Scalia says PPP ‘can’t meet the precise needs of every small employer,’ but is a ‘great benefit’
Unemployment soars to 30 million over 6 weeks amid coronavirus crisis
Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia reacts to soaring U.S. employment numbers.
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Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia insisted on «Bill Hemmer Reports» Friday that his department is doing whatever it can to help businesses and workers who are struggling as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Scalia told host Bill Hemmer that he has been working with states to provide federal support for state-based unemployment compensation and praised the PPP — or Paycheck Protection Program.
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Host Bill Hemmer reported that some companies are asking for the PPP to be active for longer than the eight weeks they have to pay back the debt.
«Congress set that length,» Scalia replied. «We know it is a great benefit to businesses, but that said, the president and his administration are constantly, every day, evaluating how these programs are functioning and what American workers need.»
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«The demand for these loans has been great. So, I appreciate that this program can’t meet the precise needs of every small employer, but in the first round, there were 1.6 million loans written covering about 30 million workers and the Small Business Administration is predicting that another 30 million workers will get the benefits from this second round of funding that the president signed last week.»
Scalia added that the PPP isn’t going to cover every business or employee, but that it is doing a «great thing» for the country during this tough time.
