SBA administrator joins WV's Manchin to talk COVID-19 relief for small business owners

The head of the U.S. Small Business Administration joined regional officials and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Monday for a conversation about the Paycheck Protection Program and helping businesses navigate the ongoing pandemic.

Administrator Jovita Carranza visited Morgantown to speak with local business owners, bankers and members of the Morgantown Area Partnership to discuss how the community is coping with COVID-19’s economic impact and what more can be done to help.

“It’s been a real honor to represent the significance of the small business sector,” Carranza said during Monday’s roundtable, adding that in each state small businesses represent about 45-48% of the workforce. “This administration wants to protect the employees.”

The Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll as part of coronavirus relief efforts.

The federal government recently loosened restrictions on the program, including extending the deadline from eight to 24 weeks and simplifying the application process. About $129 billion in PPP loans is still available, according to Carranza.

“[Bankers] have about 10 days to really take advantage of the balance we have left,” Carranza said. “The PPP is really going to facilitate liquidity to small businesses in the really immediate future.”

Representatives for Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and Reps. Alex Mooney and David McKinley, all R-W.Va., were in attendance as well.

Manchin was a proponent of many of the recent changes, specifically the deadline extension, which was consistent with his PPP DEAL Act which would also extend the coverage period for the loan forgiveness program and amend the rehire date.

“Small business is the backbone of our economy — it always has been,” Manchin said, adding that the public health crisis turned into a major economic crisis for those businesses and others. “We’re fighting two fronts right now, and if we’re not careful both of them could hurt us tremendously.”

Manchin specifically highlighted restaurants and higher education institutions in the state as businesses that have been struggling and will likely continue to struggle without the right intervention.

“(Restaurants) got hit hardest, and they got hit quick. They were the first to get hit, and they will be the last to recover,” Manchin said, adding that other service and entertainment businesses are facing challenges. “Whatever we do in a new CARES Act is going to be pinpointed to the areas we know have been hit the hardest.”

The issue of education is particularly close to Morgantown, which is home to West Virginia University. Manchin said WVU would likely make it through the economic challenges that have come from the pandemic, but smaller schools in the state would have more problems with students and athletics being gone.

“We have a lot of colleges in West Virginia that won’t make it, unless we can get them back,” he said.

Manchin said previous issues like business owners taking loans they didn’t necessarily need were problematic this time around, and the banking community could help going forward with such challenges.

In addition, Manchin said the U.S. Senate would keep points like that and Carranza’s guidance in mind as they continue coming up with relief programs for Americans.

Both Carranza and Manchin discussed how access to broadband specifically impacted rural communities in West Virginia.

Carranza said the regional and district SBA office were working hard on outreach to provide guidance and information for those in rural areas who may not have access to digital resources.

After the roundtable, attendees including Carranza went to visit a nearby local business, Tin 202 restaurant, and talk with owners about the challenges they had faced.

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