It will not be easy to get the Senate Republicans' HEALS Act passed, as Democrats and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will attack anything the GOP proposes, Sen. Marco Rubio said Tuesday, but he believes a version of the coronavirus relief bill will be passed.
"I don’t know if it will take two weeks or one week or three weeks," the Florida Republican said on Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "It’ll take a little bit of time, but we have to do something, and that’s why I’m confident that we ultimately will do something that’s meaningful.”
Rubio also is proposing a new small business relief package that includes a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans.
"It's more targeted, it’s available, and it’s very similar to what we had before, (with) 60% for payroll, 40% for other expenses," said Rubio. The plan also includes personal protective equipment and other technologies needed for businesses to comply with local COVID restrictions.
However, unlike the other business loan program, Rubio's plan is only available to businesses that have 300 employees or less and who have suffered a 50% reduction in revenues, either in the first or second quarter of this year.
"We also set aside some of that money for businesses with 10 employees or less, sort of the smaller mom and pop and microbusinesses, to make sure that there isn’t a run on the first tranche of money that leaves them behind," said Rubio.
Meanwhile, the numbers of people coming into Florida's emergency rooms with flu or COVID symptoms are beginning to fall, Rubio said, marking a first indicator that overall numbers may be dropping.
"We're hoping, but if people go back to doing what they were doing a month ago, the numbers will spike up again," said Rubio. "I’m hoping that over the next few days and weeks, as people begin to limit the number of people they come in contact with, we can begin to bring this more under control.”