Americans in every state rightly expect that their members of Congress will fight for their interests. That’s exactly why we send them to Washington.
In Nevada, that means stepping up to make sure gaming gets fair treatment when it comes to securing federal relief for businesses and workers devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yet Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., has been criticized for, well, doing her job.
Back in April, Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which offers loans to small businesses trying to keep workers on the payroll in the face of government-mandated closures. Initially, the Small Business Administration (SBA) unwisely decided to discriminate against gaming businesses seeking to protect the livelihoods of their employees.
Even small businesses earning just a third of their revenues from gaming were excluded from the program. Denying small gaming businesses the support they needed to stay afloat would have also exacerbated the economic hardship for thousands of other small businesses that depend on gaming’s survival. Local florists, cleaning companies, IT firms, produce suppliers and dozens of other businesses in Nevada would have been hurt.
As written, the initial SBA rules would have doomed countless small businesses in Nevada to bankruptcy and sent thousands of additional employees to the unemployment lines — all for no legitimate reason, and contrary to Congress’ intent in passing the law.
To state the obvious, Nevada’s economy and its people are heavily dependent on gaming. The industry supports the jobs of over 410,000 Nevadans — 27% of the state’s jobs. Failing to fight for gaming would have been political malpractice on the part of any elected Nevada official in Washington, D.C.
To reverse the SBA’s mistake, the entire, bipartisan Nevada congressional delegation swung into action to defend gaming businesses. But the Nevada delegation was not alone in recognizing the impact the SBA’s unjust policy would have on businesses. Senators and representatives from across the country came together on a bipartisan basis to push the SBA to fix its rules.
As the American Gaming Association and dozens of bipartisan lawmakers rightly reminded the SBA and the Treasury Department, Congress never intended to exclude small businesses involved with gaming from being eligible for paycheck protection loans. Every day that passed without fair treatment for gaming businesses would inflict further harm on workers and their families.
In a major win for Nevada small businesses and employees, the SBA revised its rules and allowed enterprises involved in gaming to participate in the PPP. This opened eligibility to hundreds of small businesses with gaming operations, providing access to loans of as much as $10 million that could help to retain thousands of jobs.
Nevadans trust their congressional delegation — Lee included — to fight for the Silver State. Their collective efforts in persuading the SBA to revise its rules helped thousands of workers and their families survive the economic devastation of COVID-19 and allowed businesses to begin safely reopening. That’s called leadership — and every Nevadan should be thankful for it.
Bill Miller is president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, the premier national trade group representing the U.S. casino industry. AGA members include commercial and tribal casino operators, suppliers and other key stakeholders in the gaming industry.