Bucco Joins Call for Special Legislative Session to Help Save Jobs

Seeks $300M in CARES Act Funding for Small Businesses and Non-Profits

Senator Anthony M. Bucco today joined Republican leaders in calling for a special legislative session before Thanksgiving to approve an emergency aid package to help small businesses and nonprofits impacted by COVID-19.

“In a normal year, the next six weeks would be the most profitable of the year for many businesses, but this is anything but a normal year,” said Bucco (R-25). “The pandemic clobbered restaurants and small retailers, and now the second wave could be the final nail in the coffin for thousands of employers if they don’t get immediate help from Trenton.”

Bucco and fellow Republicans are requesting an emergency session to consider S-3210, which appropriates $300 million to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) to provide financial support such as loans or grants to small businesses and not-for-profit organizations to cover costs associated with business interruptions due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You can’t overstate the fact that without immediate help, mom-and-pop stores and small enterprises will have no option other than laying off workers and closing their doors forever,” said Bucco, who will join as a sponsor of the bill. “Immediate assistance is necessary to protect jobs and small businesses. We are facing an economic crisis that could irreversibly change New Jersey’s business landscape now and into the future.”

New Jersey received a $2.4 billion block grant through the federal CARES Act in April to provide emergency relief to local governments, small businesses, and nonprofits impacted by COVID-19.

“This is the kind of investment the CARES Act money is intended for,” said Bucco. “Murphy grabbed $450 million in CARES funds to pay the salaries of state employees. It’s a matter of priorities, and given the impact the closing of thousands of businesses would have on New Jersey’s economy, this had better be a priority,” Bucco continued.

The Senator said stores and restaurants in his legislative district have been hard-hit since the pandemic began in March.

“We’ve already lost too many small businesses, and current owners worry about what the next few months will bring for them and their employees,” said Bucco. “They are facing very difficult decisions right now. I have already heard from desperate owners who may have no choice but to shut down temporarily and try to make it through the winter. The Governor must realize that not all businesses have the cash flow for that option. People have been doing everything they can to scrape by, and without additional aid, too many businesses and organizations will not survive.”