As Congress closes in on a deal to provide additional relief funds for small businesses, the stimulus money cannot come too soon, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

NFIB, which touts itself as the nation’s leading advocate for small business, released the results of a survey revealing that 80% of businesses still have not received money from the first round of funds.

As part of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under which small businesses could tap into $350 billion as they sought to stay in business during the COVID-19 crisis. PPP funds are delivered in the form of government-backed loans from banks.

All $350 billion appropriated for the program had been depleted by last week.

Rosemary Elebash, Alabama state director for NFIB, emphasized the importance of allocating more money to the program.

“Without this assistance, a lot of small businesses might not have the resources to reopen,” she said in statement.

According to NFIB, some of the findings of its survey are as follows:

75% of small business owners have submitted an application for a PPP loan as of April 17.

20% of submitted applications have been fully processed with funds deposited in the borrower’s account.

Nearly 80% are still waiting, many not knowing where they are in the process.

In Alabama, 99.4% of all businesses are considered small businesses under the Small Business Administration’s standards.

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Governor Kay Ivey issued a statement on Monday supporting additional appropriations to PPP.

“In Alabama, small businesses are the backbone of our economy,” she said. “COVID-19 has had unavoidable, devastating consequences on our small businesses, but what is also unavoidable is Congress’ duty to protect this important sector of our American economy. My office and I are staying in conversation with our Alabama delegation members and are discussing with them that as we work to combat COVID-19, this critical program is helping our small businesses across Alabama.”

Tim Howe is an owner of Yellowhammer Multimedia