All nine members of Colorado’s congressional delegation on Tuesday sent a letter to the U.S. Small Business Administration supporting Gov. Jared Polis’s request for a disaster declaration that would give access to emergency loans.

“All sectors of the economy are feeling the effects of this pandemic and every available incentive to help businesses and the workers they employ through this uncertain time is critical,” the letter reads.

Polis’s request is for an economic disaster declaration for 16 counties and two tribes such that small businesses and nonprofits could receive up to $2 million in low-interest loans. Previously the SBA made a coronavirus disaster declaration for New Mexico, which encompassed five southern Colorado counties neighboring the state. Under that declaration, interest rates on the loans were capped at 4%.

“The actual amount of each loan is limited to the economic injury determined by SBA,” the agency stipulates. There is potential for a waiver of the $2 million limit if a business is a “major source of employment”.

9News reported on Tuesday that an “unprecedented” number of Coloradans have filed for unemployment insurance as businesses forced to close under government orders to reduce COVID-19 transmission laid off their employees.