COVID-19 discussion: Rep. Jimmy Panetta

SALINAS, Calif. (KION)

KION Anchor Aaron Groff sat down with Congressman Jimmy Panetta for a discussion surrounding current efforts by his office, and needed relief improvements, during the coronavirus pandemic.

Panetta acknowledges that more help is needed to expedite the Small Business Administration loan process and sending the Economic Impact Payment, more commonly referred to as the "stimulus check."

"We are working hard to make sure that process is fixed and streamlined so that people can get the money they need. So that our small businesses on the Central Coast can get the money, the loans, that they need at this point to survive this crisis. It is something we are working on. We are hearing it. We are listening to it. And we are also fixing it," Panetta says.

KION and other news outlets have received messages and calls from people who say they have yet to hear anything after applying for loans or don't know when the assistance will arrive. Since businesses have closed, thousands of people on the Central Coast have lost their jobs - with hospitality hit especially hard.

"People are calling our office. We have well over 100 cases that we have opened up when it comes to the SBA loan application process under the PPP. We are talking them through how they can apply, how the application process goes, but then also answering general policy questions. Why their banks aren't providing them loans even through they have been longtime customers. We are there to provide that service to them showing them how the federal government can work for them, will work for them, and is getting better at working for them. But obviously in something this big, it is a huge program," Panetta says.

He tells KION that Congress did its job by providing the funds through a series of major bills, the largest being the $2 trillion economic stimulus package called the CARES Act. Now, he says, they need to expand that assistance (currently being debated between Democrats and Republicans in Congress), while other agencies, banks, and governmental bodies need to make the distribution function properly.

"It is very frustrating if you have been a longtime customer of a major bank and that bank has certain caps with how much it can lend out based on certain misdeeds the bank has done (referring to Wells Fargo) and the Federal Reserve has put in these caps and they can't continue these SBA loans under the PPP. Fortunately the Federal Reserve did the right thing and they lifted the cap and they adjusted it in a way that allows them to offload some assets and provide more loans, which is appropriate because people need these loans. And we set it up, we provided the funding for them to have these loans. They need to work."

Panetta says that if people have problems they should call his office. He touts success securing flights for Central Coast residents stuck in other countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, and money arriving to our hospitals and schools through the CARES Act.

"We have 4 million dollars in grants under the CARES Act coming directly to particular health centers in San Benito, Santa Cruz, and Monterey counties - health centers that actually help everybody, documented and undocumented. Basically, health centers like Salud Para La Gente, Clinica De Salud, San Benito Health Foundation..."

Watch the full interview for more on how Congressman Panetta addresses the COVID-19 pandemic, the problems we are facing, and successes and solutions being found.