Washington, D.C. — Wednesday, Congresswoman Aumua Amata congratulated the Territorial Bank of American Samoa upon being approved as a lender for the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program. “This represents more access for people and is good news for American Samoa,” Amata said.

“Congress created this important assistance program for small businesses in the historic CARES Act. The effort is working. We know that as of early this week 61 employers in the islands had successfully accessed this help to get through the economic realities brought on by the worldwide fight to contain the pandemic.

“The second round of PPP funding included important set asides for small disadvantaged banking communities, and my fellow territorial colleagues and I fought for these provisions. These loans are meant to help with payroll and operating expenses, and almost any employer or small business in American Samoa can explore their options and see if a loan is right for them.

“Thank you to the SBA for being responsive to continuing to broaden access.”