Senator Baldwin Supports Bipartisan Legislation to Help Small Businesses in Wisconsin

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) joined a growing list of her Senate colleagues in supporting the bipartisan Reviving the Economy Sustainably Towards a Recovery in Twenty-twenty (RESTART) Act to provide a lifeline for the hardest-hit small businesses.

“Wisconsin small businesses and their workers are hurting and need help to survive this economic crisis,” said Senator Baldwin. “President Trump let the Paycheck Protection Program expire, leaving many small businesses without a lifeline. We must take action and provide more resources to the hardest-hit small businesses in Wisconsin, so they can keep our economy moving and get through this pandemic.”

Answering the calls of the hardest-hit restaurants, gyms, hotels, retailers, concert venues and other businesses, the RESTART Act would give business owners who took out Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans the flexibility they need to utilize the PPP effectively. The RESTART Act would also create a loan program to provide funding to jump-start the hardest-hit businesses for the remainder of 2020 and provide loan forgiveness as a backstop against ongoing economic challenges.

The RESTART Act was led by Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Michael Bennet (D-CO). In addition to Baldwin, the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Richard Burr (R-NC), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Cornyn (R-TX), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Steve Daines (R-MT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

The RESTART Act bill text is available here. More information about the bill is available here.