March 15, 2021
The Honorable Ben Cardin The Honorable Susan Collins
Chair, Senate Small Business Committee U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Jeanne Shaheen The Honorable Carolyn Bourdeaux
U.S. House of Representatives U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Nydia Velazquez The Honorable Blaine Luetkemeyer
Chair Ranking Member
House Small Business Committee House Small Business Committee
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Young Kim
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Senators Cardin, Collins and Shaheen and Representatives Velazquez, Luetkemeyer, Bourdeaux and Kim:
The undersigned organizations are writing to thank you for your bicameral leadership and swift bipartisan action to provide relief to America’s small businesses through this economic emergency. We strongly support the PPP Extension Act of 2021, which will extend the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application period beyond the March 31, 2021 sunset date.
While we realize the Small Business Administration (SBA) is under tremendous time constraints and is struggling with internal resource issues, our members are highly concerned by the lack of progress on major Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) processing issues, including hold/error codes and application rejections due to Taxpayer Identification Number (“TIN”) issues or mismatches, in addition to many unresolved technical problems with the current PPP process. These delays and denials may put many applicants in danger of not making the March 31st authorization deadline.
Nearly one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the continued liquidity challenges of the small business sector are acute, especially for those business limited by dramatic capacity restrictions and other critical health and safety protocols in place to protect the public, consumers and workers from COVID-19. Thank you for extending the window of opportunity for pandemic programs to effectively impact the affected small business sector, especially those traditionally under-invested and underserved groups which must also be given the chance to succeed.
We stand ready to work with you during this critical moment, and thank you for considering our views.
Sincerely,
Accessories Council (AC)
AICC, The Independent Packaging Association American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) American Bankers Association
American Beverage Licensees
American Council of Engineering Companies
American Dental Association American Farm Bureau Federation American Hotel & Lodging Association American Lighting Association American Mold Builders Association American Rental Association
American Society of Travel Advisors American Subcontractors Association American Supply Association
AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology
Asian American Hotel Owners Association Associated Builders and Contractors Associated General Contractors of America Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry Auto Care Association
Bank Policy Institute
Brea Chamber of Commerce
Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International
Chemical Fabrics & Film Association (CFFA) Coalition of Franchisee Associations Consumer Bankers Association
Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Economic Innovation Group
Electronics Representatives Association
Energy Marketers of America
Foodservice Consultants Society International - The Americas
Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association
Franchise Business Services
Global Business Travel Association
Global Cold Chain Alliance
Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
Independent Electrical Contractors International Council of Shopping Centers International Franchise Association
ISSA – The Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association Korean American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County La Habra Chamber of Commerce
National Association of Development Companies (NADCO)
National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (NAGGL) National Association of Home Builders
National Association of Professional Insurance Agents National Association of the Remodeling Industry National Association of Theatre Owners
National Association of Trailer Manufacturers
National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) National Community Pharmacists Association
National Cotton Council
National Council of Chain Restaurants
National Electrical Contractors Association
National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA) National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)
National Fisheries Institute
National Franchisee Association
National Independent Venue Association National Ready Mixed Concrete Association National Restaurant Association
National Retail Federation
National Roofing Contractors Association National RV Dealers Association (RVDA) National Small Business Association
National Tooling and Machining Association
North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM) North American Die Casting Association
Orange County Business Council
Pet Industry Distributors Association Precision Machined Products Association Precision Metalforming Association
Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership
Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association
Service Station Dealers of America and Allied Trades (SSDA-AT) Small Business Council of America
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
Small Business Legislative Council
Small Business Majority
Specialty Equipment Market Association
Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association (STAFDA) SPRI
Tile Roofing Industry Alliance Tire Industry Association (TIA) The Real Estate Roundtable Travel Goods Association (TGA)
United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
United Veterinary Services Association
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
U.S. Travel Association
Yorba Linda Chamber of Commerce
cc: U.S. Congress
