Governor Wolf says he wants to give $145 million dollars to help small businesses

Governor Wolf says he wants to give $145 million dollars to help small businesses

By Ben Stemrich

December 23, 2020

Governor Tom Wolf says he wants to give $145 million dollars to small businesses in the commonwealth to help cope with the coronavirus pandemic. WLVR’s Ben Stemrich has more.

Governor Wolf says he recognizes the sacrifices small businesses like restaurants and bars have made.

“$145,000,000 goes a long way for small businesses. maybe not so much for big businesses, but it does for small businesses. It can go a long way and it certainly goes a long way building a bridge between where we are and when the CARES Act funding starts drifting in from Washington…”

Under Wolf’s plan the money would come as grants from the worker’s compensation fund to help businesses with the most need. The Democratic governor’s proposal requires a vote from the Republican-majority legislature to release the money. 

“That’s exactly what the general assembly is going to have to do. we are going to implement as quickly and efficiently as we possibly can, and we will work with them to figure out the best way to do that…”

Wolf says he doesn’t anticipate many obstacles to overcome. The General Assembly is set to return in the first week of January.

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