JUSTICE ACTION NETWORK APPLAUDS SENATORS ROB PORTMAN AND BEN CARDIN FOR ENSURING THAT SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS WITH RECORDS WHO HAVE TURNED THEIR LIVES AROUND HAVE ACCESS TO PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM
PPP Access for All is Essential to COVID-19 Economic Recovery and Public Safety; Issue Has Strong Bipartisan Support
(WASHINGTON) - As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten the economic future of millions of Americans, Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) united to call on the Small Business Administration (SBA) to reverse a controversial policy that prohibits small business owners with criminal records from accessing the CARE Act’s critical Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). As the senators wrote in a joint letter to the SBA, the refusal to allow emergency assistance for these small businesses goes against Congress’ bipartisan support for second chances. Creating this bureaucratic barrier also contradicts President Trump, who has indicated support for a change in this policy and recently declared April to be “Second Chance Month.”
Over one-in-three American adults has a criminal record, and SBA’s denial of assistance to countless small business owners with records also impacts their families and employees during a time when states are struggling to reopen their economies and stave off a deep recession.
In their letter, Senators Portman and Cardin said: “Preventing emergency loans from being distributed to businesses owned by individuals with criminal records will have catastrophic consequences for people who have done exactly what society asked of them: they turned away from crime, started a business to support themselves and their families, and contributed to their communities. These catastrophic consequences extend to their employees as well.”
Justice Action Network, the country’s largest organization focused on bipartisan criminal justice reform solutions at the federal and state level, has been pushing the SBA for weeks to eliminate barriers to small business protection, and praised Sens. Portman and Cardin for their commitment to a full economic recovery:
“It defies common sense to punish people who have already paid their debt to society, turned their lives around, embraced the American dream, and opened a small business,” said Holly Harris, President and Executive Director is the Justice Action Network. “We are grateful to leaders like Sen. Portman and Sen. Cardin, who put people before partisanship, and joined together to call for a change to this policy that creates bureaucratic barriers to economic prosperity and negatively impacts public safety. Ohio and Maryland are lucky to have these leaders, who understand that we cannot get America back to normal if we’re denying countless American small businesses the opportunity to survive.”