Senator Shaheen Insists That the Economy Can Not Be Reopened Until Enough Protection Equipment and Testing Is Made Available.
In an interview with Chris Ryan, Senator Shaheen discussed where we are in fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic, she evaluated President Trump’s three step guidelines for reopening the nation’s economy, and the Senator pointed out some of the problems which have occurred in the roll out of $2.2 trillion CARES Act—Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
Senator Shaheen was encouraged that the president has listened to the medical experts and has accepted that May 1st is too soon to reopen the economy. She agrees with Governor Sununu’s decision to keep schools in New Hampshire closed for the rest of the school year.
Despite being encouraged by a lower death total than was originally predicted, the Senator believes until more PPE-Personal Protection Equipment can be acquired and much more testing is made available, it is prudent to continue the closing of nonessential businesses and maintaining social distancing rules. To date, only 3 million people out of 350 million, or less than 1% of the country, have been tested for the coronavirus. For people to go back to work or to resume normal activities and to feel safe, much more testing needs to be available.
The Senator was very open about the many problems which have cropped up since the passing of the stimulus bill. It is probable that $2.2 trillion wasn’t enough money. For instance, several of the programs have been oversubscribed. That means that all the money, $349 billion, that was budgeted for the PPP-Payroll Protection Plan has been gobbled up. Senator Shaheen is confident that there is bi-partisan support for additional funding. The SBA-Small Business Administration has been overwhelmed by the number of companies applying for them. Also, it seems that the nation’s smaller businesses which were the intended targets of the spending were not able to navigate the process as quickly as bigger companies and were not able to get the grants or loans.
Another problem was recently revealed by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse that $70 billion which was intended to assist “small” businesses from the Emergency Injury and Disaster Loan Program was gobbled up by wealthy real estate developers and hedge funds. Senator Shaheen expressed her hope that there will be improved oversight of these various programs. She expressed her feelings about President Trump dismissing Michael Atkinson, “It was disappointing to me that one of the first things that the President did was to fire the inspector general who was supposed to be involved with overseeing those programs.”
In conclusion, Senator Shaheen is hopeful that the money spent to bolster the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic will be spent efficiently and effectively.
