Tax Breaks Aimed at Supporting Businesses, Keeping Families Safe

Treasury Department Rolls Out New EZ Loan Forgiveness Application

Following our call to streamline the overly cumbersome loan forgiveness application for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the Treasury Department today rolled out its new EZ application. The simpler application will allow our entrepreneurs to spend less time on paperwork and more time getting back to business.

This is great news for businesses still grappling with the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Paycheck Protection Program was designed to help Main Street businesses weather the pandemic storm so they can focus on recovery efforts. Available for loan amounts less than $350,000, the EZ loan forgiveness application will significantly reduce administrative burdens for more than 100,000 small businesses in Ohio alone.

The COVID-19 pandemic thrust our society into a new reality – one in which everyday activities like doctors visits now take place online. These changes occurred seemingly overnight and have further highlighted the need for improvements in how we deliver quality health care, especially for those living in rural communities.

I am committed to the permanent expansion of telehealth—as well as the rural broadband infrastructure needed to use it—so Ohioans can continue receiving quality health care.

Building on our bipartisan successes to expand access to telehealth services in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, last week, I again partnered with Congresswoman Cindy Axne (D-IA) to introduce the KEEP Telehealth Options Act. This legislation would require a complete accounting of telehealth services during the COVID-19 outbreak in order to lay the groundwork for telehealth to be a permanent option.

What They're Saying

“The Ohio Hospital Association applauds Congressman Balderson’s bipartisan work to support and expand telehealth options for Ohioans; it is critical that we have a complete picture of telehealth use during the pandemic so we can assess how best to move forward with permanence,” said Scott Borgemenke, Senior Vice President of Advocacy for Ohio Hospital Association. “The KEEP Telehealth Options Act will help build the case for our hospitals and providers to continue treating all patients, even when their physical presence is not the best option.”

“Community Health Centers offer comprehensive primary and preventative health care services in areas of high need, and many have been pioneering telehealth to address geographic, economic, transportation, and linguistic barriers to health care access,” said Julie DiRossi-King, Chief Operating Officer of Ohio Association of Community Health Centers. “Community Health Centers, and the healthcare system as a whole, benefit from telehealth by increasing access to care, reducing the need for emergency room utilization, and overcoming clinical workforce shortages. OACHC commends Congressman Balderson for quickly introducing bipartisan legislation that will shine the light on the direct impact of telehealth that is transforming our health care system and increasing access to care.”

Last week, I offered multiple amendments to a partisan surface transportation bill produced by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Democrats. During the committee markup of the INVEST in America Act, I proposed four amendments that would enact commonsense solutions and reforms to improve the nation’s surface transportation and joined several fellow committee members in introducing alternative legislation, the STARTER Act, that includes bipartisan initiatives.

Transportation issues universally affect Ohioans’ everyday lives. When constructing much-needed reforms to surface transportation, it’s critical that we set aside politics and instead prioritize the needs of all of our constituents through commonsense solutions that rebuild our roads and create jobs.

We’re a nation founded on bipartisanship and compromise. Those values have shaped and improved our country over the past two centuries. That’s no different today—we must work together to achieve positive change for all Americans—which is why I’m a proud co-author of the STARTER Act. Together, I believe our parties can find common ground not only on surface transportation reforms, but also a larger infrastructure package