The Pappas-backed legislation provided critical support to New Hampshire, including saving 120,000 small business jobs and delivering $1.25 billion to fund the state’s initial COVID-19 relief efforts
Ahead of the one year anniversary of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act being signed into law, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) released the following statement:
"One year ago, Congress came together to pass the CARES Act to deliver immediate relief and ease the pain felt by Americans across the country," said Congressman Pappas. "This legislation was a down payment on the support that would later arrive, but nonetheless it provided direct payments, extended unemployment benefits, and support for small businesses that allowed so many Granite Staters stay afloat over the last year. As we continue to increase vaccinations across the state and get our economy back on track with additional support from the American Rescue Plan, I promise to continue fighting for the New Hampshire families, businesses, and medical health professionals to ensure we can put this pandemic behind us once and for all."
The CARES Act, which passed the House and was signed into law on March 27, 2021:
- Provided the first round of direct payments of up to $1,200 for each adult and child to help Granite Staters make ends meet.
- Created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to support small businesses, saving nearly 120,000 New Hampshire jobs and paying out $1.1 billion in loans to 14,544 first District businesses.
- Provided an extra $600 per week in federal unemployment support in addition to state unemployment assistance.
- Provided $69 billion for COVID-19 testing tracing, vaccine distribution, and mental health services
- Provided $1.25 billion in federal support to the State of New Hampshire for COVID-19 response
- Enacted eviction moratoriums to keep people in their homes
- Contained $25 billion in rental assistance for families struggling to stay in their homes
Following the passage of the CARES Act, Pappas worked to improve and refine the provisions in the bill, including the Paycheck Protection Protection. He called on House leadership to improve the loan conditions of the PPP and other details of the program based on hundreds of conversations he had with Granite State small businesses. These improvements were included in the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, which Pappas advocated for and helped to pass.
Rep. Pappas also repeatedly called for greater transparency and accountability of the PPP, and was part of the Congressional call which resulted in the Treasury Department reversing course and making partial PPP data publicly available.
Rep. Pappas has also led efforts in Congress to secure additional funding for state and local governments not included in the CARES Act. One of the first actions Pappas took after being sworn into office in January was to join Republican Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) in calling on House leadership to make COVID-19 relief, including state and local funding, the 117th Congress's top priority.
Original source can be found here.
