Update | With the anticipated passage of an interim bill by Congress and the President, new legislation is anticipated by Friday, April 24. We will update this article when the legislation is passed.
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(This story was updated on Monday, April 20, 2020)
CNN is reporting that congressional lawmakers and the Trump administration are on the verge of striking a deal on a nearly $500 billion package to extend funding for an emergency small business lending program, provide additional funding for hospitals and expand funding for coronavirus testing. Nothing is final until everything is agreed to — and they aren’t there yet. But a resolution to a weeks-long stalemate is coming.
The $349 billion small business loans in the Paycheck Protection Program have been exhausted, according to the Small Business Administration. As of today (April 16, 2020), all loan applications received by banks but not yet submitted to the SBA will not be completed nor will the SBA continue to process a backlog for PPP applications once additional funds are authorized. Any loan applications that have received an SBA authorization number will receive an SBA guaranty.
The program was aimed at helping businesses with less than 500 workers and keeping people employed by extending loans that are forgivable if businesses keep workers on the payroll.
- The $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program was a central piece of the $2 trillion economic rescue law passed three weeks ago.
- Republicans and Democrats say more action is needed to build on the law but they cannot agree on what to do.
- The economy continues to tank but lawmakers are scattered all over the country advancing conflicting proposals and bickering.
“The SBA has processed more than 14 years’ worth of loans in less than 14 days. The Paycheck Protection Program is saving millions of jobs and helping America’s small businesses make it through this challenging time. The EIDL program is also providing much-needed relief to people and businesses. By law, the SBA will not be able to issue new loan approvals once the programs experience a lapse in appropriations.”
Steven T. Mnuchin
U.S. Treasury Secretary
Jovita Carranza
U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator
America’s banks were standing by their small business customers before the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program and will stand by them now that PPP money is nearly depleted, which we hope is only temporary,” “Banks of all sizes will continue to work closely with small businesses in their communities to assess their options going forward. Given the success of PPP in getting money into the hands of small businesses quickly, we still believe that the best option is for Congress to appropriate additional federal funds as soon as possible given the potential economic damage to small businesses and their millions of employees from this pandemic.”
Rob Nichols
American Banking President and CEO
PPP Stats released by SBA this morning
1,637,000 | Number of loan applications approved
$399 Billion | Value of loans approved
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