The slow pace of bureaucracy is a running joke in America. It’s surprising, then, how quickly the Senate has advanced the confirmation hearings for President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. Less than a month after the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Senate Judiciary Committee has begun hearings this week.
Meanwhile, any hope we had of Congress passing a new round of coronavirus relief for small businesses was extinguished by President Trump’s erratic approach to negotiations last week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says a new relief package is unlikely to pass before Election Day — continuing months of deadlock at a time when American businesses are fighting for survival.
The juxtaposition of these two processes — swift action to fill a Supreme Court seat vs. months of prolonged inaction while Main Street businesses continue to close their doors — is shocking. And small business owners have taken notice. In a recent survey of more than 1,500 small business owners, Small Business for America’s Future (SBAF) found that two-thirds believe it’s more important for the future of our country for Congress to prioritize another economic relief package over Supreme Court hearings.
The setting of legislative priorities comes from the top, and in this our national leaders are failing small businesses right now, including the more than 1.1 million small businesses that employ 46% of Pennsylvanians. Last week, President Trump unilaterally ended negotiations with Congress over a new round of coronavirus relief (before just as abruptly walking back that position) and instructed Sen. McConnell to focus fully on the Supreme Court vacancy.
His use of small business aid as a political football is egregious and short-sighted. Small businesses are a critical driver of our economic recovery. Withholding stimulus until after the election is a blatant political ploy, and small business owners aren’t buying it. In fact, in June, another SBAF survey found that a staggering 81% of small business owners think our nation’s leaders don’t understand their needs during this once-in-a-generation crisis.
These same national leaders now have a choice. In an election year, will they continue to ignore the needs of America’s primary job creators? Or will they put partisanship aside and work together to rebuild our country? Take note that 98% of small business owners plan to vote in the upcoming election.
So, what do small business owners want instead of instead of a rushed Supreme Court hearing? First, we need a concerted nationwide effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. Fighting the virus is fighting for our economy. The latest Morning Consult poll shows that 73% of voters believe we should continue to social distance for as long as is needed to control the spread of the virus, even if it means continued hardships to the economy.
As long as consumers are afraid to eat in a restaurant or shop in stores, small businesses will remain stagnant. Thus far, the federal response to limiting infections and mitigating risk has been haphazard and ineffective.
Small business owners also want to see an extension—or better yet, an expansion — of federal financial aid. The distribution of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans was uneven, inequitable, and left far too many vulnerable small businesses behind. This time around, Congress must pass a comprehensive aid package that gets money into the hands of businesses that need it most, particularly microbusinesses and those run by women or people of color.
We also need PPP loans of $150,000 or less to be converted to grants and automatically forgiven. This crisis has gone on longer than anyone imagined; we must ensure that small business owners don’t have to carry debt through a period of ongoing uncertainty.
The fact is, that uncertainty won’t end until a vaccine is widely available. And the best estimates put that sometime in 2021. However, more than a third of survey respondents told SBAF that, without additional action by the federal government, their business won’t survive beyond the end of this year. For about 15%, there is no hope beyond the end of this month.
We cannot afford to let any more of the 30 million small businesses that employ half of Americans fail. Now is not the time for kicking the can down the road. Small business owners need assistance now — not after Election Day.
The Supreme Court can wait. America’s economy can’t.
(Walt Rowen is the third-generation owner of Susquehanna Glass in Columbia.)
