After securing over $6 million in emergency funding for local small businesses, Craig met with owners to hear their stories and ongoing challenges
PRIOR LAKE, MN – Today, U.S. Representative Angie Craig convened a roundtable with local small business owners to hear their stories about navigating the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and listen to their current challenges. Through her efforts to help small businesses recover and rebuild, Representative Craig has secured over $6 million in emergency funding for local small businesses across the Second District.
At the roundtable, Craig listened as local business owners detailed their experiences recovering from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and shared ideas on how the federal government can assist with this process.
"Many of the small businesses that make the Second District such a special place to live were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and now are facing different challenges," said Representative Craig, who serves on the Small Business Committee in the U.S. Congress. "These businesses are the heart and soul of my district and today's conversation made it clear that we need to remain vigilant to their ongoing challenges."
Image
In Congress, Craig has long advocated for small businesses, which represent more than 90% of employers in Minnesota's Second District. As part of these efforts, she has worked hard to ensure small businesses are able to receive critical funding through Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. In June 2020, her Prioritized Paycheck Protection Program Act was signed into law, giving small businesses an opportunity to secure additional PPP loans. Since the beginning of the program, PPP has issued 22,442 loans to businesses across the Second District – providing over $1.67 billion in funding and saving over 176,600 jobs.
Last summer, Craig led more than 100 of her colleagues from both parties in pressing House leadership to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) program, which was designed to support the restaurants, bars and eateries hardest hit by the pandemic. Craig also led more than 200 of her colleagues in an effort to stabilize and improve the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, which provides emergency assistance grants to venues that were unable to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
###
Issues: Small Business Jobs and Economy
Original source can be found here.
