NACC Hosts Virtual Town Hall
The Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a virtual town hall with U.S. Representatives Bill Foster and Sean Casten.
They discussed the CARES Act, updates from Washington, and the Paycheck Protection Program or PPP.
Congressman foster believes one mistake made in the first version of PPP is that businesses were getting loans on a first come, first serve basis – resulting in larger businesses receiving more money.
“If you could get your paperwork in electronically and fast, you were at the head of the line. As a result, a lot of the largest loans ended up going to the larger businesses,” said Foster. “When the money ran out, the ones left holding the bag were disproportionately small businesses and this is not what congress intended.”
This will be talked about once they return to Washington.
Business Owners Concerned
One concern for some business owners is the fear of being sued when they eventually reopen in case an employee or customer gets COVID-19.
The Congressmen said clear guidelines are needed. The CDC presented clear guidelines, but the white house administration did not want to use them.
“A push that we’re currently working on, to strengthen OSHA guidance and put enforcement rules around OSHA because if you have a clear set of rules from OSHA that says if you reopen, this is a safe level of social distancing, this is who should have masks and what the obligations are,” said Casten. “You put that all in place and now you’ve essentially been given a liability waiver.”
Both Foster and Casten assured that though it isn’t final, they are hopeful further PPP funding will be available after may.
Naperville News 17’s Aysha Ashley Househ reports.
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