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riversedge

(70,084 posts) Thu Aug 6, 2020, 09:24 AM Aug 2020

Here's how Susan Collins altered the COVID-19 stimulus bill to benefit her former longtime aide

Here’s how Susan Collins altered the COVID-19 stimulus bill to benefit her former longtime aide[/b

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/heres-how-susan-collins-altered-the-19-stimulus-bill-to-benefit-her-former-longtime-aide/

Published 1 min ago on August 6, 2020

In March, as lawmakers raced to put together a massive stimulus package to cope with the pandemic-related shutdowns sweeping the country, a New York company that invests in hotels deployed a Washington lobbyist for the first time. The lobbyist’s mission was to secure an exception in the emerging relief program for small businesses so that hotel chains would become eligible.

The company, EOS Investors, had more than 500 employees, putting it above the limit in the original proposal by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla. But if the cap for hotels were set for each location instead of companywide, then EOS could benefit at several of its properties, like the collection of resorts that EOS had recently acquired in Kennebunkport, Maine.

As a result, the final version of the PPP that became law contained an exception for hotel and restaurant chains. Those companies could apply with up to 500 employees per location, even if they were much bigger overall.

Collins took credit for the change, telling a Maine radio host: “I was able to get an exception included in the bill. And I think it’s made a real difference to some of our restaurants and hotels in Maine that are locally owned and needed that kind of relief.”
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