Pool Reports of March 9, 2021

Pool report #1: Greetings

Good morning from a sunny White House. The weather is nice.

No changes to guidance so far, so we have a visit at 11:45 to a small business that has benefited from a PPP loan followed by daily briefing, with guest Bharat Ramamurti, at 13:30.

Will notify you of any changes if and when.

Pool report #2: Background on visit (embargoed)

The White House sends along the following about this morning's visit to a business that has benefited from a PPP loan. Please note it is embargoed until arrival.

On background from a White House official and embargoed upon arrival:

Today, the President will travel to a local small business --- the historic hardware store, W.S. Jenks & Son. The owners applied for and received a Paycheck Protection Program loan during the two-week exclusive application window the President announced on February 22nd for businesses with fewer than 20 employees. The President will meet with the two co-owners of W.S. Jenks & Son (Mike and Jerry Siegel) as well as with Mary Ackley, the owner of Little Wild Things Farm, which is located on the same property and also received emergency funding during the exclusivity period.

Small Business Owners

Jerome (Jerry) Siegel, Co-owner of W.S. Jenks & Son
Michael (Mike) Siegel, Co-owner of W.S. Jenks & Son (Jerry's son)
Mary Anna Ackley, Owner of Little Wild Things Farm

Pool report #3: PPP background for visit

Attached is background on PPP scheme from White House.

It's in PDF form. Copied and pasted text below, in case attachment stripped, but it has lost formatting.

Backgrounder Exclusivity Period Summary On Monday February 22nd, President Biden announced important changes to the PPP program to ensure small businesses – especially minority-owned and Mom & Pop businesses – get the help they need to keep their doors open and keep workers on payroll. While data from the first month of the PPP program under the Biden-Harris Administration demonstrated that we have made real strides in ensuring funds were reaching underserved communities – share of funding for businesses with fewer than ten employees was up 60 percent and share of funding in rural communities was up 30 percent – we wanted to do better. The President announced the following changes: • Instituting a 14-day period, starting Wednesday, February 24, during which only businesses with fewer than 20 employees can apply for relief through the Program. • Helping sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals receive more financial support. • Eliminating exclusionary restrictions that prevent small business owners with delinquent and defaulted federal student loans or prior non-fraud felony convictions from obtaining relief through the Paycheck Protection Program. • Ensuring access for non-citizen small business owners who are lawful U.S. residents by clarifying that they may use Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) to apply for relief. The exclusivity period ends tonight, Tuesday, March 9 at 5pm. Comparing the daily average of the exclusivity period as of Sunday with the daily average of the ten days preceding the exclusivity period, we have seen: • A 20 percent increase in loans approved to minority-owned businesses, translating to an additional 1,000 minority-owned businesses accessing relief each day • A 14 percent increase in loans approved to women-owned businesses, translating to an additional 600 women-owned businesses accessing relief each day • A 12 percent increase in loan approved to businesses in rural areas, translating to an additional 1,000 businesses in rural areas accessing relief each day In total, during the exclusivity period as of Sunday, we have served more than 400,000 small businesses with fewer than 20 employees, of which: • More than 300,000 have fewer than five employees – a 15 percent increase in daily approvals compared to the ten days preceding the exclusivity period • Nearly 200,000 are first-time PPP borrowers – a 25 percent increase in daily approvals compared to the ten days preceding the exclusivity period Additionally, last Friday the SBA implemented the additional changes that help sole proprietors, eliminate exclusionary restrictions on student loan debt and non-fraud felony convictions, and ensuring access for immigrant business owners. The early data shows continued momentum: • Nearly 30,000 small businesses had flags removed due to student loan debt, allowing them access to new PPP loans and forgiveness from the last round of PPP • Tens of thousands of new applications have come in from sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals The American Rescue Plan will build on the success of the Biden-Harris administration's recent efforts to extend relief to hard-hit small businesses, especially underserved small businesses. Specifically, the American Rescue Plan will: • Create a new community navigator pilot program. The American Rescue Plan includes $100 million to deploy community navigators to increase awareness of and participation in COVID-19 relief programs for small business owners who currently lack access, especially underserved entrepreneurs without banking relationships, lawyers, accountants, and consultants. It also includes $75 million for a Small Business Administration outreach and education program, which will promote community navigator services, establish a telephone hotline to offer information about small business relief programs, and support other outreach and education activities. • Bolster the Targeted EIDL Advance program. The American Rescue Plan devotes an additional $15 billion for the Targeted EIDL Advance Program. This program will provide flexible grants to help the smallest, most severely impacted businesses persevere through the pandemic. • Establish a new Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The American Rescue Plan invests $28 billion in a new grant program to support hard-hit small restaurants and other food and drinking establishments. These resources will address revenue losses in the wake of COVID-19 and help these firms cover payroll costs, mortgage and rent payments, utilities, and other expenses. • Bolster the Paycheck Protection Program. The American Rescue Plan provides an additional $7.25 billion in funding to support small businesses and non-profits that were previously ineligible for relief. • Strengthen the Shuttered Venue Operators program. The American Rescue Plan adds $1.25 billion to support live venue operators, theatrical producers, live performing arts organization operators, museum operators, motion picture theatre operators, and talent representatives that are struggling to make ends meet. • Revive the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). The American Rescue Plan restores the successful Obama-Biden era SSBCI, investing $10 billion in state, local, and tribal small business financing programs to help small businesses innovate, create and maintain jobs, and provide the essential goods and services that communities depend on. • Extend the Employee Retention Credit. The American Rescue Plan helps small businesses rehire and retain workers by covering up to $7,000 in payroll per employee, per quarter for eligible firms. In addition to providing direct relief to hard hit small businesses, the American Rescue plan will support a whole-of-government COVID-19 response that will change the course of the public health crisis; devote about $1 trillion towards building a bridge to economic recovery for working families, including those who work for small businesses; and provide critical support to communities that are struggling in the wake of COVID-19.

Pool report #4: motorcade

POTUS emerged from the Oval Office and walked to waiting motocade at 12:03.

Motorcade now rolling from WH to small business event.

Pool report #5: Arrival

Pool van pulled up at WS Jenks and Sons hardware store at 12:21 and we are set up waiting for POTUS to enter.

Broadly uneventful ride. Usual gaggles of people holding up cell phones as motorcade made its way through DC's streets before reaching our destination.

Pool report #6: Store

Potus entered main floor of store at 12:26

"Hey buddy how are you?" he called up to a member of staff on stairs above him.

MIke Siegel told him about the history of the store - said it was second presidential visit, but first in that location - and Mary Anna Ackley, owner of Little Wild Things Farm.

"We moved here a few years ago. We are an urban vertical farm," she said

Siegel talked about working with local community and sponsoring a little league team

POTUS "Tell me what kind of ... What hit you the hardest when the pandemic hit?"

SIEGEL"The biggest challenge was what to do with out staff."

He said vulnerable people were sent home home

"PPP loans allowed us to do that."

POTUS: "One of the reason I changed the rule for 20... Only employers with 20 or fewer employers... "

Explained previous admin had not done good enough job of targeting money

"A lot of money went to people who shouldn't have gotten help."

He stood on main floor in front of a selection of door handles and beneath a sign reading " WS Jenks and Sons."

Pool hustled out at 12:36

More to come.

Pool report #7: More quotes

Pool is holding in vans outside store. Sending more quotes, but acoustics were very difficult so I urge you to check against video.

POTUS was double masked and quite muffled.

POTUS:

"What hit you the hardest when the pandemic hit?

SIEGEL "The first thing we did is we took all of our at risk employees and we sent them home. We paid them throughout that endure process.

"That first wave of PPP loans was very helpful to allow us to do that. we felt like we had ratio that for our employees.

"Our retail business actually increased over the course of the pandemic...

POTUS "One of the reasons why I changed the rule ... to make sure only employers with 20 of fewer employees qualified... the reason for that was 400,000 small businesses went out of business ... couldn't get the help

"We found out that an awful lot of that went to bigger businesses that weren't supposed to qualify.

"because here's a thing called the inspector general to see where the money went ... The last administration fired him ... a lot of money went to people who shouldn't have gotten it."

Pool report #8: Motorcade

Motorcade rolling at 12:59.

Pool report #9: White House

Motorcade pulled up on South lawn driveway at 13:15. POTUS emerged a few seconds later and walked alone to the Oval Office.

Pool report #10: Two-minute warning

to briefing issued at 13:29

Pool report #11: Briefing ends

At 14:27.

Pool report #12: Lid

And travel photo lid called at 14:29.