President Trump signed a coronavirus relief bill, H.R. 266, into law on Friday afternoon that will provide more funding to depleted Small Business Administration (SBA) programs. The bill appropriates $321 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, as well as $60 billion to the SBA’s economic injury disaster loans. The $484 billion package had previously passed the Senate on Tuesday afternoon and cleared the House on Thursday evening.
ABA applauds Congress for passing the additional funds needed to assist businesses during this pandemic. The initial $349 billion appropriated to the Paycheck Protection Program from the CARES Act had run out last week, prompting legislators to renew funding. The program structure will remain unchanged and applicants will undergo the same loan process. If you have already completed an application for a PPP loan, you should check with your lender to ensure you don’t need to reapply to have access to the newly appropriated money.
Also included in this funding bill is $100 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services, specifically $75 billion to hospitals and $25 billion for COVID-19 testing. Democrats and President Trump are now campaigning to pass another stimulus package in the coming weeks, but the exact timeline and specific targets of that funding have not been determined yet.
If you are interested in learning about or obtaining an SBA loan, please visit ABA’s COVID-19 Support & Relief Hub. ABA’s webinars on the CARES Act and Small Business Administration relief options can be watched on demand. There is no charge to ABA members.
