AMY KENNEDY: VAN DREW MUST ENSURE SOUTH JERSEY SMALL BUSINESSES CAN ACCESS COVID RECOVERY LOANS LIKE TRUMP-SUPPORTING STATES

Kennedy: “Saving small businesses shouldn’t be a red or blue issue.”

Brigantine, NJ — As Congress continues negotiations to provide additional relief to small businesses across the country, congressional candidate for New Jersey’s second district, Amy Kennedy, is calling on Representative Jeff Van Drew to ensure small businesses across South Jersey can access COVID recovery loans. According to Bloomberg, Trump-supporting states have benefited disproportionately from greater access to loans for small businesses, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans program.

There are more than 861,000 small businesses in New Jersey, but only 33,000 received loans from the Paycheck Protection Program. Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of small business owners in red states like Nebraska (81%) and Kansas (78%) had their loans approved.

Said Kennedy, “Small businesses are a cornerstone of our nation and are an integral part of the South Jersey community. Last month’s CARES Act was a welcome relief to many businesses in red states, but in South Jersey, which is at the forefront of the pandemic, only a small percentage were able to have their loans approved. That smacks of politics, and it needs to be fixed immediately. I am deeply concerned about the future of the hundreds of thousands of small businesses across New Jersey that were unable to get funding and are struggling to stay afloat.”

“Saving small businesses shouldn’t be a red or blue issue,” said Kennedy. “We need Representative Van Drew to stand up to President Trump and the Republican leadership who have failed to provide adequate funding to those who need it most. In the face of a devastating economic depression, we need leaders that will put their communities first.”