(NETWORK INDIANA) Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) says the new Paycheck Protection Program bill will provide more money for paychecks, but also help rural hospitals and provide money for testing.
“Rand Paul is right. We can’t just keep spending our way out of this while we keep the economy shut down. We need to get America back to work and that’s the ultimate solution to stimulating the economy,” said Banks.
Banks said he believes people can go back to work while observing safeguards and “new social norms”. But, before people can go back, their employers are struggling to pay them. Banks is in favor of the PPP, which he said could pass the House unanimously.
You might’ve heard about the lack of oversight that allowed banks to loan money to corporations and skip small businesses the first time around.
“We’ve got to do a better job of providing the oversight. That’s the role of Congress and the administration,” he said. “There are some examples of waste, fraud and abuse as there is with any large bureaucratic program. But, we’ve got to race to help those who need it to keep their businesses alive.”
Banks said Congress has created a special oversight committee to help with accountability.
“We’re calling the package ‘3.5’ because all it is is sustaining this Paycheck Protection Program, adding another $310 billion to that program,” he said.
Banks said the bill also has $75 billion to help rural hospitals and $25 billion to increase testing. He said farmers, who are already ahead in planting corn and soybeans in Indiana, despite the coronavirus pandemic, will also get some help from the bill.
“This bill that we’ll be passing tomorrow will open the door more for the agriculture sector and help a lot of our farmers in the area more.”
