During the White House press briefing on Wednesday afternoon, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany touted the success of the Paycheck Protection Program.
"As Americans across the country stayed home and businesses temporarily shut their doors, President Trump ensured American employees and employers would receive the help that they needed. The Paycheck Protection Program provided forgivable loans to small-business owners who kept their employees on payroll," she said.
"To date, 2.3 million small-business loans have been processed, with the average loan being $76,000. In other words, meaning that the small businesses that needed the help the most got it. I would remind everyone that, of the 1.6 million loans given out in the first tranche of spending, one million of those went to businesses with 10 or fewer employees," McEnany continued.
She then invited Flags of Valor owner Joe Shamess to the podium to talk about how the program saved his business.
"When you think about the Paycheck Protection Program, the two biggest fixed costs for most businesses is people and property. And that's exactly what the PPP focused on," Shamess said. "For us, it was a lifesaver. It was an absolute game-changer. We went from trying to figure out how we were going to limit our cash burn every single day to stay alive as long as we could, with as many people as we could, to finally bring them back. And when you have to furlough someone, I'm telling you, it is one of the worst things you can do because you're talking about family. These are people. These are their wives, their husbands, their children. They're a part of your ethos."
.@FLAGSofVALOR, a patriotic small business in Virginia that sells veteran-made American flags, will stay open for business thanks to a PPP loan.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 6, 2020
Co-founder Joe Shamess shares their story! ???? pic.twitter.com/ETlVp6qrW2
Shamess founded the company in 2015 with fellow special operations veteran Brian Steorts. They've employed dozens of veterans and have raised more than $1 million for military charities.
