Senator Collins Appointed to Bipartisan Presidential Task Force Focused on How to Safely Re-Open the U.S. Economy

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Health Committee, was appointed by President Trump to serve on a COVID-19 Task Force comprised of a bipartisan group of Senators and Members of the House of Representatives.  The purpose of the Economic Recovery Initiative is to provide counsel to the President on how to safely re-open the American economy.  

“Protecting the health and safety of the American people during the pandemic is my top priority,”said Senator Collins.  “Once is it determined safe to do so by medical experts, it is imperative that we have a plan in place to re-open our economy in order to reverse the staggering job losses and the harm being caused to small businesses and their employees.”

“Congress has shown it can take a bipartisan approach to the current crisis by passing three packages intended to support our health care system and our economy” Senator Collins continued.  “We must continue to build on this progress by immediately adding more funding for the Paycheck Protection Program I co-authored that serves as a lifeline to small businesses and provides much needed paychecks to their employees.  We must also ramp up testing to better track COVID-19, along with seeking treatments and vaccine development, and ultimately give Americans the confidence to leave their homes.  I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to help address the unprecedented challenges facing our nation.”

As a member of the Senate Small Business Task Force, Senator Collins has been leading efforts to support small employers and their employees.  She co-authored the Paycheck Protection Program, which has provided $2.22 billion in forgivable loans to 16,196 Maine small employers and is supporting an estimated 180,000 Maine jobs.