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Congress eyes extending PPP deadline for businesses, as billions sit untouched

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There is bipartisan support for legislation that would extend the program until May 31 and provide an additional 30-day period for the Small Business Administration to process applications that are still pending. A House bill could be voted on as early as Tuesday evening, but the Senate will still have to pass additional legislation.
Changes in rules
Congress has made changes aimed at ensuring that the most affected companies have access to the money instead of the chain stores and restaurants that quickly got big loans when the program opened last year.
When lawmakers reopened access to the program in December, billions of dollars were wiped out for community development financial institutions, which tend to lend to minority-owned businesses in underserved communities and companies with fewer of ten employees.
But somehow, changes in the second round of lending have also made eligibility more restrictive. Companies must show at least a 25% drop in gross revenue in the first, second or third quarter of this year compared to the same quarter in 2019. Those who employ more than 300 workers are excluded. .
According to Hilda Kennedy, who spoke at a hearing in the House last week on behalf of the National Association of Development Businesses, a trade group representing small business, there are still issues with error messages and retentions and it is difficult to receive a call or email. lenders.
Who has been helped
Loans are taken into account if the company spends at least 60% of the money on payroll expenses, although homeowners must apply for cancellation. About 3 million have yet to file an apology.
Companies continue to have problems
“The current timeline for accessing the PPP program is too truncated and makes no sense given the state of economic recovery,” the National Federation of Independent Businesses wrote in a letter to lawmakers.
CNN’s Jeanne Sahadi contributed the information.
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