New Round of Business Loans Part of Covid Relief Package

On March 25, The United States Senate voted to pass the PPP Extension Act of 2021. The act would extend the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) through June 30, 2021. The program was until now scheduled to expire on March 31, 2021. The bill passed the Senate 92-7 and had previously passed on the House on March 16, 2021, 415-3. The Senate vote sends the bill to Joe Biden for his signature prior to the program expiration

The program, which was established by the CARES Act to provide forgivable funding to small businesses, reopened in January with $284 billion in funding. Through March 21, the SBA had awarded more than 3.1 million loans worth a total of nearly $196 billion. In addition, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that the Biden Administration signed into law earlier in March included $7 billion to expand PPP along with other provisions aiding small businesses.

For the final 30 days of the program, from June 1 through June 30, the Small Business Administration will only process applications submitted prior to June 1, and it may not accept any new loan applications. The PPP Extension Act does not provide additional funding to the $290 billion that Congress provided to make forgivable loans to small businesses and not-for-profits.

Maryland Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, who chairs the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee, said it’s crucial the program be extended given recent eligibility changes and the large number of first-time applicants still seeking help, including the self-employed. “This extension is desperately needed,” he said Tuesday. “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.” Further, according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses, nearly one in six small businesses report they will have to close their doors if the current economic conditions do not change in the next six months.

Any businesses that are in need of or are interested in applying for the Paycheck Protection Program can contact Tesser Ryan & Rochman LLP at (212) 754-9000. We are here to provide and guidance and counsel to small businesses to make sure they have are able to continue to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic.