Rick Wade, Vice President, Strategic Alliances and Outreach for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the organization is rallying the business community to use its collective clout to press Congress to approve emergency funding for programs designed to rescue legions of small businesses ravaged by the COVID-19 economy. In fact, Wade says they will engage in a “morning blitz” via social media today urging congressional leaders to take immediate action to replenish stimulus funds.
In a release from the US Chamber, Wade stated: “Today, we learned that the Paycheck Protection Program — a critical lifeline for small businesses across the country — has reached its statutory limit. Meanwhile, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans expanded by the CARES [Corronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security] Act are running on empty. Congress has yet to replenish the funds for either program. As our Executive Vice President Neil Bradley wrote in a letter to lawmakers today: ‘There is absolutely no excuse for failing to get these funds approved immediately.’ “
As a means of lobbying “to refuel these vital programs,” Wade said the US Chamber’s recently-instituted Save Small Business Initiative has organized #SaveSmallBusiness Day of Action.
In his role, Wade, a top Commerce Department official during the Obama Administration, has placed a special emphasis on the US Chamber forging partnerships and developing programs with organizations such as the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), US Black Chamber and National Business League, among other outfits, as a means of spurring minority business growth. Due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak and government lockdown orders in states throughout the nation, black-owned businesses have been among the hardest hit.
To effectively engage in the lobbying effort, Wade says it has made available the #SaveSmallBusiness Digital Toolkit, complete with suggested assets that US Chamber members, entrepreneurs and small business advocates can use on their social media channels. The toolkit also provides “content calling for more emergency funding as well as more universal small business support messaging.”
He says morning blitz of social posts between 9 AM and 1 PM.
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