U.S. House Small Business Committee Holds Hearing on PPP

The U.S. Small Business Committee this week held a hearing entitled "State of the Small Business Economy in the Era of COVID-19". During the hearing, lawmakers questioned four witnesses: Sharon Pinder, President and CEO of the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council, Stephen Shoaps, owner of Strother Cinema in Oklahoma, Robert Fairlie, a professor of economics at the University of California Santa Cruz, and Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO of SBE Council.

The hearing covered such topics as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), state lockdowns and reopening the economy, and the minimum wage. Small business owner Stephen Shoaps testified that the PPP loan he received during the course of the pandemic was essential in helping his business, a small local movie theater, stay afloat.

A second round of Paycheck Protection Program lending opened last month, and has since approved more than 890,000 loans, totaling nearly $73 billion. During the hearing, lawmakers applauded the success of the Paycheck Protection Program, while still seeking improvements and alternative pathways to success for small businesses through the pandemic.

To watch a recording of the hearing, click here.