBA TO GET THIS DONE?
IT’S A GOVERNMENT AGENCY.
IT’S LIKE ASKING THE DEPARTMENT
OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO PUT ON THE
GRAND PRIX.
GRAND PRIX. >> STEPHANIE, YES, YOU HIT THE
TARGET.
TARGET. WE’VE ASKED THEM TO APPROVE AND
GET OUT IN 14 DAYS AS MANY LOANS
AS THEY’VE DONE IN 14 YEARS.
IT’S AN INCREDIBLE TASK.
SO, YES, IN THESE BILLS THERE IS
ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR STAFFING
AT THE SBA, TREASURY, AT THE
ORGANIZATIONS THAT NEED TO HELP
TO BRING THIS UP.
WE ALSO SEND ADDITIONAL DOLLARS
IN THE -- IF YOU RECALL THE
SECOND BILL, WE SENT A HALF A
BILLION DOLLARS TO STATES’
UNEMPLOYMENT SYSTEMS BECAUSE WE
KNEW, AS WE WERE TRYING TO HELP
MORE PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR JOBS,
A LOT OF THESE STATE
DEPARTMENTS, THEY ALL DO THINGS
A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY.
THEY’RE GOING TO NEED NEW STAFF,
NEW TECHNOLOGY.
NEW TECHNOLOGY. THERE IS HELP ON THE WAY FOR THE