London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Chamber of Commerce CEO to Congress: Expand SBA funding by Monday or everyone will 'get blame'

Chamber of Commerce CEO to Congress: Expand SBA funding by Monday or everyone will 'get blame'

"I think where we have to focus right now is let's take care of the little guys. They're critical to this economy”: U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue
Lawmakers must put politics to the side and agree on a plan to expand the small business rescue loan program by Monday, U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue told media on Friday.

“We all understand it. We’re coming up on an election,” he said on “Closing Bell.” “If they don’t, nobody’s going to get credit and everybody’s going to get blame.”

Congressional Democrats and the Trump administration will spend the weekend negotiating another emergency funding bill intended to resume the Paycheck Protection Program, the $349 billion small business loan program that maxed out on Thursday.

The Small Business Administration, which oversees the system facilitated by banks, stopped receiving loan and lender applications for the program after it reached the appropriated limit.

“They’re doing a good job under a difficult circumstance, but we’re out of money,” Donohue said, “and it’s time to put some more in and, by the way, it’s not the last time we’re going to have to do it.”

The talks follow failed efforts by Senate Republicans last week to advance a $250 billion extension of PPP and later Democrats to push through a $250 billion measure for small businesses, hospitals and other priorities.

Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, which is in the midst of a severe downturn.

“I think where we have to focus right now is let’s take care of the little guys. They’re critical to this economy,” Donohue said.

“Don’t think one party is going to do better than another on this.”

The new legislation would be the fourth in a series of emergency spending bills, including the historic $2.2 trillion CARES Act, passed by lawmakers since March. Officials have moved quickly to blunt the economic damage of the global coronavirus pandemic and subsequent shutdown orders across the United States, which nearly depleted consumer spending and business revenues in multiple industries.

Countless restaurants, retail stores, barber shops and other local businesses have closed their doors and tens of millions of individuals have filed unemployment claims in recent weeks due to coronavirus fears. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce found in a survey that a majority of small businesses, 54%, have shut down or plan to shut down temporarily within two weeks.

“What most people lose sight of is many, many of those small companies work as subs and assistants to the big companies, so there’s a very tight relationship,” Donohue said.

President Donald Trump signed the massive stimulus package, which directed billions in spending toward families, workers and businesses, in late March in a rare bipartisan moment in Washington.

With the small business loan commitments at their limit, the demand for funds remains high as companies seek to keep employees on their payrolls. It is not certain how many entities have received money.

Donohue, whose lobbying group represents about 400,000 small businesses, said about 1.5 million companies have received financing. There are about 30 million small enterprises in the U.S. and many won’t be able to get their hands on any money, he said.

“Now we’re looking at what we’re trying to do to finance in a way that these smaller companies, particularly the substantive ones, can hold on to their employees until we can move through to a point where the economy is back percolating,” he said.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce tends to support Republican initiatives, though it also has a history of supporting Democratic priorities.

“Nobody should try and take credit, because everybody is going to get the blame, both parties, if we don’t do it,” Donohue said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
×