The Senate passed legislation by a 92-7 margin today to extend the deadline for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications to May 31.
The popular PPP, created by Congress last year and recently expanded to include most 501(c) nonprofit groups, offers forgivable loans to businesses and nonprofit organizations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the legislation, which overwhelmingly passed the House last week, PPP applicants have until May 31 to apply for a loan and the Small Business Administration (SBA) has a June 30 deadline to process them.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), who chairs the Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee, said before the vote that it was critical for Congress to act given recent eligibility changes and the large number of first-time applicants still seeking information about the program.
“This extension is desperately needed,” Cardin said. “This requires time to get these applications not only filed but processed. As a result, if we do not extend the program, there are going to be a lot of small businesses that are going to be left out.”
Since the creation of the PPP a year ago, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved 8.2 million loans to small businesses and nonprofits totaling $718 billion. More than $50 billion remains available from the amount Congress approved for the program.
“ASAE applauds the overwhelming, bipartisan support for legislation extending the deadline for PPP applications to May 31,” said Mary Kate Cunningham, CAE, ASAE's senior vice president of public policy. “While many associations and nonprofit organizations have been able to keep their doors open with a PPP loan, there is still more than $50 billion in congressionally-approved money left in the program and many struggling and deserving small businesses and nonprofits who can use this extra time to file an application and have it processed by the SBA.”
This article was provided to OSAE by ASAE's Power of A and Inroads.