Pence calls on Congress to reach coronavirus stimulus deal that 'puts Americans first'
Pence told FOX Business' Lou Dobbs the administration is trying to get more help for businesses
Vice President Mike Pence called on Congress to reach a deal on a new round of stimulus and give American businesses the support they need through the Paycheck Protection Program and other programs to weather the coronavirus pandemic.
"We want to get more support for businesses," Pence told FOX Business' Lou Dobbs. "We're literally calling on every governor, especially Democrat governors across the country, to call on members of their party in Congress to say let's get to the table, let's get a deal done that puts Americans first."
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His comments come as stimulus talks have reached a stalemate, with Democrats asking for $3 trillion in the relief bill while Republicans are looking for a narrower package around $1 trillion.
Pence slammed the package proposal from Democrats, saying that it isn't adequately addressing the real needs of the American people and is trying to leverage coronavirus relief to bail out poorly run states.
"President Trump has made it clear we're not going to let liberal Democrats and the radical left use the coronavirus pandemic to bail out states that have been running deficits and debt for decades," Pence said. "We're going to stand up for taxpayers, stand up for fiscal responsibility, even while we get resources to states at the point of the need."
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Small Business Administrator Jovita Carranza told FOX Business' Edward Lawrence that the Paycheck Protection Program has been responsible for a "majority" of the jobs created since May.
"This Paycheck Protection Program sustained the small business economy," Carranza said. "It also protected the employers' and the employees' wages. The Paycheck Protection Program was essential to sustaining and mobilizing our national economy."
Since the program launched at the beginning of April, more than 5.2 million loans worth about $525 billion had been distributed, according to Carranza. The program has helped to save an estimated 51 million jobs.
However, a recent survey released by the National Federation of Independent Businesses found that 14% of the companies that received PPP aid are considering laying off employees once they deplete the money. At least 70,000 of those businesses anticipate laying off at least 10 workers each.
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While talks remain stalled, Pence said that Americans will have ongoing relief from four executive orders signed by President Trump over the weekend extending unemployment benefits, student loan relief, and protections from evictions for renters and homeowners, and offering a payroll tax holiday through the end of the year for Americans earning less than $100,000.
However, the leaders of the National Governors Association on Monday called for congressional agreement on a comprehensive package of relief funds, as opposed to the executive orders.
“The best way forward is for the Congress and the Administration to get back to the negotiating table and come up with a workable solution, which should provide meaningful additional relief for American families," the group said in a statement, adding that it was concerned about "significant administrative burdens and costs" Trump's executive orders would place on states.
"This is just another example of where President Trump said look if you're not willing to come to the table and negotiate in a way that puts Americans first, we're going to take action so that Americans cannot be used as pawns in the Democrat's effort to push another massive, big government spending bill," Pence said.
The U.S. economy added 1.8 million jobs in July, bringing back a total of 9.3 million jobs that were previously lost, but the economy is still in deep hole. The Labor Department's so-called U-6 figure, which includes discouraged workers and those who are working part-time because they can't find full-time work, stands at 16.5%.
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Fox Business' Megan Henney contributed to this report.