Senate GOP again calls for small business bailout

Republicans in the State Senate called on their Democratic counterparts to pass a bailout for small businesses and non-profits impacted by the pandemic, saying it could be funded using the state’s surplus.

“While more and more of our small businesses are closing shop with little help from the State, Governor Murphy only seems willing to look out for his own political interests,” State Sen Declan O’Scanlon (R-Little Silver) said. “He’s building a massive surplus with borrowed and taxed funds that’s not helping anyone but himself. We’re hoping our Democrat colleagues in the Legislature will do the right thing and join us in passing a substantial aid package to help small businesses and nonprofits survive.”

The proposal would create a $300 million fund managed by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

The money would come from federal aid made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and the state’s surplus, which at about $2.5 billion is the largest here in more than a decade.

“We have mounting evidence that Governor Murphy wasn’t honest about the State’s finances when he sold his multi-billion dollar borrowing scheme to the New Jersey Supreme Court,” State Sen. Michael Testa (R-Vineland) said. “While he succeeded in fooling the court and further enriching his liberal banker friends on Wall Street, he’s utterly failed to support struggling Main Street businesses that won’t survive much longer without the substantial assistance our relief package would provide.”

The all-Republican bill is unlikely to move in either chamber, but the GOP senators argue rosier-than-expected tax collections mean the state can support the bailout.

“New Jerseyans, our overall economy, and State revenues have been much more resilient than Governor Murphy has been willing to admit, but we’re starting to see the limits of how much people can be forced to suffer under oppressive executive orders,” State Sen. Steve Oroho (R-Franklin) said. “That strain is hitting small businesses and nonprofits the hardest. They need real help to counter the devastating impact of the governor’s newest restrictions, and they need it now.”