WMBF-TV
March 25, 2020
Help coming for struggling businesses in Florence
FLORENCE, S.C. (WMBF) – Help could be on the way soon for small Florence businesses who are hurting during the coronavirus crisis.
Just after midnight, Congress agreed on a $2 trillion stimulus package to assist businesses that have had to close or are struggling to gain business.
Frank Knapp, the CEO of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, said this move is important in helping businesses move on during this crisis. He said the Senate deserves a lot of credit for putting it together.
Knapp added that the relief package has addressed all of his concerns and the concerns addressed by other small business organizations.
“There were two things needed in this stimulus bill. One had to do with getting money out on the street, to the consumers, stimulus checks directly to the working Americans is very important and the other measure is giving small businesses the ability to keep the lights on and keep surviving,” Knapp said.
The bill is set to allocate $367 billion to small businesses to keep paying employees who are currently out of work. Knapp said that it is important that the money is being provided in forgivable loans that small businesses will not have to pay back.
This will provide businesses the ability to pay their employees their regular wages or hire back employees they have recently had to lay off. Knapp said that it is important that we continue to support our local businesses however we can as they are our nation’s backbone.
“If we don’t have small businesses around when we get out of this crisis, we are going to have a long road back to a healthy economy. It may take years, so it is imperative that the government step in to maintain the survival of our small businesses,” Knapp said.
If the bill passes it will be the largest economic aid package in United States history.