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On March 25, Congress voted in favor of extending the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for another two months, giving small businesses more time to access billions of dollars in government-backed loans.
The Senate voted 92-7 in favor of legislation that would delay the PPP's loan application deadline to May 31 from March 31, sending the bill to President Joe Biden for his signature. The House previously approved an extension on March 16.
Earlier this month, ICSC and hundreds of other national and state organizations sent a letter to Congress urging an extension to allow more time for businesses to take advantage of changes made to the program.
The loans — approved by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and distributed by private lenders — can be forgiven if businesses agree to maintain their payroll. The bill would also give the SBA 30 days after the proposed May 31 deadline to process pending applications.
"There's no reason to let this program expire while there are scores of small businesses still in line and billions of dollars left in the program to provide desperately needed help," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
Passage of the bill is just the latest example of Congress intervening to continue the emergency rescue, which lawmakers created last March to keep workers and businesses going on a short-term basis during the pandemic. The temporary program has ballooned to nearly $1 trillion in funding and has seen its rules repeatedly revamped by lawmakers. The PPP has distributed more than 8 million forgivable business loans worth $718 billion since its launch last April.
The extension bill does not include additional funding. The SBA has stated that while $79 billion is still available to lend, the money may only meet demand through mid- to late-April.
Members of the House and Senate Small Business committees say they may also consider further changes to the program after the extension. A top priority is to allow more self-employed Americans and sole proprietors to take advantage of more generous loan terms that the Biden administration began offering businesses in that category earlier this month. Lawmakers want those new rules to apply retroactively so businesses that received PPP funds before the change can increase the size of their earlier loans.