Biden visits the DC hardware store that obtained a PPP loan

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President BidenJoe BidenCNN: Bidens dogs withdrawn from the White House, federal judge finds ‘shaman QAnon’ too dangerous to be released from prison. Pelosi says the Capitol riots were one of the most difficult moments of his career MORE on Tuesday he visited a neighborhood hardware store in Washington, DC, which received a small business coronavirus relief loan to highlight his administration’s efforts to prioritize assistance to smaller businesses affected by the pandemic.

Biden visited WS Jenks & Son, located in northeast DC, which the White House says received a loan from the Wage Protection Program (PPP) in the past two weeks, as the Biden administration restricted applicants to companies with less than 20 employees.

The Treasury Department’s loan program was established last year with the bipartisan CARES Act. The program has been popular but withstood criticism in 2020 when data showed that much of the funding for the first round of lending went to large companies, such as major national chains.

Biden met with hardware store co-owners Mike and Jerry Siegel, and the owner of a local producer, Little Wild Things Farm, next to the hardware store. The producer also received a loan in the last two weeks.

Biden asked the owners what affected them most in terms of the pandemic. Mike Siegel said the biggest challenge was deciding what to do with its staff, noting that the store sent home employees at risk when the virus arrived. Siegel said the first wave of PPP loans last year helped the hardware store continue to pay its employees who stayed home.

Biden said his administration changed the PPP to ensure aid would go to small businesses, noting that about 400,000 have been closed during the pandemic. He accused the Trump administration of not making sure the money went to small businesses.

“We found that a lot of that went to big companies that weren’t supposed to qualify,” he said.

The Biden administration instituted a 14-day period from February 24 to March 9, during which only companies with less than 20 employees could apply for help through the popular loan program. The special period ends on Tuesday and companies seeking PPP loans must apply before the March 31 deadline.

The Biden administration also made other changes to the program, such as changing the loan calculation formula for those who are self-employed and lifting restrictions on those who have defaulted on student loan debt or have previous convictions for crime. of non-fraud, in order to achieve assistance. to smaller and minority-owned companies.

Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters on Tuesday that the Biden administration has seen a “significant increase” in the number of loans granted to smaller businesses, first-time participants and women and minorities . proprietary companies since the changes.

Specifically, Ramamurti said the government has approved more than 300,000 loans to companies with less than five employees, representing an increase of 15, and about 200,000 loans to PPP borrowers for the first time, representing a 25% increase, during the two-week period.

Ramamurti said there has also been a 14% increase in loans to women-owned businesses, a 20% increase in loans to minority businesses and a 12% increase in loans to rural businesses.

Tuesday’s brief visit comes as the House prepares to approve Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus aid plan on Wednesday after it is approved by the Senate. The bill provides an additional $ 7.25 billion for the PPP, $ 28 billion in funding for a new restaurant grant program, as well as other provisions to help businesses affected by the pandemic.

—Updated at 13:50

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