“So that’s why we fought for and got a carve out of money to make sure that those banks and smaller banks in our underserved areas like rural areas, in our minority communities, and other places would have money to help those businesses in those areas, and to make sure it is much more equitable.“
In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Gary Peters joined Detroit Today’s Jake Neher on WDET last week to discuss his efforts to ensure Michigan’s small businesses receive equitable funding during the Coronavirus crisis and his calls for a GAO investigation into the distribution of funds.
As small businesses in Michigan continue to feel the financial strains of Coronavirus, Senator Peters is working to ensure that they are able to access the funding and relief needed to keep their businesses afloat and workers paid.
WDET: Sen. Gary Peters: Michigan’s Small Businesses Need More Help
- On Ensuring Small Businesses Relief Is Equitable: “I heard stories, constantly from small businesses that simply couldn’t get in the queue and what we found because the money was being distributed through banks and credit unions, but oftentimes banks would take care of their better customers first and other customers would go to the back of the line. And oftentimes the customers that went to the back of the line were those small businesses that were the ones hurting the most and weren’t able to get those resources. So that’s why we fought for and got a carve out of money to make sure that those banks and smaller banks in our underserved areas like rural areas, in our minority communities, and other places would have money to help those businesses in those areas, and to make sure it is much more equitable.“
- On Calls To Investigate The Distribution Of COVID-19 Small Business Relief: “In fact I’ve asked the GAO to do an investigation as to how the money was actually dispersed with that first transfer of money. If you think of Michigan, we’re in roughly the 10th largest state in the country in terms of population but we rank in terms of the money going to our small businesses, we rank 35 out of 50. That’s unacceptable. I’m saying we need to have this money distributed equitably to small businesses all across the country. Clearly that wasn’t happening, we needed to take a pause and say we need to see where this money went, and we have to make a course correction to make sure that those businesses that are hurting the most have the opportunity to get the resources, stay in business, and be available to continue to keep their people employed going forward.”
