SAN ANTONIO (February 3, 2021)- Last Wednesday, the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (SAHCC) hosted a virtual discussion with Rep. Henry Cuellar from Texas’s 28th congressional district regarding the recently signed COVID relief package. SAHCC President and CEO Marina Gonzales welcomed Cuellar to inform and give small business owners insights into how this legislation can affect them.

A difference Cuellar describes between the first CARES Act and the most recent aid package is the amount people will receive in unemployment checks, which will be reduced from $600 to $300. Cuellar said of this decrease, “I thought that was important because there were some people that quite honestly said ‘I make more money staying home than actually going back to work’ and I talked to a lot of businesses that wanted to get their employees back.”

The first CARES Act, which was passed in March 2020 and was for $2.2 Trillion, Cuellar said, was done, “rather quickly… we learned several things and made sure we included certain businesses that were not included and we made some adjustments to it.”

Another difference was in the amounts of the relief bills as the new one is significantly lower. Cuellar wanted to include aid for cities, counties, and states, as well as limited liability for businesses. However, these items were not possible due to disagreements between party members. Cuellar hopes these are included in the next stimulus bill.

“I've been a small business owner myself: I know what it is to pay taxes, I know what it is to deal with personnel, overhead, all that. But I've never run a business in the middle of a pandemic, so to all of you all running a business, I have to say that I have to congratulate you, because you really are working in very difficult, difficult times right now.”

-Congressman Henry Cuellar

With regards to resources for minority-owned small businesses, Cuellar said business owners can now apply for a second Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) through the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Cuellar said there were “targeted monies for minority-owned businesses: 15 billion dollars for the initial PPP loans, and 25 billion dollars for the second PPP loans for small business owners with 10 or fewer employees and as well as businesses in areas that are deemed to be up low to moderate-income.” He also said that the legislation assures tax deductibility for business expenses paid with PPP loans.

Congressman Cuellar encouraged small business owners to take advantage of the resources available to them and to reach out to Kendall Hayes in his San Antonio office if they need assistance or to give input as he continues to develop legislation.

If you were unable to attend, the recorded version is available at the top of the article, or you can click here.