BY: TODD BARTLEY, NEWS TALK WMPT, NEWS@TALKWILLIAMSPORT.COM
On Monday, Governor Wolf announced a $225 Million Grant Program for Small Businesses.
“As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and shift our focus toward reopening our commonwealth, we need to help all Pennsylvanians recover. We need to provide assistance for those who were hurt by the pandemic and the resulting economic downturn,” Gov. Wolf said. “This new program will provide direct support to impacted businesses to cover operating expenses during the shutdown and the transition to reopening.”
The funding was developed in partnership with state lawmakers and allocated through the recently enacted state budget, which included $2.6 billion in federal stimulus funds through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, of which $225 million was earmarked for relief for small businesses.
The Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) will distribute the funds to the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which will then administer the funding in the form of grants.
The funds will be available through three programs:
- $100 million for the Main Street Business Revitalization Program for small businesses that experienced loss as a result of the governor’s March 19, 2020 order relating to the closure of all non-life-sustaining businesses and have or will incur costs to adapt to new business operations related to COVID-19;
- $100 million for the Historically Disadvantaged Business Revitalization Program for small businesses that experienced loss as a result of the business closure order, have or will incur costs to adapt to new business operations related to COVID-19, and in which socially and economically disadvantaged individuals own at least a 51 percent interest and also control management and daily business operations.
- $25 million for the Loan Payment Deferment and Loss Reserve Program, which will allow the CDFIs the opportunity to offer forbearance and payment relief for existing portfolio businesses that are struggling due to the impact of COVID, as well as shore up the financial position of the CDFIs that are experiencing significant increased defaults in their existing loan portfolios.
News Talk WMPT reached Lyndsay Kensinger, Press Secretary for Governor Wolf regarding where these funds came from.
QUESTION: Are these discretionary Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds?
Kensinger responded, “Yes.”
On May 11, 2020, Governor Wolf held a press conference in response to a number of counties and closed businesses making public their desire to move to Yellow or Green phases ahead of his orders.
News Talk WMPT covered the event on May 11, 2020 when Wolf made his speech; BREAKING NEWS: Gov. Wolf speechless in response to News Talk WMPT question on the USSC case, (video link).
Remarks delivered by Governor Wolf on May 11 are included in part below.
“These heroic acts deserve to be met not by surrendering, but by staying the course. And that’s what I intend to do.
To those politicians who decide to cave in to this coronavirus, they need to understand the consequences of their cowardly act.
The funding we have put aside to help with fighting this crisis will go to the folks who are doing their part. That includes our CARES Act funding, which will be used to support counties that are following the orders to prevent the spread, and the medical communities who are treating patients. However, other discretionary funding won’t go to counties that put us all at risk by operating illegally.
To the politicians urging businesses to risk the lives of their customers or their employees by opening prematurely: they need to understand that they are engaging in behavior that is both selfish and unsafe.
As News Talk WMPT reported that same day, Congressman Keller blasts Gov. Wolf’s threat to withhold funding and protections from PA counties and businesses. Keller led his response with “Trying to feed your family is not ‘cowardly.”
Keller went onto say: “The vast majority of Pennsylvanians rely on their jobs to put food on the table and pay their bills. Because of Gov. Wolf’s prolonged shutdown order, nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians, or 26 percent of our state’s workforce, are unemployed, and overdose and suicide deaths are rising. Pennsylvanians have shown they can safely shop and work in mega-retailers while the Governor unilaterally keeps small businesses closed and is now threatening them if they re-open. Despite what Gov. Wolf believes, Pennsylvania’s small business owners and workers are smart enough to operate safely and feed their families.”
Governor Wolf in his prepared remarks did not call business owners “cowards”.
Instead, he stated the following:
“To business owners: These politicians put you at risk of losing your health department certificate. They put you business owners at risk of losing your liquor license. They put you business owners at risk of losing your certificate of occupancy. All of these depend upon your doing everything you can to keep your patrons safe. And by opening before the evidence suggests you should, you are taking undue risks with the safety of your customers.
That is not only morally wrong. It’s also very bad business.
Businesses that do follow the whims of local politicians and ignore the law and the welfare of their customers will probably find themselves uninsured. Because, insurance does not cover things that happen to businesses breaking the law.”
As Governor Wolf noted in his answers to News Talk WMPT on Monday, it is not yet known if this $225 million round of funding will be the only round available to Pennsylvania businesses.
