|
Coloradans,
I want to first take a moment to remember the nearly 3,000 lives lost on that tragic September morning 19 years ago. 9/11 reminds us that we must meet moments of fear and loss with unity, resolve, and common purpose. Today, we not only honor those we lost—but follow the example of those who selflessly responded to the attack in so many heroic ways.
This was my first week back in Washington after more than a month of meetings and travel across Colorado for the August recess. I focused on building momentum for the RESTART Act, my bipartisan proposal with Senator Todd Young from Indiana to sustain the hardest-hit small- and mid-sized businesses through this economic crisis. Our proposal now has 55 bipartisan cosponsors in the Senate and support from more than one hundred current and former CEOs and thousands of small business leaders from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. As we wrote in an op-ed published in USA Today, small businesses nationwide are running out of cash and running out of time—and they urgently need our support.
Instead of answering their call, this week Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced a narrow proposal that not only failed to include the RESTART Act, but also did far too little to support families, frontline workers, and state and local governments during this once-in-a-century crisis. His proposal was grossly inadequate and bore little relationship with the concerns Coloradans shared with me over the last month. For all of these reasons, I voted against the bill. Now the Senate must begin a serious, bipartisan negotiation on a relief package that actually reflects the scope of the challenge we face and helps millions of Americans through this incredibly challenging time.
I’ve included more details of our work from this week below. As always, please reach out to our office with any thoughts or questions.
Best,
Michael
COMMEMORATING THE 19TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SEPTEMBER 11TH ATTACKS
Today, I attended the 2020 regional military 9/11 ceremony hosted at Fort Carson with Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers and other local leaders. As Maj. Gen. McFarlane stood beside a steel beam recovered from the wreckage at Ground Zero, he reminded us that we must unite against hate and fear and never forget the lives we lost and the tragedy we faced on that September day in 2001. Thank you to those who have served and those who continue to serve and protect the freedoms we enjoy today.
FIGHTING FOR BIPARTISAN COVID RELIEF
Mitch McConnell has had months to negotiate a relief package that fully addresses the scale of this public health and economic crisis and prevent severe hardship for families across Colorado and the country. He has failed at every turn to do that––leaving Americans waiting for help when they need it most.
We need to meet the moment and support families facing unimaginable challenges through no fault of their own. Congress must pass a bipartisan relief package that includes substantial funding for state and local governments so they can maintain critical services, enhanced unemployment benefits that address the severity of the economic crisis, sustained support to the hardest-hit small businesses through my bipartisan RESTART Act, and a health force to support public health professionals on the front lines of this pandemic.
Instead of playing politics, McConnell should come to the negotiating table in earnest and support American families through this crisis.
SUPPORTING THE HARDEST HIT SMALL BUSINESSES
We are continuing to push for Congress to pass our RESTART Act with Senator Todd Young ––the only bipartisan legislation in Congress that provides relief to small businesses and non-profits through the end of the year and into 2021. The bill focuses on businesses hit hardest by COVID-19, including restaurants, bars, hotels, and minority- and veteran-owned companies. I spoke with countless business owners across Colorado to seek their input on the bill.
Here’s how it works: The RESTART Act creates a flexible loan program to help small- and mid-sized businesses stay afloat, and ties loan forgiveness to decline in revenue to ensure the program helps those hit hardest by the pandemic..
Momentum continues to build for our bipartisan proposal. Today, USA Today published an op-ed I authored with Senator Young highlighting the growing momentum for the RESTART Act.
You can read the full op-ed HERE.
Earlier this week, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz led a letter with more than 8,700 small business owners calling on Congress to pass the RESTART Act.
Howard joined Senator Young and me for a discussion hosted by the American Enterprise Institute’s Director of Economic Policy Studies Michael Strain about how Congress can support small business in the wake of the pandemic by passing the RESTART Act. Watch it HERE.
Howard and I also participated in a small business roundtable to continue to build momentum among the small business community for the RESTART Act. Watch it HERE.
Without the RESTART Act, millions of temporary job losses could turn into permanent ones. This is a moment when we must ensure we give small businesses a fighting chance to get through a crisis they played no part in creating.
I’ll keep fighting for our small business owners and leaders across the state in Washington.
Click here to respond to this email.
 
Unsubscribe |