The federal program designed to provide small businesses with relief during the COVID-19 crisis kicks back into gear on Monday.
Under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), eligible small businesses may receive relief funds through government-backed loans from banks and credit unions. PPP is administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA).
PPP ran out of funding nearly ten days ago. On Thursday, the U.S. House passed legislation replenishing the fund. The U.S. Senate had approved the same measure earlier in the week. President Donald Trump signed the legislation into law on Friday.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza released a joint statement on Friday outlining next steps and advising small business owners to apply for funding.
“The Small Business Administration will resume accepting PPP loan applications on Monday, April 27 at 10:30AM EDT from approved lenders on behalf of any eligible borrower,” the statement said. “This will ensure that SBA has properly coded the system to account for changes made by the legislation.”
They continued, “The Trump Administration is fully committed to ensuring that America’s workers and small businesses continue to get the resources they need to get through this challenging time.”
The new round of funding amounts to $310 billion for PPP. Congress originally appropriated $350 billion to the program.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) estimates that 80% of the nation’s small businesses have yet to receive PPP funding.
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Before running out of money, the fund had made more 27,000 loans across the Yellowhammer State, totaling nearly $5 billion. In Alabama, 99.4% of all businesses qualify as small businesses under the standard set by SBA.
Scott Latham, president and CEO of the Alabama Bankers Association, believes there will be immediate activity once PPP resumes.
“When funding for the first round of PPP was exhausted, a survey of our membership found that Alabama bankers still had at least 5,000 loans totaling $1 billion waiting to be funded,” he said in a statement on Thursday. “Our bankers have been working around the clock to serve their customers. We applaud Congress – specifically Alabama’s delegation – for approving this much-needed additional relief for small businesses.”
Tim Howe is an owner of Yellowhammer Multimedia
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