WASHINGTON — Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship Ranking Member Ben Cardin (D-Md.) issued the following statement today after the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) launched the Paycheck Protection Program, which was created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act):

“I am deeply troubled by reports of financial institutions turning away small businesses that desperately need capital through the Paycheck Protection Program. The small business provisions in the CARES Act were written to get funds into the hands of American small business owners as quickly as possible so they can keep employees on payroll and avoid financial ruin while we work to combat COVID-19. Creating artificial barriers that block businesses from much-needed capital is redlining by another name. I will continue working with the administration to ensure that small businesses in every community have access to the programs created by the CARES Act, including the emergency EIDL grant program and the Paycheck Protection Program.”                                                                     

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