Kamala Harris Says 'In Colorado 1 In 3 Small Businesses' Have Closed During Pandemic

DENVER (CBS4) - Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Denver Tuesday to announce "help is here" for small business owners. Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff held a business roundtable at Maria Empanada.

Owner Lorena Cantarovici told them she had to close three of her five locations.

"We were bleeding, bleeding money."

Harris said she is thankful for the sacrifice small business owners like Cantarovici have made during the pandemic.

"Our small businesses are really part of the heartbeat of every community."

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan includes $28 billion to compensate restaurants for lost revenue. It makes them whole whether they stayed in business or not and that's caused some resentment. One restaurant owner told CBS4 Political Specialist Shaun Boyd it's unfair that those who took out loans to stay open are treated the same as those who gave up and shut down.

In an exclusive interview, Harris told Boyd, "I applaud all those folks who figured out a way to get through the pandemic... but here in Colorado one in three small businesses have gone out of business. We've got to deal with that."

The stimulus also includes $15 billion in grants for other small businesses and $284 billion in additional forgivable loans. It's the biggest stimulus in U.S. history and it didn't have a single Republican vote.

Harris says, "The people who may not have voted for us supported the plan as well as the people who voted for us, 76%. This is bi-partisan in terms of the American people. I'm not going to speak to the gamesmanship among elected leaders."

Watch the full interview with Vice President Kamala Harris:

Republican leaders say its too big and broad and that it comes as the economy is rapidly improving and inflation is a growing concern. Harris told Boyd the economy isn't recovering for everyone.

"If you go to the food banks and sit in your car in line for hours and hours - a family who otherwise was working, they were productive, and through no fault of their own have been unemployed for over a year - you can't tell me things are doing okay for everybody."

Ninety percent of families will benefit from a child tax credit in the stimulus championed by Sen. Michael Bennet. It runs $100 billion for one year. Harris wouldn't commit to extending it permanently.

"Lets take it one step at a time."

The most important step now, she says, is to get everyone vaccinated. There's $14 billion for that.

"It's within our power, each one of us, to do our part to participate in regaining the health and the well-being of our nation."

The stimulus also includes hundreds of billions of dollars in aid for state and local governments, public health and transportation, schools and those struggling to pay rent, food and utilities.
It also extends unemployment benefits through the beginning of September.