Coronavirus Federal Response Update From

Congressman Andy Barr 

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Coronavirus Food Assistance Program Applications are Open

On Tuesday, applications opened for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) which was established to aid those integral in maintaining our nation’s food supply throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coronavirus Aid, Response and Economic Securities (CARES) Act and the Families First Coronavirus Act, which I voted for in Congress provided $16 billion to CFAP for immediate relief for farmers, ranchers, and producers.  To access the application for the CFAP program, click here.  Additionally, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) put together a document further outlining CFAP which I have placed below.

To access this full USDA document outlining this program, click here.

Paycheck Protection Program Forgiveness Application

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has disbursed over $531 billion in PPP loans to over 4.3 million small business across the country, including over $5 billion right here in the Commonwealth.  Approximately 93% of the PPP loans were for $350,000 or less.  On May 15, the U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) released the application for PPP loan forgiveness.  The length, documentation requirements and complexity of the forgiveness application would be incredibly time consuming for many constituent small businesses and force many small mom and pops in Kentucky and nationwide to hire legal and accounting help at great expense just to fulfill the application requirements.  Small businesses don’t need additional costs and red-tape as they battle back from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, that is why last week I led to a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza requesting a streamlined and simplified loan forgiveness application for loans $350,000 or less.  You can read that letter here.

Additionally, on Thursday, I voted today in favor of H.R. 7010, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, which would ease some of the restrictions placed on small businesses that received PPP loans.  I expect any final changes to the PPP to be dictated by the U.S. Senate, and that could come as early as this week.  The Senate may vote to pass the PPP Flexibility Act or may consider similar legislation by Senate Small Business Committee Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ranking Member Ben Cardin (D-MD).  That bill would increase the window during which borrowers may use PPP funds to 16 weeks from eight weeks and extend the deadline for businesses to apply for PPP through the end of the year.  Congress may pass additional PPP legislation to ensure that the program is best serving small business owners. 

Telehealth Expansion

We have been able to make progress in our fight against COVID-19 by cutting through unnecessary red-tape in the medical field.  Last month, I reached out to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) advocating for the expansion of telehealth to include same-location visits for these services.  CMS acted quickly to approve this expansion, and I credit CMS Administrator Seema Verma for recognizing the importance of this strategy to help conserve critical personal protective equipment and limit exposure for frontline doctors, nurses and healthcare workers to potentially positive COVID-19 patients.  I also want to thank Dr. Mark Dougherty, a prominent Lexington epidemiologist who brought this issue to my attention.  Last Friday, Dr. Dougherty and I were interviewed on Newsmax National Report to discuss the importance of this decision.  You can view this interview by clicking the link below.

Appreciation

I continue to seek your feedback and ideas as Congress works on a bold agenda to guide America through the COVID-19 pandemic and engineer the great American comeback that is forthcoming. You can always reach out to my Lexington office (859) 219-1366 or my Washington office (202) 225-4706 with your input. Lastly, if you would like to stay informed on what is happening in Washington, D.C. and around the Sixth Congressional District, again, I encourage you to sign up to receive my e-newsletter by visiting https://barr.house.gov/newsletter-subscription.  If you want to unsubscribe to my e-newsletter, you can do so by clicking here.

Sincerely,

Congressman Andy Barr