WYOMING — Lawmakers in Washington have been scrambling during this latest session to adapt and react to a new world created by the pandemic.
Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo has been particularly busy introducing and co-sponsoring legislation designed to help protect and guide Americans through a new COVID climate.
Enzi, along with Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., introduced legislation that would help protect patients from counterfeit medical products that could cause serious harm.
The Safeguarding Therapeutics Act would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to seize and destroy counterfeit medical devices and products, including vaccines and combination products like EpiPens. It is a Senate companion to legislation introduced by Representatives Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., which is included in the latest coronavirus relief package passed by the House.
“As we continue to combat the coronavirus pandemic, it is critical to ensure that vaccines, COVID-19 tests, and other medical products are safe and reliable,” Enzi said. “This bill would allow the FDA to destroy counterfeit medical products that could be dangerous to patients while strengthening our health care supply chain at a time when we need it most.”
The legislation builds on the 2012 Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, which gave the FDA the ability to seize and destroy counterfeit drugs, but not medical devices.
Bill for businesses
U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, both R-Wyo., cosponsored bipartisan legislation that would streamline the forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans under $150,000.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has hit small businesses especially hard,” Enzi said. “This legislation would simplify and streamline the forgiveness process for Paycheck Protection Program loans under $150,000. It would allow small businesses to focus on what’s important, using their time and energy to keep their businesses afloat.”
“The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) continues to provide America’s small businesses with a critical lifeline during these difficult times,” Barrasso added. “In order to keep this successful program going, we need to address some of the uncertainty regarding the loan forgiveness process. Our bipartisan bill does this by simplifying the forgiveness certification for businesses with loans under $150,000. This will provide immediate relief to our smallest businesses who simply don’t have the time or resources needed to navigate the current complex PPP loan forgiveness process. It also means PPP participants across Wyoming can focus on running their small businesses instead of filling out unnecessary paperwork.”
The Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act includes forgiveness for PPP loans of $150,000 or less if the borrower submits a simple, one-page attestation form to the lender. It also ensures the lender will be held harmless from any enforcement action if the borrower’s attestation contained falsehoods. The approximately 3.7 million PPP loans of $150,000 or less account for 85 percent of all PPP approved loans but only 26 percent of the PPP funds delivered.
The Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act, led by U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., has 18 bipartisan cosponsors including Enzi and Barrasso.
