Washington, D.C.  U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, issued a statement after Senate Democrats again blocked a COVID-19 relief package. The bill would provide a second round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to help the hardest-hit businesses. The bill also provides protections for businesses, schools, and healthcare workers while also restating federal unemployment benefits to the nation’s workforce who continue to suffer from the pandemic. Assistance to the U.S. Postal Service is also included, as well as needed funding for testing, contract tracing, and vaccines. 
 
“Once again, Senate Democrats have shown that they are willing to put election politics above the livelihoods of small businesses and American families who continue to struggle,” Chairman Rubio said. “Republicans put together a measure to sustain small businesses, which could shutter if additional relief is not passed. Today, the American people saw firsthand that Senate Democrats are not serious about providing assistance to our economy — despite Senate Republicans offering multiple bills to provide additional federal relief. As long as Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Schumer make the political calculation that doing nothing is in their political best interest, Congress will be unable to act on additional coronavirus relief legislation.”