Solo truckers struggle to get rolling with stimulus fund

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rodney Morine believes his second chance is no better than his first to secure a loan through a government program intended to help small businesses like his survive the pandemic.

“I have zero confidence,” said Morine, an independent truck driver in Opelousas, Louisiana, whose revenues have dropped by half since the coronavirus outbreak hit the U.S.

Morine’s pessimism highlights the perils of trying to rapidly dispense billions of dollars in federal aid to contain the economic damage caused by the pandemic. Much of the relief effort hurriedly approved by Congress and managed by the Trump administration has been beset by confusion and red tape. And those worries haven’t been erased by the addition of $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, a key initiative to shield small businesses from the financial fallout.

“I’d like to say it’s gotten better but I don’t have anything I can point to that supports that,” said Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, a trade group that lobbies for small business truckers.

“The reality we’ve lived with for a really long, long, long time is that the Small Business Administration was never really set up to deal with really small businesses,” Spencer said, referring to the federal agency overseeing the paycheck program. “It’s more of a mid-size business administration.”

The Small Business Administration declined to comment for this story.

Truck drivers are an essential cog in the nation’s vast supply chain. They move more than 11 billion tons of freight annually and during the outbreak have kept grocery stores stocked and other businesses supplied.

President Donald Trump declared truckers the “absolute lifeblood” of the U.S. economy...