Booker: 'We are hopeful' Senate will pass $50 billion stimulus fund for small businesses soon

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said Friday that he's "hopeful" that whatever stimulus bill that the Senate passes next to deal with COVID-19 will include his $50 billion proposal to help small businesses that didn't qualify for the $660 billion Paycheck Protection Program.

"There is another COVID package coming. We don't know when and Mitch McConnell has been, sort of, pumping but the brakes but we are hopeful," Booker said during a virtual press conference with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. "It may not be right away but hopefully will be soon."

Booker called the PPP program "imperfect" and touted the benefits of his legislation. PPP applied to businesses with under 500 employees. However, some larger businesses qualified for the forgivable stimulus loans if their individual locations met the 500 employees threshold.

"I'm hopeful we can get something going," he said. "The programs that are out there right now do not adequately meet the local needs of communities. There are restrictions."

Booker and Sen. Steve Daines (R-Montana) originally proposed their plan in April to create a $50 billion “Small Business Local Relief Fund” – in a letter sent to Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

The relief fund would "provide direct assistance to cities, counties, and states to seed and scale local relief funds targeting businesses with 20 employees or less, or businesses with 50 employees or less located in low-income neighborhoods."

McConnell has said the Senate would likely pass additional legislation related to coronavirus but not before Memorial Day. No formal legislative package has been proposed yet in the Senate, but McConnell said whatever the Senate passes has to include liability protections for businesses.