The Automotive Service Association (ASA), the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) as well as groups representing insurance agents, joined with more than 100 trade associations and business organizations spanning 30 business sectors and representing 58 million employees, fully 45 percent of the American workforce, to announce the launch of America’s Recovery Fund Coalition. The Coalition will advocate for a grant-based federal assistance program to power the resilience of American enterprise.
In a letter sent to President Trump, congressional leaders, and the Secretary of the Treasury, the Coalition noted:
“Today we are announcing the creation of America’s Recovery Fund Coalition, a group of over 100 organizations advocating for a grant-based federal assistance program to power the resilience of American enterprise. America’s Recovery Fund Coalition includes members representing more than 30 business sectors that together employ 58 million Americans and comprise more than 45 percent of the private workforce.”
The letter continued, “Existing programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) were a well-intentioned effort to help defray the impact of the COVID-19 economic crisis, but we must build upon the current options and address the overwhelming need for additional capital support to businesses. A broad-based, efficient recovery fund that does not pick winners and losers is the best path forward. Without such a fund, our retailers, theaters, restaurants, and many other industries will be decimated – and our communities will be poorer both economically and culturally as a result.
“America’s Recovery Fund Coalition believes Congress must urgently create a federal direct assistance fund to provide rapid liquidity to businesses impaired by the COVID-19 national emergency. We believe the fund should be designed to help businesses maintain ongoing capital obligations during the prolonged crisis and the next months of economic healing, enabling employees to continue receiving pay, maintain benefits, and helping employers rehire former employees while workplaces get back on their feet and safely reopen to the public.”