Washington, D.C.,
03
August
2020
|
21:19 PM
Europe/Amsterdam

AEM Supports Increasing Farmers’ Access to COVID-19 Relief

Summary

Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) president Dennis Slater issued the following statement in support of the Expanding Assistance to Farmers Act of 2020, which would allow farmers and to use money from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to pay for rentals of equipment, land, and buildings:

“Our nation’s hard-working farmers are keeping our economy moving and putting food on the table of Americans during this challenging time,” said Dennis Slater, president of AEM. “Extending the Paycheck Protection Program so that farmers can affordably obtain the tractors, combines, and other equipment needed to harvest their crops is critical. This is especially important when so many small businesses have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Expanding Assistance to Farmers Act of 2020 is a bipartisan effort to ease that economic burden and make sure our nation continues to have access to life-sustaining food and resources.”

This statement follows a letter of support AEM sent to Representatives Bishop and Finkenauer last week, thanking them for their leadership on this legislation.

AEM continues to lead the industry’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is working closely with state and federal officials to help keep equipment manufacturing in America strong and ensure the nation’s economic resilience. AEM has also called for bold action from Congress and federal agencies, including continued federal designation deeming equipment manufacturers and their employees, suppliers, and distributors as “essential” and additional support to ensure small and medium-sized equipment manufacturers have access to the cash they need to keep operations going.

Boilerplate

AEM is the North American-based international trade group representing off-road equipment manufacturers and suppliers, with more than 1,000 companies and more than 200 product lines in the agriculture and construction-related industry sectors worldwide. The equipment manufacturing industry in the United States supports 2.8 million jobs and contributes roughly $288 billion to the economy every year.